KEN KIRSCHENBAUM, ESQ ALARM - SECURITY INDUSTRY LEGAL EMAIL NEWSLETTER / THE ALARM EXCHANGE You can read all of our articles on our website. Having trouble getting our emails? Change your spam controls and whitelist ken@kirschenbaumesq.com ********************** Comments on SimpliSafe and Ring and DIY / Software Webinars continue next week October 7, 2023 ************************ SEE WEBINAR REGISTRATION BELOW – REGISTER NOW *************************** SOFTWARE WEBINARS: ********************** NEXT WEBINAR: Title: WorkHorseSCS When: October 11, 2023 noon ET Why attend: Alarm business operating software solution for Sales, Field Service, Customer Service, RMR (Recurring Monthly Revenue), Electronic contracts and Digital Signatures, all conveniently housed in one unified platform. Streamlines your alarm company's processes with Single Point of Data Entry solution. Integrates with over 40 Central Stations, along with leading platforms like Alarm.com, Alula, resideo, SecureCom, and SecureNet. Who should attend: Managers and owners Presented by: Steven Hayes, 941.229.8200 steven.hayes@workhorsescs.com www.WorkHorseSCS.com Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3965237386615522648 ********************** Title:Cornerstone Billing Solutions: Solutions for your alarm business operating software When: October 12, 2023 noon ET Why attend: Customer Management Software and Automated Recurring Billing in one cloud-based software platform. Live customer support. Cornerstone's software includes: complete subscriber records, recurring details, billing history, quotes, job tickets, service calendar, mobile tech app, inventory, robust reporting, collections, central station/alarm industry integrations, and more. Our automated recurring billing ensures 100% of recurring is billed. Presented by: Scott MacDougal, Founder and Owner of Cornerstone Billing Solutions. (847) 405-9517 ext 2 ; scott@alarmbills.com www.alarmbills.com Hosted by: Ken Kirschenbaum, Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Register here:https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/790183156955638876 ************************ Comments on SimpliSafe and Ring and DIY products from article on September 20, 2023 ************************** Ken Personally I was concerned in the beginning about DIY. Not anymore! Don't pay much attention to it as your customer base is most likely secure with your services. The people who want DIY are not the same ones who value professional equipment and SERVICE. I contact my customers if the central station report shows low battery, ground fault, supervisory trouble etc. It shows them WOW my alarm company is on top of their game and I didnt even know there was a problem! (Most likely a billable problem) You may lose a few customers to DIY, but so what. MOVE ON!! Your customer base should be people who value what you bring to the table. Good luck and keep on selling!!!! D Boss Boss Security Systems Inc. ************************ Another comment ************************ Ken, Interesting to see how dealers are adapting to DIY providers like Simplisafe and Ring. We have included a DIY offer to our customers for years that supplements our professionally installed line. Some customers just want a system they can install themselves. Having a DIY solution allows us to provide potential customers another option. We build the system specifically for the customer need, pre-program each component to customer specification before shipping to customer. If needed, we assist the customer installation with our in-house technical support. We can dispatch a technician to install or complete installation, at additional charge, if the customer turns out to be overwhelmed. The system we sell has touchscreen keypads and more functionality than many of the DIY-only competitive offers. To the dealers, PM and Anthony, who are installing Ring video products for their customers, I would urge caution. We installed the Ring doorbell product, as an authorized dealer, for several years. This was before manufacturers built their own doorbell product and before Ring entered the security monitoring space. After Ring started offering alarm panels and security monitoring, our Ring camera only installed customers informed us they were contacted by Ring for monitored services. We assumed customers were contacted using the registration information Ring had on file for their video products we installed. We dropped the Ring doorbell and camera line shortly after. Vince Raia EMC Security ************************** Response ************************** Whether to sell and install DIY products is less a legal issue than business decision. I suppose some alarm dealers will have an audience for the DIY products and others perhaps not. Certainly you aren’t going to want to degrade your professional systems, yet as the DIY products become more reliable and versatile they may be able to augment your professional systems. The name of the game is RMR; increase it and you increase your equity and business value. Yes, yes, you’re in the life safety business and don’t want to encourage, sell or service inferior equipment or services, but I am not sure that’s the case just because a product is a DIY products. You’re professional and expert in this industry, not me, so you have to decide if you are comfortable with a particular product. As pointed out by Vince, you also need to be mindful that some DYI products may come with manufacturer [of product or software or both] monitoring, which may compete with your professional monitoring. I’m not sure which products have those features, though I know I can get professional monitoring for my Ring doorbell [which I don’t have]. *********************** Software and central station webinars ************************ If you haven’t signed up for the webinars you’re making a mistake. The live presentations offer you the opportunity to ask your questions and get answers. You can join on any device including your office computer or your smart phone, so even if in the field or driving you can join and even participate. If you miss the live webinar, no worry. It should be posted on the K&K Website for alarm webinars within a few days of the live presentation; go here to check: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-webinars *************************** Central Stations series: Why You Should Be Monitored By Our CS Hear from the leading central stations and “Why you should be monitored by” that central station. The topic of remote operator monitoring from outside the central station facility and the dynamics that issue presents is sure to come up. The question you need to be asking is why isn’t your central station participating and why are you still using your central station if it’s not participating? ************************ October 17, 2023 noon ET,Emergency 24 Registration Link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5032873072502046552
October 31, 2023 noon ET, Rapid Response Monitoring Center Registration Link: https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/2959829660260960857 ****************************** STANDARD FORM AGREEMENTS: To order up to date Standard Form Alarm / Security / Fire and related Agreements click here: www.alarmcontracts.com *************************** CONCIERGE LAWYER SERVICE PROGRAM FOR THE ALARM INDUSTRY - You can check out the program and sign up here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/concierge or contact our Program Coordinator Stacy Spector, Esq at 516 747 6700 x 304. *********************** ALARM ARTICLES: You can always read our Articles on our website at www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-articles updated daily ************************* THE ALARM EXCHANGE - the alarm industries leading classified and business exchange - updated daily. https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/alarm-exchange ************************* Wondering how much your alarm company is worth? Click here: https://www.kirschenbaumesq.com/page/what-is-my-alarm-company-worth ****************************** Getting on our email list / Articles archived: Many of you are forwarding these emails to friends or asking that others be added to the list. Sign up for our daily newsletter here: Sign Up. ************************** Ken Kirschenbaum,Esq Kirschenbaum & Kirschenbaum PC Attorneys at Law 200 Garden City Plaza Garden City, NY 11530 516 747 6700 x 301 ken@kirschenbaumesq.com www.KirschenbaumEsq.com