The Big Idea with Ron Davis
July, 2008

Following Up on Success

Wilson has been in the industry for years — probably more than his age would indicate! His company monitors more than 850,000 accounts and is one of the top three largest wholesale central stations in the world. Tony is young, bright and a real pro in the industry.

His idea addresses the larger issue of treating your customer well, pampering them, and making them so comfortable with your relationship that they will never think of going anywhere else for service.

A few months ago, I had a home automation and TV system put into my home. A local company in the Chicago area, Metronet Safe and Sound, did the installation. I had known the owner, Jack Schultz, for decades. In fact, when Schultz and his wife, Gillian, sold their security business, my company handled the transaction. But when it came to putting the shoe on the other foot (when I became the customer), he treated me just like all of the other customers. It was as if I was the most important person in the world!

Now what does that mean to you, the alarm dealer with hundreds, maybe thousands, of accounts? It means you are treasuring the most important element of your business: your customers.

We recently had some guests over to the house and they were impressed with the home automation system. They were local, and they were asking who did the installation. Of course, I told them of Metronet and one of the guests asked how the follow-through and service had been. As it turns out, the process took a little more handling in the beginning because of my inexperience with the product, and I was grateful to the company. Soon after the technician called and told me of another element that could be implemented into the system without additional cost. Now that’s what I mean about service!

Review Customer Activity

Now think about what reviewing your activity reports from the central station can mean to you. You will know when customers drop out and you will know when new customers are added. You will know when there’s been an alarm and whether it was handled. Every contact you make with an existing customer is an opportunity to get referrals for future customers.

Great ideas like Wilson’s don’t just happen; they are created by consummate experts. And when a guy like Tony Wilson tells you to review your activities report, it’s an idea worth pursuing. He should know; after all, he monitors more than 850,000 accounts for in excess of 4,500 dealers. Not bad for a youngster!

Ron Davis is Security Sales & Integration‘s “What’s the Big Idea?” columnist and contributing market analyst. He is president of Davis Group, a full-service consulting firm serving the security industry, which also includes GraybeardsRus. He has 35 years of industry experience, including founding Security Associates Int’l in the 1980s.