How Security-Net Leverages Collective Mindshare & Resources to Realize Greater Success
SSI spoke with a half-dozen of Security-Net’s members to find out how their unity is helping them navigate challenges such as the pandemic and supply chain ordeals and propelling them toward new opportunities and success.
Let’s talk more in-depth about Security-Net, which has already been mentioned several times. What does it mean to your company and how does it help you realize success?
Jarrett: I know that if I’ve got a project in any one of these guys’ backyards, it’s going to get done and it’s going to get done at the same level of quality that my people would do it. If we stub our toe or one of our partners stubs our toe, it could cost us a lot of money. We’re not after 1,000 customers, we want to have 100 customers and have great partnerships with them. Security-Net gives us the ability to go and knock out a lot of those jobs with great trust behind it.
We meet very regularly, look each other in the eye and have conversations about how to help each other out. If something pops up I know I can pick up the phone and have a conversation with somebody I understand and who understands me. Where if I’m subcontracting it to another company and I don’t have a relationship with that owner it could be a completely different outcome. My biggest value from Security-Net is those relationships and deep trust knowing everybody is treating Netronix’s customers the same as they would their own. 
Stephenson: I came on board with Security-Net in 2020 and it’s been an amazing experience. The ability to sit in a room of business leaders and owners who are running highly successful regional companies and to share ideas openly because we’re not competing and all in the same business is invaluable. They can tell me how they’re doing their fulfillment or increasing recurring revenue through either monitoring or hosted systems and development. We share those ideas freely; nobody holds back because there is a trust factor. It’s like a family. That’s my favorite part of Security-Net.
Our combined purchasing power and all the things that go along with that give us a louder voice. We have a lot of influence over manufacturers and the directions they’re taking, and if there’s problems with products or things like that and delivery, they tend to listen when Security-Net talks. Also, we have meetings regularly with the Security Industry Association. They give us updates on legislation and what’s going on, and as a collective I believe we are able to have considerably more influence in the industry at large.
Hogan: D/A Central has been part of Security-Net for about 25 years, but I have only been a member for about nine. I came from outside the industry and these peers and these relationships have given me an incredible education on the industry. We share best practices and what’s happening with the best of the best within the industry.
We’ve done business the last couple years in over 30 states and three continents. We couldn’t be doing that without Security-Net. Through this alliance, the top vendors and distributors communicate with us and keep us up to speed. As a Michigan-based integrator, I can have a much larger footprint and Security-Net really helps us.
Sweeney: There’s all kinds of business groups you can join. But our industry is so unique and has such a unique set of challenges, it’s been paramount to have a group of kindred spirits where we can talk about all our very similar challenges and wins, as well as to make our businesses better.
Some specifics have been negotiating and talking with different manufacturers. Being part of Security-Net has given us a different audience with certain manufacturers, potentially in conversations with folks we may not have been able to access without the Security-Net connection. The organization is also crucial in allowing us to deliver for our customers that have a national footprint. It gives us the ability to compete with organizations we may not have been able to in the past.
Our technical staff sometimes feels on an island as it relates to being experts on everything we do for our customers. Having another friendly set of technical resources that aren’t associated with manufacturers has been a powerful safety net. On the rare occasion that we get into a position where we need to basically phone a friend, it’s nice to have many you can rely on.
Krumme: Security-Net allows our company to be bigger than it is from the relationships and resources. Last year, we were doing business in Asia. Craig Jarrett has an office in Great Britain. His manager there gave us a contracting company they had worked with in China that we ultimately hired to do work for us for a national account. This year because of the guys at Netronix, we will do business in Johannesburg, South Africa, with another company with which they are familiar. That’s the power of Security-Net.
Roy Stephenson drove four hours last summer to meet me at a customer site. He was pretty new to the organization and didn’t yet know me very well. We could visit a customer site in Utah that my company had pioneered. Although we haven’t yet gotten much from that customer, the good news is it’s being budgeted and that customer will grow for both of us. That’s the power of Security-Net.
Komisar: It is the best organization I’ve ever joined professionally, period, end of story. I’ve been in Security-Net for 12 years. I was the young kid when I joined and now I’m one of the older guys. The value this group has brought to me and my organization is unparalleled. The camaraderie is vital, but there’s much more to it.
Within Security-Net, we built four pillars: industry influence, best practices, enterprise account fulfillment and innovation & technology. Those are all very important. We have changed over the past several years, and in just the past few months brought in five new Security-Net partners. We’re constantly evolving.
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About the Author
Scott Goldfine
Scott Goldfine is the marketing director for Elite Interactive Solutions. He is the former editor-in-chief and associate publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He can be reached at [email protected].
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