Page 46 - Security Today, November 2017

PROFESSIONAL MONITORING
stablished security integrators often deal with prospects who are also considering solutions that let them eliminate live mon- itoring and keep an eye on their
homes via smartphone. They see it as not only saving money and avoiding a monthly contract, but also as a way to keep control of the system in their hands without having to deal with a third party.
This creates a special opportunity for salespeople. They can emphasize the im- portance of choosing live, around-the-clock monitoring as an essential part of a compre- hensive home security system.
SELF-MONITORING ISN’T
AS EASY AS IT SEEMS
They can start by pointing out the disadvan- tages of a “monitor-it-yourself” (MIY) solu- tion. To a customer, the concept is simple: When there’s an alarm, they’re alerted via smartphone and can contact authorities from wherever they are. If they’ve got video cameras, they might even try to verify what’s going on. They see themselves as being in control of the situation.
It sounds easy and inexpensive, but there are some serious flaws in the MIY model. At the very least, alarm response through MIY will be slower than professionally monitored systems. At worst, MIY users won’t be able to get help at all.
Here are some valuable points that sales- people can make to emphasize the advantag- es of live monitoring over an MIY solution.
911 EFFECTIVENESS DEPENDS ON LOCATION
Most people expect instant assistance when they dial 911. Even children know that when there’s trouble, it’s the first thing you do. But with home security, it’s not that simple – es- pecially when you’re away from home.
The best way to communicate this to a prospect is through an analogy. Let’s say they live in Dallas, but they’re on vacation in San Diego. With MIY, they get an alarm notification and use their smartphone to
see that there’s an intruder. The next step is to dial 911.
Here’s the problem: If they dial 911 in San Diego, they’re not going to get authori- ties who are near their home. Instead, they’ll be connected with law enforcement closest to their location, since a cellphone automatically sends its signal to the nearest cell tower. When their home in Dallas is being burglarized, 911 in San Diego isn’t going to be much help.
This can even be true within the same metropolitan area, since major cities and suburbs can be far apart. If you’re too far away, you’ll get 911 for the area you’re in at the time. The prospect should understand that while they’re frantically searching for
the number for law enforcement near their home, precious minutes of response time are slipping away.
SMARTPHONE COVERAGE CAN BE AN ISSUE
Just because they’ve got a smartphone doesn’t mean they’re protected. Remind them that they won’t always have access or coverage. Using the previous example, in the time it takes to fly from Dallas to San Diego, the smartphone is likely to be in airplane mode. They won’t see any alarm notification until they land, which could be hours after the actual alarm.
There are other situations where it’s just
By Robert Ogle
MAKING THE CASE
Creating a special opportunity for salespeople
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