Free · No signup
The truck is already on the street. Get the next job off it.
To turn a finished install into the next one, text that customer the day after and ask for exactly one neighbor's name, mail the rest of the street a card that names the street and never the house, then check in at thirty days and ask again. Keep every name in one table with who sent it, what happened and whether you paid the reward, and price the whole thing off your own install price plus 36 months of monitoring.
Street name only. Never the house number. Paste a whole address in and the tool takes the number off for you.
The install you just finished
Everything below writes itself as you type, and nothing is saved unless you use the email form at the bottom.
Street name only. Never the house number.
A card that says “we just installed at 1247 Oak” tells the whole street which house has an alarm in it. It also tells them which houses do not, which is the part that gets a dealer talked about for the wrong reason. Put the street in and this tool takes the number off for you, even if you paste the whole address in by habit.
The card never names the customer either. That is what makes it safe to send, and it is the line on the back that makes a stranger trust you.
About the reward
Your words, your call. We do not suggest an amount, a credit or a gift, because your margins are yours and we have not seen them. Leave it blank and every message below simply does not mention one — plenty of dealers get names without giving anything, and “I would rather you just told a neighbor” is a perfectly good answer.
One thing worth knowing: a reward for a referral is not the same as a reward for a review. Paying somebody to send a neighbor is ordinary business. Paying somebody to write a Google review is against Google's policy and is covered by the FTC's rule on consumer reviews. Keep the two apart.
The order it runs in
Day 1 — the tech leaves
Nothing happens today. The customer is still working out where the keypad is, and an ask on the same day reads like the tech was thinking about his own week instead of their house.
Day 2 — the text
One text, from the number they already have. Ask for one neighbor, not for a list. One name takes four seconds to think of; a list takes a week and never comes.
Day 2 to 5 — the street
The postcard goes to the rest of the street while the truck being there is still a thing somebody noticed. Street name on it, no house number, no customer name.
Day 30 — the check-in
Call or text to ask how the system is behaving. Fix whatever they say. Then ask again, because a month in they actually know whether they like it.
Every week — the table
Five columns. Who sent the name, who the name was, the date, where it got to, and whether you paid the reward. A referral you forgot to pay is the last one that person ever sends you.
The two texts
Replace [first name] before you send. Ask for one neighbor, not for a list.
Day after the install
Send it the next morning, from the number they already have in their phone.
Hi [first name], it's [your business]. Hope the security system is behaving itself. One small favor: is there one neighbor who'd want the same thing? Just a first name and street and I'll take it from there - no pressure on them and none on you.
245 characters · 2 messages
Thirty days later
The check-in comes first and the ask comes second. Never the other way around.
[first name], [your business] here - your system has been in about a month now. Anything odd? Any false alarms? Call [your number] and we'll take care of it. And if a neighbor has asked you about it, send me their first name.
225 characters · 2 messages
Texting rules apply to your own customers too, and they are not the same in every state. Get consent at the point of sale, keep the record, and honor a stop the minute it arrives.
The neighbor postcard
Four by six, front and back. Send it to the rest of the street while the truck being there is still something somebody noticed.
Front
We just finished a security system installation on [your street].
Here is who we are.
[your business] · [your town] · [your number]
Back
We are [your business], out of [your town]. This week we were on your street putting in a security system for one of your neighbors.
We are not going to tell you which house. We would not tell them about yours either — that is the whole job.
If you have been meaning to get your own place covered, or you have a system nobody has looked at in years, we are already in the neighborhood and it costs nothing to have a look.
Call [your number] and ask for a walk-through. Twenty minutes, no charge, and no one has to buy anything.
[your business] · [your town] · [your number]
Front, as text
We just finished a security system installation on [your street]. Here is who we are. [your business] · [your town] · [your number]
Back, as text
We are [your business], out of [your town]. This week we were on your street putting in a security system for one of your neighbors. We are not going to tell you which house. We would not tell them about yours either — that is the whole job. If you have been meaning to get your own place covered, or you have a system nobody has looked at in years, we are already in the neighborhood and it costs nothing to have a look. Call [your number] and ask for a walk-through. Twenty minutes, no charge, and no one has to buy anything. [your business] · [your town] · [your number]
Give the text to your printer if they are setting the card. Leave the back half clear for the address block and the postage if you are mailing it without an envelope — your printer or your post office will tell you exactly how much room they need.
The table it all lives in
Five columns and nothing clever. Copy it into a spreadsheet and keep it open. The column that matters most is the last one — pay the reward the week the job closes, not the month after, and the person who sent it will send you another.
| Referrer | Referred | Date | Status | Reward paid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | — | — | — |
| — | — | — | — | — |
| — | — | — | — | — |
Statuses that cover it: Name given, Called, Walk-through booked, Quoted, Installed, No thanks.
What it is worth
Five numbers, all yours. Nothing in this panel came from anywhere but these boxes.
A referred customer is worth the install plus the monitoring that follows it, so the number below counts 36 months of monitoring on top of the install price. Every figure in this panel is one you typed.
The neighbor who takes that card off the counter calls at seven at night, on the one evening they remember. Somebody has to answer.
Call and try it: (737) 339-5541. Tell her your keypad is beeping.
Why the card never carries a house number
A card that says “we just installed at 1247 Oak” tells the whole street which house has an alarm in it. It also tells them which houses do not, which is the part that gets a dealer talked about for the wrong reason. Put the street in and this tool takes the number off for you, even if you paste the whole address in by habit.
The card never names the customer either. That is what makes it safe to send, and it is the line on the back that makes a stranger trust you.
Ask before you put a yard sign in, too. Some customers want one and some do not, and the ones who do not have a reason.
How to turn a finished install into a referral
- 1
Day 1 — the tech leaves
Nothing happens today. The customer is still working out where the keypad is, and an ask on the same day reads like the tech was thinking about his own week instead of their house.
- 2
Day 2 — the text
One text, from the number they already have. Ask for one neighbor, not for a list. One name takes four seconds to think of; a list takes a week and never comes.
- 3
Day 2 to 5 — the street
The postcard goes to the rest of the street while the truck being there is still a thing somebody noticed. Street name on it, no house number, no customer name.
- 4
Day 30 — the check-in
Call or text to ask how the system is behaving. Fix whatever they say. Then ask again, because a month in they actually know whether they like it.
- 5
Every week — the table
Five columns. Who sent the name, who the name was, the date, where it got to, and whether you paid the reward. A referral you forgot to pay is the last one that person ever sends you.
Questions dealers ask
- Is it safe to tell a street that somebody there has an alarm?
- Saying the street is normal — service vans, yard signs and window decals all say it louder. Saying the house is not. Keep the house number and the customer's name off the card and you are telling the street that a company was working there, which is all a neighbor needs to know to call you.
- Should I put a yard sign in instead?
- Do both. The sign works on the people who walk past; the card works on the ones who drive into the garage and never look up. And ask the customer before you put a sign in — some of them do not want one, and that is a fair answer.
- What do I give for a referral?
- Whatever you can afford and are willing to pay every single time. The amount matters far less than the paying. Dealers lose the referral habit by being slow to pay it, not by being cheap.
- Do I need permission to text the customer?
- Text messaging rules apply to your existing customers too, and they are not the same in every state. Get consent at the point of sale, keep a record of it, honor a stop request immediately, and ask your attorney or your texting provider about the rules that cover you.
- What about mailing rules for the postcard?
- An ordinary business postcard to residential addresses is standard direct mail. Talk to your printer or your post office about the address format and the postage class — they do this all day.
The referral calls at 7 pm. Somebody has to answer.
A neighbor who takes the card off the counter is not calling at ten in the morning. They call after dinner, on the one night they remember, and if it rings out they call the next company on the list. The AI 24/7 Sales Machine is your website doing that job: it answers, books the walk-through, and follows up, day or night. It starts at $297 a month for dealers under 1,000 accounts.
Call and try it: (737) 339-5541. Tell her your keypad is beeping.
While you are here: put your cancelled accounts in call-first order. Same idea, older customers.