GE’s new builder program brings new opportunities to dealers

October 28, 2004 ARDEN HILLS, Minn. - Being a GE Security dealer has its benefits and now the company has just added one more. To address the growing builders market, GE has unveiled its builder program - a turnkey marketing program that provides installers with necessary tools to market and sell structured wiring and security solutions to homebuilders. The program is being unleashed as the builder market continues to be a boon for security dealers. Richard Genece, director of residential vertical marketing for GE Security, said the new home construction side of the market has been somewhat overlooked in the past. “We recognize that builders are a key channel but really had not done a lot to market to them in the past,” he said. By participating in the program, dealers receive point of sale materials to distribute to builders as a tool to increase technology add-on sales in new homes. According to Steve Craig, marketing communications director at GE Infrastructure, Security, 22 percent of a builder’s revenue is derived from add-on purchases in new homes, which leads to additional installation opportunities for dealers. “We’ve assembled a program that says to dealers, if you want to sell to builders, this can augment what you can do,” Genece said. While the program is designed to install more structured wiring and security systems in homes, it also enables builders to tap into the security services offered by GE for their own use. For example, through a partnership with Alarm.com, the program offers job site security monitoring. An Alarm.com system can also be installed in a model home to track visitor’s traffic patterns. From the installer end, the program opens up additional avenues of opportunities. “Security dealers and integrators are constantly struggling with how to expand their business,” Genece said. “Many of them may have not looked at the builder market yet.” For more on this story, see the December issue of Security Systems News.