Re: Why you should never sign on as a dealer with a large company

[robercampbell@xxxxxxxxx]

On Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 7:23:41 PM UTC-5, Jim wrote:
> On Monday, November 16, 2015 at 8:49:56 AM UTC-5, roberc...@xxxxxxxxx wro=
te:
> > Within the scope of the whole marketing approach, the free service and =
no long term commitments have been a boon to us over the long term. It allo=
ws us to stand out from the crowd of companies who many times seem little b=
etter than the Alarmforce scammers and other "contract monkeys" in our indu=
stry. I can say with absolute certainty, that we have dozens of clients who=
 are with us because they have been so absolutely screwed by companies misu=
sing these long term contracts to extort money when it wasn't necessary. Pe=
ople appreciate honesty and openness in business, and our providing service=
s without the requirement to needlessly lock in, and our standing behind th=
e products and services we sell and install, has been a hallmark of our bus=
iness approach since day one. Good service means we don't lose customers un=
less they are moving, and it ensures they return to us when they need our s=
ervices again.All our clients pay for their services up front, so from a bu=
siness perspective, there is no need for a long term contract. If they want=
 a free system, they go elsewhere.=20
> >=20
> > I have no intention of arguing these points once again. This business m=
odel works well for us and our clients and my son is carrying the business =
to new technological heights, with great success.=20
> >=20
> > I wish you well in your business...
>=20
> If I may ..... let me give you another tidbit of possible things to come.=
 And I have to say that in all my planning of how this business was going t=
o pan out for me, the one thing I overlooked was after being in business fo=
r so long that the original clients would begin dropping off at a rate comm=
ensurate with the period of time over which they were signed up.=20
>=20
> That is .... back in the beginning, I was signing up customers at a prett=
y fast rate. They were all pretty much new business and home owners. Now ..=
.. that they've aged .... 20, 30,40 years, they're beginning to retire (no =
money), and/or  move away or die. Somehow, I just never planned for that. A=
nd, of course now ..... and over the last number of years, add to that the =
fact that I've ramped down on the amount of work that I do,(not many 12/16 =
hour days) my rate of attrition has increased. Although I could opt out at =
my whim, I continue to stay involved with all the new technology ..... beca=
use it's fun .... my account base is going to be less than what I had estim=
ated it was going to be when I finally decide to opt out.=20
>=20
> HOWEVER .....I'm willing to make the trade-off though because the size of=
 a number of the installations I do every year are falling into the $10 - $=
20,000,00 range and cover the gamut of technologies. It's really satisfying=
 to start at the Cable and Internet hookup and do a completely connected ho=
me from expanded whole house WiFi network to whole house audio, to TV's, ho=
me theater, CCTV, Alarm system, with remote viewing and notification, autom=
ated lighting, remote door bell viewing, remote garage door control .... It=
' just goes on and on and I'm lovin every minute of it.=20
>=20
> I'm finding that there's not too many people out there in my vintage that=
 can keep up with the technology so I'm fortunate in that regard. Additiona=
lly it's obvious that there's not too many people out there who really like=
 what they do and can make good money at it too. Never planned on that eith=
er.
>=20
> Anyway, just fair warning about the attrition thing ..... Don't know what=
 you can do about it but knowing that it's there might help. Obviously, I'v=
e downsized through the years so this "effect" is not going to be a problem=
 for a company that keeps growing.

We are not finding an increasing attrition rate within our base beyond the =
normal level when people move, but we are finding a growing interest and ne=
ed for the higher tech solutions. And these generally lead to other tech op=
tions clients are requesting from us which mean we end up being far more in=
volved in their overall telecommunications and security solutions than we w=
ere previously with just their alarm. This in itself makes our services mor=
e valuable to the client and further cements our relationship with them.

I too find a lot of the older and smaller alarm dealers falling behind in t=
echnology and as a result, losing a substantial part of their current base.=
 My son often has to help them with tech solutions to prevent them from los=
ing the client (a lot of smaller dealers help each other here, which I am t=
old is somewhat unique in the industry). They simply don't understand the n=
ew technology AND worse, have no interest in learning new things.The really=
 sad part of this is it takes them out of the pool of available companies w=
ho can bid on high tech jobs, and opens up the door to higher priced, large=
r companies such as ADT and the like who have the knowledge and resources t=
o do the necessary work (albeit with the same large company limitations on =
service quality and high pricing). Or it leaves the customer having to go t=
o several suppliers, who don't seem to be able to work in close unison with=
 each other, so the customer ends up more or less acting as a general contr=
actor to try to get things done properly (and you know how that ends up....=
). At this point, our one source solution becomes even more attractive to t=
he client.=20

This is no different than in any industry though. The business world is alw=
ays changing and it is up to companies to adapt or die. Far more of our wor=
k is comprised of customized solutions for each client. Our older base of c=
lients are usually static, at least until they literally die off, but the y=
ounger crowd are always moving from home to home, generating more work, but=
 of a quite different nature.=20

I am largely retired now other than doing the office functions. But I do se=
e the quotes and correspondence between my son, our technicians and the cus=
tomers. Some of what they discuss I hate to admit I don't understand at all=
. So I personally am in the same boat as some of these smaller companies, b=
ut was lucky enough to have a fully trained and excellent management person=
 in my son to take over.=20

I don't know your age, but I am 71 and still healthy, and plan to take far =
more time to tour on my Gold Wing motorcycle while I still have the faculti=
es to do so. Remember, life after 70 is a crap shoot. No one ever went to t=
heir grave saying they should have worked longer and harder.=20

I hope you find your "balance" and truly wish you well for the future...