Cooking shows make preparing delicious meals look easy. “Simply add a dash of this and sprinkle a little of that. Then use this unique tool that was perfectly designed for this task and give it a little flip of the wrist and voila! Your creation looks like it belongs on the cover of Southern living magazine.” Reality, we all know, can be much different. For residential security integrators, working with builders can sometimes feel the same way – it looks easy to get sales volume without much effort, yet in practice, it is a challenge to even get the builder representative to call you back, let alone create a program that works.

The opportunity is obvious – while the security industry has its traditional 20-25 percent penetration rate, security integrators who have found a successful partnership with builders talk of take rates as high as 40 percent. Following the right recipe will yield results as high as 70 percent, with an opportunity to increase that percentage over time, but like any complex kitchen dish, the wrong ingredient at the wrong time could taint the entire dish.

Leveraging the following best practices can help demystify the creation of a successful builder program, and uncover the secret recipe to working with builders. Continue reading→

…It’s fascinating to watch the security industry hitting its stride with some great new products that, at times, rival the likes of Control4, Savant, and others. Clearly, these solutions all have their place and their installation should be driven by understanding client needs, but it’s nice to have a solution in the toolbox that could allow a fully installed home automation platform (including cellular connectivity) in the home for less than $500 all in. Don’t even get me started on the recurring monthly revenue (RMR) upside.  Read Full Article.