Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/31490
12 GUEST COMMENTARY www.securitysystemsnews.com JANUARY 2011 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS Tim Purpura, PUBLISHER tpurpura@securitysystemsnews.com Brook Taliaferro, EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Martha Entwistle, EDITOR D Door-knocking 101 uring a panel discussion about door-to-door sales, which I moder- ated at the ESX show in Pittsburgh last June, there was a lot of lively discussion. The panel consisted of a couple executives from two Utah-based summer-model companies, an ADT dealer who does door-to- door sales, and a representative from Vector Security, a com- pany that buys accounts from door-to-door summer model companies. The far-ranging discussion industry, and that a crackdown by the com- panies themselves on illegal and unethical behavior was absolutely essential. There are some indications that the door-knocking companies are taking this problem seriously, and predictions that there will be fewer problems along these lines in 2010. In March 2010 at ISC West, covered the usual topics: the incredible success of the model in generat- ing large numbers of accounts; and, the need to ensure all sales people are well-trained, licensed and supervised. There was talk about the well-publicized problems of rogue sales people telling lies and worse to sell a home security system. And there was general agreement that this situation is bad for the residential security Martha Entwistle ESA rolled out its new Door Knocking Code of Ethics, which was signed by a number of companies. In addition, sum- mer-model companies have implemented more and varied compliance measures on their own in 2010. And, because more of those companies are holding their accounts in house rather than selling them off, the summer-model companies have even more reason to ensure that they generate good accounts that will last. Back to the ESX panel discussion. It was clear from audience comments (and many off-the-record comments I’ve heard over the years) that many alarm company executives don’t like the fact that an out-of-towner is going to knock on doors in their town. I understand why they don’t like it. They’ve worked hard to build good, locally based businesses. But, while it would be nice to have a lifelong monopoly on all your customers, and all the potential customers in your geographic region, we know that’s not how business works. During the ESX discussion, Patrick Egan of Select Security got up and suggested to the audience that maybe there’s something to learn from these guys. Check out the front page story about Egan’s experiment with summer sales. Maybe there’s something you can learn from Egan’s experiment that you can apply to your business. Maybe you will just learn that door-knocking is definitely not for you. Either way, it’s clear that the summer-model works very well for some, and it’s not going away anytime soon. Most read stories on www.securitysystemsnews.com, January 1, 2010 - Dec . 11, 2010 • ADT splits in two • GTCR to buy Pro One: Covert & Whall back in business • POTS sunset on horizon • Tyco acquires Broadview/Brinks for $2 billion • Question and answer on UTC’s GE Security buy 800-354-3863 Account & Business Acquisitions • Steve Brody of Standard Security Systems • Spencer McDonald of P.A.C. Systems, Inc. • Kelly Gill of Abbott Security & Fire • Curtis Thresher of Alpha Burglar & Fire Alarm Systems SSN News Publishers of specialized business publications PRESIDENT & CEO J. G. Taliaferro, Jr. VICE PRESIDENT Rick Rector For quality article reprints of 250 copies or more, call PARS International Corp. at 212-221-9595 or email reprints@parsintl.com. Download the SSN News app now at: http://linktoapp.com/ssn+news • How does ADT/Broadview deal affect market as a whole? • Equity firm buys Tri-Ed/Northern video • For sale: Protection One • Sex, fraud, and alarm accounts • FCC’s National Broadband Plan: POTS ‘not sustainable’ mentwistle@securitysystemsnews.com Daniel Gelinas, MANAGING EDITOR dgelinas@securitysystemsnews.com Tess Nacelewicz, ASSOCIATE EDITOR tnacelewicz@securitysystemsnews.com Peter Macijauskas, E-MEDIA MANAGER pmacijauskas@unitedpublications.com SEND PRESS RELEASES TO: EDITORIAL OFFICE editor@securitysystemsnews.com Tel: 207.846.0600 Fax: 207.846.0657 ADVERTISING OFFICE Security Systems News 106 Lafayette St., PO Box 998 Yarmouth, ME 04096 Tel: 207.846.0600 Fax: 207.846.0657 EAST Tim Purpura, PUBLISHER Tel: 207.846.0600, ext. 217 Fax: 207.846.0657 tpurpura@securitysystemsnews.com WEST Gregg Shapiro, ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Tel: 207.846.0600, ext. 273 Fax: 207.846.0657 gshapiro@securitysystemsnews.com MARKETPLACE & LIST RENTALS Cath Daggett Tel: 207.846.0600, ext. 300 Fax: 207.846.0657 cdaggett@securitysystemsnews.com Glen Halliday, CREATIVE/PRODUCTION DIRECTOR Brenda Boothby, CIRCULATION DIRECTOR EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD Bill Bozeman, CEO/President PSA Security Network Daniel G. 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