One of the themes I have been presenting in my classes and speeches is the “professional” products and services that our industry can provide clients. It should be obvious to anyone that the flood of do-it-yourself (DIY) products  combined with the megadollar advertising budgets of their manufacturers are enabling consumers to DIY their alarm and video.

I believe DIY security devices are providing a false sense of security for users. In the case of the doorbell IP camera, there have been instances in which cameras have been stolen off doors.

Security issues aside, one of the new situations confronting electronic security system salespeople is that their prospective clients are shopping them on Amazon while the salesperson is presenting their system. “What do you mean a motion detector is $185 installed? I can get one on Amazon for $15…” as they triumphantly turn their smartphone around.

Which brings us to the concept of “professional-grade” products: We are the professionals, and we know what we’re doing when installing connectivity, security and life safety equipment. Along with professionalism, we need to present products and services that are not readily available for DIY installation.

Consider the ubiquitous Wi-Fi router. It’s a simple fact that more devices are Wi-Fi enabled, and our clients need the best Wi-Fi coverage and bandwidth available. What compounds customers’ Wi-Fi issues is that often the Wi-Fi router is not located centrally in the home or business but instead is nestled next to their ISP interface box in a first floor corner room.

This is where presenting the Luxul XWR-3150 802.11ac Wi-Fi router to your client as an immediate and simple upgrade to their network can provide a quick sale and installation with great benefits for your clients. The 3150 is a four-band Wi-Fi access point (which also provides 802.11n, B, and G connectivity for older devices) and is also a Gigabit hardwired four-port network switch.

While the Luxul 3150 is a professional grade product with many features, it has three programmable items that can help sell it. First this router has “guest” network capabilities and can be programmed with two unique SSIDs and security codes. The guest network can be programmed so that users can only go to the Internet and cannot access local devices such as servers. This is a great feature for waiting rooms as well as homes where a child’s friend can use the Wi-Fi only.

The second unique feature is called “router limits.” Simply put, end-users can control when devices can use the Wi-Fi and Internet. With this feature, parents can turn off the Internet at 9 p.m. so little Johnny gets off his gaming console and goes to bed at a reasonable hour. Also this service provides rolling storage of what devices have visited what websites in the last three days. Enhanced services such as 30-day Web access reporting are available for a small monthly fee, which dealers can mark up and add to RMR.

The third powerful feature built into the Luxul 3150 is called “Domotz,” which for a small fee (less than $5 per month) will monitor all devices on the client’s network, and provide immediate notification of new devices connecting to the network, any failures of critical devices such as servers and printers, and notification to the client’s smart device if there is a failure of Internet service. This technology provides our industry with a valuable monitoring and revenue generation opportunity, as clients’ networks and Internet connections are critical to their businesses and homes. I have had this service in my house for more than a year.

When the Luxul 3150 is powered up, it immediately becomes a Wi-Fi access point with the SSID of “Luxul 3150.” By placing the 3150 next to the customer’s existing WAP or Wi-Fi router and using a testing app such as “Wi-Fi Analyzer,” salespeople can demonstrate how the Luxul router will improve Wi-Fi connectivity and bandwidth. The smartphone (with the app) makes the sale for you.

And perhaps most importantly, Luxul actively pursues companies who attempt to sell their products over the Internet. As of this writing there are no listings for Luxul 3150’s on Amazon. There are some used older Luxul routers shown, but not the latest technology that is included with the XWR3150.

By presenting professional-grade products,we can differentiate our offerings from the DIY world. Using proper demonstrations, we can prove the superiority of our products and services to customers.