In The Know
Rosenthal began his career as an IT solution provider, where he experienced many of the same challenges digital integrators face as they break into new markets. He then ran one of Florida's most successful home integration companies, Integrator Concepts, for eight years. In 2003 Rosenthal joined retailer CompUSA to spearhead its collaborations with local Florida integrators on home installations. In his most recent reincarnation, On-Q Home hired him as its national program manager to oversee its integrator program.
Rosenthal joined On-Q, Middletown, Pa., at an exciting time for the structured wiring and home networking vendor. After acquisition attempts by Leviton fell through last year, On-Q refocused its business on more integrated home solutions and expanding its integrator partnerships. Last year, the company changed its name from On-Q Technologies to On-Q Home and eventually hired Rosenthal to help guide the changes. "I joined because of the new direction of the company, [its] new way of doing business, a new way of selling, a new focus," Rosenthal says. "They're passionate about the industry and have the same level of excitement about it as I do."
While at CompUSA, Rosenthal says he didn't have the resources or management support he needed to design the programs necessary for the retailer to succeed in working with integrators. On-Q's management team, however, is 100 percent focused on integrator partners, says Rosenthal, who says he has been given the resources and freedom to design the integrator program. A look at the program and the assistance it provides proves a former integrator is in the driver's seat.
"At On-Q, I have a free hand at developing new programs. It's given me an opportunity to develop things how I would like them if I was an integrator," Rosenthal says. "Every day I talk to integrators, distributors and builders as if I was one of them, because I understand what they need."
One of the most significant changes Rosenthal has been involved in is the company's shift of focus from concentrating solely on individual products to complete home integration solutions. On-Q divided its product offerings into numerous solutions packages, focusing on specific needs within communication, entertainment, HVAC and security specialties. For instance, the vendor's communications offerings now include numerous packages designed for customers with various infrastructures, budgets and needs, while its home control solutions offer several levels of automation based on customer requirements and resources.
"A lot of technology is portrayed as complex, and it's easier to understand what we're selling by showing how it affects your daily life, instead of just bits and bytes. As an integrator, that's the story that sells," Rosenthal says. "Instead of me as an integrator having to take bits and pieces from various manufacturers to build a solution, now I can go to one supplier."
One of the first elements Rosenthal has launched is an ROI calculator, which will be officially rolled out at the upcoming CEDIA Expo. The application allows integrators to present builders with a menu of available solution packages and add-ons. Integrators can set their own prices in the software, and the program presents the total cost and added value of each package, based on data regarding industry-standard purchase rates.
Once the builder and integrator select the particular packages, the application assembles a list of options for builders to present to their customers, with specific details of room arrangements, device options, upgrade possibilities, etc. On-Q can also design a custom Web portal for each builder or integrator to allow customers to peruse the package options.
Other elements Rosenthal is bringing to the integrator program include new sales tools and expanded training initiatives. On-Q also plans to unveil a dedicated end-user focused Web site to increase awareness about the integration possibilities of its technologies.
"For the really big integrators, they can do this themselves; an average integrator can't do it. The little guys have a hard time differentiating themselves, as they're always overshadowed by the top integrators who have Web designers on staff. We want to help them grow their business," Rosenthal says. "This was the missing part of the puzzle when I was an integrator--vendors would give you great collateral, but you didn't get any of the support to help you sell the product"Integrators are already praising the changes at On-Q.
"So many manufacturers are just trying to sell their stuff to integrators, but On-Q is trying to be part of the sell [and is] pushing the industry from their end," says Corbin Hambrick, president of Home Synthesis, Kingwood, Texas. "This particular new branding and new marketing program, it's just a new step into partnering with builders and integrators to make that happen."