How to Use the Upsell to Swell Sales
Experts in access control, video surveillance and intrusion share upsell strategies to make sure your legacy customers stay happy and put.
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For dealers and integrators providing intrusion detection solutions, Amy Strickland, marketing manager, ELK Products, offers this advice on how to effectively upsell existing customer: “Ongoing communication after the initial sale/installation should be a key component to growing sales through existing customers. It’s important to establish your company as a trusted resource and this can be achieved through email and social media campaigns that provide valuable information, tips and advice.
“These tools also allow installers to gain valuable insight into a customer’s interests and desires, providing opportunities to offer tailored solutions that fill a real need. Installers need to understand the DIY offerings within the market and offer compelling information that emphasizes why a professional solution is better,” Strickland continues.
Brad LaRock, vice president of marketing, Alula, recommends that dealers and integrators broaden their notions of intrusion detection.
“Technology is moving at a rapid pace and likely wasn’t available when you originally installed the system, so now is a good chance to reconnect with those customers and share your expertise,” LaRock says. “They are going to need it, and you can provide the personal care and service lacking from DIY solutions from Amazon and Google, because most customers want a pro on their side when it comes to navigating new technologies. The best way to sell the benefits and your expertise is to gently walk them through a demonstration of what the new technology can do for them.”
One of the best ways to do this? Use yourself as an example. “Bring up your own system on your phone and explain how it enables you to remotely monitor and secure your home or business. A personal security system from a security pro is going to be one of your best testimonials. Share the view from your own doorbell camera, walk them through the clips you have saved, show them how you can use two-way audio to answer the door. They will quickly see how much more visibility and control you have over your house, and they will want that for themselves,” adds LaRock.
Melody Parham, director of sales, U.S. and Canada, Telguard, recommends that dealers and integrators looking to upsell intrusion customers consider any monitored accounts still relying on POTS for alarm transmission as low-hanging fruit. The transition from traditional POTS to cellular, particularly in the commercial space is an opportunity for any integrator to update an account to more reliable technology, she believes, while adding recurring revenue to their business and providing an excellent ROI for their customer.
“Cellular radios are a more advanced reliable solution for alarm transmission than the POTS,” she points out. “Transitioning allows a win-win situation for the integrator and end user. Cellular solutions are more cost-effective for the end user while at the same time providing an additional source of recurring revenue to the integrator.”
Doing technology updates with customers can also provide a viable upselling opportunity, says Jack Conard, director of sales training, DMP. “Teach them what’s new and how it can make their lives better. People want more free time and less stress, so when you do tech updating, find out what their hot buttons are, from a feature and benefit standpoint, to specify what makes sense to them. Show how new technology integrates with their system and how it can make their life easier.”
Bandwidth Key to Integration
For dealers and integrators looking to upsell integrated security systems solutions, Frank (Skip) Haight, vice president of marketing, ComNet, advises that bandwidth is the way to go. “Specifying a Gigabit or even 10-Gig network backbone is incredibly important now,” he says. “With more and more IP devices going on the network, megapixel cameras, access, intrusion, and so much more, bandwidth is going to be the critical bottleneck. Recommending all Gigabit media converters and switches will go a long way in avoiding network capability issues in the future.
From the perspective of a transmission product manufacturer, he says, finding a vendor that offers a full suite of transmission products that can solve all the challenges you may be facing.
In addition, as more and more security hardware become PoE, being able to design and implement a PoE system can save a lot of money for the end user and give the smart integrator an advantage in securing the project by reducing needed equipment and the labor to install it. To best leverage the latest technologies and offerings to upsell, Haight recommends staying on top of the standards.
As each of our participants attest, upselling opportunities abound for dealers and integrators who don’t overlook their legacy customers when searching out new business and revenue streams. Sometimes, the best way to plan ahead is to take a thorough look back and determine which upselling tactics will be most effective and profitable for customers you already know and do business with.
MedixSafe KARE cabinet
SIDEBAR: An Access Control Add-On That Shouldn’t Be Overlooked
Many integrators are missing out on a significant sales and upselling opportunity. Key control has not been adequately considered by electronic integrators because it was not a real opportunity until now. But that has changed.
MedixSafe has brought to market key control cabinets that connect directly to any customer’s existing access control panel. These KARE (Key Access Ready Enclosure) cabinets are translating into new and viable upselling opportunities for integrators.
No access system is truly complete until you control the keys. An access control system can easily be compromised if the keys to doors and stored assets are not secured. KARE cabinets improve a customer’s existing access control.
KARE gives the user control over their keys by limiting access to authorized users only. It also provides an audit trail with the customer’s existing software. KARE is available in three different technologies — HID, Multi-Class and Bluetooth format card readers for mobile access. A key override is built into the electronic lock. The KARE reader provides a Wiegand output.
KARE is available in multiple sizes, including mini and XL. More than a place to store keys, it gives the user control over their keys by limiting access to authorized users only and knowledge of who has accessed keys and when.
Jim Turner, president and CEO, launched MedixSafe in 2009 when it first began designing and manufacturing narcotics control cabinets for the EMS market. The company’s product lines have grown extensively over the years, along with the demand for them. Memphis, Tenn.-based MedixSafe’s key control solutions are now meeting the key and access control needs of end users across many industry sectors.
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