Blogs
Making Hay From Control4’s Price Increase
The tariff-related price hikes are coming, and now is the time to prepare your business.
Henry Clifford
Blogs
Going Old School to Rack Up Reviews
Asking customers for reviews proves to be more effective than solely using automated email invites.
Blogs
Do Our Customers Care About Privacy?
A growing segment of customers are looking to prioritize privacy — are you ready?
Blogs
Rapid Improvement Plan: Completing Jobs Under Hours Sold
Inspiring your team to beat the clock and share in the benefits.
Blogs
O Voice Remote, Voice Remote, Wherefore Art Thou Voice Remote?
What are you doing about voice remote friction in your business?
Blogs
Scripting Your Way To Victory
Let your team not only the results you expect, but how to get there.
Blogs
New Sonos Offer Might Rub Dealers the Wrong Way
Company offers a discount that is easier to get without going through the dealer.
Blogs
Training Your People So They Can Leave
Provide the right training for all types of employees — not just the stars.
Features
Supercharge Revenue By Increasing Your Average Sale
How to increase sales from clients you already have.
Blogs
Allowing Pets in the Workplace
Here’s what happened when we instituted an office pet policy at Livewire.
Blogs
Rapid Improvement Plan: Doing The Job Right The First Time
Trying to reduce the amount of “go back” trips in 2019.
Blogs
Do Your Customers Know What’s Next?
Set proper expectations right from the start of a job to improve the client’s experience.
Blogs
Fixing Lousy Proposals By Putting The Customer First
Why I’m committing to refining our customer-facing proposal materials in 2019.
Blogs
729 Days Inside The CEDIA Board
An insider’s view the association’s goals and its plans to meet them.
Blogs
Planning for 2019 — Start Here
Now is the time to start your strategic planning for next year.
Blogs
Hands On With The Qolsys IQ Panel 2 Plus
Another step closer to the convergence of security and home automation.
Blogs
Rapid Improvement Plan
Stop wasted trips to the Home Depot and Lowe's, and other types of "Ownership Thinking."
Blogs
Predicting The Year Ahead After CEDIA 2018
A look at the trends that will move the industry forward into 2019.
Blogs
How to Make the Most of CEDIA 2018
Tips and tricks for maximizing your time in San Diego next week.
Blogs
Hands On With Alarm.com’s 8-Channel Stream Video Recorder with HDMI Output
This small appliance plugs into your local area network and records eight channels worth of HD video to its own hard drive.
Blogs
Hands On with Rachio 3 + Wireless Flow Meter
A review of the Rachio 3 irrigation controller and intelligent water flow sensor.
Blogs
Hands On With AirPlay 2 and Sonos
AirPlay 2 is now available, and it will change how your clients interact with their Sonos devices.
Blogs
When Zero Equals More
No interest if paid in full in 12 months, monthly minimum payments required.
Blogs
Identify Waste and Get Rid of It!
We’ve Embraced the Kaizen Management Concept and It Seems to Be Working
Blogs
Three Ways to Respond to a Client When You Screw Up
When Your Company Makes a Mistake, You Get a Chance to Show the Client What You’re Really Made of
Blogs
I Went on Vacation to Stress Test My Company. Guess What Happened
Here are Some examples of activities I Once Did Myself, but Then Decided to Delegate Before or After a Vacation and Just Never Re-assumed...
Features
Leveraging STEM and Empathy in Custom Installs
Grow Your Business by Combining Your Technical Aptitude with Emotional Intelligence
Blogs
Our Systems Break… Lead With That
You and Your Client are Staring Future Pain Square in the Eyes and Planning Around It
Features
Control System Manufacturers Want Your Loyalty
Company Is Forging Partnerships At A Rapid Rate
Blogs
Are You Nickel and Diming Your Employees?
Rethinking Company Policies That Create Unintended Staff Pain Points
Blogs
Stop Wasting Your Clients’ Time
New Sales Book, 'The Lost Art of Closing' Focuses on Maximizing Your Day and Anticipating Trends That Impact Your Clients
Blogs
Do Your Employees Think Like Owners or Renters?
Our industry is too dynamic and fast changing to allow sedentary thinkers in the door.
Blogs
Starting a New Company? Here are the Jobs I’d Outsource or Hire from Day 1
Have you ever studied your day and wondered if you’re being as efficient with time as you could be? I do. Practically everyday I...
Features
Are the People, Process, or Product to Blame?
Understanding Which is Which and How to Engage When Issues In Business Arise
Blogs
My Friend Needed an Integrator, but Nobody was Answering Their Phone
A friend of mine is relocating from London to the east coast and wanted us to design a control system for his new home...
Blogs
Standardize or Die: How We are Remotely Managing and Standardizing Our Installations
With the Advent of Remote Management, We’re Being Forced into Standardization. We Don’t Have a Choice Anymore and Maybe That’s a Good Thing
Blogs
How Learning to Fly Taught Me to Love Checklists
Pre-flight checklists help you focus and minimize mistakes. What about our own businesses? What place do checklists have there and how do we inspire...
Blogs
My Hands-On Experience With the Pakedge WR-1
Control4’s relatively recent acquisition of Pakedge puts the company in a unique position. There aren’t any manufacturers out there offering both control systems and...
Blogs
Is Eero Pro Really Worth It?
After I’d removed all the old eeros from the app and physically unplugged them, I decided to run a speed test. I’m paying for...
Features
The Business of Selling Simplicity
Does this sound familiar? The client wants simplicity but asks you for solutions that you know will provide the opposite result. If you argue,...
Blogs
My 24 Hours With Sonos Voice Control
It’s all about voice control for my kids, wife, and mother-in-law. While they squawk at Alexa, they like her much better than the other...
Blogs
Rachio Pro Gen 2: Why Can’t Everything Be This Easy?
The folks at Rachio sent me one of their snazzy new irrigation controllers to evaluate. What follows is an epic tale of unboxing, installation,...