Prepare For A Home Security Sales Call Prior To The Real Deal

Despite knowing the amount of crime and danger there is all around the country, many are still hesitant to get a home alarm quote. Whether you do not want salespeople looking through your home or you simply do not wish to answer a plethora of questions regarding how you live, it is worth the time to protect your family and home.

To give you some insight into what to expect from an alarm system sales call, here are some details to prepare you for your home security alarm quote.

For a typical two-story single dwelling home with an unfinished basement, this is what you may expect your sales call to consist of. It will start with the salesperson warming up to you in order to show they care more about your safety than jus the sell.

You may be asked simple questions such as how long you have lived in the current address and what motivated you to request a quote.

From there the salesperson will lay out what you can expect from the meeting. There are typically four parts to the meeting. The first part will consist of them telling you why ADT, or whatever company you go with, is the right choice. Next, they will ask “probing questions” in order to learn more about your lifestyle.

Once they have an idea of how you live your life, they can then perform a walk-through of your entire home inside and out. The final step involves you discussing the different equipment options, protection options, and what the salesperson recommends you install.

As soon as you decide on the right alarm system for your home, you can then reach an agreement and learn about the pricing.

Now that you have an overview of what goes on during the sales call, let’s break each of the four phases down in further detail. As mentioned above, the first step involves the salesperson explaining why they are the right company for you.

Expect them to break down other companies by saying they cut corners and offer bad equipment, bad technicians, inconsistent monitoring, or overall bad service in general.

From there, they will go into detail about their company while highlighting the storied history of ADT, high profile clients they may have, why their equipment is the best available, and how sufficient their installers are. Expect to hear this type of information from every alarm company.

The second phase consists of more detailed questions being thrown your way. The whole point of this is to establish trust and respect from you. The salesperson wants to determine what product will be best for your lifestyle. Here is a list of some of the questions you may be asked:

How long have you lived in this neighborhood?

What concerns do you have about security?

Has anything happened to you recently i.e. break in, neighbors had a break in?

The reason for asking this is to determine exactly why you may be looking into purchasing an alarm system. Spouse/Significant Other, Children’s names and ages.

Is anyone home when the children come home from school?

It is important you protect your kids at all times. If your kids are alone after school, the salesman will take the opportunity to highlight some of the benefits of perimeter protection while informing you that you can be notified by text message if your kids disarm the system.

Do you have pets?

This may confuse some potential buyers, abut it has to do with motion detectors. There are motion detectors available that will not be set off if you have 2 small animals or less that weigh under 45 pounds. If you have larger pets or more than 3, your options will shift to perimeter devices such as door and window contacts or glass-break detectors.

Do you have a housekeeper, nanny?

For obvious reasons, you want your housekeeper or nanny to be able to come and go when they need to on certain days of the week. Many alarm systems allow you to program specific codes for these people.

What type of internet connection do you have?

Do you have VOIP service?
This is important because many alarm companies do not have the ability to monitor through a VOIP line. If you do have one, make sure you tell the salesperson right away.

Do you have traditional landline phone service in the home?

Home phones are gradually becoming obsolete as many people use cell phones nowadays for their primary phone. If you use your cell phone as the primary phone, you may have to use cell or radio monitoring which will increase the overall price.

Are you aware of homeowner’s discount for alarm owners?

What type of heat do you have in your home?

One of the many options available with your home alarm system is a CO2 detector. Knowing the type of heat you have in your home will help the salesperson recommend the right type of detector.

Are you concerned about Flooding, Freezing Pipes?

Do you have any experience with security systems?

There are extremely complex keypads out there that can be difficult to use if you have no experience with security systems. Knowing your experience can help determine if you need a simple keypad or if you can handle a complex one.

Do you have a cordless phone and if so, have you ever misplaced it?

If you have misplaced your cordless phone from time to time, there are keypads that come with a built-in speaker phone. This way if an emergency arises, you can quickly contact the monitoring station rather than wasting time looking for the phone.

Is your phone service routinely interrupted?

You may want a cell or radio backup if your phone service is interrupted frequently in order to make sure your alarm signal can reach the monitoring station.

After going through all of the questions, the next step to your sales call is the walkthrough. This salesman will typically ask that you join them on the walkthrough so that you can take them into each room in the home.

The walkthrough can help the salesman determine what products are necessary for what rooms based off of how secure you feel each room is.

The final step is settling on the right product for your home. Typically there will be demo keypads, smoke detectors, motion sensors and so on for you to examine. There are three levels of protection ADT monitoring offers with all of their products.

The first level of protection will help protect all of the exterior doors, offers one or two interior motion sensors, one smoke detector on the main floor, a keypad with speakerphone, and the simple yet highly effective window stickers and yard sign.

The second level of protection is similar to the first level but it also offers an additional “spot” protection for areas like the kitchen windows. You will also be able to take advantage of an additional fire device and keypad for the master bedroom. You may also have an additional motion sensor or wireless keyfob.

The final level offers everything from the first two levels along with protection for every door and window. If you choose to, you can upgrade keypads as well.

After highlighting the features of all of your options and explaining the varying degrees of protection, the sales call will have come to a close. It is then up to you to decide which level of protection you are most comfortable with and what products you wish to have in your home. This will help the salesman put together a quote for you to consider.