A manufacturer’s or central station’s brand may be one of the strongest aspects of a dealer program, but a dealer’s own brand has a different set of strengths.
One in every five security dealers among SDM’s subscribers participate in an authorized dealer program. Security dealers join dealer programs for a variety of reasons. One of the most important is brand. SDM talked to security dealers involved in dealer programs and with manufacturers and central stations that offer dealer programs about the benefits — as well as the limitations — that come with a strong brand.
More than a decade ago, Mark Tosani’s Orlando-based alarm company was in the dealer program that AT&T operated and subsequently folded. Forced to look for a new dealer program, Tosani opted to join the one operated by Cromwell, Conn.-based Safe Home Security. “What we like about it is funding reliability,” comments Tosani. Safe Home, he says, is “very sound financially.”