Sales and the Art of Private Investigation

Sales and the Art of Private Investigation

BY LEROY E. COOK

A high pressure salesman is exemplified by the salesman who sold two milking
machines to a farmer with only one cow and took the cow in payment for the machines.
Sales, like any other powerful tool, can be misused. The necessity of marketing and
selling your services though, is acknowledged by anyone in business except the
extremely stubborn and the foolish. Being in any business without selling is like trying to
clap with one hand. Ironically, some very good private investigators who feel "sales" is
below their dignity are unwittingly practicing sales daily while doing investigations. The
same skills and tools are used by sales professionals everyone admires and the high
pressure salesmen none of us wants to be identified with. These skills are also used by
professional private investigators and by slick con artists. Some people seem to have
natural sales and or investigation abilities but, the skills separating the professionals in
both fields from the rest must be studied, learned and practiced.

When I went to work with the General Adjustment Bureau many years ago, I was taught,
how to read and interpret an insurance policy. Over the next eight years, through
continuous courses and on the job training, I learned about taking statements,
photography, casualty law, the rules of evidence and many other areas of knowledge
that have served me well. During my 8 1/2 years as an adjuster and manager, I was
taught nothing about sales. Selling was believed to be something done only by the
agents. Most people who work in law enforcement are probably also taught many
technical things and very little about sales. A badge can effectively eliminate the need
for salesmanship. Police officers who develop and use good salesmanship in police
work find the transition to private investigation much easier than those who relied solely
on their authority.

Only after leaving adjusting with a well earned ulcer and going to work for Field
Enterprises did I learn what I had been missing that had contributed to the ulcer. During
my three years with Field Enterprises Education Corporation, I first sold door to door and
then trained and coached others to sell door to door. What an education. After
"graduating" from Field Enterprises, I started my own investigation agency and enjoyed
eleven years of business success. I attribute my success as a private investigator more
to my sales training than to the technical training I received as an adjuster.

Yes, I prospected for potential clients and I gave sales presentations to some of the
ones I successfully contacted but that isn't the way my sales knowledge helped me most
in the PI business. It made me a more effective investigator.

Let's talk about using sales tools in investigation. When you work a case and need to
find a piece of information, you turn over every stone, right? If you don't, what are the
clients paying you for? Turning over every stone is another way of describing
"prospecting", an essential sales tool. When you make contact with an important witness
or keeper of records, you must gain their cooperation to get the information you need.
You must sell yourself or making the contact doesn't do anyone any good.. When you
take a statement, you need the subjects signature on it to prove you didn't make the
information up. That requires a process called "closing" in the sales world. Whether you
use them while investigating or while getting more work, sales skills are worth learning.
Here are a few examples.

The next time you need to get into a building past someone standing in the doorway, try
wiping your feet as you say: "May I step in?" You might be amazed at the power of
kinesics. The next time you secure a statement from a reluctant witness and need a
signature, try leaving the whole bottom line empty and instead of saying: "Sign here."
Say: "Which side of the page do you prefer to sign on, the left side or the right?" and
hand them the pen with the paper in a comfortable position for them to sign. Many
people resist following instructions (Sign here!) when they still aren't sure you are both on
the same side and many more have a terrible time making decisions. ("Gee! Should I
sign this?") Everyone makes many choices daily so choices are easy and comfortable
for them. (Left side or right?) Handing the pen and positioning the paper is another use of
kinesics.

One of the toughest sales tools to master, either while selling or investigating, is the
proper and effective handling of objections. We recently conducted a marketing
program offering a free book to potential clients of investigators. When a book was
requested we gave local ION members the opportunity to deliver the book. Delivering
the book was meant to be a door opener for the investigators to meet and hopefully sell
themselves to possible clients. As with getting the order for a referred investigation,
some of our members succeeded in meeting with and establishing rapport with most of
the leads provided. Others complained that none, or very few of the clients contacted
about the book were willing to meet with them. A good salesman knows the sale begins
when the prospect says no. To sell something, even yourself, to someone who accepts
what you offer with no hesitation does not require a salesperson. Easy sales only
require order takers and clerks. You won't find many millionaire or CEO former order
takers or clerks but there are countless millionaire and CEO former salespeople.

Have you ever had someone call about possibly doing an investigation and they talk a
lot but never turn into a client ? Whatever their reason was for not going ahead with
working the case is known is sales as an objection. Maybe it was your price or what you
said or failed to say but, usually it is their inability to make a decision. In many such
cases, offering them a choice instead of leaving the decision up to them would have
been a service to them. It would have eased their stress by helping them decisively deal
with one more thing in their life and for you, it would have made the difference between
an almost case and money in the bank for you. Most people, even attorneys and SIU
directors sometimes need help making decisions to do things they know they should do.
Making decisions involves risk whereas doing nothing seems more safe. Inertia on the
part of potential clients costs private investigators who refuse to accept the need to sell
themselves, more than 25% of what their incomes could otherwise be. Our "cancellation
rate" statistics from 20,000 referrals demonstrate the difference between PI's who know
how to close a sale and those who don't. Here is a sample choice question to try after
discussing the potential case. "Shall we start on that this week or next?"

No one should sell people things or services they don't need. The main difference
between a professional salesperson and a high pressure salesman is their sensitivity to
the interests of others. The high pressure salesman I described at the beginning of this
article didn't care about the farmers situation. Con artists who call themselves private
investigators don't care about the problems of their mark. The goal is not to turn private
investigators into high pressure salespeople or con artists. 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..

Published in PI Magazine - Fall 1998

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