Using What the Industry Offers to Learn

In writing my articles for SPT I am guided by trying to pass on information that I think will be useful to those that read the magazine. Because my job forces me to stay on top of general industry trends, it occurred to me that I could be helpful by passing on information on the various annual trade shows and conferences I attend and magazines I read- all to try to stay up to date on the industry

Trade shows, conferences and magazines are important for obvious reasons. You see suppliers, learn about new equipment, read about the issues in the security industry and you can network with other dealers. But there is another reason to take part in all of this. Most of us spend too high a % of our working hours just “doing”- chasing down endless things involved in our business- and don’t spend enough time standing back and thinking about the broader picture. I read an article recently that said many successful business people allocate a significant portion of every week to reading, learning and thinking. The article was convincing to me and I have am now trying to do the same.

Here is my take on the various ways to learn about the industry.

Hopefully, most of you take advantage of any manufacturer’s training sessions offered. These sessions not only teach you about the equipment or service being sold but also are a great opportunity to network and learn from other dealers in your industry.

Along the same line, the major distributors like ADI and Tried put on customer appreciation days which allow you to connect with suppliers and network with fellow dealers. Try to attend one per year.

If you have not done so already, join one of the main industry associations - Canasa or the CFAA as the main security associations in Canada. But if you aspire to get bigger things, consider joining one of the US associations- the ESA (Electronic Security Association) or the TMA (The Monitoring Association). Or if you are more integration based, look at ASIS or the SIA (Security Industry Association). I am a member of 3 of them. Most of these organizations put educational programs online or hold them at sites which I can tell you from firsthand knowledge are worthwhile. The guarding industry unfortunately is not as well organized with an equivalent organization. I am still amazed at meeting Canadian industry players who are not members of any one of these associations.

In Canada there are annual industry trade shows put on in almost every part of the country- most just one day affairs but which offer you a lot. The circuit begins in Montreal in April, then to Alberta in May, onto Ottawa in early June, Vancouver in mid to late June, the Maritimes in mid Sept and closing off in Toronto in mid October. Most of these shows have training sessions either on or off the trade show floor. (In the past there used to be a full education agenda attached to the Toronto Show. Unfortunately they were cancelled- a bad decision.) Spending one half day and maybe part of an evening at the annual trade show is a great way of not only catching up with equipment suppliers but also talking to your monitoring station and other dealers. You cannot afford not to go. Most of the biggest, most successful dealers that I know take the time to attend their annual trade show.

In fact many of the most successful Canadian dealers also attend one of the US trade shows which offer a broader scope- more suppliers & more dealers.

The list of more popular US trade shows as I know them is as follows- ISC West in Vegas in early April, ISC East in New York in November, ESX is June and ASIS in Sept. You can find the exact date and location for each on the net.

There is no question that ISC West in Vegas is the biggest. I think every Canadian dealer should attend it at least once every 3-4 years. Not only is almost every supplier in the world there but there is no larger collection of dealers or industry people anywhere in the English speaking world. It can be over-whelming the first time through so I suggest planning who you want to see and what events you want to attend ahead of time.

ESX is the annual June show attached to the Electronic Security Association. This show is known for consistently having the best educational program of all the shows. Some Canadians go to this show just for the education.

If you can’t attend either one of these try to get to either ISC East or ASIS. ISC East is always in New York in November and ASIS each September but moves around. Be aware that ASIS aims to attract end users. Some of your larger clients may even go to ASIS now.

Then there are annual security conferences that you should be aware of. Most of these for no more than 2 days but do cost money to attend. They all have good educational sessions and offer great networking opportunities. The main ones that I attend are the SPT Security Summit held for the first time last June. It is attempting to be the go-to security conference in Canada addressing the higher profile issues of the day. Security New Ground held in conjunction with the SIA in October in New York and is primarily designed for integrators and manufacturers. The Imperial Capital investor Conference relates to their investing role in the security industry and features about 30 presentations of various security companies each year. Finally the Barnes Buchanan conference held in Palm Beach each Feb is structured around Michael Barnes work in M & A mainly in the alarm industry. As a Canadian dealer I would try to get to the Security Summit in June in Toronto at least every other year. If you are more integration driven consider going to Securing New Ground in New York every so often. If you are a buyer of alarm accounts and want to learn about all that, go to Barnes Buchanan at least once. Michael Barnes summary on the Friday morning of the conference is a very worthwhile summary of what is going on in the industry.

Finally what could you be reading? Here is what I read. Firstly of course there is SPT News the main security magazine in Canada. Security Systems News is US based newspaper like magazine that comes out monthly and really brings you all the recent news in the industry- who has bought who, who has moved to where. Unfortunately for me it arrives in Canada so late that it loses its punch.SDM or Security Dealer Magazine is US based, comes out about 10 times per year and covers the waterfront from a security perspective for dealers. There are several, in depth articles on various aspects of the industry in each copy. SSI or Security Sales and Integration is another US based security magazine that has shorter punchier articles. There are more but these are the ones I read regularly. Try to select at least 2 of these and read some of each of edition that comes to your door.

It is important to stay up to date and push yourself and your company into new frontiers and it is also important to stand back.

Victor Harding

Harding Security Services Inc