Win guarding and alarm contracts with sites you called yourself

Almost every company with a building, a warehouse or a shop thinks about security, and most already have something in place: a guarding contract, an alarm system, cameras or a monitoring centre. New business for a security company is therefore mostly about switching and adding, and that happens at clear moments: a contract that ends, an incident, a new site. A calling team that knows those moments can be on the shortlist before the tender is written.

The market: a licensed sector with very different players

In Belgium, private security is tightly regulated. The annual report of the FPS Home Affairs under the law of 2 October 2017 counts 153 licensed guarding companies in 2022, next to 148 internal guarding services, 922 alarm installers and 1,462 camera installers. People working in the sector need an identification card: 27,125 valid cards were held by staff of guarding companies in 2022. With 153 licensed guarding companies, buyers usually know the main names, so being specific about their site is how you stand out.

The Netherlands looks different. On 1 October 2026, CBS counted 11,690 businesses in private security (SBI 8010, provisional figures), of which 10,705 were one-person businesses and 240 had 10 or more people working, plus 775 businesses in security through alarm systems (SBI 8020). The KVK counts, on its own basis, 7,273 security businesses on 1 January 2022 and 13,389 on 1 January 2026, after a peak of 15,004 in 2025, and says the drop may be linked to stricter enforcement of the Wet DBA. Every security organisation needs a Wpbr licence from Justis, valid for at most five years, and separate permission for its managers and staff. This is general information, not legal advice.

Decisions follow the size of the client. A shop owner or a small manufacturer picks an alarm installer on trust, speed and price. Larger companies, logistics sites and retail chains compare providers, write a specification, involve purchasing and often sign multi-year contracts. Public buyers work through formal tenders.

Who you call and what you ask

The people who decide on security:

• Facility manager: owns guarding, access and technical security at offices, sites and campuses.
• Prevention adviser or HSE manager: involved when safety, evacuation and risk analysis come up.
• Site, warehouse or operations manager: feels every incident and every false alarm.
• Purchasing manager: runs the tender and compares the price per hour or per site.
• Owner: at smaller companies and shops, the one who decides.

Trigger events that make the call relevant: a security contract that ends in the coming months, a break-in or incident in the area, a new warehouse, shop or office, longer opening hours or night shifts, a demand from the insurer, an event on site, and a provider that failed to show up or changed its staff too often.

Discovery questions that work in this sector:

1. How is the site secured today: guarding, patrols, alarm, cameras or a mix?
2. When does the current contract end, and how will you choose for the next period?
3. What incidents or false alarms did you have in the last year, and what did they cost?
4. Who else is involved: purchasing, the prevention adviser, the insurer?
5. What would you change first if you could start over?

Security buyers rarely decide alone: see how B2B buyers buy.

What slows a calling team down in this sector

• The incumbent provider. "We already have a security company" is the most common answer. The real question is when that contract is reviewed.
• Tenders and multi-year contracts. Larger clients buy security in rounds. Between rounds, the door is mostly closed, so the follow-up has to be planned months ahead.
• Price per hour. Guarding is easy to compare on the hourly rate. A good conversation is about reliability, response time and the cost of an incident.
• People on the move. Facility and site managers walk the site all day. You need several attempts and a call back at the moment they name.
• Trust. Buyers want proof of licences, screening and references before they let a new provider on site.

To prepare for the objections you will hear, read how to handle sales objections.

What it can bring you: efficiency, money and more

For a security company, the measurable step is the site survey. What you can track is how many calls lead to a conversation, how many conversations to a survey, and how many surveys to a signed contract.

Example with assumed numbers: one caller, one month, and an assumed value of 25,000 euros a year for one guarding, patrol or monitoring contract. These are not benchmarks; replace them with your own figures.

Efficiency is something you can measure too. Time how long it takes today to note an outcome and plan the next step. If one key and an automatically planned follow-up save two minutes per attempt, 700 attempts save about 23 hours a month. Check that against your own week rather than taking it on trust.

The bigger gain is often in the follow-up. A facility manager who said "our contract ends next autumn" is worth a lot if somebody calls in spring. Read how to follow up sales leads, or try it yourself in the interactive demo.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. FPS Home Affairs: annual report under article 270 of the law of 2 October 2017 on private and special security, 2022 (besafe.be)
2. CBS StatLine: Bedrijven; bedrijfstak (81589NED), SBI 8010 and 8020, 4th quarter 2026, provisional
3. KVK: Starten als beveiliger (number of security businesses, SBI 80.10, per 1 January)
4. Ondernemersplein: Vergunning aanvragen voor een particuliere beveiligingsorganisatie of recherchebureau (Wpbr)