Am I A Truck Slammer Now?

#1, this is super interesting. Thanks for sharing!

Question: When you say:

This year I have been driving around with a step stool, a small bag of tools and hundreds of security devices in the back of my Jeep. I've been selling, installing, servicing, programming and invoicing residential customers on my own.

How has that impacted with your office employees and technicians? Do you have the same as before? And if so, are they more productive / profitable, etc.?

One general point I will make it that it is hard to profitability scale up integration businesses since it so heavily dependent on the quality and performance of individual people, ergo why professional service businesses (whether it is law or architecture or plumbing or security integration) tends to be niche / smaller companies.

I will say this, our company is moving to adopt more "truck slammer" ... type behavior...

I think that’s fine as long as your truck has no trunk ;)

You are right with this. To me a trunk slammer is someone who has used car sales attitude, sells the wrong stuff, does a poor install and is just a mess. What you did is how I ran my personal business years ago when it was running. A while back a Honeywell Security rep did a survey with many of his customers on how long it took on average to do a wireless installation and most came back with 3-4 hours typically. Some even more. He would ask why so long and tell them how I (me) used to do a hardwired basic+ system in typically 2 1/2 hours on average. Of course I was much younger back then. These were even installs where no wire was showing either.

I agree the times they are a changing. I have been telling people in our industry if we as true integrators, not residential, don't start having managed services to offer customers then we too will be the trunk slammers of the industry. I see it all the time now where the customer just wants a box sale for cameras as they will install the equipment themselves. We keep getting more and more removed from what we sell so we have to adapt to how the industry is changing.

Good for you I must say. We have talked about residential at my work but I am the only one with any experience and it is a completely different model from installation, especially service and billing. Don’t get me wrong the new technology is really awesome. 

Thanks for sharing….

To continue sharing…. by listening and observing during my semi-retirement, after about 50 years in the “space”….

We often forgot about the customer expectations. The customer still believes “security” is the “product”, not the shiny new “things” throughout the property, or a “monitoring” service.  Millions of current alarm systems have been downgraded by state and local legislation, from “defensive” systems (police notification) to “deterrent” systems (customer notification).  We forget, local police have no obligation to respond to unwitnessed nuisance calls from private monitoring firms, like ADT.  However police have been providing “courtesy response” for decades, which has been abused for decades by the alarm industry.  Slow, or no response, by local law enforcement is now the norm… downgraded service, but not degraded fees. In today’s world, the little blue yard sign, and window decals, could be the most important part of the “deterrent” system, but not @ $4-500 annually, year-after-year. 

Are you delivering your customer expectations, wireless or hard-wired? If not, expect major attrition, and degraded market value of the RMR.

Source: Lee Jones; Support Services Group

I think trunk slammer is more of a mindset/business model versus the qty of people. I think a company of 10 could be trunk slammers if they are stocking this week's ADI camera special on the truck and trying to sell it.

On the flip side, I think a 1-2 man operation could be doing an absolutely great job if they are quoting based on the client's needs, performing work in a professional manner, etc.

When you mention installations should take 45-60 minutes, are you referring to takeovers or a complete new install? I'm finding it difficult to believe you can properly install a new system with 10-20 zones, program it in the field, test each zone, get all the paperwork signed, and teach the customer how to use the system in less than 1 hour by yourself. There are just too many variables. 

*EDIT* replied in wrong spot.

Your efforts are to be applauded and owners and/or managers should absolutely get out into the field frequently.  You plainly stated that you yourself performed these installs in your "spare" time; you are the owner and that is vastly different than an employee conducting this experiment.  Traditionally, technicians and office staff are not compensated beyond their job description and most will not perform beyond those boundaries.  If you want buy-in, you have to ante' up.  Here are some things I take from your results, and again, I do appreciate them.     

Residential Only 

Rule 1 - Wireless systems are not the future of residential alarms, they are the backbone.  There is just plain little money in traditional hardwired systems (since most are less than 20 zones).  Manufacturers know this and have been on the leading edge for some time now.

Rule 2 - A properly stocked vehicle is one of the most essential tools on the job site.  Profitability goes out the window on a return visit. 

Rule 3 - To increase a company's bottom line, you should absolutely share the profits with the installers.  They are and have been the "face" of the company for some time. 

Rule 4 - Proper scheduling of your personnel is still of the utmost importance.  That person or persons who schedule your most important resources are just as valuable as the techs themselves.  Pay them accordingly. 

Rule 5 - You have to make your commitments.  

Rule 6 - We are all, each and every one of us, in the people business from the time we leave our homes until the time we get back, every single day.  People skills are just as essential as technical skills.  If you don't like people, if you don't develop very good people skills, you are going to suffer.

Rule 7 - You, or someone in management, must continually train and emphasize and clearly communicate to your entire workforce.  Everyone takes what they have now for granted eventually.  

As to the original question, are you a truck slammer?  I have always heard the term referred to as "trunk slammer" and it carries a very negative connotation in every industry; someone who has no knowledge of what he/she is doing and is just in it for the money.  They have no skill other than the ability to sell whatever is in their trunk today.  That wears very thin, very quickly.  The customer expects you, the professional, to compete with a trunk slammer on price, but have the complete infrastructure for support later.  It does not matter if that is right or wrong, it just is.  This is a very informed public.  Google reviews, Yelp, etc can help you or hurt you.  You are in the people business.  

Trunk slammer means different things....generally I consider it someone who's selling a sub-par solution, and they know it's cheap and there's a good chance it may fail.  They generally are out of the picture once the hardware is sold.  The key there is 'THEY KNOW' it's just a hardware moneymaker.

We have just replaced 3 multifamily solutions around Atlanta where reputable companies did the first install....one within a year.  One with cheap IP cameras (big markup) and a poor wireless connection.  The company didn't want to come back and repair it.  That is fairly common.  So now we will take over those communities, do a proper diagnosis and move them to a managed or full cloud solution for $16-$24/cam/mo acting as a true service solution.

BTW those same companies refuse to believe a managed service or cloud solution for video will ever take off....  

You make some good points, but I am not sure everyone can do what you are trying to do.  It requires a company to be much more nimble than most Security Integrators typically are capable of.  Which probably supports your assertion here ... in order to do this, you need to be nimble and efficient.  It sounds like you are retooling and using a workforce with a different skillset than the traditional sales and technical staff divisions.

1. A technician can spend anywhere between 20-45 min unboxing and assembling wireless security devices. Installations should only take 45-60 min. 
   << This points to efficiency of time, and if you are spending half the job's assumed time budget on unboxing and assembling, you are already losing money.
2. Technicians failed to upsell to customers during the installation, the average install I did (even though I sold the job too) I would sell 30% more than the original agreement during the installation.
   << This is a very good point, and most security technicians do not see themselves as salespeople.  Your point is that everyone is selling something, and if technicians and installers are not trying, then they are a detriment to the company.  There are both sales 'skills' or training, and people skills that both come into play here.
3. Taking over an old hardwired system with a new hardwired system in a home is a waste of resources (unless it's a very large home), I'm referring to smaller homes with no more than 20 zones give or take.
   << What is the sweet spot for you?  What is too small or too large to make money on?
4. A technicians technical skill set is less important than people skills. The ADT CEO wasn't wrong about what he said.
   << see my comments in #2.  You are correct about people skills. Those without them are limiting sales for the company.
5. Consumers don't care about how sophisticated the technology is, they want something that works, that's easy to use, that has an app and hold strong value. That's not to say they're cheap, they just need to see real value.
6. Customers are not happy with installations that take one or two days.
   << Are you saying this because of the cost for the 1-2 days, or some other reason?  Do you find this is true for home security systems mainly, or commercial? 
7. Programming should be done by the technician doing the installation.
   << Are you saying this because you are finding with these small home alarm systems in particular, this is most efficient, or because that should be true in a larger sense?  We find most large jobs are more efficiently programmed off site.
8. Every dollar counts when purchasing equipment.
9. 100% hardwired homes are dead to me. (again I'm referring to homes with less than 20 zones give or take). 
10. Return trips are unacceptable. (this means completing the installation because the tech didn't have a part on the truck or because the install took too long or the customer wanted a part that wasn't on the original agreement)
    << Very good point if you have low labor lines or low labor margins.  Every return trip may double your labor cost.

Interesting comments.  I agree that the landscape is changing.  Customers don't necessarily want a salesperson coming to their home.  They are more educated because of the internet and they have a better understanding of what devices and features they want.  Also, their time is very important to them. In years past we would never consider pricing a system over the phone.  It was all about the consultative approach and getting into the customers home to show them how important they are.  Times are changing and we have to change with them to stay competitive in the market place.

Ron Pullen

Am I A Truck Slammer Now?

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This is a very interesting thread.  I own a small integration company but we do not do residential burg. We've thought about it over the years but never got excited enough to pursue it.  After reading your post, I am very interested in looking deeper into it, particularly with your enthusiasm over wireless equipment and quick installs.

Can you share a few more specifics?  

1. Typical selling price for a system for a 3br 2 bath house? $Equipment and $Installation

2. Typical monthly monitoring charge?  % retained by integrator? 

2b. Are you using a traditional Central Station?

2c. If so, are you competitive with the alarm.com's of the world?

3. What type of communication to Central Station? Using Wifi/Internet for central station connectivity?  If so does this require any router port forwarding config type issues?

4.Manufacturers from your experience that that provide the most reliable equipment/install friendly equipment

What we always referred to as a "trunk slammer" was the unlicensed and uninsured system installers whose "office" was their cell in their car.

"Trunk" slammer, I believe, is the term. Derogatory term for a contractor who has minimal skill, experience and equipment. "Trunk slammer" implies the contractor works out of their car trunk, with no office or licenses and they will likely be difficult to find if the client is not happy with the work.