How to Find and Win Commercial Security Contracts

For a security company that wants to grow beyond referrals and incumbent contracts, winning bids for contracts can be difficult. In 2025, a Market Growth Report on the private security service market stated that 56% of the private security market share was held by the top 5 companies. This report found that 45% of the market was located in dense urban centers like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. 

Despite these challenges, smart security companies can still succeed in winning commercial contracts by adopting the right approach, which this post covers. Success depends on knowing the state of the market in the region you can service, identifying how to stay competitive with contracts, and using powerful prospecting tools that can identify all segments of the market. Winning commercial contracts depends on effective research, targeted strategy, and the right marketing tools. 

Who Buys Commercial Security Services and Systems?

The private security Market Growth Report found that 70% of private security demand comes from commercial, 18% is residential, and 12% is industrial. Of course, this is just general demand, as each buyer will have its own specifications on the type of security services and systems they need to protect their property. For commercial security, the largest market share, security buyers fall into two main categories:

1. Property owners, managers and operators purchasing ongoing services

2. Developers and contractors purchasing systems for new construction

Services like security patrolling, monitoring, or guarding are selected by a property owner, manager, or operator. These decision-makers draft a request for proposal (RFP) that contains details about their property, the security requirements, and the type of service needed. Your private security firm then submits a proposal with estimated costs and how you intend to meet their service expectations. It’s considered a “bid” because decision-makers evaluate potentially dozens of proposals before picking out the best to negotiate contracts with. 

Technology like cameras or biometric systems are routed through a property developer or general contractor during the construction stage of a commercial property. Alternatively, the decision could involve a property manager or owner if updating older security systems. An RFP is drafted similarly to security services with more detail on the type of technology required, the project or building size, and the expectations for the system.

The purchase decision is a multi-stage process that can grow more complex if the contract spans a portfolio of properties. A property manager or developer may be responsible for evaluating the security proposals, but they may not make the final suggestion. The best proposals may be passed on to account managers or property owners, depending on the scope of the RFP. A regional or national private security contract may be lucrative, but it will likely go through many gatekeepers, making the sales cycle feel slow. 

How Do Commercial Security Contracts Get Awarded?

At a high level, commercial security contracts are awarded to the private security firms that can provide the best services within the scope of a budget. A contract comes in two basic forms:

Recurring service agreements won through RFPs (requests for proposal), bidding boards, or vendors consolidated through project management firms. Stakeholders evaluate proposals, ensure that they comply with insurance and proposal needs, and pass them on for higher review. In a separate post, we present sources for finding RFPs.

Project-based work, such as a security system install, is awarded based on a firm’s ability to meet the project specifications. Project timeline, cost, and scope are all considered by a general contractor or developer responsible for installing a system within a budget. 

Both recurrent security services and contract work face similar CRE decision-makers like project managers, developers, general contractors, and property managers. How they make their decisions will vary, but according to Market Growth Report data from 2025, there are a few key trends in the private security market:

• 72% of electronic surveillance systems installed in 2024-2025 include smart monitoring features, facial recognition, and integrated alarm systems.

• AI and machine learning are integrated with 31% of electronic security. 

• 46% of private clients want body-worn cameras worn by security personnel.

• Personnel training and licensing expectations have risen, with 61% of private guards undergoing an advanced skill certification. 

• Drone surveillance and monitoring for larger commercial zones rose by 22% over 2025. 

For some insights on what drives these demands, the Marsh McLennan Agency published a Real Estate Risk and Resilience 2026 report that details how insurers determine rates and coverage. Crime score is a big consideration, which factors in a commercial property's lighting, cameras, and security protocols. An owner or property manager may be incentivised to update their security systems to lower their insurance costs. 

These trends and factors underscore the growing complexity of the private security landscape and the importance of staying informed about evolving client needs and industry standards. Security firms that can demonstrate their ability to meet these expectations and provide value-driven solutions are more likely to stand out in the competitive bidding process and win commercial contracts.

How Can Security Companies Prospect for Commercial Work Directly? 

Private security prospecting for commercial work is about casting the widest possible net and then filtering down based on the criteria that make for a successful contract. CRE-specific platforms like Biscred allow you to filter down to the best prospects, based on a variety of data points. Biscred is designed specifically for the commercial real estate industry, offering a comprehensive database and targeted search capabilities based on dozens of data points. 

In this example, we use an example of a security company that wants to expand its offerings into data centers in the Midwest — specifically Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska. 

We find 414 companies employing over 80,000 people that match the specified asset class and location.* 

Filter for CRE industries like multifamily, retail, offices, and more. Target your search even further with filters for property managers, operators, project managers, and more contacts in the operations/facilities function. 

When we set the people filter to the functional area “operations/facilities,” the lists narrows to 166 companies and 24,187 people.

Build your filters around the types of contracts that meet your business goals, so in this example, the security company would not include developers and general contractors unless it were targeting security technology installation in new construction projects. 

Prospecting multiple times with different filter searches is also an effective strategy to reach different types of prospects, depending on the contracts you’re trying to win. The CRE filters for security services look much different from security technology.

Also consider the assets that your firm has experience with. We mentioned commercial as a potentially lucrative segment in private security, so use Biscred’s asset class filters to identify opportunities in emerging markets such as industrial, healthcare, and the growing data center segments.

By leveraging tools like Biscred to refine their prospecting strategies, security companies can efficiently identify and target the most relevant opportunities aligned with their business goals. This targeted approach can help streamline the sales process and increase the likelihood of winning commercial contracts. See how it works.

*Numbers as of July 27, 2026. Biscred continuously updates its database. Numbers reported throughout our website represent a snapshot in time.