When you’re playing cards, whether it is a friendly game of gin or high-stakes poker, one of the most important traits a card player must have is foresight. You must be able to look ahead within the game to decide what the best play is right now.

Access control installers must serve this same purpose when dealing with an exploding niche—the commercial office customer. Deciding what type of access control system works best for each client can be difficult, especially when working with a prospective client who has had no experience with access control products, or perhaps worse, a negative experience.

While some corporations still own their own office space, many companies now lease space from large building management companies. This multiple-tenant scenario, which is most often faced by access control installers, can cause major headaches for uninformed or weak-willed building managers looking to properly secure their premises according to their needs as well as their tenants’.

This is where the installing dealer can make all the difference. By asking the right questions immediately and gaining an understanding of the prospective client’s needs, an access control installer can ensure that the system he or she provides is the right one for the user.

PC-based systems, as well as systems that use proximity cards, are currently the main “aces in the hole” for access control installers. They allow all clients monitoring and growth capabilities that were once thought unavailable. And the ability to integrate access control with other systems, such as burglary, CCTV and fire, can make your business look that much stronger to the customer. Another card the best security companies are playing in this access game is training. The leaders in this market can train everyone involved with the system, from administrators down to employees. Many companies even have in-house training facilities suited to this purpose.

What Type of Client Do You Have on Your Hands?

The first step in the door with a commercial office client is almost always the toughest. Often, these clients have had either no experience with an access control system, or they have had a negative experience. While neither scenario is a salesperson’s dream, both do present outstanding opportunities.

Landlord-Tenant Buildings Are Becoming the Norm

Another factor to take into account when preparing to deal with corporate office building clientele is who owns the space. Is it a corporate-owned building housing that corporation’s employees? Or, is it an office space owned by a building management company that leases space to various business tenants?

PC-Based Systems Control the Access Market

The PC has revolutionized so many forms of life, it’s now taken for granted almost everywhere you go. This PC revolution has extended to most access systems now installed in commercial office applications. The advantages of PC-based access control are widespread and many an installing dealer sings the technology’s praises.
PC-based systems can simplify control processes for the client, are easy to train on and are completely expandable to grow with the client’s needs.

Integration Drives Need for Training to New Level

The final cards dealt in the commercial office access control game are usually the idea of integrating the access system with CCTV, burglary, fire and even HVAC systems, and the amount of training that will be necessary for the new system’s administrators and users. Often, these two concepts may go hand in hand. The more integrated the system, the more training it will take to ensure it runs smoothly. And with today’s trend toward integration across the board, that means the need for proper training falls on the installing company.

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