Having a Ball on the Show Floor
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Apr 30, 2015
Video Insight, a VMS solutions provider based in Houston, hasn't wasted any time getting to the Mexican and Latin American market. Domingo Martinez, director of marketing, brought his staff to Mexico City for Expo de Seguridad. His goal is to meet with key dealers and integrators.
So far, so good said Martinez, who really just wants to get in front of people and show off the company's v6 VMS product.
"We know this is a price sensitive area," Martinez said. "Our product is priced right, and has the feature set best suited for this market."
v6 is built on an open platform, and best yet, it speaks the local language.
It was very good to run into Alan Forman, CEO of Altronix. He also said the goal for his team at Expo was to rekindle old and successful relationships, and thank people in Mexico City for the business, as well as let them know what is in the Altronix pipeline.
"It is important for us to gain more insight in this security market," Forman said. "We've come here to listen, learn and teach, as well as strengthen relationships."
The challenges working in a foreign include keeping inventory available and coping with the real time needs of the dealer and integrator. Forman said there is no substitute for having people on the ground that know what is needed in terms of sales and product.
Lucy Rivero, president of Inalarm, is legend in Mexico City. I am working on a feature story with her for our next issue of Dealer Strategies. Suffice it to say, Lucy started several years ago as a secretary, then jumped into security sales, but returned to Mexico City to start Inalarm, a well-known distribution house.
Critical to her success is knowing that the customer wants immediate delivery, and that the customer won't wait for product. In a city with 26 million people, Lucy is on the ball. To top that off, Expansion magazine, a local business publication, named Inalarm as the best place to work in 2012 and 2013.
We will talk more about Expo de Seguridad in the next issue.
About the Author
Ralph C. Jensen is the Publisher/Editor in chief of Security Today magazine.