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You're interested in purchasing a remote monitoring system, but you can't get your boss on board with the idea. That's very common, since remote monitoring is not directly responsible for your company's revenue.
However, think about alarm monitoring as an insurance. Insurances are normally very under-appreciated and underestimated. People wonder about their value all the time, thinking "Do I really need it?" It's hard to fully esteem what an insurance does if you've never had it save you from a preventable disaster yet.
Remote monitoring systems are not merely costs centers. They're investments that pay for themselves by helping you to prevent even one big event or outage.
Big threats to your remote sites tend to creep in around the edges, so let's take a look at 3 ways you can explain the acquisition and cost of monitoring devices to your management.
Everyone wants to know that the technology they're using has been tested and used in the real world. Some of the things that you can do get a better perception about what other people are using include:
Trade shows and events for your industry are a good opportunity to ask your colleagues or counterparts from other companies what do they use for monitoring. Find out what their preferences are, and what kinds of things they normally shy away from.
You don't want to believe everything your possible vendor says, but you can ask to read their case settings. This way you can really see what their equipment is capable of in real life.
When you ask for a list of referrals, you'll get to hear what kinds of experiences people who actually used the equipment in the past had.
Unlike asking a manufacturer, there's no chance of dishonesty or puffery here. If a referral likes or doesn't like the product, they have no reason to lie to you. For that reason, the mere fact that manufacturer gives you a list of referrals is an excellent sign.
It's not a bad idea to try to get in touch with these disinterested third-parties and get a better insight on their feedback.
First of all, what does “information-rich quotes” actually means?
A lot of companies will give you a quote that's just a lot of numbers on a page that don't really say much, except you're about to spend a lot of money – and who knows why?
The best manufacturers aren't afraid of their clients making an informed decision. Make sure your vendor provides you with a comprehensive and instructive quote.
An information-rich quote should be a fairly thick document, which must be a 100% customized to you and your needs, and include an application drawing. This app drawing allows you and your team to see where your problem lies and what the answer is.
Ultimately, your quote should show you what the cost is, and how you'll benefit from this purchase.
Getting recommendations from others and information-rich quotes is excellent, but it's not everything. What you really want to do is have a live demonstration. You can do this on either of these 3 ways:
Through a shared web browser connection and a conference call, your possible manufacturer must be able to explain the essentials of their proposed solution. The web demo can have all the benefits of a personal site visit, but without the inconvenience or taking up too much of your time.
This would allow you to browse to this gear from the internet. You'll be able to actually interact with the menus and see how everything works.
If you have bigger projects, your manufacturer should be able to bring equipment out and set it up at your location. You'll be able to see the devices working in your system, at your real-life conditions.
During our consultation process, we always make sure to listen to you and understand your needs. We know that's the key to achieve the best-fit solution for your scenario. We'd be happy to help you with the points we went over previously.
We're very open about what our clients are saying about us, so this is why we keep an extensive list of referrals, testimonials and success stories available on our website. They're at easy access so you can read and show them to your management as well.
Besides that, any of our quotes detail the client's existing situation, how the proposed solution will improve that situation, and the technical functionality of the equipment. DPS in-depth quotes always include a personalized app drawing. The drawing connects the dots in your mind, showing you why the custom solution we proposed is the best fit for you. Consequently, you'll be able to make an informed decision.
Also, to allow you to save time, resources and money, we offer live web demos. This is the quickest and most efficient way to get fast answers to your – or your managers' - alarm monitoring questions. Together we'll go through your product's benefits and how they relate to your business. Our live demo is the perfect opportunity to bring the decision-makers to the table, because it'll certainly speed up the process of getting the approval for the monitoring equipment you need.
Keep in mind, though, that our demo puts you under no pressure. All we want to do is demonstrate our proposed alarm monitoring solution, covering all the technical details. The final outcome is to show you and your higher-ups that you're not buying something that's untested or unproven.
For larger projects or for full-customized solutions, we send our qualified engineers to visit you on a field trial. This is one of the best ways to get perfect-fit devices for your requirements, because we'll test our assumptions in your real-world environment. Not only you'll develop relationships with DPS tech staff, but also you'll get a taste of a superior way to get new equipment.
Andrew Erickson
Andrew Erickson is an Application Engineer at DPS Telecom, a manufacturer of semi-custom remote alarm monitoring systems based in Fresno, California. Andrew brings more than 17 years of experience building site monitoring solutions, developing intuitive user interfaces and documentation, and opt...
