How do I check how many alarm customers have outdated cellular or phone-line communicators?

Start with the monitoring receiver reports rather than the seller’s summary. The receiver shows which accounts actually check in, and by what path. A customer marked as cellular who reports over a phone line, or the reverse, tells you the records are loose. Ask how often the list is reconciled against the receiver.

Then ask who pays to replace an old communicator when a carrier network is retired or a phone line is dropped. Some dealers swap units for free to keep the contract. Others pass the cost on and lose accounts. Look at past upgrade campaigns: how many customers agreed, how many cancelled, and how long the work took the technicians.

Finally, ride along on a few service calls or visit a few sites yourself. Photograph the panel and communicator, and compare them with the file. Check the contract terms on the older accounts too, since a customer who is out of contract can leave the day you ask them to upgrade. Put the upgrade backlog into your offer discussions through your advisers, not into a guess.

Key takeaways

• Get the account list with communicator type and install date, then test it against the receiver reports.
• Ask who bore the cost of past upgrades and how many customers left.
• Visit a sample of sites to confirm the file matches reality.
• Put the upgrade backlog to your advisers before it shapes any offer.