Authorized dealer programs experienced a boom in the 1990s. The time was ripe for dealer programs, because mass-market residential security companies were making waves in the industry (ADT sold 180,000 new residential security systems in 1994 alone) and such programs were created to allow security dealers of any size to compete.
Today, 23 percent of security dealers participate in at least one authorized dealer program. And even with advancements in technology allowing for sales of home automation, residential video and other services, the same scenario of mass-market programs and low- or no-money-down system installations still exists, allowing dealer programs to thrive today and help dealers differentiate themselves in the marketplace and grow their businesses.