How COVID-19 Has Changed Selling and Installing Security
The security sales process now includes virtual meetings while installations require PPE. Two integrators share their perspectives.
Security is one of the few industries that can be considered recession resistant. In fact, we are now seeing a lot of home improvement projects because people are spending more time at home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Now we’re seeing the customer wanting more security and saying ‘Hey, we’re eating here a lot more, we’re staying in a lot more. We want to reactivate the alarm that we really weren’t using. We want to add carbon monoxide, we want to add smoke detection,’” says Patrick Egan, Select Security CEO.
When it comes to selling and installing those solutions, integrators must now enter homes in full PPE and be cognizant of who and what they come into contact with during installations.
Of course, before they can even do that, they need to go through the sales process which has completely changed for many — though not necessarily for the worse.
“What we really found is it actually allows us to teach the customer starting on the sales process quite a bit better because they have to take an active role with what we’re selling them or what we’re discussing with them,” says LOUD Security General Manager Eric Widner. “So we’ve actually got a much more educated customer and a much more involved customer right from the beginning. At that respect, then we’ve got to still get to that point where we can earn a trip into the house because it’s risky with everybody, whether they want somebody there or don’t want somebody there and we have to prove to them that we’ll come in safely.”
Now is the perfect time to get creative. Try starting a customer call with a virtual conference and let the customer show you around their home from their phone. Then you can let them know exactly what they need, what you offer and how you can safely install the solutions. It’s important to remember we’re all in this together. There’s no handbook on how to sell a security system during a pandemic … yet.
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About the Author
Steve Karantzoulidis, Web/Senior Editor
Steven A. Karantzoulidis is the Web Editor for Security Sales & Integration. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst with a degree in Communication and has a background in Film, A/V and Social Media.
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