Want to become a dealer

[Marshal]

Hello everyone,

Am a new member of this forum and want to join the automation business. I love C4 and would like to be a dealer. Pls I need assistance. Thanks.

[msgreenf]

I would recommend contacting Control4. They have capitalization, experience, showroom, requirements, etc.

[Marshal]

I will like to know if any of their authorised dealer or distributor can sign me for their online training. If I can start from there to acquire the knowledge that is required.

[SY3]

To become a dealer, you're going to have to have a business plan before anything else.  Just like any other business.  Training is only a part of it.  I would talk to local dealers in your area to see if this is viable for you.

[Marshal]

Thanks for the reply, I checked, but couldn't find any dealer in my area.

[Snaffle8]

If there are no dealers in your area, who installed your system?  (I am assuming you have one)

[Marshal]

I don't have any, am an electrical engineer, we do electrical installations and renewable energy for homes and office. I've met few Clients who talked about automation. So I checked online and was able to get some materials on Lutron. I've read a lot about Grafik eye and Homeworks qs, but I want more than just lighting and shades. Some how I came across Control4 and also got know about this Forum.

[mstafford388]

Just reach out to Control4.  They will hook you up with the regional sales rep who can walk you through becoming a dealer and exactly what that entails.

[Marshal]

Thanks, I appreciate.

 

[South Africa C4 user]

21 hours ago, Marshal said:

I don't have any, am an electrical engineer, we do electrical installations and renewable energy for homes and office. I've met few Clients who talked about automation. So I checked online and was able to get some materials on Lutron. I've read a lot about Grafik eye and Homeworks qs, but I want more than just lighting and shades. Some how I came across Control4 and also got know about this Forum.

Definitely the best Home Automation system out there... C4 that is.

[thecodeman]

The best advice I can give you? Learn the ropes about AV, automation, and networking before opening a shop and charging money to do it for other people. This industry is less "born talent" and more "baptism by fire". If you can, work with/for another company who does it in some form or fashion even if they don't do Control4, you'll learn a lot and your future clients will appreciate it.

[Cyknight]

12 hours ago, thecodeman said:

less "born talent" and more "baptism by fire"

LOL.

Not that I'm disputing that as such - that is in part because it's relatively new, and a lot of industries/people with different backgrounds have tried to jump on board (especially early on) - and got 'burned' by lack of understanding, ability and/or resources.

There's a lot to know about this industry and everything it touches on, and then on top of that there's financial aspects, retail, service, marketing and 'simple' business savvy. The individual who can do all of that at once is extremely rare if not non-existent. Even divided among a few people to start a company with that isn't easy to find.

I simply don't see how any 'company' can be a one-man company even in the beginning and hope to succeed.

If you truly desire to start something in this business you have all my best wishes and then some - but be warned that in recent years C4 has been quite strict in it's requirements especially in established markets. It will not be easy to acquire a license.

Talk to the local rep as has been suggested to get a feel for what you need to know and do - but understand that your best bet is to work FOR a dealer for awhile (doesn't have to be C4 as such, and be warned - 'awhile' is not going to be a few months) - but at the same time understand that most dealers will have little desire to have 'part-time' programmers/system designers, in no small part because it will take time and money to train people - and they will want to see a return on that investment.

 

Quote

I will like to know if any of their authorised dealer or distributor can sign me for their online training. If I can start from there to acquire the knowledge that is required.

This isn't likely to happen.

First of all, online training is limited (actual certification of base level will require an actual course on location)

Second - that isn't free, with travel cost etc involved so it's doubtful anyone would likely 'just sign you up' - going back to the return on investment.

Third - It's fairly unlikely to find a dealer who's going to 'sign up' someone based solely on a request to do so on a public forum

Fourth - I don't know all the details by a long shot, but I'm thinking that would be against any dealer/distributor agreement.

[GoGo Delicious]

On 3/9/2016 at 8:31 AM, Marshal said:

Hello everyone,

Am a new member of this forum and want to join the automation business.

My questions is why? Why do you want to join the automation business?

The codeman has said it best

Quote

The best advice I can give you? Learn the ropes about AV, automation, and networking before opening a shop and charging money to do it for other people.

If you are serious about getting into the automation business I STRONGLY suggest the following.

1) Have more than an understanding of networking. The back bone of every automation system is the network. You need to start with at least one network engineer, with proper certification, on staff.   Just because someone can connect a cable modem to a router does not make them eligible. 

2) Licensing and/or Certification - Does your state/city require you to have a LV contractors license? What certification from the AM/Automation industry do you have, CEDIA (Residential) or Infocomm (Commercial)? Why should I, as a client, hire you when there are others who are more qualified, not just because they're certified but because they have been in business longer, done more jobs and have strong recommendations/reviews?

2) What's your target market? Is there a demand for automation in your area? If there is demand in your area, do those who reside in your area have the financial resources to pay not only for a system, but design, installation, wiring, programming, maintenance, upgrades, on going support, etc?

If you do not live in an area where you can sustain an automation business what are you going to do? 95% of our clients are out of state with another 3% in other countries. We go to where the jobs are. How do you plan on acquiring clients/jobs? Do you plan on working with home owners directly or are you "to the trade only". Note, for understanding, my company is "to the trade only" meaning our clients are Architects, Interior Designers and Builders. We never work with the home owner directly.

3) What do you have to offer that other dealers don't. Again why should I, as a client, use your service for automation? C4 is a commodity, meaning I can by a box from you, Best Buy, or Joe dealer and that box is the same. In addition to selling me a box, what do you offer that other dealers do not? What makes your company stand out? Why should I give you my $200k+? 

The above maybe a little harsh or sound sarcastic but I am really trying to help you and open your eyes a little. I have seen way to many people/business get into automation and fail because they were not realistic. They thought, since they were already builders, electrical contractors/engineers, network engineers, programmers, etc., that they can jump right in. I have yet to see any succeed and that's unfortunate.

As thecodeman has stated 

Quote

If you can, work with/for another company who does it in some form or fashion even if they don't do Control4, you'll learn a lot and your future clients will appreciate it.

If you do this for a year then you will understand what I am talking about.

I sincerely wish you luck and if you need any advice I will be more than happy to assist. I have had numerous C4 dealers call me (I wont mention who they are. If they want to volunteer that's up to them) and ask for my advice on everything from networking and fiber to expanding out of state and beyond and I have been more than happy to help.

[good_null]

So i was working for a Control4 Dealer for almost 3 years and have a pretty well understanding while doing Control4 automation programing. i just recently quit my job from them to stay home with my son for school. i am trying to become my own dealer but i don't think that is possible since i don't have a years worth of revenue working on my own, and i don't have a business plan. unless someone knows of another way, or if Automation Programmers can become their own dealer some other way. I would appreciate a point to the right direction.

[msgreenf]

1 hour ago, good_null said:

i don't have a business plan.

don't think you should be going in business then...

[zaphod]

On a related topic - can you become a C4 driver developer without being a dealer?  It seems to me that the skills are not necessarily overlapping, especially when it comes to more hard core coding in driver development, as opposed to learning IR codes.  I really think that C4 should allow "entusiasts" to be able to develop drivers as OS projects.  There are potential risks in this, like orphaned drivers, but you get that risk today.

I like to use an analogy of SageTV which I have used for over a decade as my DVR software.  It competed with Windows MCE and BeyondTV.  In some ways SageTV was better than MCE and I would argue that SageTV is still the best solution in many ways for recording TV, especially if you are a tech enthusiast/geek.  There was a third-party developer community that built very useful plugins for SageTV.  It would be great if we could have the same for SageTV, and there is a little bit of that around. (FYI - SageTV was an independent business that was acquired by Google in 2011 and then Google allowed the core product to become Open Sourced in 2015.  The community is atrophying over time as the product is getting long in the tooth and as people move away from linear TV).

Of course, if I was a dealer making revenue from writing drivers, and from selling drivers to end clients then I might not like this idea. 

[msgreenf]

39 minutes ago, zaphod said:

can you become a C4 driver developer without being a dealer?

yes

[Cyknight]

3 hours ago, zaphod said:

can you become a C4 driver developer without being a dealer?  It seems to me that the skills are not necessarily overlapping, especially when it comes to more hard core coding in driver development,

As per above, the two aren't interlocked as such.

I'd venture a guess and say that MOST "pro" drivers are made by developers that are or were dealers (or worked for one) as they by default tend to have more access to test drivers, and would have existing back-ground knowledge in C4 capabilities to work with, or where it's missing options where developing a driver can fill a gap (and thus be successful). But certainly not all.

 

As for being more open - I truly wouldn't know the current requirements to be certified as a developer so I also wouldn't be able to judge if being 'more open' is needed or not - why would you think they need to be?

C4 is not open source, nor is it at this point looking like it will be. Where the analogy you made fails is that Control4 wasn't taken over by a company who's only goal was to get the people/talent, not the actual product.

Also Google 'allowing' it to go open source isn't a 'friendly' choice - it absolved them of any requirement to maintain the code, and thus it was cutting cost, not 'giving back' to the community.

[nwanerka]

I too agree, I am electrical contractor that about 7 years ago tried to get into control 4 and was basically laughed right out of the low voltage industry.
So I took a long hard look at my company and decided to start with the basics and work my way up. I started with cable and phone and basic home automation. Then upgraded to Lutron, as I was already installing Lutron products I stepped up warned everything I could about caseta, ra2 select, And then radiora 2. Take all the classes for Lutron and was certified in radiora2. Then I play the round with the homeowner c*** like wink and smart things and so on. Got myself very familiar with Z wave and the zwave alliance. When through all the different Z wave hub's even had a zippa by zapato.
I finally graduated and went to Clare controls which is kind of a middle ground between custom install automation and homeowner viability. With Claire you need to have a certified Integrator sell and install the Clare products, But then a homeowner can really add their own zwave products down-the-line.
After that I then upgraded to URC, Which was a good beginning and I am glad I started with them so I can really learn the ropes of custom automation but I still had that dream of being a control 4 dealer. My electrical company has put installing control for dimmers and switches for many years for other low voltage companies, As they are not licenced in Florida to work with anything that's a 120 V. So I was already very familiar with some of their products.
Finally after 7 years of a lot of training, paying my dues, and really learning the industry I was finally allowed the Prestige honour of becoming a control 4 dealer. I did the online training first and then did thw 4 day class and then finished up with the panelized lighting certification.
Now in between all of this I was also learning networking, surround sound and home theater wiring and set up. Using araknis gear and also luxel gear.

I agree with a lot of the people on this forum.. you can't just jump into this industry. I have been doing control4 for about a year now and have only scratched the surface Of what this system is capable of. I have a system in my own home and honestly that's the best way to really learn without making yourself look foolish.I have control for dimmers and switches, c4 amps, touch screens and a lot more.
Control 4 made sure that i was ready to become a dealer and put my company under a microscope to make sure that I would be a good fit for them. Even made sure that I am licensed for low voltage, which I am. I hold a state unlimited electrical contracting license that allows me to do anything from low voltage to high voltage and everything in between. Including alarms .
I wish you the best of luck And hope the best for you, Just do not take this lightly make sure that you are 100% ready to become A C4 dealer.


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[Köhler Medientechnik]

5 hours ago, nwanerka said:

Control 4 made sure that i was ready to become a dealer and put my company under a microscope to make sure that I would be a good fit for them.

I just recently gained C4 dealer and Crestron dealer status. Compared to Crestron, getting C4 dealer status and becoming C4 certified was a piece of cake.

From the first contact via email to official Control4 dealer status, it took about 6 weeks (including the online training and 4 day class mentioned above) - and i never laid my hand on any piece of C4 equipment before. For Crestron, it took 1,5 year including several business meetings and several weeks of online and classroom training and i had a couple of years experience with it while being employed at a Crestron enterprise customer.

But apart from that, i also totally agree that you should have a good couple of years experience in the AV and automation industry before trying to make a living with that.

[Cyknight]

4 hours ago, Köhler Medientechnik said:

I just recently gained C4 dealer and Crestron dealer status. Compared to Crestron, getting C4 dealer status and becoming C4 certified was a piece of cake.

From the first contact via email to official Control4 dealer status, it took about 6 weeks (including the online training and 4 day class mentioned above) - and i never laid my hand on any piece of C4 equipment before. For Crestron, it took 1,5 year including several business meetings and several weeks of online and classroom training and i had a couple of years experience with it while being employed at a Crestron enterprise customer.

But apart from that, i also totally agree that you should have a good couple of years experience in the AV and automation industry before trying to make a living with that.

Early days, C4 (being new) was a lot more ....lenient.... in their requirements, these days they have a much firmer set of requirements in place.

Which I think is not a bad thing, especially if there is no true lack of presence in an area.

And no I'm not worried about competition at all.

 

[Köhler Medientechnik]

7 hours ago, Cyknight said:

Early days, C4 (being new) was a lot more ....lenient.... in their requirements, these days they have a much firmer set of requirements in place.

Well, my onboarding took place three months ago - if these are already the firmer requirements, what was the process in the "early days"? Auto-registration?

[JSTRONG]

Could be the location also. Here in NJ. You need a Dedicated commercial location showroom. The owner and an employee must go to training and you have to pay $$ for showroom products. And then buy $50,000 a year minimum in control4

So if your a one man shop that alone excludes you. 

[Köhler Medientechnik]

6 hours ago, JSTRONG said:

Could be the location also.

Yes, that´s for sure. Here in Germany, Control4 - and home automation in general - is still not very common (but on the rise). 

The training is a must here as well, a showroom is welcomed but not a requirement. Minimum purchase volume neither.

What you described above fits to Crestron requirements in Germany: training, purchase of showroom equipment and minimum purchase volume of €50.000,-

[zaphod]

My original dealer here in Toronto wouldn't have had a showroom and had very little expertise in networking, HA, etc.  He was a traditional electrician used to working on 120V+ types of projects.  But this was around 2006-7 so I imagine things have changed a fair bit since then.