1. 30 RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS www.securitysystemsnews.com JUNE 2009 SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS
Door-knocking business 2GIG BRIEFS
key to Absolute Security produces ADT protects domestic
abuse victims in N.C.
BOCA RATON, Fla—ADT Security
By Martha Entwistle, managing editor concept, we run a meeting on a growing and expanding, even Start-up announces Services in April announced the spon-
FREDRICKSBURG, Va.—The in today’s economy. Weinstein
daily basis and send out teams of partnerships, brings sorship of Interact, in Raleigh, N.C., a
summer-model companies may sales people.” backed up that claim, and said
be renowned for their ability to the ADT brand is a very important
Absolute has been in business
new product to the private, non-profit United Way agency
providing safety, support and aware-
train and deploy teams of suc- and an ADT dealer since 1998. part of his sales process. “ADT is market ness to victims of domestic violence
cessful door-to-door salespeople, a great name that people recog-
Its footprint includes Virginia, By Martha Entwistle, managing editor and sexual assault.
but they’re certainly not the only Maryland, Florida, Georgia, nize… the ADT sign means 130 MELVILLE, N.Y.—Security manu- ADT is contributing financial assis-
companies that successfully years of credibility.” facturer 2gigtechnologies, a new tance and installation of security
employ this sales method. Weinstien got into sales, company founded by Honeywell products and services to help protect
Curtiss Weinstein, president “We promote [door-knocking when he was fresh out of Security vet- the newly opened 60,000-square-foot
of Absolute Security here, sales jobs] as a lifestyle, a career the service. “I sold vacuum erans Lance Interact Family Safety & Empowerment
Center. Interact serves more than 36,000
is the second-largest ADT cleaners door to door. I was Dean and
dealer in the country and he
activity.” very good at it, but I hated Scott Simon, people each year in the Raleigh com-
munity, including more than 6,400 direct
says he derives “60 percent —Curtiss Weinstein, Absolute Security it.” He moved on to selling had a slew of
victims of crime and their families.
of sales from door knocking.” Texas, California and Wisconsin. alarms and “I sold 100 systems in announce-
ADT is providing multiple layers of elec-
Unlike the summer model Absolute has plans to expand its my first month.” ments in tronic security at the center, including
companies, however, Absolute door knocking operation to all He did some research and mid-April access control, panic alarms, video
does door knocking year round. of its regions. At ISC West, J.D. decided to become an ADT dealer. including the systems and emergency call stations.
“We promote [door-knocking Keller who’s in charge of the dealer “I bought a book and wrote a busi- delivery of its Lance Dean Since 1992, ADT’s AWARE
sales jobs] as a lifestyle, a career program at ADT, told Security ness plan and I hit every objective first product, (Abused Women’s Active Response
activity,” he said. “It’s the same Systems News that his dealers were I set down.” SSN SuperSwitch, to some major alarm Emergency) program and DVERS in
companies, as well as partnerships Canada (Domestic Violence Emergency
key to its flagship security system,
Jentoft panel: unplugged and live on camera GoControl.
Response System) has provided this
type of assistance.
Videofied intros free video
“SuperSwitch is our first release The AWARE program is credited
of a product to the marketplace,” with helping save 31 lives while giving
said Simon. “We have several thousands of others peace of mind. The
By Martha Entwistle, managing editor dential alarm system with “free patents pending on the it,” he electronic security system at the new
SAINT PAUL, Minn.—Saying video” at the June ESX show. Station—to launch the product added. The product enables hard- Interact center includes a range of fea-
his product is the same price “You get video and two-way and provide training at ESX. wired sensors to be used with tures such as audio/video door entry
point as voice over cell and the big thing “We have about 50 central sta- a wireless control panel. If, for systems, video surveillance and panic
similar is our panel has no AC connec- tion ready to launch this; we’ve example, a customer has “an alarm devices, located throughout the
center. The panic or hold-up alarms can
“blind sys- tions. We deliver [at least] four been working closely with the eight-zone hardwired system,
send an immediate notification to police
tems” (an years on one set of batteries,” big guys.” they can install a new wireless
when activated.
alarm sys- said Jentoft, president of RSI An adaptation of a similar panel and use the SuperSwitch to
tem with- Video Technologies. product RSI sells for the com- convert the hardwired devices so NBFAA lobbies in
out video), Jentoft has teamed up with mercial market, the XL uses a they transmit wirelessly,” Simon Washington
Keith several major monitoring motion viewer to detect motion explained. “Dealers can save a lot WASHINGTON—More than 65 NBFAA
Jentoft is companies—including Rapid and send a 10-second video clip of money by not having to replace members, including association board
introducing Keith Jentoft Response, CMS, EMERgency to a central station. The central the sensors when they upgrade to members and state leaders from across
Videofied XL, a wireless resi- 24, UCC, ESC and USA Central JENTOFT see page 31 a wireless system.” the United States, joined the govern-
This will also enable some com- ment relations team during a two-day
Platinum pumped for 2009
panies to standardize on wireless event at the end of April.
panels, where in the past this was Along with a full day of congressio-
cost prohibitive. nal visits, participants went on a din-
The product was delivered to ner cruise sponsored by GE Security,
Pre-season numbers, customer survey bode well for summer two summer-model companies, a breakfast briefing sponsored by
By Martha Entwistle, managing editor resources into its training pro- Platinum will use demographic Pinnacle Security and Platinum Altronix, lunch sponsored by Security
PROVO, Utah—With “pre-sea- grams, Allred said. At the end of information from the surveys for Protection, both of Provo, Utah in America Risk Retention Group, and a
son” sales numbers up 20 percent 2008, it surveyed 800 of its new planning and resource allocation, April. The companies’ sales forces reception sponsored by Honeywell. GE
over last year, Platinum Protection customers. “The survey results as well. and technicians have already been Security also provided a hospitality and
executives in April predicted a were analyzed and then used to “We collected data on our cus- trained on the product and will de-briefing room where participants
successful summer ahead. improve training, and address tomers’ income levels, age, educa- begin selling it next week. could gather at the end of the day to
talk about their experiences.
Platinum Protection has specific people and areas we could tion levels, etcetera, in the survey, “It gives us a simple solution
One of the highlights of the two-
amassed 90,000 customers across improve,” Allred said. which will help us serve them that will enable us to add two-
day event was the presentation of the
the country in three years. Last “On the survey, customers better. [It also helps us ensure] our way voice over cell in a hardwired
NBFAA 2009 Legislator of the Year
year, the company installed 58,000 listed their sales representative offerings are catered specifically to system. We’re excited about it,”
award to Rep. Michael Arcuri (D-NY).
accounts. and technician specifically; if our target markets.” said Chance Allred, partner at Rep. Arcuri is the sponsor of H.R.
“Office averages are expected we did have subpar results with The survey, which “showed a Plantinum Protection, which sold 1680, the Long-Term Care Life Safety
to be up 15 to 20 percent [this specific reps, techs, or offices, it 95 percent customer satisfaction 65,000 accounts in 2008. Act of 2009, which authorizes the
summer] based on pre-season gave us the data we needed to rating for both technicians and “I told Lance that if they could Secretary of Health and Human Services
production, quality of new train- make corrections quickly,” Allred sales representatives,” accord- come up with a device that would to make grants to promote professional
ing programs, and more sea- explained. ing to Allred, asked customers take a hardwired zone and convert retrofit installation of fire alarm detec-
soned leaders on each team,” “With such a large group, this to rate Platinum employees it to a wireless signal, it would be tion systems and other fire detection
said Chance Allred, partner at was extremely helpful in getting on several categories, includ- amazing,” said Rod Halford, VP of and prevention technologies in nursing
Platinum Protection. specific results on our employees ing their professionalism and installation for Pinnacle Security. homes, assisted-living residences and
Platinum has put significant to help them improve.” knowledge. SSN 2GIG see page 31 other appropriate facilities.

2. SECURITY SYSTEMS NEWS JUNE 2009 www.securitysystemsnews.com RESIDENTIAL SYSTEMS 31
Edmonds study shows value of your accounts
Continued from page 1 one of the key variables in determining is ADT, he said. “They do not like five-year lower credit scores. For example, some buy-
for accounts with scores between 600 and the value of an account base or an alarm contracts.” ers “will only buy accounts in the 600-625
624,” he said. business. And, finally, some buyers are requiring range if the customer has paid a minimum
Edmonds emphasized that the analysis of “Attrition directly impacts the internal initial payments to qualify customers with of $199 upfront.” SSN
valuation makes a number of assumptions, rate of return an originator or buyer is able
and changing any of those assumptions, par- to achieve on their investment,” Edmonds
ticularly items such as the targeted unlever- said. “If one is not achieving a reasonable
aged internal rate of return, could change rate of return, its not a good investment.”
the valuation significantly. However, the He identified other key valuation drivers
“slope of the curve remains the same,” he as: RMR and gross margin per account;
said. The bottom line here is that accounts geographic concentration; initial investment
with low credit scores are “worth much less amount; sales practices (Was the customer
because attrition is higher regardless.” oversold?); and, whether the customer is a
The assumptions of valuations in this homeowner or renter.
study include: a mass-marketed residential What trends does Edmonds identify
base; bulk sale of accounts versus sale of from the analysis? Buyers are less willing
entire business; transaction includes 10 per- to buy accounts with low credit scores
cent attrition holdback paid 13 months after (below 600) and they limit the number of
closing; average RMR of $40; three-year accounts they’ll buy in other strata. “Some
initial contract term; $10 monthly servicing buyers will accept no more than 10 percent
costs including monitoring, billing, collect- in the 600-625 range,” he said. Buyers are
ing and service; attrition is level during any stratifying the multiple paid, specifically
given year, but varies year to year based on offering higher multiples for higher credit
contract time; and, a targeted unleveraged scores. Most buyers, he said, prefer longer
internal rate of return of 20 percent. initial term contracts because it pushes
The Edmonds Group analyzed the cor- the end-of-term attrition spike further
relation between credit score and attrition, into the future. An exception to this rule
Jentoft’s wireless resi
panel has ‘free video’
Continued from page 30 and Alarm.com, is that that the signal goes
station operator can then use two-way voice directly to the central station, rather than
to investigate and determine how to respond. being routed through a proprietary system.
The system has an integrated GSM cell sys- “We don’t sell the SIM card; we allow the
tem, “which eliminates VoIP IP routers, and
, dealer to do that,” he explained.
PSTN connections altogether —delivering “That’s not our business model, we’re a
video alarms with 2-way voice directly to the manufacturer providing hardware.” It’s a
central station over the GSM network for model, he said, “that will allow us to sell
approximately $4 per month.” more stuff.” Several well-known companies,
It also has a prox-card reader for arm- including American Alarm of Arlington,
ing and disarming the system. The stan- Mass., are paying close attention to this
dard package comes with an indoor product.
MotionViewer, two contacts and two
prox-cards. It can be expanded to include
20 MotionViewers or devices, including
“We’re going to test the product,” said
Wells Sampson, president of American
Alarm. “It’s in tune with the best practices
building reports
other standard Videofied peripherals such as for video verification … [in addition], the
outdoor MotionViewers, outdoor prox-card typical residential customer’s budget doesn’t
stations and outdoor siren/strobes. allow for a full commercial video system,
Jentoft said the difference between this and this product is a definite option in
GSM system and ones that use AlarmNet that arena.” SSN
2GIG Technologies produces
Continued from page 30 The TMobile partnership will “give us the
“We couldn’t couldn’t get our hands on it fast flexibility to provide service at a reasonable
enough.” price to our dealers,” Simon added.
During ISC West, Dean and Simon were Dean and Simon noted that dealers who
ensconced off the show floor in a Venetian have seen the GoControl product like the
suite, showing off GoControl to a steady fact that it has a GSM radio built in. “It will
stream of visitors, and in late April announced allow them to offer two-way voice through
partnerships with TMobile and ZWave. GSM without having to use phone lines”
“We feel that the relationship with ZWave and firmware updates over the air so that
will enable us to offer services out of the gate, the dealer can update a customer’s systems
and over the airwaves that will allow customers remotely without having to send out a
to lower their energy bills and manage their service truck.
homes,” said Simon. Various add-on applications (such
Because the ZWave chip is built into the GoLocate, a GPS app for kids and pets)
panel, “we will have the ability to partner with for GoControl will be available in a format
any of their partners [for in home lighting, “similar to the iTunes Store,” Simon said.
thermostat control, cameras, wireless-enabled Likewise, the color touchscreen panel, like an
locks, etc.], to add additional services to our iPhone, can be updated to add features and
product and product line,” Simon said. applications. SSN