Hello Forum Long time follower: Starting CCTV Biz

[Lesst 0]

I have been following this forum for a while as I decided to enter the business. I have broadcast, and corporate video design experience, as well as being a cameraman. Have video at my home and office for 15+ years too. Look forward to listening, learning and contributing my 2 cents!

Some of the members here do such a wonderful service to answer honestly on such a wide variety of topics. My hats off to you guys on the forum for being so generous with your knowledge.

The main thing I know for sure about the CCTV business so far is that everyone wants it, but no one wants to pay to do it right. I’ve always handled high end broadcast cameras costing an average of $40K+ to a quarter million in one handful, but of course paid for by big $ companies. Companies have money, and know that they need to spend for what they want, people are harder to pull $’s from.

 

Any thoughts?

[bpzle 0]

We are in the same boat my friend. I can't even get friends and family to pull the trigger on installs at cost! Your right, everyone sees the need and "wants" CCTV but no one wants to pull out their wallets! At a convenience store the other day I overheard this lady whining to a police officer about the hoodlums in her neighborhood. She went on talking about how they would fire guns in the air, deal drugs in front of her, vandalize, and so on. I approached her and said “there's only so much the police can do, why don't you proactively take matters in your own hands? I have complete CCTV packages installed starting from $199! If you had any of those activities recorded, they would be in jail right now.â€

[WRS_Mark 0]

I was going to start a new thread for my first post but after reading this one I just had to comment.

 

Anyway, Hi all. My name is Mark and I got into the CCTV business in February. I have a lot of experience with PC's and have spent the bulk of my working life in the construction industry and yep, it's tough to attract people willing to pay. They want the best equipment but they want it given to them. For a first year company I am doing well. The bills are being paid and that is about as much as I can ask for these days with the economy and all. I found an excellent supplier of high quality equipment and I have done a lot of advertising whether it be online, in the local newspaper or just posting my services on bulletin boards wherever I go. Residential customers are generally a waste of time so far, with small stores taking too much effort for very little profit. Where I have had success is with larger companies, construction firms and small towns. Farmers have a keen interest in video surveillance as well. Just remember: Look after the customer. If it takes a while longer to do the job right, just do the job right. Even if you cannot justify charging for all the time you put into it. If you are an owner-operator with low overhead, you can do it. There is absolutely nothing that will nuke your business faster than a job done poorly. Half of the jobs I have picked up so far are from referrals. That tells me something. And be on time or even early for customer appointments. The ones who are going to buy from you will buy from you because they realize you respect them enough to show up on time and organized.

 

Still, it is a PITA

[bpzle 0]

Just remember: Look after the customer. If it takes a while longer to do the job right, just do the job right. Even if you cannot justify charging for all the time you put into it.

I couldn't agree more. My problem is just getting the chance to!

[WRS_Mark 0]

Yeah, I can understand that. You gotta advertise a lot. It isn't necessarily expensive because there are a lot of free web ads available. It's just difficult coming up with an effective ad. Took me months to come up with one that is kicking a$$ at the moment.

[cctv_sol 0]

totally agree with you, there is a lot of experience here to learn and to know.

[Rayshine 0]

yes, advertising is very important especially at this time. God bless you all!

[griffonsystems 0]

vegas and that 52" plasma are sexy, a crappy 200buck cctv system is not.. maybe try going with some megapixel ip camera shots tie one mp camera into that tv so the wife can pull up the camera on the tv and maybe they'd bite.. gotta get creative these days and build a solid foundation of good clients that you bend over backwards for even if ur eating labor cost...if you put in solid systems that solve peoples problems your name will get out there and people will start to come to you

 

good luck

 

pg

[bpzle 0]

I'm in the business of selling products that people want. If cheap is what they want, cheap is what they get. $200 is just a starting point to give them an idea of the absolute bare minimum they can buy for me to show up at their door step. Classic bait and switch? Not quite. I demonstrate the differences of why a $400 IP camera is better than a $40 analog one and why a $800 DVR is better than a $175 one. I.e. Daewoo vs. Lexus. The customer decides for themselves what they can afford. If they pick a system that doesn't perform to their expectations, they can't say I didn't supply them with the knowledge to make an informed decision. I don't hide anything or mislead. I stand behind all of my installs and do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Including going the extra mile to keep their wallets full. Limiting yourself to just a few elite home owners that can afford high end systems doesn't make much business since to me. After all, a cheap CCTV system sale is better than no sale at all.

[bpzle 0]

I'm in the business of selling products that people want. If cheap is what they want, cheap is what they get. $200 is just a starting point to give them an idea of the absolute bare minimum they can buy for me to show up at their door step. Classic bait and switch? Not quite. I demonstrate the differences of why a $400 IP camera is better than a $40 analog one and why a $800 DVR is better than a $175 one. I.e. Daewoo vs. Lexus. The customer decides for themselves what they can afford. If they pick a system that doesn't perform to their expectations, they can't say I didn't supply them with the knowledge to make an informed decision. I don't hide anything or mislead. I stand behind all of my installs and do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. Including going the extra mile to keep their wallets full. Limiting yourself to just a few elite home owners that can afford high end systems doesn't make much business since to me. After all, a cheap CCTV system sale is better than no sale at all.

[griffonsystems 0]

doesn't it take just as long to sell someone a cheap (low margin) system than it does to sell someone an expensive (higher margin) system, sure there are exceptions but you will need to sell a hell of a lot of cheap systems to keep your business afloat. you need to find a solution that's reliable (I think this is key to a successful cctv business unless your business is based on service calls but that will also lead to unhappy clients which leads to no referrals and getting a bad name which will kill your business), delivers the image and functionality your customer demands and makes you a decent margin. deals are definitely hard to come by right now which makes it even more important to spend time selling to those people/businesses where you will make money not just push product.

[bpzle 0]

My experience has been that expensive does not always equal reliable. I’ve seen $200 DVRs last years and $3,000 ones crap out after 6 months. I offer reliable (minimum 1 year warranty) but cheap products. As a new business, I do not have the luxury to sit around and wait for the high margin, high profit sales. I’d rather make a little money than no money at all. After all, I need to crawl before I walk.

My goal is to establish relationships with people. I do what it takes to make my customers happy. If they learn they can trust me with a little, sooner or later they’ll trust me with a lot.

[Soundy 1]

My goal is to establish relationships with people. I do what it takes to make my customers happy. If they learn they can trust me with a little, sooner or later they’ll trust me with a lot.

 

Quoted for truth!

[pyro 0]

I've spent a generous amount of time fixing really cheap installs and poor workmanship. I have lost work to low-ballers only to get it back once they booger up the job. Maintain your standards and do quality work. Or else you'll end up like a dish network guy having to do 5 houses a day to cover your nut. Even now as the economy continues to slow I am busier than a one-footed man in an ass kicking factory. I don't have time to do counter offers to low-ball quotes just to get business. I quote a fair price with quality product and I give a 1 year warranty on all parts unless you damaged the cam. And a lifetime on all labor. Good luck buddy. I know you will be a success and great ethical addition to your business community.

 

CCTV techs do it on camera!

 

pyro