Selling Smart to Home Builders

As demand for new homes continues to boom, successful security dealers are winning with home builders. Their strategy? Selling smart home! 

Smart Home is Standard 

Across the country, homebuyers have come to expect smart home technology in new homes. In Nashville, TN, security and smart home provider, Symspire, finds that home buyers are more tech savvy than ever before. 

Symspire President, James Ward, says, “Buyers expect technology in every aspect of their lives–especially in their new home which is often the largest purchase they have ever made.” 

Ward goes on to explain that his builder partners leverage smart home as a standard to set themselves apart from the competition. That competition includes other home builders who haven’t standardized on smart home and existing, older home inventory that is on the market.  

Builders Rely on the Smart Home Experts 

In Oklahoma City, OK area home builders rely on Alcom Security to educate their homebuyers on included and available smart home technology. Alcom’s smart home advisors meet with each homebuyer to educate, train, and answer any questions they may have. 

“That’s one less thing the builders have to worry about,” explains Taylor McKinney, Alcom Security COO. “Our team makes sure homebuyers completely understand the technology included in their new smart home.” 

Manufacturers are Happy to Help 

While dealer partners ensure a smooth pre-closing and post-closing experience for builders and their buyers, manufacturers start planting and watering seeds long before excavators start pushing dirt for new communities. 

“We attend tradeshows and nurture relationships with homebuilders,” explains Jasmine Leitzel, Builder and Multifamily Sales at JCI. “And as we develop new opportunities, we recommend trusted dealer partners to those builders.” 

Meeting in the Middle 

While builders are reluctant to saddle new homebuyers with monthly fees, dealers and platform providers are focused on building Recurring-Monthly-Revenue and understand the value of smart home and security as a service. Fortunately, they’ve found a great way to meet in the middle. 

Jasmine Leitzel explains, “The Qolsys Builder Program powered by Alarm.com allows dealers to offer security and smart home packages to new home buyers without a monthly fee for the first 3 years.” 

Builders love this model because they can offer affordable smart home packages with an easy upgrade path to professionally monitored security. 

“Our dealers love the program because the cost of the smart home system is rolled into the mortgage,” explains Leitzel. “That gives them the flexibility to offer a more competitive monthly service fee and increases their conversion rate to paid services.” 

Closing the Gap 

Companies like Alcom and Symspire know that staying on schedule and doing quality work has earned them the trust of their builder partners. Their processes, customer facing documents, internal billing documents, and constant communication with builders set them apart from the competition. 

But they know that even with smart home packages as a standard, a new home isn’t a guaranteed subscriber. Closing the gap requires finely tuned processes. 

Pre-closing communication and post-closing follow up ensure home buyers are in the know and fully prepared to get the most out of their new smart home. And cooperation from site agents ensures they have timely closing lists with complete buyer information. With contact info in hand, proactive follow up by phone, email, and text message maximizes their chances of signing up the new homeowners for paid services. 

It’s no surprise that more than half of the homes in their communities subscribe to paid security and smart home services! 

Here Today. Here to Stay. 

Research from Parks Associates indicates that home security providers are the most trusted providers of smart home technology. While big tech and other trades continue to dabble in the builder channel, it’s unlikely that home security providers will be unseated as the de facto smart home integrators. 

Besides, a smart home without security doesn’t sound so smart, does it? 

Jake Voll is the President of SS&SI Dealer Network