Honeywell Connect Addresses DIY, Connected Home at Annual Conference
Honeywell Connect annual conference outlines strategies for selling to Millennials and DIYers, as well as management tactics and the debut of the Lyric platform.
The Honeywell Connect conference in Scottsdale, Ariz., was hosted by Marek Robinson, president of the Honeywell Authorized Dealer Group. About 1,000 attendees participated in 60 educational sessions over three days.
Targeting DIY, Millennials
In a high-energy keynote, author Jason Dorsey explained the best way for integrator to reach Millennials, that mega-generation born between 1982 and 2000 with more than 80 million people moving into their prime spending years.
“Millennials have the greatest lifetime value a security company can get. We also have no brand loyalty and are the most diverse generation ever,” said Dorsey. On a positive note for independent dealers, Millennials prefer to “buy local” vs. purchase anything from a national chain because local “is more core to our beliefs,” he noted. Dorsey cautioned integrators that a “high-tech” sales technique will not work with Millennials, who have been mistakenly labeled as “tech savvy” but are in reality “tech dependent.”
“Millennials don’t know how technology works. They don’t care. They just want it to work. It’s all about how simple you can make it,” he advised. Dorsey also admonished security dealers for having poor websites and limited exposure on social media.
In one of the most compelling breakout sessions, John Campau of Comtronics in Michigan outlined for attendees his newly launched DIY security solution, using all Honeywell products to combat the growing DIY trend facing the industry.
Campau outlined the sales process, commission structure, monitoring structure and optional installation and upgrades for his program, which is based on the Honeywell Lynx 5200 control panel. He also showed off the various marketing materials he has created for the program. Comtronics is selling a basic DIY system for $199 with monitoring at $44.95/month with a 24-month agreement. He also offers an MIY (Monitoring It Yourself) option that has a higher price point. So far, the company is selling about 30 to 40 DIY systems per month. That is compared to five times that number on the traditional security side with professional installation.
Campau says it has not cannibalized his existing business at all.
“These are 100% customers that we would not have gotten,” he notes.
More details on the Comtronics program w
ill appear on SecuritySales.com in the future.
Management Sessions Offer Sage Advice
Among the 60 educational seminars at the event were several related to improving management and operational tactics. Tracy Larson of WeSuite LLC instructed a course on how to create winning sales proposals. Her keen advice included:
- It is OK to say “No” for some jobs, especially in a case where you are responding to a bid on a commercial project. Many times, she says, the winner of the bid has already been “pre-determined” based on relationships. So the other bid submitters are wasting a lot of time preparing a bid that is probably just going to be used to steal ideas from for the winning bidder.
- Make your Scope of Work concise and well written. A poorly written scope of work will likely cause you to lose profit on the job and ultimately hurt your reputation.
- Create a large drawing of the project, then place that drawing on the wall during your presentation. The clients will have a consistent reminder of the work you put into the project, even after your sales pitch is concluded.
- Always ask clients, “What have I missed?” at the conclusion of your sales pitch.
- Be the last presenter. Although Larson admits there are some advantages to presenting first also, she likes to make the final sales presentation. “You are not only more memorable, but the client will likely have questions that have arisen from the previous presentations that you can answer. Also, you usually have the most time to present if you are last,” she says.
In another session, Rochelle Carrington of Sandler Training spoke to the “5 Deadly Sins of Management.” Among them, are:
- Not having a “system” for selling
- Poor hiring
- No ongoing skills assessments being made
- Managing results vs. behavior
- No providing coaching, mentoring or training
Look for more in-depth details on these management sessions on SecuritySales.com.
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About the Author
Jason Knott
Jason Knott is Chief Content Officer for Emerald Expositions Connected Brands. Jason has covered low-voltage electronics as an editor since 1990, serving as editor and publisher of Security Sales & Integration. He joined CE Pro in 2000 and serves as Editor-in-Chief of that brand. He served as chairman of the Security Industry Association’s Education Committee from 2000-2004 and sat on the board of that association from 1998-2002. He is also a former board member of the Alarm Industry Research and Educational Foundation. He has been a member of the CEDIA Business Working Group since 2010. Jason graduated from the University of Southern California. Have a suggestion or a topic you want to read more about? Email Jason at [email protected]
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