Central Station Dealer Programs Want You, If…

Third-party monitoring providers that operate dealer networks oftentimes put prospective organizations through their paces to identify creditable members. Find out if your business needs and goals align with some of the leading central stations.

Jim Boots, chief revenue officer of Tulsa, Okla.-based Central Security Group (CSG), offers another analogy to describe members of the firm’s dealer program: they are like fingerprints. “They may have some similarities but no two are alike. The one thing they all do have in common is that they are very important to the success and growth of our business,” he says.

In more than three decades of working with dealers, Boots says CSG has learned that after the basics of the business there are three qualities that exist among the most successful dealer partners. Hence, these are the qualities they look for when discussing the program with a prospective dealer.

No. 1, the most prominent quality in all of CSG’s top producers is they have a vision for where their business will be in the next 2-5 years and a systematic plan to get them there. Hope is not a strategy. Dealers that have a solid business model and patiently follow it accomplish their goals more often than not.

Secondly, dealers that have the ability to retain their sales talent over a long period of time are consistently successful. “Those that accomplish this have a good sales onboarding and training program so their reps start fast, continuously grow and are much more resistant to being recruited away by a competitor,” Boots says. “The team with the best talent usually wins so this should be a focal point of every dealer.”

The third attribute is focus. The security business requires a heightened sense of urgency and a level of intensity and activity that can be difficult to maintain. Dealers that have mastered the art of daily implementation and focus on urgency, intensity and activity, Boots explains, “are the companies that really produce the type of steady growth you are looking for as a business owner.”

Vector Security of Warrendale, Pa., operates a regional authorized dealer program that is currently in 17 states located east of the Mississippi serving in excess of 100,000 dealer-generated residential customers. Members of the network are afforded competitive multiples, industry award-winning monitoring, an extensive customer warranty plan, plus brand recognition in its markets. The importance of a dealer’s cash flow is recognized by the company as well through its quick pay program, says John Madden, vice present of Vector Security’s dealer group.

The network comprises about 50 dealers, 50% of which have been with Vector Security for more than five years. It’s an indication the company wants to attract dealers that are willing to commit to a long-standing relationship.

“We feel that it is very important to offer full transparency about our objectives, rules and guidelines during the due diligence process,” Madden says. “We realize the importance of aligning ourselves with companies that pride themselves in quality, integrity and genuine customer care.”

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About the Author

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Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.

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