Balancing Business Goals With Appropriate Answers

In those rare opportunities when we were in the driver’s seat with a customer, we often took them to the next level. “Best” was the Cadillac with all the bells, whistles, horsepower, chrome and, if the customer wanted, fuzzy dice hanging from the rearview mirror. There wasn’t much this solution couldn’t do and it was very, very profitable. For customers that were “power users,” it made the most sense as they would kick the tires, light the fires and take these systems to the limit. Sadly this was often the exception and not the rule. I often find customers in the “best” category are driving a 500-horsepower solution in a 15 mph school zone.

Lastly, the new category. “Legacy Migration” is what keeps customers awake at night and sales teams scrambling for solutions. If my old system fails what is my contingency plan? With access control, that has serious ramifications, like employees or members not getting in the building, or having no security with unlocked doors. New suppliers offering IP access control solutions fit nicely in this category. Note that systems integrators who react instead of plan ahead often end up delivering just a “Good” solution.

Make Sure Suppliers Best Serve Your Needs

While I certainly respect traditional supplier relationships developed over time that helped you grow your business, you should periodically evaluate new technologies and suppliers’ and customers’ needs to stay on a growth path as a company. Here are some questions you may want to ask yourself:

• Is my current access control supplier investing in R&D and technology trends? At what rate?
• Do they keep us informed of new technology trends, developments and market demand stats?
• Does their training and support help me proactively grow my access control business?
• Is their technology simple to understand for your sales, installation and service teams?
• Are their product solutions giving me a competitive price/performance advantage?
• Most importantly, will my customers be able to effectively use the systems?

These were questions I considered with the aforementioned membership-based organization and their potential project. The process of asking the right questions, listening to the customer, understanding their resources and selecting an appropriate solution that offered “Best” and “Legacy Migration” performance at a “Good” price won the decision – talk about a new relativity.

I learned the customer had a cohesive trustee team that recognized the results they wanted, which include
d the following points:

• Improve their annual process of issuing credentials to dues-paying members.
• Provide the ability to deny access privileges in real-time.
• Improve access credentials reissue and membership management tools
• Improve the ability to quickly grant or deny access based on their membership criteria or extending circumstances.
• Validate access granted with a video record of each entry for audit capabilities without adding a separate video system and its cost.
• Upgrade capabilities and tools, but don’t take it to the bleeding edge of technology (in this case a biometric solution; the operational shock and awe wasn’t age appropriate for their members).

So consider using the G.B.B.L.M. methodology to think through your access control selections for the future. Your customers certainly will.

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