Security Sales & Integration March 2022 - 31

Why He's on the List
▶ Serving the industry since 1982, a trailblazer
on the edge of new technologies changing
the industry, including Nortek's Go!Control
home automation and security panel and
CellBounce wireless alarm signal
transmission conversion
▶ As young adult, moved to Texas and worked
as alarm installer for Westec before hired by
a billionaire to protect his family and assets
Lance Dean
Semi-Retired, Various
Advisory Boards
THE DEAN FILE
▶ Born in Salt Lake City,
in 1963
▶ One of three children,
father was a salesman and
mother a homemaker
▶ Married to wife Veronica,
with one daughter
▶ Has also served as an
advisor to Stanley Security
and Clare Controls
▶ Other security honors
include Alarm Suppliers
Vendor Rep of the Year
(1987), several salesmen
of the year awards,
Honeywell Global Man
of the Year (2005) and
multiple Honeywell
President Club awards
▶ Says if career had taken
another path would have
gone into the Secret
Service
▶ Was on an American
Airlines flight to New York
on 9/11
▶ Other interests include
golf, boating and traveling
▶ In 1985, hired by SSI Industry Hall of Famer
Ben Cornett at Bluegrass Electronics as a
regional rep, then spent 25+ years working
for C&K Systems (1992) and ADEMCO/Honeywell
(1997) managing national accounts
▶ In 2009, co-founded 2GIG Technologies (acquired
by Nortek in 2013 for $135M) with the
late Scott Simon and launched Go!Control in
2010, which won several industry awards
▶ 2GIG was a pioneer in self-contained home
automation/home security systems, with
its panel incorporating a CPU, touchscreen
interface, and Z-Wave, cellular, WiFi and
345MHz communication abilities
Keys to Success
" Meeting the right people and working hard for
my customers helped my success. Ben Cornet
was a mentor and I just tried to be like him. He
hired me when I was 26 and I spent many years
watching and learning from him. Boy, I got lucky
meeting him! Relationships will get and keep
customers. Learning and watching Todd Pedersen
[also a Hall of Famer] and Keith Nellesen at
Vivint go from a small industry player to a major
player has been inspiring. They took chances,
never quit and work hard. I grew up being competitive
in sports and rolled that into my business
practices. I wanted to be No. 1 in sales every
year, so I went the extra miles to get things done.
If my customers were looking for a new solution,
I did my best to find it for them ... or make it. "
Bearing Witness to an Evolution
" In the 1980s, security dealers sold systems for
good money, but the industry was small. Then
it changed to sell to the masses, and it was low
cost down and $29 a month. Then, the doorknockers
came and wanted $0 down but $60
a month, but they wanted better products that
looked better and had more features. The doorknockers
really pushed the manufacturers for
better products. 2GIG helped dealers get more
securitysales.com
RMR with color touchscreens and more features
that could be controlled remotely. Now the RMR
is lower, and dealers are using consumer financing
to pay for the hardware. "
The Path to Industry Innovation
" Many times, innovation comes from smaller or
start-up companies. It's much easier as a startup
or small company to move fast and make
things happen. Big companies buy innovating
new companies to drive new products and sales
in many cases. Over the years, I've worked for
small companies, start-ups and a huge company,
so I understand the reasons the cycle will continue.
Working with a start-up is exciting. Presently,
hardware and software companies are for the
most part separate groups that work with each
other. Consolidation between the two can lead to
more innovation and better products. "
(l-r) Colleagues Sean O'Keefe and Tim Shiner
taking in a Dallas Cowboys game with Lance
Dean in 2009.
Wet and Wild in New Orleans
" On New Year's Eve 1990, George De Marco
[also an SSI Industry Hall of Famer] and I
traveled to watch the L.A. Rams play the Saints
in New Orleans. After the game and a long fun
night on Bourbon Street, we stumbled back to
our hotel as it began to rain around 2 a.m.
" An hour later, the fire alarm went off and
I hear George yelling, 'Get up! It's a fire! " And
then I smelled the smoke. We all got outside
and as it was still raining. We watched across
the street as the firetrucks rolled in and put out
the fire, which was a few floors up from ours.
We were wet and not wearing much since we
had just run out of the room. Around 4:30 a.m.,
the fire chief said it was OK to go back to bed.
We left early to airport the next morning without
much sleep, but boy did we have a great
time in New Orleans! "
MARCH 2022 Security Sales & Integration
31
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Security Sales & Integration March 2022

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