Rolling Video Showcases
Locks Plus outfits mobile fleet with AXIS Companion to deliver surveillance demos to customers’ doors
- By Larry Chay
- May 01, 2018
Locks Plus Security Solutions,
based in southern Florida, was
founded in 2002 as a traditional
locksmith company. The familyrun
business offered commercial
and residential customers routine services
from rekeying locks and replacing doors
to installing dead bolts and exit alarms. By
2016, it was clear that branching into the
video surveillance side of security would be
an important step in its continued success.
MORE THAN A DEADBOLT
“Locking your door with a dead bolt is one
thing,” says Daniel Kallan, vice-president
and co-partner of Locks Plus. “But seeing
who’s on the other side of it is a whole other
level of security.”
To learn more about the technology, Kallan
attended an industry tradeshow that gave
him an opportunity to view and compare vendors
for video camera systems. Once he saw
the innovations presented at the Axis booth,
he knew he found the right products for his
clientele. The next step was to figure out how
a company without a conventional shop could
market a video surveillance solution.
“Our vans are our mobile offices,” Kallan
said. “We keep stock in our trucks all the
time so customers can see and touch what we
sell. I knew that showing customers a product
catalog or a YouTube video of a surveillance
system wasn’t going to close the sale.”
Kallan believed if his customers got
hands-on experience with the cameras they
would be convinced.
He proposed installing an Axis system
inside his trucks as a mobile viewing point
for his customers. Embracing the idea, Locks
Plus was off and running with their demo
equipment.
CREATING A MOBILE
SHOWROOM
Kallan outfitted the company’s three mobile
offices with compact AXIS Companion
demo systems consisting of two HDTVquality
AXIS Companion Dome V network
cameras equipped with 16-gigabytes of
storage on an embedded SD card. The cameras
are powered by a Power-over-Ethernet
switch. A smartphone loaded with the AXIS
Companion mobile app serves as the viewing
platform. Since the vans have no Internet
connection, Kallan installed a Belkin wireless
network in each vehicle for connectivity.
When prospective customers step into
the van, the Locks Plus employee shows the
live streaming video on a smartphone so customers
can watch how the surveillance solution
works in real-time. The two strategically
placed Axis cameras—one facing the van’s
interior and the other towards the street—
showcase the quality of the image under a
dynamic range of lighting conditions.
“Once I explain how easy it is to use and
how safe the system is, the customers really
love it,” Kallan said. “They especially love
that the cameras are self-contained recording
and storage systems that can be accessed
remotely. They don’t need to deal with a
separate network video recorder that could
be stolen or damaged. If an incident occurs
they can copy the video for the police or permanently
archive it offline for later analysis.”
Kallan finds that introducing customers
to these demos has created a powerful resource
for closing and upselling.
ADDING NEW LAYERS
OF SECURITY
Locks Plus mobile shops provide security
hardware and services to a wide range of
properties from retail shops and restaurants
to commercial offices. Introducing customers
to Axis video surveillance systems is the
obvious next step for enhancing their protection.
With only a couple of years selling Axis
solutions under his belt, Kallan is looking
forward to adding Axis video door stations
and access control technology to his mobile
showrooms.
This article originally appeared in the May 2018 issue of Security Today.