Lead generation for a fire safety and security service

The context: When local market expertise needs systematic outreach

FSP had already addressed a significant challenge in their local market. Unlike competitors focused on a single service, FSP delivers end-to-end solutions, including installation, inspection, and repair for sprinkler, alarm, security, and life-safety systems in 10 cities across Canada and the Eastern United States. Therefore, FSP’s clients benefit from a single vendor, a single contract, full accountability, 24/7 responsiveness, and strong expertise in code compliance.

This approach has helped FSP win contracts with major clients, including Walmart, Whole Foods, CBRE, Simon Property Group, and Georgia Tech.

Although FSP had over 30 salespeople across multiple branches, strong inbound channels, and a clear value proposition, the company encountered a growth ceiling.

Here’s what was holding them back:

1. Heavy reliance on inbound leads. Without systematic outbound prospecting, the company left opportunities on the table, which is especially problematic for a company targeting just 10 cities.
2. No systematic target list development. With more than 30 salespeople busy servicing existing accounts and closing deals, there was no capacity to build centralized prospect lists, develop ICP criteria, or coordinate targeting across branches. Each salesperson handled their own ad hoc research, time permitting.
3. No standardized scripts. Without documented outreach templates, messaging across the sales team varied widely.
4. Lead qualification gaps. The team spent hours on smaller orders ranging from $500 to $5,000, when they should have been focusing on high-value deals. They were busy, but not with the right leads.
5. No coordinated appointment-setting system. With salespeople scattered across branches, they had no efficient way to distribute or manage qualified leads.

All these factors led to unpredictable deal flow, a busy sales team without enough qualified leads, and limited market penetration.

What clinched the partnership with Belkins? Two things did.

First, Belkins stepped up to own the top-of-funnel process. We committed to managing research, messaging, and outreach across email, LinkedIn, and calls, all seamlessly branded as FSP. This freed up their salespeople to do what they excel at: closing deals and satisfying clients.

Second, we avoided a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, we suggested experimenting with channels first. With seamless HubSpot integration and weekly feedback sessions, FSP could steer salespeople into quality meetings and achieve deal alignment.

FSP became a client, and in just two weeks, their whole system was up and running — from prospect research to multi-channel campaigns to seamless appointment handoffs. But that was only the kickoff. The real challenge was turning that into a predictable pipeline.

Belkins’ solution: Building a sustainable outbound system

We began the project in May 2025 with a discovery phase. In the first two weeks, we analyzed FSP’s market, buyer behavior, competitors, and key sales drivers in the fire safety sector. Our team reviewed lead sources, interviewed sales representatives, and identified gaps between current performance and revenue targets. With this foundation, we developed a solution.

The strategy unfolded in three key phases:

1. Defining key ICPs and nailing down the messaging

FSP operated in 10 cities in the U.S. and Canada, but lacked a centralized view of its best customers and how to reach them at scale. That was the first part of the project that we tackled.

Working closely with their leadership team, we defined the core ICPs, mapped priority regions, and identified the buying committee. We identified the decision-makers and influencers who controlled fire safety budgets and service contracts:

• Primary decision-makers: VP of operations, owners, general managers, and Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) leadership
• Key influencers: Facility managers, property managers, and chief engineers
• Additional stakeholders: Project managers for GCs and developers, estimators, safety managers, and risk management directors

Each persona had distinct pain points, from code-compliance anxiety and revenue-threatening red tags – stop-work or shut-down notices, to water damage from neglected sprinkler systems. Our job was to craft messaging that addressed those concerns directly.

Note: This wasn’t a one-and-done exercise. The initial framework provided direction. As the campaigns ran, we tested new market segments, including churches, electrical contractors, and healthcare facilities. Some of them outperformed primary targets.

Then we worked on messaging. We developed persona-specific scripts that led with pain points that prospects genuinely cared about. We refined wording, swapped out generic safety language for concrete operational outcomes, and aligned on key selling points.

Key messaging improvements went from:

• Broad statements like “comprehensive fire and life safety solutions” → concrete trigger words and scenarios that prospects were already worried about: fire damage, water damage, fire watch, business interruption, and code compliance.
• Abstract value propositions about FSP’s “commitment to excellence” and “culture of safety” → focus on what actually keeps target personas up at night, such as avoiding fire marshal red tags and unplanned shutdowns.
• Overused CTAs like “Would you be open to a quick call?” or “Can we schedule a demo?” → specific and low-friction CTAs: “Would you have 15–20 minutes to review your current fire/life safety setup in [city] and identify any code or maintenance gaps FSP can close?”

Here are a few examples of how messaging differed depending on the roles targeted.

Before launching, we stress-tested the messaging with FSP’s leadership and sales managers. We reviewed sample emails and cold-call openers line by line, asking: “Would this resonate with a facilities manager at 9 a.m. on a Tuesday?”

By the time we went live, everyone was confident the messaging would land.

2. Building a multichannel system

We launched the first multitouch outreach sequences across two channels: email and LinkedIn. The channels worked together in a single coordinated sequence. Results came fast: 3–4 appointments per week from day One.

Here’s the sample messaging from our best-performing campaign (32.92% engagement rate):

We kept testing different approaches across Fire Safety’s ICP and launched event-based campaigns, following up with prospects after conferences and events.

A few months in, after analyzing FSP’s value proposition and decision-makers, we proposed testing cold calling. FSP agreed to a pilot, and it became a game-changer.

Why did it work? Most commercial properties already had longstanding fire safety contracts. Breaking through required consistent touchpoints across all channels, competitive comparisons, and patience to stay top-of-mind until renewal windows opened. It also let us reach prospects that had almost no digital footprint.

We worked directly with FSP’s digital marketing agency, which manages their paid advertising and inbound campaigns. We shared messaging from our top-performing outbound campaigns, including scenarios, trigger words, and CTAs that generated replies, and recommended that FSP test this language in their ads. Our goal was to create a unified brand experience, so prospects encounter a consistent voice and value, whether through Google ads, emails, or LinkedIn messages.

Likewise, we were responsible for converting FSP’s inbound leads — prospects who had already filled out forms on their website or through their digital marketing partner’s paid advertising campaigns.

FSP gave us full access to HubSpot, and we could see the entire lead flow: who was coming in, from what source, what forms they filled out, and whether anyone had followed up. From that visibility, we built a systematic inbound conversion process:

1. When a form was submitted, whether through FSP’s website, a landing page, or a paid ad campaign, we received an immediate email notification.
2. Then we continued with immediate outreach, usually with a 1–2–touch conversion, since these were warm leads that came to FSP.
3. If leads answered the phone, we often booked on the spot. If they didn’t, we’d follow up with a personalized email that references their form submission and outlines specific next steps. These emails were short, referenced their original inquiry, and offered a clear path forward. Most meetings were booked within the first or second touchpoint.

Everything flowed into HubSpot with full context: lead source, pain points mentioned, decision timeline, and notes from our conversations. FSP’s sales team didn’t have to dig through email threads or guess what had been discussed. They could see exactly what was said before they picked up the phone.

We maintained tight alignment through weekly calls and regular Slack communication. If a lead mentioned an urgent compliance issue or a fire marshal inspection deadline, that context was flagged immediately. FSP’s team could prioritize accordingly and show up to meetings prepared.

3. Scaling what works

Every 90 days, we ran full business reviews with FSP leadership to lock in the next phase: budget decisions, team expansion, and which new markets or verticals to test. By month three, we had added a second cold caller. By month four, FSP scaled from a pilot program to the maximum package. By month six, they’d committed their entire 2026 business development budget.

Now we’re scaling what works and testing what’s possible:

1. Market penetration within existing regions → FSP operates in 10 cities across Canada and the Eastern United States, and that footprint isn’t changing. Instead, we’re going deeper: saturating Atlanta, DC, Toronto, and secondary markets with targeted campaigns, reaching accounts we haven’t touched yet, and increasing share of wallet in cities where FSP already has a presence.
2. Vertical deepening → Commercial property management firms deliver the highest conversion rates and deal sizes. We’re doubling down on this segment while maintaining momentum with general contractors and expanding into underserved property types, such as manufacturing facilities and industrial warehousing.
3. New ICP sub-segment testing → Churches, religious institutions, healthcare facilities, and electrical contractors are on deck for Q1 2026. These segments exist within FSP’s current market locations, but they haven’t been systematically targeted. Early efforts showed strong potential, and we’re building dedicated campaigns to reach them at scale.
4. Messaging and prioritization refinement → We’re continuously fine-tuning which pain points resonate most, which accounts get full multichannel treatment first, and how we sequence outreach based on real response and meeting data.
5. Team expansion → With consistent pipeline flow, FSP is planning to add sales capacity to match the appointment volume we’re generating.

Lessons learned: Build the system first, then scale what works

This project reinforced a core truth: you can’t scale chaos. Build the foundation, validate what converts, then scale.

What we learned:

• Clarity wins in mandatory markets. When all commercial buildings must comply with fire safety regulations, a straightforward approach is most effective. Rather than elaborate storytelling, we identified key challenges such as red tags, water damage, and compliance deadlines, and presented clear solutions, including a turnkey provider, 24/7 response, and a single vendor. Decision-makers responded because we made the approval process easy.
• Validate, then scale aggressively. FSP was cautious about cold calling. We tested it, proved it worked within the first month, and doubled caller capacity by month three.
• Speed compounds with tight alignment. Weekly strategy calls were precision checkpoints that let us react quickly and keep the pipeline growing. When a segment underperformed, we pivoted immediately. When a message hit, we replicated it across campaigns. That kind of velocity only works when the client and partner are fully aligned.
• Precision scales better than volume. Commercial property management firms outperformed other segments by 2x in conversion and deal size, so we reallocated resources there while maintaining momentum elsewhere. Focusing more on what works beats doing more of everything.

After eight months, 341 appointments, and over $300K in new revenue, FSP has become a long-term partner. They trusted us to build from the ground up, and when it succeeded, they committed their entire 2026 business development budget without hesitation.

This is the type of partnership we strive to build.