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Alarm Systems: Not Just For The Wealthy Anymore! |
By:
Matthew Francis |
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Over the last 22 years that I have been involved in the security
alarm industry, I have seen quite an evolution. Changes have not
only taken place in what type of equipment is available, but
also in how the consumer buys and use’s the equipment.
When I first started in the business, alarms where used mostly
for commercial applications. Businesses had to have them to
watch over their product while they were closed. Insurance
companies made sure their clients had one installed.
Residential alarm systems were owned mostly by well to do
professionals who could afford such a luxury. As the years
progressed people in or near big cities were getting burglarized
and wanted to send future burglars to the neighbor’s house by
installing a system in their home.
In the nineties large alarm companies speculated that the
potential of the residential market was not being realized.
Homeowners were not willing to layout thousands of dollars to
protect their color televisions and stereos because that would
be like buying them again anyway. Homeowners would rather gamble
on the hope that they would not be victimized anytime soon.
As crime increased almost daily and alarm companies made
purchasing a system affordable, the residential market grew
considerably. Many more homeowners were realizing the peace of
mind they could have by protecting their things while they were
out. Many that didn’t purchase a system were getting burglarized
and would then of course pay for a high cost system without
hesitation, so that they could prevent the inevitable return.
What happened next in my opinion is the biggest change the
industry has undergone. As more homes were being burglarized and
changes in lifestyles allowed people to come home at different
hours of the day, the terrifying prospect of walking in on a
burglary in progress became all too possible. Burglars also
became so desperate and brazen that they started to invade homes
while they were occupied. These types of burglars started to
commit crimes of a much worse nature against the homeowners that
confronted them. In reaction, alarm consultants began to change
their focus: alarm systems should be designed and utilized to
protect people first and property second.
These days most anyone can afford an alarm system. Arm yourself
with the knowledge of how to get the best deal and most
protection for your money. There should be no reason that you
allow yourself to become a statistic if you don’t want to be
one. The hardest thing you may have to overcome is the feeling
that you live in a safe neighborhood. What does a safe
neighborhood look like? Is it possible you may be confusing a
nice neighborhood with a safe one?
Do you need a system? – Very few people that I have met in my
many years of security consulting knew before they were
burglarized that they needed a system. For those that did have
the unfortunate experience of being victimized, I would actually
have to talk them out of buying more than they needed. I took
great pride in my ability to calm down the customers enough to
learn how to properly protect their family and home from future
invasion. This approach always made my clients very appreciative
of my services and would generally result in a long term- user
of our monitoring service and in many referrals.
For those that had not yet been burglarized, I found that the
consultations started with their feeling that security was just
a luxury they were considering as a tool to protect their
things. I then would show them exactly what was going on in
their neighborhoods in the way of burglaries and the
always-unexpected number of sexual predators. This would always
surprise the homeowners, unless they already knew that they had
moved into an area that was not so safe.
Most people believe that the lovely neighborhood they chose to
live in is safe. Think about it. If a burglar is going to break
into a house, don’t they want to steal the most valuables they
can on each invasion? Doesn’t the perpetrator of more violent
crimes want to prey on an unsuspecting victim? Please don’t be
so naive as to confuse your nice neighborhood with a safe one.
Many people in your neighborhood fall into a false sense of
security and don’t even lock the front door while they are home
during the day. How easy is that for someone to enter through?
After showing a potential client how a home security system
would protect their family and themselves from several different
types of crimes as well as assisting them in emergency
situations, the necessity of having a system would become
obvious to them.
If you can afford to install a security system before something
happens to you or your loved ones, or before you have to find
out what it’s like for some creep to rifle through your personal
belongings, do it now! You will get much more out of your system
if it prevents these crimes because you are likely to spend
whatever you have to after the fact.
Does a free security system really exist? – “YES” there are such
things as a free security system on the market these days and
they can even be of the highest quality if you know what to ask
for. The largest security firms own their own monitoring
stations and are looking for the monitoring revenues as their
major source of income. The Corporation will usually run the
commercial side of the security business and use “Authorized
Dealers” to take care of the residential side of the business.
The authorized dealers are independently owned companies that
must meet the standards of the main dealership. Many of these
authorized dealers are big enough residential security companies
to do systems solely for the main corporation. The authorized
dealer will purchase the equipment they like to work with and
install it for you to their quality standards. After the install
is complete the authorized dealer will submit your paperwork and
a request for funding to the main corporation. The main
corporation applies a sliding pay scale to your installation
based on your credit score and your happiness over the install
when they call you for a quality assurance call. The best
install coupled with the good credit rated customers is funded
at the highest dollar amount because the monitoring corporation
knows you’re likely to stay with them for many years. The dealer
makes plenty of money for the install and the corporation goes
to work on keeping you happy so that they can earn your
monitoring business well past the agreement period. They are
also happy to have their warning sign in your yard, as this is
the best kind of advertising.
Because everybody wins when this type of system is offered, the
authorized dealer is willing to give you most or all of the
equipment you need at no cost to you. And I do mean give it to
you because you own the system, it is usually not a lease. You
will have to sign up for a period of monitoring to get these
free systems, but the monitoring is something that you need and
would be paying for even if you already had a system. So the
system really is free.
It is with this type of program that the opportunity to work
with the best performing dealer in a given authorized dealer
program plays to your advantage. The dealers already get a deep
discount on the systems they buy because of the volume of
business the manufacturers get from the main corporation. The
ones that place the most systems will get additional savings on
the higher quality systems and components. This means that if
you search out the best performing authorized dealer in your
area you will have saved hundreds or even thousands of dollars,
if you obtain knowledge of how the security industry works.
I have been going off on the benefits and exciting offerings of
the large promotional dealer programs. In all fairness to the
independent mom and pop companies, I would like you to know
there are some benefits to dealing with them if you have a
quality company in your town.
For some consumers it is much more important to support their
community businesses than saving a buck by dealing with the
large corporations. Although I doubt a small Alarm Company will
be able to give you a free security system and stay in business
very long. I do believe a smart company can make you a great
offer by adjusting in different areas. Some of these benefits
are as follows:
They can offer you a lower monitoring rate and still use the
services of the large UL listed monitoring companies.
They will be more likely to respond rapidly to your future needs
as they are relying on local reputation for future business.
They will monitor your alarm on a month to month basis without a
long term monitoring agreement.
They will be able to support you and your business, as they will
be more likely to spend the money they made in their own
community.
All of the things you need to learn about quality of equipment,
how the device’s work and agreement negotiations apply to the
small mom and pop alarm companies as well as the large security
firms. Take time to learn these things, by accessing consumer
advocate information sources. Your newly acquired knowledge will
go a long way with the local company and the largest
dealerships, who if they want to earn your business, will offer
you the best quality they have on their shelves.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article44836.html |
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