CHALLENGER INSIGHTS Vol. 7:
The Importance of Lighthouse Accounts
When I was a Spacesaver Group sales rep, one of my teammates at a nearby area contractor asked if I had an awesome locker installation that a team from Salt Lake City PD could visit. I did—and arranged tours for the group at a few facilities, including Colorado’s Parker Police Department.
Recently, I had the opportunity to tour the completed Salt Lake City Public Safety Building—and after learning that SLC visited twenty police departments before building their own, I quickly realized just how important Lighthouse Accounts are in the sales process.
What is a Lighthouse?
Just as lighthouses have historically been used as navigational aids for ships and boats, a Lighthouse Account is a project that shows you have the knowledge and the skills to create a solution for an end-user. They’re the projects that show unique capabilities, the ones you’re most proud of, and the ones that resulted in a great relationship with an end-user. Many of our Public Safety case studies are Lighthouses—Salt Lake City’s Public Safety Building, Houston Police Department, and more. Public Safety Lighthouses exist in your territories today—in fact, you’ve most likely sold one or two of them yourself.
How to Use Lighthouses
Law enforcement entities, jails, corrections facilities and justice centers all share the common trait of visiting newer installations prior to new construction or renovation. For these projects, the most important factor is getting perspective from their peers—what works well, what would you do differently, what influenced your decision, etc. How can you leverage your own Lighthouse accounts with these groups? Here are a few suggestions:
Ask questions
Asking questions like “What was the experience like working with our company? What should we do to enhance the sales experience? Would you be willing to show your facility to other public safety professionals?” will give you a pretty good idea of a Lighthouse’s potential.
Set up tours
I didn’t go on many Lighthouse tours with prospective clients—an officer who had no vested interest in my solution (or me) did the best selling—he wears the badge, and he owns the solution. Set up the tour early and you’ll enjoy the advantage of a prospect that sees you as someone who can help achieve his or her goals.
Follow up with Lighthouses
Maintaining a relationship with your Lighthouse account can help you identify emerging opportunities. An account may help you connect with a key contact that is getting bombarded by other sales reps. A Lighthouse improves your position—when you go to an open house or a trade show, who is around the chief you know? Other chiefs. These types of accounts offer a great way to network.
Share your Lighthouses
One of our reps made a binder with photos and descriptions of Lighthouse installations in his territory, which he used as a “portable tour.” If you don’t have any Lighthouses of your own, Spacesaver’s new Public Safety iPad app has stories, videos, and photos, as does the Spacesaver website.
What are some of the Lighthouse Accounts you’ve identified in your territory? How have you leveraged your Lighthouses to create additional sales? Email mdustman@spacesaver.com and let Melissa know.