About

I joined the security industry by chance. I certainly never planned to be in sales….

Truth be told, I was lured by the prospect of using the shiny power tools on the apprenticeship advertising for Chubb, and so began my time as an installation, and some years later, service engineer. Then one cold January, on a particularly wet outdoor CCTV installation I was asked if I could attend a survey the following day due to sickness of a colleague. Within the month I was asked to switch rolls – Not that I was a bad engineer, in fact I believe I was one of the best!

To be frank I was surprised how easy it was to win business. We are all selling similar, if not identical, products. Setting yourself apart from the competition is key. Little, yet obvious points such as arriving on time, smelling nice (or at least not smelling), listening to the customer and being knowledgeable, without seeming pushy all help. Customers like to feel confident that they have made the right buying decision, even if it means spending a little extra over a rival quote. I would suggest that anyone entering a security sales roll should ideally be an engineer first.

I quickly realised I had a knack for drawings, the kind that my customers were referencing without really paying much attention to the wordy specifications. My jobs were popular with engineers too, who would request them wherever possible due to their accurate and carefully planned nature. Then in 2018 I was approached separately by two former engineers – now self-employed – and asked if I would be interested in producing their drawings. sds was born. A short while later, I was asked whether I could also perform surveys. sds are now proud to provide drawing services and London surveys for a growing number of small to medium sized companies as far afield as New Zealand.