Sales and the Art of Private Investigation The Art of Private Selling: Sales ROBERT E. COOK

The salesperson who sold two items to a farmer who had just one cow and accepted the cow as payment is considered a high-pressure salesperson.


The Art of Private Investigation and Sales


CORNERSTONE, LEROY E.
The salesman who sold two milking machines to a farmer with just one cow and demanded the cow as payment for the devices is an example of a high-pressure salesperson.

Like any other potent weapon, sales and guest posting can be abused.Except for the incredibly obstinate and the naive, everyone in business understands the importance of marketing and selling your services.Any business that doesn't include selling is like trying to clap with just one hand.
Ironically, some excellent private investigators who believe that "sales" is beneath their dignity unknowingly engage in sales activities every day while conducting investigations.

The high pressure salesmen none of us want to be associated with employ the same tactics and tools as the sales experts everyone admires.
Professional private detectives and deft con artists both employ these abilities. Some people appear to have a natural aptitude for sales or research, but the skills that set professionals in these fields apart from the rest must be researched, learned, and practiced.Years ago, when I started working for the General Adjustment Bureau, I received instruction on how to read and understand an insurance policy.

I gained a lot of useful information about taking statements, taking pictures, casualty law, the rules of evidence, and many other topics over the course of the following eight years through ongoing classes and on-the-job training.I received no sales training during my 8 and a half years working as an adjuster and manager.
Selling was thought to be a task exclusive to agents. A lot of technical knowledge and little sales training are likely also taught to the majority of law enforcement personnel. Salesmanship can be effectively done away with by a badge.Instead of relying solely on their authority, police officers who learn and use good salesmanship in their police work find the transition to private investigation to be much simpler.

I didn't realise what I was missing that caused the ulcer until I left with a well-earned ulcer and started working for Field Enterprises. I sold door to door for three years while working for Field Enterprises Education Corporation, then I trained and coached others to do the same.Such a good education. I started my own investigation firm after "graduating" from Field Enterprises, and I was successful in business for eleven years. More than the technical training I received as an adjuster, I credit my sales training for my success as a private investigator.

Yes, I prospected for possible clients and presented sales presentations to some of the ones I was able to effectively contact, but it was not how my sales experience best served me in the PI industry. I became a better investigator as a result.


Let's discuss employing sales tools for research. You turn over every stone when working a case and needing to find a piece of information, right?
What are your clients paying you for if you don't?
Prospecting, a crucial sales tool, is another term for "turning over every stone." You must enlist the assistance of a key witness or record keeper in order to obtain the information you require. Making the contact won't help anyone until you sell yourself. To demonstrate that you didn't make up the facts when taking a statement, you need the subject's signature on the document. That calls for a step in the sales process known as "close." Sales abilities are valuable to learn because you may use them both while looking for work and when gaining more of it.

Here are a few illustrations. Try cleaning your feet and asking permission to enter the building the next time there is someone blocking the doorway.
You might be astounded by kinesics' strength. Try leaving the entire bottom line blank the next time you need a reluctant witness' signature on a statement and secure their statement.

Ask: "Which side of the page, the left or the right, do you prefer to sign on?" and provide them with the paper and pen at a convenient location so they may sign it. When they are still unsure that you are on the same side, many people find it difficult to make judgments and many more have trouble following directions (Sign here!).("Gee! Do I need to sign this? ")

 
Everyday decisions are made by everyone, making them simple and comfortable for them. (Right or left side?)
Another application of kinesics is handling the pen and positioning the paper. The right and efficient management of objections is one of the most difficult sales strategies to master, whether while selling or investigating. We recently ran a marketing campaign in which we gave away books to prospective investigative clients.
We offered neighbourhood ION members the chance to deliver books when they were requested.

Delivering the book was intended to open doors for the investigators to network and, ideally, land new clients.
Some of our members were successful in meeting and building rapport with the majority of the leads given, just like when they were successful in getting the order for a referred investigation. Others reported that very few or no clients had been contacted. were prepared to meet with them to talk about the book. A skilled salesperson is aware that the transaction starts when ,when the potential client declines.to offer something—even yourself—to a buyer who will accept There is no need for a salesperson when you offer what you do.simply simple sales require clerks and order takers. There aren't many millionaires or former CEOs around.

There are a tonne of millionaire and CEO former salespeople, not to mention takers or clerks.Have you ever received a call from someone who asks a lot of questions but never actually becomes a customer about doing an investigation?
Whatever their justification for choosing not to proceed with the case is referred to in sales as an objection. It might have been your price or something you said or omitted to express, but most of the time it is their incapacity to decide.In many of these situations, giving them a choice rather than letting them make the final decision would have been a service to them.By assisting them in making a decisive decision regarding yet another aspect of their lives, it would have lessened their stress, while for you, it would have meant the difference between an almost-case and money in the bank.

Most people, including lawyers and SIU directors, occasionally require assistance in making judgments to carry out actions they know they should. Making choices carries risk, but staying silent appears safer. Private investigators who refuse to acknowledge the necessity to market themselves lose more than 25% of their potential income because to the inertia of potential clients. Statistics from 20,000 referrals on our "cancellation rate" show the difference between PIs who can close a sale and those that can't.

After discussing the potential case, try out this sample multiple-choice question. "Should we begin that this week or the following?"
Nobody has the right to sell individuals products or services they don't require. Professional salespeople are more sensitive to the interests of others than high-pressure salesmen, which is the major distinction between the two.The pushy salesman I mentioned at the start of this essay didn't give a damn about the farmers' predicament. Con artists who pose as private investigators don't give a damn about the issues facing their victims. Not turning private investigators into aggressive salespeople or con artists is the aim. 

Professional private investigators care about people and enjoy helping solve their problems. Learning professional sales skills however, will make you a better investigator and a more successful and affluent businessperson. If you would like ideas on how to get sales training and/or skills, send me a note online to lc@ioninc.com. Nobody has the right to sell individuals products or services they don't require. Professional salespeople are more sensitive to the interests of others than high-pressure salesmen, which is the major distinction between the two. The pushy salesman I mentioned at the start of this essay didn't give a damn about the farmers' predicament. Con artists who pose as private investigators don't give a damn about the issues facing their victims. Not turning private investigators into aggressive salespeople or con artists is the aim.

Published in PI Magazine - Fall 1998

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