The role of Fire and Life Safety technicians is essential in maintaining the compliance of buildings and facilities nationwide. There’s an ongoing discussion regarding whether they should also assume sales responsibilities. Regardless of the approach, it’s important for service providers to recommend only necessary work and ensure proper quality control measures to avoid commission-driven decisions compromising quality. By examining the advantages and disadvantages of each perspective, Fire Service Companies can make informed decisions about the best option for their employees.
Perspective 1: Dedicated Sales and Technician Teams
As Brian Scholl once said, “Service companies are the defacto eyes and ears of the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ) since they are in more buildings than them.” That said, the sales and technician teams are arguably the most important aspects of any Fire Service Provider. And keeping them separate isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
“Dedicated sales and technician teams work well in that each of those has clear directives,” says Senior Engineer Scott Kincaid. “Sales creates the proposals and develops relationships while the techs perform the work. Both have customer-facing opportunities and communicate at different levels with the customer, whether that be technical at the maintenance level or a more general level focusing on the needs and wants of the customer.”
Pros
Separate sales and technician teams are typically seen as the traditional way of doing things, and there are good reasons for that. Implementing this system for Fire Service Companies allows for:
- Increasing sales volume due to focused efforts
- Specializing expertise in sales and customer relations
- Dividing labor clearly between technicians and salespeople
Distinct sales and technician teams provide advantages by allowing for specialized knowledge and dedicated activities. Both teams ensure customer satisfaction and operational efficiency in the Fire and Life Safety industry.
Cons
As great as these benefits may seem for Fire Service Providers, balancing them against the potential drawbacks is essential. Examples of these that companies may face include:
- Increasing operational costs due to separate teams
- Experiencing longer response times for addressing customer needs
- Encountering possible communication gaps between sales and technical teams
Unfortunately, the two teams and the Fire Service Provider as a whole aren’t the only ones to feel the adverse effects; the customers are as well. “From a customer view, this can be confusing as to whom is the contact for issues that may arise,” Kincaid says. “While the directives are clear from a business view, there will be some overlap in responsibilities regarding customer service.” These concerns have led to many Fire Service Companies looking for alternative ways to overlap their sales and technician teams.
Perspective 2: Technicians as Primary Salespeople
Since Fire and Life Safety technicians are physically working with the equipment, having them sell it too may seem like a no-brainer. “Having a technician as a primary salesperson is a benefit to the customer,” says Kincaid. “It provides them one point of contact for all their needs.”
Pros
Customers having one point of contact with their Fire Service Company is one of the many benefits of this system. Some others that providers may encounter include:
- Leveraging technicians’ firsthand knowledge of systems and deficiencies
- Building improved trust and rapport with clients due to existing relationships
- Providing efficient and immediate identification and communication of issues
Having technicians serve as primary salespeople can offer numerous advantages. It may even lower operational costs since paying two separate teams will be a thing of the past. Overall, it’s up to each Fire Service Provider to decide if this benefit and many others are worth the potential downsides.
Cons
Undoubtedly, these pros don’t come without their own set of challenges. These customer/technician relationships can change at the drop of a hat. For example, they can break down if there’s a change in technicians or a specific technician is unavailable to respond to an immediate customer request. Some other concerns that Fire Service Companies need to assess include:
- Risk of burnout due to dual roles
- Lack of sales training and skills in technicians
- Decreased focus on technical responsibilities
- Discomfort among many technicians with selling
From looking at these potential problems, it’s easy to see that this arrangement is more difficult to manage on the business side. “There’s not a clear scope of measure for the technician,” says Kincaid. “Should they be sales-focused on driving revenue, or should they be results-focused on completing projects and developing more skills/training? There’s a balance between the two and, often, one responsibility suffers due to the demands of the other.”
After analyzing the pros and cons of this system, Kincaid concludes that this role should be reserved for seasoned, organized technicians. Otherwise, the results for the Fire Service Provider and customers may not be as intended.
Perspective 3: Multi-Site Service Provider
Instead of employing technicians as salespeople or creating separate teams, another option to consider is working with a Multi-Site Service Provider. Increasingly, building owners and facility management decision-makers are opting for National and Regional Fire Protection plans. In this setup, a third party partners with an extensive network of approved providers to manage all Fire and Life Safety needs. Top-performing Service Companies save on sales costs since there are no new customer acquisition expenses. Additionally, the third-party company handles most customer service and communication.
Pros
Despite the common perception that technicians often dislike working with Multi-Site Service Providers, this approach brings several advantages. Third-party companies like Commercial Fire offer a streamlined process that serves over 100,000 commercial buildings across all 50 states. Going down this route leads to:
- Zero acquisition costs
- Streamlined communication and coordination
- Standardized service and sales processes across regions
Jason Dickson, Director of National Accounts at Metro Fire+Security, notes that the opportunity to service more locations than just on a local level is the primary advantage. “Most larger nationwide companies are contracted with these multi-site providers, which limits the local companies from having the ability to service those locations directly,” Dickson says. “Having the partnerships we do with the multi-site companies guarantees that we have a larger customer base to provide services to. Partnering with multi-site providers also increases our internal sales team to an external sales team that reaches far beyond our own footprint!”
Cons
While there are benefits when working with Multi-Site Service Providers like not having to spend time and money on sales to achieve growth, it’s worth noting the challenges as well. Customers contracted with multi-site providers can have higher demands, such as:
- Demanding high-quality images of service performed
- Requiring detailed procedures for checking in and checking out
- Expecting comprehensive paperwork to be completed promptly
However, advancements in technology, such as inspection software, have significantly reduced this burden. Many companies are beginning to offer these value-added services as a differentiator.
Conclusion
There are advantages and disadvantages to having technicians act as salespeople. There’s also a supplemental option to gain new accounts through partnering with a reputable Multi-Site Service Provider. By carefully weighing each perspective, Fire Service Providers can make informed decisions that best serve their operational needs and, most importantly, their customers’ safety. Throughout it all, one thing remains clear. Technicians will always be the tip of the spear in keeping life and property safe.
