Selling Safety: Enhancing Professional Sales Skills [Professional Safety]

Whether acting as a consultant for an insurance carrier, an independent, an agency representative or a safety professional for a private employer or public entity, getting decision makers to take action on risk management proposals and recommendations is a critical part of our job as SH&E professionals. Our role as safety advocates includes selling hazard control recommendations, the value of safety-related tools and services, and ideas for improved business practices. Our success depends on whether the decision maker buys in to our suggestions.

While many of us have pursued professional degrees and designations in our chosen field, few of us have had specialized sales training. We have simply learned selling skills through trial - and- error field experience with varying degrees of success. This article discusses some key sales skills and practices as they relate to safety and examines some effective, real-life tips for selling safety and the value of safety-related services.

Preparation

Advanced preparation is critical when it comes to customer perception of our credibility. Knowing about the company, its history, products and services, the industry vernacular, special hazards and processes common to a particular business, and even the key players within the company all help make a good first impression. Internet access has made this task much easier; however, further research into industryspecific reference materials, published articles, competitors and even financial statements can also be valuable when preparing for that first visit.

Getting In the Door

Making the first appointment is often the most difficult part of the process. We may or may not have the right contact; there may be an effective gatekeeper answering the phone; and, of course, there is the ubiquitous voice mail system. It is rare to get the right contact to answer your first call, so it is critical to have an introduction that guarantees a call back from the right person. This introductory statement must be personable, brief and second nature. It is a skill that usually comes with practice. My advice for those new to the profession is to actually write out and memorize a script that works for your own personal approach. For those on the insurance side, it is always effective to mention the agency name; most policyholders know their agent, but not necessarily their carrier. To ensure that the right person returns your call, briefly state the purpose and scope of the proposed visit.

The Sales Call

The interview is by far the most important aspect of our job. This is where first impressions are made, where risk management needs are uncovered and where the sale begins. With advanced preparation, any consultant can conduct an effective interview, not only by gathering the basic information needed for any internal reports, but also by listening to the answers to open-ended questions; that is, let them do the talking. Business owners love to talk about their company, their success stories, their people and their products/ services. Given the opportunity, they will conduct the interview for you. As you listen and learn, you will get a good feel for the person you are dealing with and his/her role in company decision making.

Selling Safety

Most people do not like change, and no one wants to spend more money than necessary. So, how do we sell suggested changes to existing facilities, processes and management practices? There are many different approaches to this subject (e.g., Flawless Consulting by Peter Block; High-Impact Consultingby Robert Schaffer; and Analyzing Safety Performance by Dan Petersen), but all involve identifying and addressing specific needs, and convincing the decision maker that change will benefit the company.

Condition, Consequence & Action Required

Whether verbal or written, a good recommendation must include not only a clear statement of the existing condition or practice, but also an analysis of the loss potential it creates and the action required to correct the situation. Referencing applicable codes can be an effective method of selling a recommendation, as it reflects professional credibility. Obviously, customized recommendations that fit the unique needs of the client are preferable to those that are canned or standardized.

The Close

Once you have identified the possible loss sources/hazards, assessed dient needs and made the appropriate recommendations, there is one final step to manage: completion. Closing the deal on recommendation completion actually starts during the initial visit and survey, through identifying and discussing potential loss sources with your contact. Written recommendations simply document your findings and suggestions. However, without top management buy-in and actual implementation of the recommended actions, risk exposure will not improve. Therefore, recommendations should be discussed with the contact at the condusion of the visit to prepare him/her for any forthcoming follow-up report or letter, and to gauge his/her attitude toward compliance, uncover possible obstacles and preseli the suggested improvements.

Some recommendations only involve procedures, programs and management practices that have no direct costs. Others require actual expenditures to correct a hazard, such as machine guarding, sprinkler maintenance or hiring contractors. When significant costs are involved and/or when the dedsion maker is a CFO or small business owner, the best sales approach is often a basic cost-benefit analysis.

To present such an analysis, one must calculate an actual and credible cost estimate figure for the benefits. Such figures are available from numerous industry sources. However, the simplest cost-benefit analysis approach is to compare the cost of the suggested action to the cost of a single likely claim event that could be avoided, preferably a cost scenario from one of the company's past claims. You can also introduce the myriad soft dollar savings from making such an investment, the old Iceberg Theory of visible versus hidden incident costs, or estimate reduced future claims in percentage terms (e.g., a 20% reduction in lost-time employee injury cases).

A new approach in our field is R3(TM) (Residual Risk Reduction(TM)), where we can measure risk reduction in numerical terms. Residual risk is the sum of the risk factors present at the time of measurement. If a company takes steps to reduce the existing level of risk, it will face a lower level of residual risk upon future measurement. What does this mean in practical terms?

Here's an example: A housekeeping crew cleans the floor in a stairwell. While the floor is still wet, an employee or visitor slips and falls. To reduce the likelihood that this will happen again, you recommend placing caution signs on all wet floors during and after cleaning, along with improved/formalized employee training practices and supervisory controls to ensure that such signage is used, that wet-mopping is performed during off -hours, and that all employees wear slip -resistant shoes. Although these recommended controls reduce the potential for slip-and-fall events, these incidents may still occur. This remaining risk is known as residual risk.

To effectively manage and reduce residual risk, one must first assess and measure it. In fact, risk assessment is so crucial to risk management and continuous safety improvement efforts that it is now mandated by many regulations and consensus standards in the U.S. and European Union. Using the wet floor example, a baseline actual risk measurement would be assessed following the slip-and-fall incident, but prior to implementation of improved safety signage procedures. This would serve as a benchmark against which future results can be compared.

When a particular area of risk is evaluated, the R3 rating scale provides numerical ratings that may be assigned to three key characteristics: frequency (F); likelihood (L); and severity (S). Often, multiple areas of risk exist for each task/process. The numerical ratings help define each identified area of risk, and enable a company to appropriately allocate resources by comparing R3 scores for each identified risk/hazard. Table 1 shows a sample R3 risk rating scale.

By multiplying the three factors together, a task or process can be assigned a risk index number (F ? L ? S = R), allowing a company to compare the baseline risk measurement against the measurement after improvements are made.

Example: Let's say that the initial score (R) for the floor-cleaning scenario above is 48 [(F) 4 ? (L) 4 ? (S) 3 = 48], representing the existing level of residual risk (before changes are made). A second calculation to depict the level of residual risk present after the company has completed a range of improvements, including proper training, required use of caution signs and off-hours mopping shows a score (R) of 16 [(F) 4 ? (L) 2 ? (S) 2 = 16]. Therefore, management actions lowered the residual risk score for this loss exposure from 48 to 16, resulting in a 60% reduction in risk.

If your decision maker is a human resources (HR) manager, or an employee-focused general manager or business owner, then the most effective approach may be selling the benefits of employee retention, reduced turnover with associated liiring/training costs, improved employee morale and future reductions in workers' compensation premium. However, a single sales approach will rarely work for all clients. The bottom line is to know who will be making the decision on recommendation completion. Remember that effective salesmanship involves addressing needs and overcoming obstacles, such as resistance to change, resistance to spending, and resistance to extra work or new procedures.

Selling Service

The same methodology applies to selling the value of ongoing safety-related service. For those in the insurance industry, when decision makers see real value in loss prevention products and services, and in the effect such services can have on the business, then account retention and long-term business partnerships are ensured. If properly handled (and sold), loss prevention service can be the greatest asset of an insurance agent or company. For those in private industry or working as independent consultants, selling the value of continuing consultative service as part of a contract, statement of work or project charter agreement should be equally effective.

Unlike hazard control recommendations, where a one-time fix is often adequate to eliminate or control the risk, ongoing safety services are typically offered to larger businesses with program-level needs, such as development and implementation of an injury and illness prevention program, ergonomics program, early return- to-work program, product safety program or fleet/driver safety program. By definition, these types of management-level recommendations involve multiple steps, multiple parties and a longerterm plan of action, which need to be detailed in a service action plan, project charter or contract proposal.

The key here is to get top management to buy in to the suggested action plan, especially since their management team will be doing most of the work. In many cases, we will be selling change - cultural/behavioral change, change in existing business practices, and/or change in HR procedures. Simply providing boilerplate sample programs is not the approach to take, as these are often simply filed away until the next safety representative visits.

Similarly, writing a standard program-level recommendation outlining all of the necessary requirements is also not a good sales approach, since most companies already have some kind of written protocol or set of procedures in place for such required programs. SH&E professionals must sell the value of these programs in the same way we sell any other recommendations, and get a firm commitment from top management and from those who will actually complete the work. This usually involves subsequent face-to-face meetings to iron out the details of an action plan that will help the team accomplish specified goals.

To manage change, you must demonstrate that change is required. Beyond the obvious "hammer" of regulatory requirements, a historical loss-trend analysis is often the best tool for the job, particularly if losses have been trending upward over the last several years. The same kind of cost-benefit analysis (above sales approach) is critical in convincing a decision maker that the time and resources necessary to implement a new program are actually worthwhile, preferably in financial terms.

Even when no loss history is available, opportunities for risk improvement and value-added service remain. Loss analyses can be just as effective whether using trailing loss indicators or leading loss indicators.

*Trailing loss indicators: identification of loss potential based on the occurrence of past incidents or other loss-producing incidents.

*Leading loss indicators: identification of loss potential based on the prevention of incidents or other lossproducing incidents associated with a particular industry or process.

It is best to define service in terms of results to be achieved and not in terms of products or services to be delivered.

Results defined:

*a measurable reduction in loss frequency and/or severity;

*measurable residual risk reduction;

*a change in customer (management) behavior that will reduce loss potential;

*development and implementation of a specific loss prevention program by management that addresses an existing exposure;

*observable improvement in effectiveness of existing loss prevention management programs;

*improvement in physical hazard controls, including management measures, to ensure that a situation does not recur.

When writing service goals and action plans, ask yourself, "Does the goal state a specific reduction in losses, or represent a change in management behavior or in loss control programs?" If so, then it is a results-oriented goal. The key factor in results-oriented service is positive change in:

*management programs;

*how management measures effectiveness of programs;

*what management actually implements.

Measuring Success

Any action plan or project charter should include target goals (critical steps toward completion), target dates for each step and target measurements, including interim measurements of success and a final, follow-up measurement of actual results. Ultimately, effective implementation of a valuable program should yield positive results that can and should be measured. If a completed action item or program-level recommendation can be shown to have had a positive effect on the company's bottom line by reducing the number of lost-time cases, overall claims costs or residual risk, then the value of your safety consulting service will be clearly demonstrated.

Conclusion

Professional sales skills are critical to our success as SH&E professionals. This article has sought to provide ideas, tools and real-life tips required to be more effective each work day. Combined with an arsenal of technical knowledge and experience, adding such skills can only enhance our value to decision makers and elevate our image as safety professionals.

SH&E professionals must sell the value of these programs in the same way we sell any other recommendations, and get a firm commitment from top management and from those who will actually complete the work.

Disclaimer

The opinions expressed herein are solely the author's and should not be construed to be those of his employer. "R3" and "Residual Risk Reduction" is a proprietary methodology of Liberty Mutual Insurance Co.Liberty Mutual Insurance-owned trademarks are used with permission.

David F. Combs, ASP, ALCM, has been in loss prevention/risk managementfor more than 30 years, all with multiline commercial carriers working through independent agents. He has been an SH&E consultant, senior consultant and regional manager, and spent7 years as the regional client services managerfor a national carrier, a job that included selling claims and loss prevention services to national account clients. Overthe years, he has held most technical and product line specialty designations (e.g., workers' compensation, industrial hygiene, auto, property and products liability). Combs is a senior risk control specialist in the Business Insurance Division of Liberty Mutual Insurance. He can be reached at david. combs @libertym utual.com.