Alarm Capital Alliance (ACA), Media, Pa., celebrates ten years in the account acquisition business with 2010 being one of their most successful years yet. And with no signs of slowing down, ACA is ready to launch its new Independent Dealer Program at ISC West, Las Vegas, in less than two weeks.
The company is in the midst of transitioning its Web site and strategies to promote the new dealer program, which will enhance ACA’s current purchase program that was created more for dealers that had done a bulk sale to ACA, according to Kelly Bond, vice president of Sales and Marketing, ACA.
“Over time a lot of dealers came to us asking ‘why don’t you offer your sales and purchase approach in a dealer program?’” Bond explained. “There were several dealers that asked if our dealer program was available to them. We had enough requests that it made us start thinking about it. So, we took some time to put together what we hope is going to be a very successful program that does not require a prior bulk sale,” said Bond.
One of the underlying benefits of the new dealer program allows dealers to market their own business name on decals, yard signs, invoices to the subscriber and other marketing material, allowing them to keep their own identity.
“And that has always been our message,” confirmed Bond. “You sell your accounts and you reap the financial benefit but you do keep your identity. In most cases, the dealers that sell accounts to us continue to service the accounts indefinitely. They retain all of the service revenue as well as any upsales, equipment add-ons and referrals. They keep an ongoing relationship with the customer even though they’ve sold those accounts to us.”
ACA’s program will soon provide detailed, real-time reporting via the Web, which allows dealers to view all activity on the accounts that they have sold as frequently as they choose.
“Our program is very competitive with those already in the industry,” explained ACA President and CEO Amy Kothari. “We offer aggressive multiples, flexible purchase options and specialized equipment pricing with the leading manufacturers. We encourage the dealers to keep as many of their accounts as possible,” said Kothari.
Success and its rewards
In May of 2010, ACA, through its full or partial acquisitions, closed on a $100 multi-million credit facility, led by Bank of America, earmarked solely for new acquisitions. ACA purchased $735,969 of RMR (25,829 accounts), putting its customer count at 101,000.
“To date, we have worked with close to 200 alarm dealers, many of which are still providing service on the accounts they sold us,” Kothari continued. “We are continually reminded by our long relationships with these business owners of how important our model is for companies that want to build brand awareness in their markets.”
ACA continues to purchase accounts from alarm dealers who, in most scenarios, are staying in business and continue a relationship with the accounts they sell.
