The August 2009 issue of
SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION features the first-ever Operations & Opportunities Report (OOR). The report asks executives, managers and others from across the nation and representative of all sizes of companies a host of questions targeting not only the best ways to boost profits and reduce expenses, but also the implications of implementation. In addition, respondents -- nearly 350 of them -- were asked to identify the most promising new technologies and service offerings, as well as the most viable vertical markets. Several financial and operational questions were also included. The bulk of the data and findings can be seen
here.
However, this research included scores of open-ended responses -- far more than could be covered in the main article. That’s why I have pored through the material to share with you the results that follow. I hope you find them as fascinating and helpful as I do. I am really excited about the information generated by this study and look forward to continuing it in upcoming years to discern trends and emerging ideas.
When respondents were asked, “If you had to identify a primary way to REDUCE COSTS in your business, what would it be?” some of the filled-in “Other” answers were:
-
Holding off hiring the next employee until the backlog is greater than our norm (two weeks)
-
Implement remote software support for clients rather than dispatching a live body
-
Less travel, more teleconferencing
-
Move from hourly wage to a production-based point system
-
Use more paperless methods to keep field personnel in the field and not wasting time running back to the office for paperwork
-
Reduce cell phone usage and Internet connectivity
-
Quit pulling so many “spare for future use conductors.” I shudder to think of how many miles of “just in case” wire I have given away over the past 33 years. The proper placement of zone expanders, baluns and addressable devices and one spare 4C fire wire or Cat-5 will ”future-proof” most new installations.
-
Making sure the time spent on bidding jobs matches our profile so we do not waste time
-
Hold off on services expansion in our central station
-
Evaluation: It is imperative to evaluate all of the types of jobs you are selling and installing. It is then necessary to make decisions about what is profitable and worth doing in the future.
-
Create a lead generation and follow-through process with a matrix of decisions to bid or not bid (business value, now and future, benefits?)
-
Closing satellite offices
-
Reducing the downtime on jobs due to the lack of parts or wrong parts, based upon administrative and supplier errors
When respondents were asked, “If you had to identify a primary way to INCREASE PROFITS in your business, what would it be?” some of the filled-in “Other” answers were:
-
Identify nature of repair calls and who is liable. Enforce labor/service charges on accounts that have no maintenance agreements.
-
It costs far less to sell to an existing customer than to mine a new one. We are also very diverse in our systems offering, which allows us the flexibility of being competitive on something like security but holding higher margins on access control.
-
Providing service agreements to existing client base to keep them up to date with technology and maintain their satisfaction and comfort with their security system
-
Raise pricing. If other companies were a little more competent and sold what is actually needed, then we would not have to discount price. We will not discount product or workmanship.
-
Sell systems that customers actually want with upward mobility to provide future sales
-
Selling systems that our competition hasn’t thought of yet -- get the lead position
-
Utilizing point-of-sale/credit card transactions as a secondary means of profitability
-
Identify types of installations/repairs that are costly in time/travel and charge more for them
-
Increase sales force size -- this is and always has been a numbers game!
-
More contact with architects and engineers
-
Send out monthly newsletter to your existing clients to keep in touch with them
-
Target additional agencies that could benefit from our services
When respondents were asked, “In what ways are security contractors leaving ‘money on the table?’” some of the filled-in “Other” answers were:
-
By not carrying the cost of cable/wiring, and instead of relying on their installers to provide that information
-
Not negotiating with suppliers for quantity discounts or rebates
-
Not cooperating with electricians in using solar power for remote installations
-
The inability to sell multiple locations
-
Not negotiating better monitoring costs from their monitoring center
-
Not being strategic and adopting a consultative approach to selling solutions
-
Making the mistake of thinking they have to lower their price to get the sale
-
Not promoting price reductions in return for multiple job commitments
-
And, my personal favorite answer: I prefer not to answer because I am after the money that is left on the table!
So there you have it. There was another question on the survey in which respondents were asked if they were better off financially five years ago than they are today. Pre
Other Security Blog Posts
Enterprising Solutions | May 2, 2012
While it’s true that modern cameras can often get you good images under lousy conditions, improving conditions usually improves the image quality dramatically. In that spirit, here are a few camera placement tips that we frequently see overlooked.
Central Station Corner | April 26, 2012
As security professionals, we strive to provide the best possible electronic security solutions for our clients that will meet their unique lifestyles or logistics of their business. This element should always remain to be our focus as we survey a potential or existing customer’s premise.
Value-Added Security | April 25, 2012
In this blog, Paul Boucherle discusses what integrators must do to design the best solutions for end users.
Under Surveillance | April 19, 2012
Are you currently mentoring your employees? SSI Managing Editor Rodney Bosch offers some insight on why mentoring your workers is essential to improving your business.
Laying Down the Law | April 16, 2012
Ken Kirschenbaum advises readers on how to address changes in contracts after modifying the company's name..
Author Bios
Scott joined SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in October 1998 and has distinguished himself by producing award-winning, exemplary work. A Western Publisher Association's Maggie Award winner, his editorial achievements have included blockbuster articles featuring major industry executives. Since graduating in 1986 with honors from California State University, Northridge with a degree in Radio-Television- Film, his professional endeavors have encompassed magazines, radio, TV, film and more.
Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com.