AlarmWATCH spearheads dealer competition to bolster business

HUNT VALLEY, Md.—AlarmWATCH, a central station based here, recently teamed up with UTC Fire & Security's Interlogix division, and AlarMax Distributors to co-sponsor the first annual Protect-A-Thon security dealers' competition, which awarded the lucky winners with a day of tailgating and NFL football.

“It wasn't just a game—it was a very well-done tailgate event. We had a big entertainment tent that was very well-catered with excellent food, all kinds of soda and beer,” said Jim Porter district manager for Interlogix. “The cheerleaders came by and the marching band dropped by. It was all part of what Guy [Kline, VP of sales and marketing for AlarmWATCH] set up. It spoke volumes.”

The three-month-long initiative was conceived of and spearheaded by AlarmWATCH's Kline who said the point of the Protect-A-Thon was to spur friendly competition among mid-Atlantic security dealers to grow their business models.

“We're located in Baltimore and it just made sense to come up with a fun way to build on the strength we have between our dealers we monitor for and AlarMax distributes to and Interlogix supplies,” Kline said. “We were looking for ways to bring all the big dealers and the small dealers, and the new guys and the medium-sized guys into one program where everyone could work with each other and build some excitement. So I contacted the Baltimore Ravens.”

More than three hundred dealers competed to get into the action by adding new accounts, raising RMR and boosting product add-on sales. Thirty-four teams competed to win tickets to the Nov. 7 Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins football game at Baltimore M&T Bank Stadium, as well as tailgate passes and sports memorabilia. Teams gained points by adding new accounts through advancing their knowledge of the latest technologies, fielding new product questions and creating excitement in the workplace. Winning dealers were feted for their achievements at the AlarmWATCH-sponsored tailgate tents for two hours prior to kickoff.

The winner of the event was team Alarm Engineering, a resi/commercial integrator from Salisbury, Maryland, captained by Alarm Engineering president/CEO Ron Boltz.

 “Everybody had a chance to play and win here. It gave our dealers a chance internally to create friendly competitiveness amongst their workforce in a down economy to go out there and reach out for something more and be rewarded for their efforts. It definitely drove revenue increase opportunities,” Porter said. “We all win. More accounts are brought on board, more product is sold and it's all funneled through the distribution channel. It was really just a big value add to those who deal with AlarmWATCH, Interlogix and AlarMax.”

AlarMax manager of operations Steve Heier agreed.

“From our perspective, it really turned out to be and innovative way to create some new buzz as we talked to customers,” Heier said. “This was another opportunity for us to reach out to prospects who weren't working with us. We got to show them what they were missing by not working with us, Interlogix or AlarmWATCH. We got some really good and direct benefits from it.”

Headed by Bob Haskins, Interlogix, was re-introduced before the ASIS 2010 show. It's UTC Fire & Security's portfolio of intrusion, video surveillance, fire & life safety, access control, and transmission systems for residential and small- to medium-sized commercial enterprises.

Kline said talks were underway already with other organizations for future Protect-A-Thon promotions.