Message from the President
Did Your May Flowers Bloom?
By Robert Few, President & CEO
My May First Friday article was all about April showers bringing May flowers. Now that it is the first day of June, let’s take a look at how we did. Did you have an abundance of blooming flowers in May? If so, you must have done a great job tilling your soil. If not, let’s evaluate what didn’t go as planned. How often do you as a leader take the time to turn the soil, to make sure that you are giving your seeds (employees) enough nutrients? On the flipside, did you give too much fertilizer or too much water? These things can all result in a suboptimal turnout as well.
I recently participated in a leadership meeting with 10 other CEOs from all different industries and walks of life. It was a great meeting with lots of take-aways for each of us to bring back to our teams. One item was an assessment exercise that I brought back to my leadership team. We all took the assessment and discussed our results openly in our leadership development meeting last week. The assessment we did is not your typical business-related survey. In fact, it also touches on life outside of work. I personally found it refreshing and eye opening. It is also giving our team ways to bond and help each other grow moving forward.
There is lots of talk about “work life balance.” Some say that you should not merge your home life and your work life, like the Separation of Church and State. However, I have found that learning about the whole person is much more effective and results in higher levels of professional and personal growth. You can do it in a way that you don’t have to breach privacy on any topics that team members are not comfortable discussing. I believe that leaders should care enough about the people they are charged with leading to make sure they are ok, on all fronts. This helps us evaluate if we are providing our teams with enough time to:
· Be with their family and friends.
· Relax and rejuvenate.
· Develop leadership skills.
· Mentor others, etc.
It also helps us take their pulse on how they are taking care of themselves physically, financially, and emotionally. None of this is to “snoop” or get overly involved, but it does allow us to uncover areas where we may be able to help and make a difference. We spend so much of our time with the people we work with and if we are all truly looking to build and achieve success, we can do it together.
In addition to the assessment, we also conducted peer reviews. If you have never gone through this exercise before, I highly recommend it. We made this a very transparent and open discussion with the goal of celebrating our strengths and taking a look at ways we can all improve and help each other throughout the process.
I want to touch on accountability and call myself out on this one. Today is June 1st and I was late in getting this article completed for our May newsletter. That is my bad and I own it. I could give you all of the excuses that I was traveling last week and came home to a sick wife and kids but that is just an excuse. I should have planned to complete the article before last week, so I didn’t hold up the newsletter. You have my apologies for getting it out late and I will not let it happen again. You can hold me accountable for it!
Sincerely,
Robert Few - President & CEO
General Monitoring Services
(201) 838-0091
|
|
Using a Script to Crush Sales Calls
Sales scripts are powerful. Used wrongly, they can completely derail your efforts, but used well, they are your roadmap to success. Here are some important tips for sales scripts.
1) Outline what you’d like to say, hitting all the important points from introduction to conversion.
2) Think of a sales script as a way to navigate a conversation, rather than something to memorize and repeat.
3) Choose a good time to call or visit, which studies have to be 3-5 pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays for calls.
4) On the call remember these important points:
· Don’t be sketchy about who you are or why you’re calling. Mystery buys time but can bite you later.
· Don’t talk at your prospect. Use questions to connect early on.
· Don’t give up if you don’t reach them the first time. Persistence pays.
· Don’t just use the phone; Follow-up with email to increase your success.
· Do demonstrate how well you know their pains.
|
|
GMS Staff Achievements and Appreciation |
|
Promotions & Anniversaries at GMS this Month!
Promotions
Congratulations are in order for GMS’ new Lead Operator, Joshua Hendrix. Josh has been a part of the GMS team for just over a year. In that year, Josh has taken part in our Mentorship Program, navigated his way from Dispatch Operator to Advanced Operator and now taking the position of Lead Operator. We are thrilled with your performance, appreciate your contributions, and are lucky to have you on our team!
Anniversaries
Happy 5 year anniversary to Cindy Lagunas. We appreciate your energy, your kindness Cindy, and all the work you do, but most of all, we just appreciate you! Your commitment to your job sets an example for everyone else on this team. Have a great work anniversary!
Happy 2 year work anniversary to Sydney Harris. Sydney you are an asset to our company, and I hope you’ll continue on this path of hard work. We are very proud of you, and we wish you a wonderful work anniversary!
Employee of the Month
Let’s all take this moment to congratulate day shifts Ashlyn Wright GMS’ May 2021 Employee of the Month!
Here are just a couple of the reasons why Ashlyn is so important to GMS:
“Ashlyn always displays a calm demeanor when handling alarms and is overall a great co-worker to be around.”
“Ashlyn is always available to assist, from backing up calls to grabbing additional alarms when needed.”
We appreciate you Ashlyn, Congratulations!
|
|
Not too Late to Join us in Palm Springs
FREE Golf - Free Meals & Great FREE Seminars
|
|
2021 CAA Spring Convention
June 23-26, 2021
Hilton Palm Springs California
The CAA Palm Springs Convention will be held June 23-26, 2021 at the Hilton Palm Springs.
First two registered attendees from each alarm company are FREE, guests of the sponsors. This covers everything except hotel.
The event will include three hosted receptions, meals on Friday and Saturday, opening round of golf at Escena Golf Club, great Workshops as well as featured Youth Scholarship presentation and the popular ladies lunch at La Vallauris.
Book your room at the Hilton - CAA Discounted Rate only $149/night
Below is the link to register and view available workshops and full program details. Registration includes three hosted receptions, golf at Escena, meals and workshops.
|
|
Industry Insider Insights |
|
The Latest on Mergers & Acquisitions in the Alarm Industry
How the Market is Bouncing Back from the Pandemic
Just over a year ago, businesses in this country and around the world had to shift into a very different mode of operating as shelter in place and work from home became the new reality. Once we addressed keeping our employees and co-workers safe, the big questions on the minds of everyone in the security industry were, how would business be impacted? Who would want a technician or salesperson to come into their home or business? Would the demand for remote video and managed access control increase? What kind of attrition would we see?
For companies that were in the middle of making acquisitions, the uncertainty of the COVID reality led many of those would-be buyers to put on the brakes. How much to pay for a recurring revenue based alarm company becomes very different consideration when fear of attrition going from 8% to 18% enters the equation. As a result, many buyers decided to take a wait and see approach, understandably. Some pushed ahead but changed the pricing or terms such as holdback percentage. Basically, merger and acquisition activity looked very different for a few months.
Then something happened that seems to happen fairly regularly in the alarm industry: everyone was reminded how resilient it is. The mergers and acquisitions resumed. And, from what we see at Alarm Financial Services, buyers and sellers are making up for lost time. Our perspective is focused almost exclusively on small to medium-sized companies, so the large players in the industry may be experiencing something different. But from where we sit, the action is heating up. Long-time owners still want to cash out and retire; young as well as mature companies still see the benefit in complimenting their organic growth with buying their local friendly competitor.
If you fall into either the buyer or the seller camp, talk to GMS. They can help match you with the right company for such an important transaction. Feel free to contact AFS with any questions. We love to hear what you’re seeing and thinking.
|
|
Industry News and Tips Links
|
|
Strong in the Face of Adversity
COVID-19 was the backdrop to the story of the SDM 100 companies in 2020. Despite the uncertainty and challenges it presented, however, the top security dealers held their own, and some even thrived, finding new paths and opportunities. Read More...
|
|
Colonial Pipeline cyberattack is a chilling reminder of U.S. infrastructure vulnerability
Russian hackers DarkSide shut down the nation’s largest gas pipeline with a crippling ransomware attack.
Read more on how the devastating ransomware attack against Colonial forced an unprecedented emergency declaration from the federal government.
|
|
The Alarm Exchange
No Charge Postings!
Alarm classifieds, alarm company announcements, solicitations, offers, etc. Those wishing to sell or buy; borrow or lend; dealer program or dealer; central stations; insurance brokers; business brokers, insurance companies.
If you have Equipment to sell or you are looking for employees or subcontractors, and much more, click on Read More to view the Alarm Exchange today!
|
|
Research: DIY Security Installs Have Increased Nearly 40% Since 2018
New research from Parks Associates finds self-installation of newly acquired security systems reached 55% in Q2 2020, up from 40% in 2018, an increase of nearly 40%.
The firm’s latest whitepaper, Home Security: A Redefined Market, finds the rise of interactive services and DIY installation are two key trends defining the home security market, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, lower prices, and new smart home solutions.
|
|
Current and Active Dealer Partners will receive up to $1,000.00 in the form of an invoice credit for referring a new dealer to GMS for Monitoring Service Solutions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
