Secrets to Selling More Monitored Security Services
Experts from select wholesale monitoring providers assess the marketplace and lend direction on how security dealers can expand their RMR-generating portfolio.
Video also continues to rank as a strong upselling opportunity for installing security contractors, says Kevin McCarthy, national sales manager for EMERgency 24. “Filtered monitoring is a terrific add-on capability to provide exterior video protection at a reasonable cost,” he says. “It can be sold as a standalone, as well.
To meet this demand, EMERgency24 recently introduced filtered monitoring for exterior video applications at a wholesale cost of $4 a month. The way it works is a motion-triggered exterior camera takes a video clip when it is activated and sends it directly to the system owner who is involved in the decision-making process. From their smartphone, they have the option to call the central station, dismiss or disarm the system.
UCC Senior Vice President Mark Matlock stresses how customer expectations are changing in the security space. It used to be that a home or business owner who bought an alarm system had it monitored at a central station. Now, the customer may want to install and monitor it themselves. This is especially true with Millennials, he says, who have earned a reputation for wanting to handle things themselves.
“All the new technology flooding into the industry is radically changing the marketplace and changing the customer. Educated consumers are pounded with ads and are much more security savvy with the help of the Internet,” Matlock says. “They no longer simply want a traditional alarm system. The marketplace has created a ton of opportunities for alarm dealers, as they can now work in spaces that five to 10 years ago we wouldn’t have dreamed of.”
Take Advantage of Training, Support Services
Dealers and integrators don’t have to go it alone. There is a lot of support available to help them to scale new learning curves and score new upselling opportunities. Rapid Response, for instance, has an in-house software development team in place that continuously works to develop and further improve upon its suite of mobile apps, secure Web portals and proprietary SQL-based software.
“These applications provide extensive account management for dealers and brandable access for their subscribers, which keeps them more sticky,” Hertel explains. “In addition, the team has developed integrations with many industry partners and several alarm industry accounting packages. The focus is always on providing dealers with the tools they need for success. All designs are based on dealer input and collaboration.”
McMullen says there is clear evidence that new connected services help with customer retention and increased RMR. COPS also brings to market its own offering – MPower – for its dealers to package to end users as a white label solution.
“Unfortunately, many of today’s security system apps don’t give customers the most important information about what happened during an alarm event, such as who was called, whether a pas
scode was given, if the authorities were dispatched, and most importantly, if everyone is alright,” McMullen says. “We created our own subscriber access to bridge this gap. MPower smartphone, tablet and computer access is not only private labeled with the company’s brand, the whole user experience is also color-matched for a custom look and feel for each dealer. MPower gives our dealers the ability to provide additional peace of mind by delivering the important information missing from many other security and home control apps.”
Go Boldly Into the Future or Be Left Behind
Matlock spells it out very plainly when he comments that installing security contractors who are not involved in IoT in one way or another are likely not going to be very competitive in the today’s marketplace. The younger crowd of dealers coming into the security space, he says, couldn’t imagine selling a system without an interactive component.
“The more tenured dealers may be a bit resistant to change, they’re struggling, and we’re seeing it in a profound way,” Matlock continues. “Some have worked all their lives to build their companies and now they’re losing accounts because they don’t think they have the ability to install these new technologies.”
To help members of their dealer base remain competitive, wholesale monitoring providers spend copious amounts of time hosting onsite training sessions, Webinars, among other educational efforts, all intended to open dealers’ eyes to new opportunities.
“Sometimes, you don’t see the forest for the trees,” Matlock adds. “You can get locked into a system of doing things a certain way, simply because you’ve always done it that way. Sometimes a second pair of eyes can bring things to light. We work with our dealers to educate them on staying competitive, and it’s had major benefits to their businesses.”
Hertel serves up some additional advice to installing dealers and integrators for closing more sales more often with more overall RMR-generating services. Don’t be afraid to raise the bar and the fees, he emphasizes.
“Many dealers are expanding their services and features and are achieving levels of success greater than ever before. Technology is being embraced on a large scale everywhere. Now is the time to embrace the change and the growth opportunities,” he says. “There are more options and platforms than ever before. I recommend that dealers dedicate the energy and time to make sure that they understand all that is out there. They need to live and breathe it. If you don’t, you will become irrelevant and outdated.
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