Security Sales & Integration January 2023 - 51

product announcements and demonstrations,
networking opportunities and activities,
awards, and for many years the tradition of
Security Sales & Integration's Security Dealer
Roundtable.
Among the many probing questions fired at
the panel was top tips for success during 2023.
" Know what motivates each and every one
of your employees because every employee is
motivated differently, " said Advanced Alarm's
John Sperrazza. " For some, it's the sticks. For
others, it's literally grabbing, hugging and kissing
them. It's what motivates that employee
and that's what you need to really pay attention
to because without those employees, you
have no business. "
Hawkeye Communication's Pat Callanan
added, " Always uphold your values and morals.
Slow and easy wins the race. Make good longterm
decisions. Don't take shortcuts because
you get tired and beat up. With all the challenges,
it's easy to do things today that you may
regret six months from now, so stay true to who
you are and what you're doing.
Joining those two for SSI's Security Dealer
Roundtable was Holmes Security's Luke
Wheeler, all of whom belong to the Resideo
Premier Security Dealer program (announced
at CONNECT to be known starting in 2023
as the First Alert Pro Premier Partner program).
See the sidebar box for more on each participant.
Ahead they discuss recent business, what
they expect in the new year, supply chain survival,
contending with costs, and hot technologies
and services.
How was 2022 for your company, and what
are you anticipating 2023 to look like?
Luke Wheeler: This year was good. During
the pandemic, we weren't sure, first going into
the pandemic, about what was going to come
out. But 2020, 2021 and now 2022 surprised
us in how well business was. We did adjust the
way we do a bunch of the things we do. We're
starting to slow down right now but not in a
bad way. Giving our team a little break, a little
breather, as they have been running hard for
the past few years.
I don't have a crystal ball telling me what's
going to happen in 2023. With the economy,
in our industry it seems when it starts to slow
down we tend to stay afloat and do well. Security
is a priority for our customers, in business
and residential. We're lucky in that aspect.
securitysales.com
THE PANELISTS
▶ Pat Callanan is owner and president of Hawkeye Communication, in
Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which he and his wife purchased in 2008. Spanning
burglar and fire alarm systems, fire alarm inspections, voice/data and fiber,
lighting and shade controls, surveillance cameras, card access, A/V and
more, the company is approximately 90% commercial, 10% residential.
▶ John Sperrazza is president of Tonawanda, N.Y.-based Advanced Alarm,
which he founded in 1989. Serving the Buffalo and Western New York
region, the company installs security as well as A/V systems, with a mix
of 70% residential and 30% commercial clientele.
▶ Luke Wheeler is vice president of Holmes Security, founded in 1908
and today with two offices in Fayetteville and Wilmington, N.C. Covering
most of Eastern North Carolina and into South Carolina, the firm is
60% residential and 40% commercial, and owns its own UL-Listed Five
Diamonds central station.
Historically, crime rises when the
economy goes bad and that something
that could benefit the industry. You said
you adjusted in 2022, how so?
Wheeler: We kept all our staff on and did very
little work from home, unless you had COVID.
We set you up with a work-from-home situation
if you wanted to work a little past your time that
you were out with COVID. We also adjusted
how our team dealt with customers. On the sell
side, we made it so they didn't have to go onsite
to meet with the customer. They could use FaceTime
or Zoom and walk through the customer's
house with them. A lot of customers really apJANUARY
2023 Security Sales & Integration
51
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Security Sales & Integration January 2023

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