MEET ALEX, THE DOOR TO DOOR ALARM SCAM GUY
Hi, I'm Alex. I'm your friendly neighborhood (well not really) summer student that works for a door to door home security company. During the school year I work pretty hard studying Business and from May to September I work hard knocking on a lot of doors - and by a lot I mean I've been to thousands of homes with my crew. I work with a crew of 20 or more reps, so it's a lot of fun!
The door to door home security company that I work for provided me with training. I'm proud to say that I have one whole week of product training. We spent most of the time on high pressure sales training and how to overcome objections. I'm pretty confident that no matter how many times you say "no thanks" or demand that I leave - I've always got a comeback. Take a look at some of my door to door sales training classes:
HOW TO NAME DROP AND MAKE IT SOUND LIKE THE NEIGHBORS REFERRED YOU (WHEN THEY DIDN'T)
HOW TO MAKE IT SOUND LIKE OUR "FREE" SECURITY SYSTEM IS WORTH $2,000
HOW TO GET PEOPLE TO SIGN 5 YEAR CONTRACTS AT $50 TO $80 A MONTH
HOW TO CREATE URGENCY BY HAVING NO LOCAL OFFICE "WE'RE ONLY HERE TODAY"
HOW TO OVERCOME BUYERS REMORSE WITH A QUICK, SAME DAY INSTALLATION
HOW TO TRICK THE MOST VULNERABLE - SENIOR CITIZENS
WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY SAY "NO"
WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY SAY "NO" REPEATEDLY AND ASK YOU TO LEAVE
WHAT TO DO WHEN THEY SWEAR AT YOU AND THREATEN TO CALL THE POLICE
WHEN GOING BACK 3 TIMES ISN'T ENOUGH
HOW TO USE DECEPTION - WHITE LIES ARE JUST BENDING THE RULES
Pretty awesome stuff right? I'm going to make a ton of dough this summer! I don't get a base salary, but I do make $400 to $500 every time I get you to sign up. So, I have a lot of motivation to keep bugging and pressuring you. We don't have a local office and the door to door home security company rents us a house or pays for our hotels, so I don't have a lot of living expenses. Sweet!
Sometimes I pretend that I work for your current security company and I offer you a free upgrade. "I'm Alex with (Your Existing Security Company". People can be so gullible when they think they're getting something for free. I'm actually going to trick you into signing up with my door to door alarm company and you will be left paying two bills. Doesn't matter to me though - I'm only working with my door to door security company for the summer and you will never see me again.
My all time favorite approach is to make it sound like you are doing me a favor. "I'm Alex with (Door to Door Alarm Company). We're in town for a few days and we're doing a blitz and I would like your help. If you're willing to put a warning sign in a visible location it will create more awareness and help us generate more business. In exchange I can give you a free state-of-the-art security system worth $2000. All you have to do is take care of the small monthly fee of $49.95 a month." People love to help and they love free. I can't believe how many people get sucked in.
Sometimes I offer a two week free trial. This is legit, but most people don't know there is a CONSUMER PROTECTION law that allows any consumer signing a contract the right to cancel within 10 or 14 days. It's called a Buyers Right to Cancel and it's on every one of our contracts. The darn government forces us to do this!
I often tell people it's a month to month subscription, but in reality it's a 4 or 5 year contract. You're on the hook for nearly $3000 every time you sign up. However, most people trust me instead of reading through the contract. And for the people that question the 5 year term? Easy, I just tell them they can cancel anytime (even though they can't). The collections team at my head office will deal with it. Who's going to cancel if they're about to be sent to a collection agency? I won't be here anyways so not my problem.
HOW TO MAKE ME GO AWAY
About the only thing that works is to put up your hand and firmly say "NO". I'm going to try to prevent you from closing the door, but if you just keep saying "NO" eventually I will take you off my hit list. Sometimes you have to threaten to call the POLICE. How ironic is that - calling the POLICE on a home security company.
It's also frustrating to me when people share their stories on FaceBook and other social media sites. I spent a lot of time figuring out ways to deceive people and I don't like it when I'm exposed or people advertise what area I'm working in. One lady took out her phone and started recording me - no thanks.
#meetalex #justsayno #alarmscam #doortodoorsales
*Alex isn't a real person. If you know an Alex please be kind to him.
For more information do yourself a favor and do a Google Search of "door to door alarm scam" and always get 3 quotes. Please share.
Author: Virgil Reed
Owner of Reed Security
20+ Years Security Experience
Family Man
Community Leader
Providing Audio/Video Solutions
6yGreat Article
Owner at DG Communications
6y.
I help people protect what matters most
6yWhen I started working for Honeywell Security Monitoring 13 yrs ago we would have people call all the time about these scams. People would say "Honeywell" and think they are talking about us as we recently separated and were heavy residential at the time; when the reality was they were talking about the equipment. We knew when the colleges in Utah let out because the calls would start in late May. The accuracy of the article is just spot-on!
Realtor at The Brand Realty Team
6yHi Virgil, Some companies/crews use the wrong tactics and aren’t very honest. Nevertheless, door knocking is a legitimate way of making money. I did it for a few years. Some of the tactics that you mention, such as sense of urgency is applied in different industries, like retail. Or are you going to tell me that you have never purchased anything on Black Friday? That price is only good for that day ;) My advice; don’t focus on the competition. Use that energy to come up with new ways to increase your company’s exposure. Good luck.
President & CEO
6yHi Virgil, I own an ADT dealership. We have a few different modes of attracting clients - one of which is sending agents door to door. We offer a very legitimate offer and product. Making a blanket statement like this is not fair. I have to assume that you have had some customers taken from your company each year from Vivint, Fluent, and Liberty and maybe a few others. I as well have lost accounts to these companies but to say that all of their accounts are a scam is not fair to the many honest, hard working individuals that work for the company. Having worked for Vivint in the past I do know that each customer has to pass a pre-install survey which asks the question if they understand that they are signing a contract for 60 months for price X. I invite you to reconsider your post as I know it is probably a way to minimize attrition. Best of luck with your business.