LP Professionals — The Next Step

By Mark Gaudette, CPP, CFI, LPC, ASIS Retail Loss Prevention Council

In last month’s article my fellow ASIS Retail Council Member, Joe Davis spoke to being a good customer and the importance of being informed and educated to your current business needs when approaching a purchase decision. I’d like to continue with this thought process.

Joe’s article titled “The Art Of The Customer” challenges us to become a more participative customer. Now it’s time to become the “superstar” salesperson. No, I’m not suggesting that we become the slick-talking used car salesman type, but it is our responsibility to bring the best solution to the leaders of our organizations — ones that will differentiate us from the competition, facilitate a more secure and safe workplace, and will give your company the competitive edge that will lead to bottom line contributions.

At last year’s ASIS National Conference there were over 700 technology offerings from access control, EAS, video analytics, exception reporting, automated key management systems, tablet-based auditing, case management software, wireless technologies, communications, guard force, and mobile POS, just to name a few. And, although all of us would “like” to own a lot of the technologies displayed, it’s not much different than when you wanted the shiny little red wagon as a kid. Is the wagon really what you needed? Would it help you to cart your other stuff around, load your newspapers for your paper route, or even pull your little sister in it? If your parents bought you the wagon, could you use it to accomplish your goals, or would it just sit around after a while unused? Like that little red wagon, when in the process of making the equipment or technology purchase decision, we need to be assured that our project is aligned with the needs of our business.

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