44 | SEPTEMBER 2019
Business
Read online at www.proinstaller.co.uk
ARE YOU READY?
Giovanni Laporta, inventor of
the Smart Ready® certification
standard talks about the realistic
potential for smart technology and
why he thinks installers that aren’t
selling Smart Ready® windows
and doors, soon won’t be selling
windows and doors at all.
Some of us like new tech and
some of us don’t. Whatever your
personal preference, you can’t
deny that smart tech is coming. A
recent PwC survey suggests 30% of
people are planning to buy a smart
home device in the next two years
and the trend is set to grow even
more. Although the window and
door sector has been in the mix,
selling smart door locks (albeit
not in any great number), install-
ers haven’t yet seen an easy way
of making the most of this mass
opportunity. Smart Ready® is here
to change that.
The fenestration industry de-
serve a slice of this lucrative pie
too, because windows and doors
are one of the most important
parts of the home to be made
smart. We already know that up to
33% of burglaries take place when
doors or windows are left open
(home office statistics) but a recent
research paper reveals that over
50% of burglaries in the UK occur
when someone is at home. Clearly
this is not acceptable and if the
figures can be reduced, then we all
need to sit up and listen to how.
Building Consumer
Confidence
The Smart Ready® certifica-
tion standard and brand ensures
product consistency and forms
the standards on which all smart
doors and windows will soon be
made. Thanks to HD Ready™,
Smart Ready® already has a strong
brand feel to many consumers,
meaning it is going to quickly
gain momentum as a household
name. It works in a very similar
way to HD Ready™ and how TVs
were sold some years ago. Just as
TVs were HD Ready™ before any
shows were being streamed in HD,
businesses can now sell windows
and doors that are Smart Ready®
– ready for smart technology to be
bought and activated by the home-
owner, once they are fitted, or at
any point in the future.
The Smart Ready® logo is a
guarantee and a sign of quality,
whilst also telling consumers that
their doors and windows have
certain upgradable features in that
they can be made smart at any
point in the future, by a quick scan
of a QR Code. Unlike other oppor-
tunities seen in the industry, Smart
Ready® is free.
Smart Ready® allows for the
fact there needs to be some sort of
transitional period to make it easy
to sell and buy smart and Smart
Ready® does precisely this.
Smart reporting
is coming
Sac Hardware and Hug Technol-
ogy have already developed a new
Smart Ready® certified window
realm of burglar alarms and makes
this a particularly exciting propo-
sition for installers. It’s not only an
opportunity to upsell windows and
doors now, it’s an easy opportunity
to break into the alarm and home
security market.
Smart is coming,
ready or not
Selling “readiness” is the answer
when selling smart windows and
doors. The “being ready” market-
ing phenomenon is firmly stuck in
the minds of millions of consum-
ers and like HD Ready™, Smart
Ready® is quickly set to become
the new Standard for smart. The
brand power and marketing psy-
chology exists, so let’s be smart
and all benefit. Contact Smart
Ready® to learn more.
smartready.com
Finance and M&A expert
to speak at Summit
Leading
business
speaker
on Summit
agenda
A leading M&A advisory firm
The Glazing Summit is gath-
ering pace with the announcement
of Adrian Webster as a keynote
speaker.
Adrian is one of the most
sought-after speakers on business,
sales and customer service in
Britain and has worked with huge
brands such as HSBC, Airbus and
John Lewis.
He has delivered more than
2,000 keynotes, is an international-
ly renowned business author, and
he will be sharing his secrets to
‘scale up’ your business and prof-
its at this year’s Glazing Summit.
and door reporting system that will
help with the transition. Technolo-
gy that reports on the security sta-
tus of doors or windows, without
involving any locking or unlocking
has consumer appeal, making it
a far easier sell for installers. This
smart technology can report on a
phone that someone has left the
back door or bedroom window
open as they leave the home.
Leaving people in absolute control
of closing and locking the doors
and windows, while being alerted
if the home is at risk through open
windows and doors, the moment
they leave their houses.
But that’s not where the benefits
of this system from Sac Hardware
and Hug Technology end. Their
Smart Ready® certified system also
alerts the user when a window
or door experiences any level
of impact. This moves it into the
Andrew Scott, the founder of
the Glazing Summit and CEO of
glazing industry specialists Insight
Data and Purplex Marketing,
commented: “We are delighted to
have secured Adrian for this year’s
Glazing Summit and his unique
and powerful insights are guaran-
teed to inspire business owners,
leaders and managers.”
The Glazing Summit takes place
on Thursday, September 12 at
Edgbaston Stadium and Confer-
ence Centre, Birmingham. More
than 400 fabricators, installers and
suppliers are expected to attend.
To book your place, call 01934
808293 or email hello@
glazingsummit.co.uk today.
and business brokerage has joined
the line-up of sponsors at the
Glazing Summit.
Harvey Richmond Ltd works
with business owners who wish to
exit their business as well as cor-
porations and individuals wishing
to grow through acquisition.
Director and chartered account-
ant, Ashley Cartman, will take to
the stage and share his expertise
during the Glazing Summit. He
commented:
“The window industry is going
through a period of rapid change,
with several big failures and
restructures, while others are ex-
panding rapidly.
“Business owners wish to exit
for many reasons. For some they
want to maximise the value of a
successful and growing business.
For others, it is a case of wishing
to retire. Conversely, acquisition is
a way of accelerating growth, se-
curing your supply chain, entering
a new market or gaining econo-
mies of scale.”
www.glazingsummit.co.uk