naidnnews 2018 issue 1 - titan mobile shredding · shredding, llc. he also serves on the naid board...
TRANSCRIPT
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NAIDnnews 2018 Issue 1
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NAIDnews 2018 Issue 1
When Bob Leventhal and I started our shredding company,
we came into the industry without knowing anything about
it. We did our research though. We started locally and then
started talking to people at NAID. We really tried to learn
from the experts. We talked to trade associations. We talked
to equipment manufacturers. We talked to software and
container manufacturers. Our goal was to determine who the
leaders were in the entire industry so that we could learn from
them because we didn’t have a background in any related
industry. Not knowing anything, we took everything from
the aspect of “If I were the client, what would I want from a
service provider?”
After doing our research, we determined we had to
become NAID AAA Certified as soon as we could. NAID
AAA Certification gave us a blueprint to set-up and run our
business. We were looking to find a way to differentiate
ourselves. And from a laymen’s perspective, it’s what I would
want if I hired somebody.
People told us that since we were a new company it would
probably take 12-18 months for us to obtain certification.
The key to that comment is – we set-up our business from
the beginning to become NAID AAA Certified;meaning, we
made sure we had policies and procedures in place. We were
doing our background checks. We were basically following the
certification protocol so that we wouldn’t have to re-do it a
year or two down the road. We started our business fulltime
in January of 2006 and were certified (which meant we had
filled out all of our paperwork, been audited, and received our
certification) by the end of July 2007. We were using what was
considered high-security shredders at the time; we were going
after the regulated industries - finance and healthcare. There
weren’t too many people paying attention to compliance in
these sectors in our relatively small geography at the time.
Meeting Needs, Making DemandWith NAID AAA Certification we had a story to tell the
businesses that were out there. Through that story, we started
servicing a large number of local banks and credit unions. Part
of our success was because we started our business shortly
after the FTC Final Disposal Rule went into effect (June 1,
2005). It was also within a couple of years of the Gramm
Leach Bliley Act (GLBA) going into effect, which also affected
financial intuitions. Regulation was coming down upon the
financial industry, and we were an answer to a problem that
they had. For a time, we were the only NAID AAA Certified
company in our geography that offered a viable solution.
We went out and educated clients. We told, typically, financial
or healthcare companies, “For compliance, this is what you
need,” referring to our NAID AAA Certification.
They responded with, “Yes, that is exactly what we need! Our
current vendor is not certified. Therefore, we are going to
consider other providers even though our current vendor has
done a good job.”
So those conversations pushed other shred companies to
become certified. Essentially, we upped the requirements in
our marketplace. We did that through a lot of education on
our program, what we offered, and also on NAID Certification,
why it’s important, and why it takes care of the requirements
in GLBA and the FTC Disposal rule. We directed that pitch
right at the financial audience with very good success.
Likewise, when the HITECH Act was signed into law in 2009
and they worked on that for three or four years, we also
leveraged it. “This is coming for healthcare. Let us show you
why using a NAID AAA Certified company is important.” It was
another opportunity created by changing legislation to go out
and educate prospective clients and win business - similar to
the climate today with the impending GDPR regulations.
From the Editor: Some stories are worth sharing. Don Adriaansen, MBA, CSDS, business owner and NAID Past President, realized from the beginning it was critical to have a story of measure to share with prospective clients to close the sale. He built his business on that story and is still telling it today. Allow him to share it with you.
“We set-up our business from the beginning to become NAID AAA Certified.”
continued on page 20
A Firm Foundation
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Reality CheckOne of the larger banks had a contract out for bid. We were
competing with a large international shred company, but we
developed a program for them from scratch and leveraged
our Certification. We won the bank’s business and they are
still a client of ours today, more than ten years later. I know it
wasn’t just the certification; we set up a flexible program that
still meets their needs today. It was that combined with our
service and everything else we do. You can’t just say “Hey, I’m
certified!” and everybody’s going to run to you. You still have
to run a service-oriented business that takes care of your
clients’ needs.
Actually, though, I think in many parts of the country,
becoming certified is really playing catch-up at this point,
because there’s at least one if not three or four in every
marketplace. Now NAID AAA Certification has become the
standard. When we talk with customers, we explain that
Certification is the baseline. If they are putting out an RFP,
we recommend that they shouldn’t even entertain companies
that aren’t NAID Certified.
Sub-ContractingAnother advantage to a company like ours now, fast forward
ten years, is that we sub-contract for and sub-contract to only
NAID AAA Certified companies. A lot of those people that we
partner with we’ve met at the NAID Annual Conference. We’ve
built these relationships, and when somebody says they need
service in Texas, we call our friends in Texas and set it up! Or
somebody out of our area calls and says they have an account
in the Philadelphia area that needs service; they know that
our company meets the same standards and criteria that they
do. This has and continues to be an excellent advantage of the
program since we started.
Using Certification to SellSome companies are only certified because a client requires
it. We use our NAID AAA Certification every day …all day
long. Everybody that works for us understands its importance
to our business as well as to our clients’ businesses. When
talking with prospective accounts the description of NAID
Certification is either short or long, but it is part of the
conversation. Our staff will say, “We’re NAID AAA Certified
and here’s what that means to you…” and then we’ll list
three or four different things, even if it is a homeowner or a
manufacturer. Often we will tell the client:
• We go through an audit process both random and
announced
• We are required to have written policies and procedures
in place
• Then we go through six or seven parts of the program
• We tell the client what it means to them
• Then close with, “If you had the time this is what you
would do to vet a vendor; it’s already been done for you
and is checked up on frequently”
That’s the process. They don’t necessarily know what
NAID means. They don’t necessarily know what NAID AAA
Certification means. But when you help explain to people
why it’s important to their business or the protection of their
information they can understand and appreciate it.
More Business – Just Part of the PackageNow, as we do more hard drive shredding we receive calls
from people we don’t know who say something to the effect
of, “I recycle equipment. I have a client who requires NAID
Certification for hard drive shredding. Will you come and help
us do that.” In these instances, the business is coming directly
from someone researching and finding a local certified hard
drive company. We now receive B-2-B sub-contracting work
that way; it’s just part of the package.
A Firm Foundation
“Now NAID AAA Certification has become the standard.” “We use our NAID AAA
Certification every day . . . all day long.”
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NAIDnews 2018 Issue 1
Other shred companies that have been in business for a long
time may feel that they’re fine. They’re growing and adding
people. They feel that they don’t need NAID Certification as
part of their formula. If that’s what they want to do, that’s
fine. But the way I see it, we’re really a compliance company
that happens to shred paper and hard drives. I run a security
company. I suppose it all depends on your perspective on
how you’re arranging your business. But we try to keep the
standard high in everything we do, so we can be accountable
to our customers. That’s how we continue to grow our
business. And that’s the story I want to keep telling.
There are always going to be people just calling to find the
lowest price and they just want their stuff shredded, who
aren’t interested in compliance. For those people, it doesn’t
really make any difference regarding certification. However,
more and more businesses are looking to meet compliance.
Even on a general scale rather than just the healthcare
and finance industries. We’ve found that a lot of our newer
accounts are smaller businesses that want regular service;
it’s all about compliance for them. Quite frankly, if you’re not
NAID Certified you don’t have a compliance story to tell your
customers.
A Firm Foundation
“Quite frankly, if you’re not NAID Certified you don’t have a compliance story to tell your customers.”
“We’re really a compliance company that happens to shred paper and hard drives.”
About the Author
Don Adriaansen, MBA, CSDS is the Partner & Co-Founder of TITAN Mobile Shredding, LLC. He also serves on the NAID Board of Directors as the most recent Past President.
TITAN Mobile Shredding, LLC has a fleet of mobile shred trucks that provide on-site secure paper hard drive destruction and computer and peripheral equipment recycling throughout Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
www.titanshredding.com
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