Manufacturers, Reward Integrators With Guaranteed Registration Payout

Im getting more suspicious on why manufacturers want our clients information. It is like they are trying to gather as much as they can, put it in a database, and 5-10 years down the road when due for equipment replacement or upgrades, they will use it to solicit the clients directly...just like third party warranty companies get vehicle data from dmvs and solicit you to buy an extended warranty when they calculate your car to be nearing the end of its factory warranty.

Just food for thought.

From the votes so far, integrators are showing a preference for the guaranteed payout, while manufacturers strongly prefer status quo.

We have definitely seen a bit of the negative side, but have also seen a positive side of manufacturers that it'd seem a lot of the above haven't gotten to (I'd chock that up to fairly dependent on the RSM in that area).

There have been a few instances of us being the only integrator talking with a prospect, and all of a sudden after mentioning it to manufacturers about registration other competitors show up in the picture. On the flip side, I have also had manufacturers definitely go out of their way to help protect us to the customer.

I definitely think that a newer way of registration would definitely help motivate our sales people to get project registered with manufacturers (guaranteed payout to them, and helps manufacturers in making it more likely they sell); though counting on a guaranteed payout is probably still going to be a bit of sour grapes if you lose the overall deal

As a manufacturer I don't think project registration is dead, but I do think the value of "partnerships" seems to be waning. And maybe that is a manufacturer issue, or maybe an integrator issue. I really don't know.

What I do know is I value mindshare and partnership over volume. The volume will come if I can get the first two. Or maybe not, I have small guys that do great. Love them.

But without information sharing there is no partnership. And things can get messy. For example- I may have more than one dealer going at the same project and because one didn't share that they were in first and actually driving product, I register it to a second.

And for the individual thinking we are holding on to info for 10 years in the future. I have to admit I laughed out loud. Maybe other manufacturers are more organized that I have not seen but every one I have met, worked for or have friends at- no way are they that organized to cohesively put a targeted plan together to go after all that info. My company is fairly large and it's all we can do to chase down current business.

I don't like the guaranteed payout option as this would simply give "some" lazy integrators a way to register the project, without really working to close the business. I see some integratiors registering the "project" with multiple manufacturers, solely for the purpose of hitting the lottery on guaranteed payouts, no matter who wins the project.

Much like "some" lazy realtors that don't work to sell homes but rather put out effort, only to get the listing. This way when the home sells, they get paid commission, without any substantial work/effort. This may be the exception rather than the rule, but it does happen.

The whole issue of project registration, begins with the integrity of the manufacturer and its representatives. We too have been burned in years past by manufacturers and/or their rep firms who elected to either go direct or share project information with other integrators and as such, we don't do business with them anymore, period!

Ultrak comes to mind from years ago and I am sure others could be named here!

Developing a honest, trustworthy and healthy relationship with a manufacturer can be a huge benefit for both the integrator and the manufacturer.

Integrator benefits of project registration for us go beyond the additional discounts that we may receive initially, and includes technical, engineering and sales support before and after the sale.

In the big picture, project registrations help manufacturers with forecasting sales and as such, integrators benefit and are less likely to be in a position of having product delivery issues, because specified products are unavailable.

We value our relationships with select manufacturers and trust that they respect and value their relationship with us!

Many years ago I had a short stint in car sales. We had a sales guy that would be sure to be the first to introduce himself to almost every customer that came on the lot. By default, he was entitled to 50% of the commission because of how the structure worked within the company. For 6 months, he was our number one sales person, despite not being directly involved with any sale on a personal level.

In a relative term, he registered each client walking in the door and spent at most 2 minutes with them only to hand them off to someone else to do the hard part. While he was smart in taking advantage of the program in place, he upset the rest of the sales staff and customers in the process. After 1 year he was fired from the company, thankfully...

Paying a dealer for project registration regardless of who wins the project strikes me as similar to my example above.

Fast forward: I don't allow project registration unless the dealer has a compelling case, in which case I will do my best to protect them.