Commercial Integrator May 2021 - 19

COVER PROFILE

" They know what the
budget is going to be,
they know what the
infrastructure is going to
feel like and they know
that we'll be there to
help them integrate and
manage that system. "
- Kim Lehrman, CEO, CEC

Technology changes rapidly and organizations must pivot to new solutions every
three or five years. Managed services programs with a company as comprehensive
as CEC can help take the guesswork out
of planning for the future and bake those
upgrades into the customer roadmap.
" They know what the budget is going to
be, they know what the infrastructure is going to feel like, and they know that we'll be
there to help them integrate and manage
that system, " Lehrman says.
In addition to flexible payments and technology upgrades, the company's program
includes network readiness assessments
and security management, end user training for the life of the system and preventative maintenance to ensure systems are
compliant with codes and regulations.
That program and commitment to managed services helped the company earn
recognition from NSCA, earning the system
commercialintegrator.com

CM2105 pp18-21 CEC Profile.indd 19

integration trade group's 2020 Excellence
in Business award.
Technology like audiovisual systems, fire
systems, IT and access control are increasingly complicated and sophisticated, and
trying to staff those positions internally can
be nearly impossible, says Lehrman.
" Do you build that talent internally, " says
Lehrman, " or do you partner with a company like CEC and rely on our expertise? "
The program not only helps customers
budget and forecast, but also provides CEC
with a solid financial posture with revenues
coming in each month.
The program was rolled out in January
2020, just in time to start securing some
contracts before the pandemic threw a
wrench into the global economy, says Tyler
Ebnet, vice president of sales.
" It couldn't have come at a better time, "
he says.
Several key customers have switched

over to the managed services program, but
convincing both customers and internal
salespeople to think differently about how
technology is purchased took some time.
The company had been successful for
more than 70 years before this shift, so
getting the company's salespeople, service
group and customers to buy-in to this new
approach took some work on the front
end, says Ebnet.
" There was a lot of work internally and a
lot of processes that had to be changed, "
he says. " If you're delivering a premium
product like managed services, customers
have premium expectations. "
According to Ebnet, selling managed services means selling predictability, uptime,
and a quick response, so the service group
had to get up to speed on those things.
For sales, the issue was changing the
mindset altogether and making sure salespeople are delivering the value proposition
MAY 2021

Commercial Integrator

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Commercial Integrator May 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Commercial Integrator May 2021