Coffee Break with Jake

Jaksot

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  The 107-Year Startup 15.09.2026 51min

  This week Jake Voll talks with Jack Doyle, President and CEO of Doyle Security Systems, a company founded on St. Patrick's Day in 1919 and now in its fifth generation of family ownership. Doyle runs roughly 60,000 customers and $2.3 million in recurring monthly revenue across upstate New York and Erie, Pennsylvania, which puts it 19th largest in the country by RMR, and Jack stepped into the CEO seat in 2023 after a deliberate three year succession plan. What makes the story worth an hour is not the longevity itself but what the company was willing to give up to get here, starting with a guard division that once employed 3,200 people.In this episode, we talk about...✅ The family business constitution, including the rule that you work somewhere else before you work at Doyle✅ Why the family holds annual retreats and conflict resolution sessions, after an earlier generation's split broke the company in two✅ Selling a 3,200 employee guard division to reinvest in the alarm business, and dropping to 80 employees✅ Exiting locksmithing, and the phrases that tell you a division has outlived its usefulness✅ Deciding where to play and, just as deliberately, where not to✅ Keeping a UL listed central station when almost everyone offloaded theirs, and how video monitoring made it a differentiator again✅ An acquired customer base whose RMR grew 10% over four years while the unit count shrank✅ What a trusted security advisor does differently from an integrator chasing projects✅ Why you cannot automate the ambiguity out of a central station seat✅ Jack's closing advice on contracts, and why you cannot cede ground on the customer relationshipCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Wireless Jammers 09.09.2026 50min

  This week Jake Voll brings the topic of wireless jammers to the room, and the room has stories to tell. A few years ago this sounded like a movie plot or a theoretical problem. Now police and federal prosecutors are describing it in burglary investigations, and the dealers on this call have lived it.The uncomfortable part is that nothing on the shelf today would have stopped either one. Encryption stops spoofing, not jamming. Frequency hopping and hardwired sensors buy you a local alarm at best, because the same device that jams RF also jams the cellular path carrying the signal out of the building. In this episode, we talk about...✅ Two dealer incidents in detail, including the cut network cable with video proving the alarm sounded locally, and the 90 second smash and grab where the sensors fired but nothing reached the panel✅ Why a redundant communication path is thinner comfort than it sounds✅ What encryption actually protects against, and why frequency hopping and hardwired devices still leave you with a local alarm at best✅ The hardwire everything standard one dealer landed on after a takeover job, and how he rebuilt that customer's confidence without giving the work away✅ Four documented cases from Jake's research, from nine residential burglaries in Edina, Minnesota to a federal conspiracy that hit 29 financial institutions for more than $4 million✅ How cheap and available these devices have become online, and the reminder that buying one is a federal offense with no professional exception✅ RF jam detection on every wireless panel, why almost every dealer enables it at install and disables it before leaving, and how that decision reads in a lawsuit when the customer finds the feature later✅ Local and edge storage as the hedge for when the connection drops, from a dealer who puts that recommendation in writing every single time✅ What a central station does with a failure to communicate today versus what it should do with a jamming alert, including the question nobody has answered about dispatch✅ Security beyond the panel, from the burglar's eye view walkthrough to resistance, deterrence, and displacement, and using CPTED to make a house the one they skipCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak!
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  Fleet Management: Technology and Policies for Company Vehicles 01.09.2026 54min

  This week, Jake Voll sits down with Robert Few of The Connection Xchange and Greg Sariti of In Charge Electric to talk about company vehicles, the part of your business that is the most visible, the most expensive, and the easiest to ignore until it bites you.Robert runs TCX, a consulting and coaching company that works with integrators, electrical contractors, and distributors on building a foundation and getting to scale. Greg is the home technology director at In Charge Electric, which runs over 380 trucks across four Texas metroplexes and ten branches. He has lived the whole curve, from three or four trucks of his own in the early 2000s to a fleet with a full-time manager.In this episode, we talk about...✅ What GPS and telematics are really solving for, and why that conversation is easier today than it was ten years ago✅ What the systems track beyond location, including AI that flags eyes off the road, plus the insurance discounts and the carriers that now require cameras✅ Why the rolling billboard cuts both ways, because anyone with a phone can put your truck on Facebook✅ Writing the fleet use policy before you need it: take-home rules, the geofencing questions nobody documents, and who eats the deductible when a distracted tech causes the accident✅ On-call policy for techs with trucks at home, including zero tolerance on alcohol from both guests✅ Fuel cards in practice at In Charge, from driver numbers and mileage at every fill-up to why Robert says fuel only and means it✅ Maintenance that actually happens: shops next to every branch, monthly manager walkarounds, and Greg's 30-day truck party✅ Buy versus lease, the repair-or-replace math that sneaks up on you, and two ways dealers turn an old truck into a retention perk✅ Coaching, write-ups, and when a bad driver has to go, plus the scorecard that makes that call defensible instead of personalCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  From Interest to Acquisition: Buying in the Security Industry 25.08.2026 52min

  This week, Jake Voll pulls together a three-person panel to walk through what an acquisition in the security industry actually looks like from the broker's chair, the banker's chair, and the operator's chair. Colby Monachino of Monachino Partners handles the brokerage side, Jennifer Holloway of CIBC US handles the debt side, and Sean Forrest of Alarm Detection Systems, Inc. handles the buyer side. Between the three of them, they cover the arc from "should I even be looking at this" through LOI, due diligence, close, and the first ninety days after the wire clears.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Three reasons Sean pursues acquisitions at Alarm Detection Systems✅ The "get your own house in order" test before you even start looking✅ Colby's read on today's market✅ Jennifer's warning about strategy discipline: have a checkbox on every target✅ Why RMR lending is a specialty product and your local bank probably can't do it✅ Margin benchmarks Jennifer looks for✅ Cash versus bank versus seller financing✅ Colby's tale of caution on seller financing from the buy side✅ Why two nearly identical RMR books can get wildly different valuations✅ Sean's red-flag checklist✅ The deferred revenue conversation ✅ Sean's integration advice, from a guy who has made the mistake more than once✅ Loan covenants after close✅ Colby's first-90-days trap✅ Mike Tyson's rule applied to M&A: everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face, so plan on getting punched in the faceCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Seeing Around Corners 18.08.2026 49min

  This week, Jake Voll sits down with Jon Perry, president and owner of Sting Alarm in Las Vegas, for a 24-year look at what it takes to build a security company in a no-response city, roll out remote guarding before anyone was calling it remote guarding, and stay disciplined about which shiny objects to chase.Jon's background is IT, not alarms. He graduated UNLV in 1998, and in 2003 his longtime family friend Jonathan Fine pitched him on starting Sting Alarm with the line "we'll be on every casino on the strip." That was the hook. Twenty-four years later they're headquartered in Vegas, deep in gaming and a handful of other verticals, and recently opened a second market in Phoenix. What they built in the middle is the interesting part: an alarm company that treated the IT side and the physical security side as one thing back when nobody else was, and used that convergence as its first real competitive edge.The through-line of the conversation is discipline. Discipline about who you buy, discipline about which technologies you roll out, discipline about what you say no to, discipline about setting the expectation on every remote guard account before the cameras go live. Jon is candid about the misses too. Around the time they moved their monitoring from in-house to a third-party partner, they lost roughly 90% of their video analytic customers because the service couldn't deliver what had been sold. Some of those accounts were four figures a month. He calls it terrible, learns out loud from it, and now Sting brings every new video account on with a much tighter filter and a much clearer promise.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Why Jonathan Fine's "every casino on the strip" pitch got Jon out of IT and into the alarm business in 2003, and what the analog-to-IP shift looked like from an IT guy's seat✅ Las Vegas is a no-response city: the police don't come unless the alarm is verified by a guard, audio, or video, and how that one municipal rule shaped Sting's entire product roadmap✅ Video verification in 2004: tying the customer's camera to the alarm panel, popping the DVR feed to the operator, and using that as the wedge to compete against the incumbents✅ Rolling out video analytic monitoring around 2012 on the Video IQ platform (later gobbled by Avigilon, now Motorola) and running it out of their own central station✅ The brutal transition when they moved monitoring to a third party the first time and lost ~90% of their video analytic customers because the service couldn't be delivered, and what that taught them about setting expectations before the cameras turn on✅ Two businesses under one roof: separate teams for residential/small business and commercial enterprise, because they show up different, talk different, and need different training✅ Adding fire construction and fire monitoring through a local acquisition, and why fire is a different kind of platform play than bolting on more RMR✅ Over 1,000 five-star Google reviews and the platform, leaderboard, and gamification behind them, and why "just ask" is the whole trick if you actually earned it✅ Jake's own $20 spiff experiment that landed a hundred five-star reviews in two weeks and cost him $2,000 he'd happily spend again, and Jon's read on what those reviews do to the team internally✅ Eight-plus acquisitions since 2010 and what Sting looks for now: cultural fit and how the accounts were originated (not just the RMR), no door-to-door dumps, no square peg / round hole deals, no lawsuits ever✅ Halo sensors as camera-less cameras: the technology Jon says he missed the boat on and is bullish on now, especially for hotel and casino applications where privacy and awareness both matter✅ Why remote guarding is at the "toddler stage" of its growth curve, and how that shapes Sting's next ten years of camera and RMR sales✅ Rapid fire: the industry needs to get better at communication and transparency about what products actually do (and don't), and customers still underestimate how long real response takesCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Creating a Great Workplace 11.08.2026 55min

  This week, Jake Voll sits down with Randi Elrad of Crime Prevention Security Systems for a 51-year lesson on what it actually takes to build a workplace people don't want to leave, and why the trophies on the wall are the byproduct, not the point.Randi's origin story is one of the best in the industry. In 1975, she was a special education teacher and her husband Johnny was a microbiologist studying rheumatoid arthritis. Johnny worked odd hours at the lab and Randi could not sleep alone in the house. They found a sound discriminator that plugged into the wall, listened for the high-frequency crack of breaking glass, and tripped a siren with a tape dialer to the police station. Randi figured if it helped her sleep, it would help a zillion other people.Fifty-one years later, Crime Prevention is the 65th largest alarm company in the United States, running three branches across Gainesville, Orlando, and Jacksonville with 60 employees.In this episode, we talk about...✅ The 1975 origin story: a sound discriminator, a nervous special ed teacher, a husband at the lab all night, and the installer who told them there was no future in either the alarm business or computer science✅ Crime Prevention's no-gossip policy and the escalation ladder that lets employees resolve friction directly without letting resentment metastasize into the walls✅ Why Randi tells every new hire "we are absolutely not your boss"✅ The toilet analogy Randi uses to reset angry customers who think their alarm is somehow her personal responsibility to babysit✅ The reverse-psychology move for de-escalating a hot customer call ✅ The installer who burned out after 20 years, moved into sales instead of quitting, and now closes millions in systems every year because he loves what the product does for people✅ The quit-properly rule: give two weeks and you are always welcome back if the dream job turns into a nightmare; leave a post-it note on your desk and the door is closed for good✅ Longevity and honest favoritism: employees at 43, 40, and 35 years of tenure, and Randi's refusal to pretend those relationships are the same as the ones with someone six months in✅ Corporate Chaplains of America, the free non-denominational counselor Crime Prevention keeps on retainer, and the employee who got connected to real financial resources through a chaplain conversation nobody in leadership ever heard about✅ Randi's read on why so much workplace friction is really unhealed personal stuff walking through the door at 8 amCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Turn Every Camera Into a Motion Detector 05.08.2026 29min

  In this special edition of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with David Erickson, co-founder and COO of CHeKT, to unpack what it actually takes to turn a book of camera system customers into scalable, defensible recurring monthly revenue. David walks Jake through the founding vision he helped build about 10 years ago: there is no reason a camera can't replace every motion detector in the world. When you take that idea seriously, everything downstream changes. The camera stops being a "video product" and starts being a detector the monitoring center can act on. That reframe is what unlocks fixed site pricing, standardized central station protocols, and portable accounts that can be moved from one station to another in under 10 minutes.In this episode, we talk about...✅ The 10-year-old founding vision that shaped CHeKT: replace every motion detector in the world with a camera, and treat the camera as the detector the monitoring center actually responds to✅ Why the "one smart IT guy" model isn't scalable, and how a centrally managed cloud platform protects both your book of business and your customer's cybersecurity posture✅ Portability that actually works: moving a video account from Central Station A to Central Station B in under 10 minutes with just an account number change, no truck roll required✅ End-to-end supervision from camera edge to monitoring center down to 60-second intervals, including the video stream, the ISP connection, and the camera's analytics✅ The national integrator model where subs box out pre-configured bridges and never touch the sensitive parts, and how that solves the technician-shortage problem dealers keep bringing up✅ Why CHeKT has spent years lobbying central stations for fixed site pricing, and why that pricing certainty is what actually lets a sales team quote video monitoring with confidence✅ Real recurring revenue numbers: $80 to $120 per month on interior secure commercial (SMBs, banks, high-risk retail, jewelry, pawn), and $300 to $400+ per month on exterior secure locations like plumbing contractors, body shops, and equipment yards✅ False alarm attrition risk on traditional alarm accounts and how camera-as-detector reframes the value conversation with the end customer✅ David's advice for the dealer with hundreds of camera system customers who hasn't built any RMR yet: start with your most trusted customer, deploy it with them, let the platform prove itself✅ CHeKT's new sales enablement data: statistical vertical targeting that tells a dealer which account types in their specific market are most likely to buy video monitoringReady to see what CHEKT can do for your book of business? Connect with your SS&Si account manager and ask about the demo discount on your first bridge.Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Old Fashioned Service, Modern Growth 29.07.2026 54min

  In this episode of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with John Loud, founder and owner of LOUD Security Systems out of Atlanta, for a 30-year look at what it takes to build an alarm company from scratch, survive a housing crash, and stay founder-led at 70 employees and 14,000+ customers.John came into the industry from all the way outside it. He was a Delta flight attendant with a political science degree and a pilot's license he decided he did not want to use. A passenger explained recurring monthly revenue to him. He walked into a Georgia Burglar Fire Alarm Association show, met a DSC rep who introduced him to a distributor throwing in a year of free monitoring, and he had his supply chain figured out before he had his first customer. So he had eight competitors come to his own house to sell him an alarm system and reverse-engineered their pricing, their paperwork, and their placement. He calls it R&D. Rip off and duplicate.The rest of the conversation is a working playbook for going from a $20,000 personal line of credit in 1995 to a 51,000 square foot headquarters in 2025. John is transparent about the misses too. The 63 home builders on the books in 2008. The controller (Diane) who refused to let a builder go 60 days past due without a lien on the property. The fact that when the market collapsed, LOUD lost $77,000 instead of the company itself.In this episode, we talk about...✅ How John got into the alarm industry from the flight attendant seat at Delta, and the passenger conversation about recurring monthly revenue that reframed his whole career✅ The real estate agent closing-gift program that seeded LOUD's first customer base, and the tagline he wrote at the beginning that still holds up: "Take action 30 days too soon instead of one day too late"✅ Getting caught two years in without a low voltage license, buying the books, passing the test, and then installing for another ten years until his team politely fired him from the truck✅ Diane the controller, the 60-day lien policy on builders, and how LOUD only lost $77,000 through the 2008-2010 housing collapse when 62 of their 63 builder accounts went under✅ The 222 LOUD proactive customer-care program (originally 2 days, 2 weeks, and 2 months after every install and service call), plus the next-business-day follow-up on every alarm dispatch✅ Why John's cell phone number and COO Eric Widner's cell phone number are both on the LOUD website 24 hours a day, and what that policy has done for retention and for spotting problems early✅ The APE formula for hiring and firing: Attitude + Performance = Employment, and why John moved slower on the fire side than he wishes he had✅ John Bennett's second act: the underperforming director of sales who asked for a marketing role instead, ran with it, and has quietly built ten years of Sammy-award-winning creative for the company✅ 5,000 customers in Cobb County out of 100,000+ registered subscribers, 724 alarm companies competing for the same market, and why John still sees the local ground as wide open✅ The decision at the beginning of 2025 to grow instead of sell: opening the Warner Robins branch in July, closing on a 51,000 square foot HQ, and being honest about the eventual equity exit three to six years down the road✅ Civic rent, ESA, SEAC, and TMA: why John pays into the industry associations and takes a seat at the table on the model ordinance work that keeps police dispatch alive for the whole industry✅ Rapid-fire predictions: residential water detection is the underestimated category, and AI-driven proactive video is coming for the door contacts, motions, and glass breaksCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Artificial Intelligence, Real Support 09.06.2026 51min

  This week, Jake Voll sits down with Derek Carder, COO of FrontPoint Security, to talk about what happened when a DIY home security company decided their 60-to-90 minute hold time was the number one problem to solve, and how the fix turned into one of the more grounded AI rollouts in the industry.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Why Derek starts every role by taking live customer calls, and what installing his own FrontPoint system showed him in his first week as COO✅ The 60-to-90 minute hold time FrontPoint inherited in 2021, and how they got it under 30 seconds without hiding the phone number✅ Why "contact deflection" is the wrong goal, and what happens when customers solve their own problem and then call just to ask, "did I do that right?"✅ The crawl-walk-run approach to digital support: no login walls, no 15-step IVR, just the right knowledge surfaced at the right moment✅ How the 3G/4G sunset became FrontPoint's proving ground for AI-driven self-service, including shipping the radios out with full guided walkthroughs and follow-up calls✅ Why moving off a traditional Zendesk-style ticketing system was the right call once the team realized email tag was prolonging the customer journey, not shortening it✅ How AI is making the senior support reps more valuable, not redundant; they've become knowledge workers updating articles, adding diagrams, and tackling the complex scenes Betsy can't (sorry, Betsy)✅ The proactive retention program riding inside the support call that's averaging 38-month contract renewals✅ Why FrontPoint is now sharing this support infrastructure with other dealers and regional operators who want the digital front end without giving up their brand or their local techniciansCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Intentional Growth 03.06.2026 50min

  This week, Jake Voll sits down with Ainsley Close, president of Guardian Security Systems out of Seattle. Guardian is a third-generation family alarm company. Ainsley's grandfather Donald founded the parent business, her dad Frank bought Guardian off him 50 years ago, and Ainsley took the chair as president in the middle of the pandemic, after Frank sent an all-company email naming her successor and then hopped a flight to Hawaii.Today Guardian runs 206 employees and about 70 trucks across Washington State, covering security, access, video, fire alarm, and fire inspections. They also own and operate Northwest Alarm Monitoring, with central stations in Seattle and a brand new one in Yakima. The company has tripled top-line revenue in the last 10 years with zero outside equity, just intentional growth one year at a time.Ainsley's path into the industry is not the usual one. She started out chasing butterflies (literally, she trained as a lepidopterist), worked in climate advocacy, and spent time in the mayor's office in Seattle before her dad pitched her on running the family business. That perspective shapes how she leads: a consensus builder running a charismatic founder's company, layering "predictable success" on top of her dad's "customer hero" and "technical excellence" so 206 people can deliver the same experience every day.In this episode, we talk about...✅ How Ainsley actually inherited the seat: an all-company email naming her president, a dad on a plane to Hawaii, and a pandemic reorg she had to run from a standing start✅ Why she added "predictable success" as a third core value, and how Guardian operationalizes it inside performance reviews and coaching conversations instead of letting it live on a poster✅ The 40 acquisitions in 50 years strategy: all local, all evaluated for fit with Guardian's own monitoring center, and the McKinsey number nobody wants to hear (70% of acquisition value is lost during integration)✅ Losing three LOIs to private equity in the last three years, why the PE checkbook is starting to reach down into sub-$500K deals, and where Ainsley thinks the structural advantage of a family business actually still lives✅ Enshittification in the alarm industry: how easy it is to extract more from a locked-in customer over time, and what staying close to the customer looks like when you're north of 200 employees✅ The service-margin question Jake puts to every operator: remote troubleshooting bundled into monitoring, on-site work priced honestly for Washington labor rates, and why Ainsley accepts a slim service margin to protect long-term retention✅ The tech-stack anxiety dealers do not talk about enough: Azure, AWS, ERP, CRM, central station automation, and what happens when the platforms you depend on start passing through 40% price hikes✅ Building company culture through a tripling of revenue, three full-time HR seats including a dedicated recruiter, and the coaching conversation that turns one customer service hero moment into a repeatable standard✅ Ainsley's one piece of advice for the smaller independent dealers on the call: "Know who you are and do it on purpose."Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Your Biggest Challenges 19.05.2026 52min

  So what are dealers actually wrestling with right now, and what's working? In this episode of Coffee Break With Jake, we take a look at your biggest challenges.In this episode, we talk about...✅ The lead-gen reality check: what is a quality lead actually worth to you, and can you afford to outbid the largest competitor in your market?✅ Why fire alarm and access control leads beat residential security leads almost every time: less competition, higher urgency, and a daycare owner who can't open the doors without a CEO✅ Strike while the iron is hot: the HVAC story where the fastest-responding company wasn't the cheapest, it was the most profitable✅ Why your cousin's sister's nephew is a knucklehead, and why a position worth filling is a position worth spending real money to fill ✅ The attrition math every dealer should be running: 1,000 accounts means losing about 100 a year, so a "we broke even" year is actually a slow bleed✅ The $100,000 project that turned into a $160,000 project because the technicians peeled off, called the customer, and renegotiated instead of eating the rewire on schedule pressure✅ The pricing lever in both directions: charge more when a customer needs you across three states and eight locations, and pay more when you're trying to land a senior technicianCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Four Ways to Improve RMR 12.05.2026 54min

  Taylor Sears is back. A few months after his Dealer Spotlight, the COO of Silent Guard and Davis Heat and Air joins Jake Voll for a working session on the four levers any dealer can pull to grow recurring revenue and the profit underneath it.In this conversation, Taylor and Jake walk through those levers, talk through where most dealers are leaving money on the table on each one, and what to actually do about it on Monday morning. You'll learn about...✅ Lever 1, raise prices: why "the next best day past yesterday is today," and how small surgical increases every year sidestep the ADT-style sticker shock that runs customers off✅ The hassle premium: anything that's a hassle, people will pay extra to make go away, but only if the value shows up first✅ Lever 2, grow your existing base: minimize attrition by doing things nobody else does, including auditing every customer's first-call-answer rate and replacing dead numbers before they cost a real alarm response✅ Why Silent Guard sells a Quality Assurance Program instead of a "maintenance agreement," runs it at 60-65% margin, and builds in incentives that pull customers back every time the tech changes (3G to 4G to LTE to whatever's next)✅ How a 10-year smoke detector lifespan becomes a forced sales touchpoint most dealers ignore✅ Lever 3, find more customers, the right ones: start with your top 100 RMR report, then hunt centers of influence like libraries, health departments, and school districts instead of fishing for lions in the Florida Everglades✅ Lever 4, increase value per transaction: Silent Guard's residential business went from losing $8 per labor hour in 2024 to making $15 in 2025 after adjusting labor rates, a $27 per hour swing on the same work✅ Why a small alarm install in a Kentucky candle factory office grew into a $400,000 project once the customer expanded their distribution, and why being already-on-site beats being the lowest bid✅ The apartment complex that adds 5-10 mobile credentials to its account every month with zero sales effort, and why that compounding is the entire point of recurring revenue✅ Wallet share: how to spot a customer where you have the alarm contract but a competitor has the fire, video, or access, and why every gap is a door for someone else to walk through✅ "What gets measured gets managed": the daily 5pm report Taylor uses to know exactly where his RMR sits, and why he texted his cell number to the live audience to keep the conversation goingCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Dealer Spotlight with Taylor Sears 08.05.2026 58min

  In this Dealer Spotlight edition of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with Taylor Sears, COO of Silent Guard in Kentucky and Davis HVAC, to talk about how a 17-person family alarm shop turned itself into a 42-person operation doing three and a half times the revenue in five years, without ever buying out a competitor or chasing a fad.Taylor's path into the family business is not the usual one. He played college baseball, worked as an equipment manager for the Cincinnati Bengals, then took a job at 23 working directly for the governor of Kentucky and ended up across the table from Toyota's top finance executives negotiating tax incentives for the state. He came home to Silent Guard in 2019 with no specific role and zero alarm-industry experience. What he brought instead was a willingness to ask why, a comfort sitting at any table, and the conviction that the company needed a real business behind it, not just a job for his parents.In this conversation, Jake and Taylor unpack the playbook that got Silent Guard from there to here. Along the way they trade a few hard-earned leadership truths, including the Andy Dalton vs. A.J. McCarron snap-count story that reshaped how Taylor thinks about expecting excellence from a team.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Why a next-gen leader spending years outside the family business may be the single best thing they can do for it✅ "Always fear the problem that doesn't get resolved that people learn to live with and accept" (Jake confesses to a bathroom exhaust fan that ran broken for two years)✅ How Silent Guard went from 17 employees to 42 and 3.5x revenue in five years without acquiring anyone✅ Why losing Interlogix in 2019 ended up being the best thing that happened to the business✅ The decision to drop AV, central vac, and anything else outside the lane, and why being "good at everything" is a trap✅ How fire alarm and inspections became a real growth engine once Silent Guard committed to being the expert✅ Quoting jobs from actual labor data instead of wishful thinking, and what it did to margin✅ The Andy Dalton vs. A.J. McCarron leadership lesson: expect excellence, but give people the resources to hit it✅ "The biggest cause of frustration is unmet expectations, and the biggest cause of unmet expectations is either uncommunicated or unrealistic expectations"✅ Why Taylor measures growth in new hires, new houses, and new babies before he measures it in revenue✅ The Kaizen mindset Taylor took from a Toyota plant tour in Kentucky and brought home to Somerset✅ Why Silent Guard outworks bigger, better-resourced competitors, and why that mindset has to start at the topCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Embers of Hope 05.05.2026 51min

  In this special edition of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with Rebekah Johnson, co-founder and executive director of Embers of Hope.Rebekah's story starts in May 2002, when an electrical spark from the outlet behind her headboard set her mattress, and her, on fire. She woke up engulfed, ran out the front door, dropped, and rolled in the grass. Then she ran back inside for her roommates and her pets. She was treated at Shands Burn Unit in Gainesville. What followed is the part most people never hear: years of revisions and skin grafts that don't grow with a child, the social and emotional weight burn-injured kids carry back into a school of 400 classmates, and the life she has since built advocating for arc-fault protectors, working smoke detectors, and residential fire sprinklers. She and her husband, a Florida firefighter, founded Embers of Hope to run a Florida burn camp where kids don't have to wear a hoodie in 85-degree weather to hide their scars.In this episode, we talk about...✅ The night Rebekah woke up on fire, what stop-drop-and-roll actually looked like in the moment, and why a practiced plan beats any single product on the wall✅ The recovery story most people never hear: the social and emotional aftermath, including what life is like for a kid going back to school covered in scars✅ How a 30-minute transformation happens at Embers of Hope camp, including the boy who took off the do-rag he had worn since his injury and never put it back on✅ The sixth-grade boy who begged Rebekah to help him get back to school after his district denied medical transport, and how she made it happen✅ Why the low-battery smoke detector signal central station keeps reporting is a bigger deal than dealers sometimes treat it (Jake includes a confession of his own)✅ The advocacy fight for arc-fault protectors, residential fire sprinklers, and code changes that prevent these injuries in the first place✅ The Kidde Commercial partnership: 10% of gross profit on Kidde Commercial sales through SS&Si this year, up to $10,000, matched dollar for dollar by Kidde, all going to Embers of HopeLearn more about Embers of Hope: https://www.embersofhopefl.org/Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak===========================SSS&Si Dealer Network isn’t just a distributor. We’re your partner in success. We specialize in security and low voltage products, but what truly sets us apart is our commitment to your brand. With our #blessedandbranded program, we’ll print your logo on most products you buy from us, ensuring your brand is always front and center.  Let’s grow your business together!🌐 https://shop.ssandsi.com✉️ [email protected]📞 866-364-0030===========================Connect with us on social mediaLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ssandsiFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/ssandsiInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ssandsidealernetworkX: https://www.x.com/dealernetwork
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  The End of Physical Credentials with Manish Dalal 21.04.2026 34min

  In this special edition of Coffee Break With Jake, Jake Voll sits down with Manish Dalal, Founder and President of ZKTeco USA, to dig into where biometrics fits in the modern access control stack and why the physical credential is quietly becoming the weakest link on your customer's door.Manish has been working in biometrics since 1998, starting with the first biometric time and attendance systems in India and building ZKTeco into a global operation with presence in more than 50 countries, 3,500 employees, three manufacturing plants, and a U.S. factory coming online within six months. In this conversation, he and Jake walk through fingerprint, face, and palm vein recognition, unpack the privacy misconceptions that still slow adoption here in the States, and talk honestly about what it actually costs a dealer to bring biometrics to a customer site.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Why physical credentials (even encrypted ones) have become a real security risk and the bank-badge-in-the-parking-lot story that makes it obvious✅ How palm vein works, why it's inherently private, and why you can't spoof it with a photo (or a severed hand)✅ Why the Amazon One rollout quietly moved palm biometrics into the mainstream✅ The privacy misconception that's keeping U.S. adoption behind Asia and the Middle East✅ The TSA PreCheck and Clear analogy Manish uses when enterprise customers push back✅ What the Houston customer actually did when they replaced 650 card readers with biometric readers across 13,000 employees✅ Why the cost of a biometric reader is basically the same as a card reader once you look at total cost of ownership✅ The hidden cost of mobile credentials nobody is calculating (hint: every time an employee gets a new phone)✅ Why a single password reset costs healthcare $80 to $100 and what that means for the biometrics pitch✅ Where the door reader is headed: multifunctional devices that handle credential, intercom, visitor QR, and face in one box✅ Manish's advice to integrators leaning into biometrics: sell on value and total cost of ownership, not priceCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  The Future of Access Control 14.04.2026 50min

  Join Jake Voll as he sits down with Lee Odess, globally recognized access control industry analyst, author of The Six Phase Changes Shaping Access Control, and founder of PhySec Collective, to talk about where access control is really headed and what that means for every dealer and integrator selling into this market today.In this episode, Jake and Lee break down the thesis that has defined Lee's work: the access control industry isn't a $10B security market. It's a $100B enterprise software opportunity hiding inside one. They unpack why that gap exists, where it shows up in real dealer conversations, and what the shift from "security industry" to "enterprise software industry" actually means for how you sell, what you carry, and who you partner with.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Why the $10B vs. $100B framing should change how every dealer thinks about their market✅ The "utility plus" shift — access control isn't just keeping bad people out anymore✅ Why COVID broke the legacy trust model and what enterprise buyers expect now✅ The identity shift: from controlling the door to managing who people are and what they can access✅ Why the value of pure system configuration is going down (and what takes its place)✅ The "access care" concept — a different lens for thinking about what you sell✅ Where AI and operational intelligence are creating real value (and where it's still noisy)✅ Why open platform might be the most overrated buzzword in access control right now✅ The locksmith opportunity: physical expertise in a software-dominated world✅ One old truth Lee says the industry needs to stop believingCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Family Businesses with Josh Trim 07.04.2026 57min

  Join Jake Voll as he sits down with Josh Trim of Pennington & Trim to talk about what it takes to grow a security company across generations — and why “sales” isn’t about pressure or commissions, it’s about trust, character, and delivering the right solution for the customer.In this episode, Jake and Josh unpack the early grind of building a company, the advantage technical people often have in sales, and the mindset shift that separates short-term transactions from long-term customers. Josh shares the principles he learned from his dad (industry legend Ed Trim) and the day-to-day habits that build credibility fast — especially when you’re young and trying to earn respect in a tough trade.In this episode, we talk about...✅ Why technical people often make the best sales reps in security✅ The “early grind” reality of starting and scaling a security business✅ How selling the right solution creates long-term customers (and referrals)✅ The character-first mindset that builds trust faster than product knowledge✅ Josh’s best advice for younger leaders: outwork everyone, show up early, earn respect✅ Why caring about the customer beats caring about commissions (and improves close rates)Coffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Building a Sales Team 17.03.2026 51min

  Join Jake Voll as he sits with industry consultant Robert Few, managing partner of The Connection Exchange (TCX), to unpack one of the biggest growth bottlenecks in the security industry: hiring and keeping the right salespeople. For many dealers, growth stalls not because of a lack of opportunity, but because they are afraid to invest in sales talent without the systems, pricing structure, and accountability to support them.In this episode, Jake and Robert break down what it really takes to build a sales program that works. They cover how to structure compensation, how to train new hires without expecting them to "clone the owner," and how to protect margins while still giving salespeople enough freedom to close deals.✅ Stop waiting to “clone yourself” and build real systems for training, pricing, and accountability✅ Decide whether to hire a salesperson or installer first when cash flow only allows one move✅ Set practical sales quotas for upfront revenue and RMR so reps know what success looks like✅ Build pricing guardrails and simple packages that help reps sell confidently without constant approvals✅ Create commission plans that drive profitable jobs and recurring revenue, not just top-line sales✅ Avoid common sales-management mistakes, including promoting your top rep into the wrong role✅ Learn better hiring tactics, from where to find candidates to how to evaluate fit beyond the interviewCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  Professionalism 101 05.02.2026 52min

  Professionalism isn’t branding; it’s operations. In this episode, Jake is joined by several seasoned pros across the industry to break down what “high standards” actually look like in the alarm and security integration world.From hiring sales reps for character and integrity, to building packages, pricing guardrails, and quote approvals, to tech behaviors as simple as booties + moving blankets, this conversation connects the dots between professional execution and what matters most: customer trust, retention, and long-term RMR.What you’ll learn in this episode:✅ How dealers are hiring salespeople around character, ownership, and integrity (not just charisma)✅ Why “packages/kits” and clear product standards prevent sales-tech conflict✅ How using the right tools can speed onboarding and reduce quote errors✅ The 2-layer safeguard that stops bad quotes before they reach the customer✅ Field professionalism that costs almost nothing but changes everything✅ Why tech soft skills can be more valuable than speed, and how to measure it✅ How to use post-install feedback to catch issues before customers quietly churnCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak
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  How to Sell Proactive Video Monitoring 15.01.2026 58min

  Most alarm systems still deliver the same thing they did decades ago: a binary signal from a door or motion sensor. But customers don’t buy “a signal”; they buy the belief that you’ll stop crime. In this episode, Jake sits down with Wes Usie (Founder/CEO, Guardian Alarm Systems and CHeKT) to unpack why traditional intrusion is hitting a ceiling and why proactive video monitoring is becoming the new standard.Wes shares what he learned building an alarm company, running a monitoring center, and then building a platform to scale video monitoring. You’ll hear how to sell and price proactive video in the real world, how to reduce false alarms with smarter detection, and why SMB outdoor assets behind a fence might be the biggest untapped opportunity dealers have right now.What you’ll learn in this episode:✅ Why “binary door info” won’t meet customer expectations going forward✅ The real business risk of the 99% false alarm rate✅ How proactive video changes the game: deterrence before the crime✅ Why a fence matters (and how it reduces events and improves monitoring outcomes)✅ How to price video monitoring without getting wrecked by central station event costs✅ A simple mental shift: stop selling “cameras”; start selling detection devices✅ A practical on-ramp: self-monitoring + automated deterrence as a baby step into videoCoffee Break With Jake is recorded live every Friday at 11am ET. Join us live or register to attend at https://go.ssandsi.com/coffeebreak