All Security Is Cybersecurity
At the most recent ASIS Annual Seminar in September, I spoke on two different panels about the rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) and its likely impacts on commercial security. In both cases, the conversation started off describing all the amazing new capabilities that these billions of tiny new sensors and controllers would bring.…
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New Architectural Graphics Symbols Released for Modern Security
The Security Industry Association (SIA), along with the International Association of Professional Security Consultants (IAPSC), recently released AG-01 Architectural Graphics Standard–CAD Symbols for Security System Layout Standard 3.0. AG-01 is a collection of architectural graphics for security intended for use by architects, building contractors, system integrators, electrical contractors and security managers who use CAD to…
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Sales Perspective: Too Many Questions?
Is it possible for a salesperson to ask too many questions? Fifteen years ago, I would have answered this question with an adamant: “No, you can never ask too many questions!” However, I don’t agree with that any more. You can ask too many questions. When questions became the center point of sales calls, our craft of…
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Creating the Workforce of Tomorrow
The Security Industry Association (SIA) has teamed up with Mercer County Community College in New Jersey to bring you a new degree program that prepares students for jobs that support the selling, installation, management and technical support of physical security systems technologies in an IP-based networked environment. The Associate in Applied Science Degree in Security…
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Addressing the Internet of Things
The Internet of Things (IoT) is having a bigger and bigger impact on the security industry. As more devices come online, many of them contribute pertinent security information merely through the regular reporting of their status. Companies are using this information in devices and security systems to garner more situational intelligence. There are fundamental risks,…
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Your Ideal Prospect
What does your ideal prospect look like? Not long ago, I was at a happy hour with some friends. Sara, one of my colleagues, was there, and she joined us for a little while. She was engaged in a conversation with my friend Jacob about his love life. Sara asked Jacob the question we all…
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Holding South Africa Responsible for Potential Trade Violations
The Security Industry Association (SIA) recently had the opportunity to participate in an out-of-cycle review process for South Africa’s participation in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) in response to concerns about the country’s compliance with provisions of the law. SIA believes that a pending South African law which will restrict foreign ownership of…
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Meet Up With Your Prospects
Security integrators rarely meet with prospects before there is a project… but they should. In the security integration world, bad salespeople offer the cheapest possible price for solutions created by the customer. Good salespeople create solutions for the problems found by their customers. However, the great ones find the problems and solve them before they…
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Making an Exceptional Sales Presentation
What makes an exceptional sales presentation? I’ve watched, delivered or created thousands of sales presentations, and I have evaluated the success rate on most of them. Whether an integrator trying to win a project, a manufacturer trying to impress an integrator or either of them presenting to an architecture and engineering firm or consultant, most…
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SIA Reacts to GSA Transactional Data Rule Proposal
On June 25, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce held a hearing on a proposed rule by the General Services Administration (GSA) on transactional data and its effect on small businesses. In response to this hearing, the Security Industry Association (SIA) submitted a statement protesting the GSA proposal, which has been described…
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