Most security installers built their business on a simple model: sell hardware, install it, move to the next job. It works. It has worked for decades. But it has a fundamental problem — every Monday morning, the revenue clock resets to zero.
You start each month with nothing in the bank from last month's work. You need new jobs to pay the bills. If the phone stops ringing, the business stops. The harder you work, the more you earn — but the moment you stop, so does the income.
Managed services break that cycle. When a customer pays you a monthly subscription, that revenue shows up next month whether you're on a job site or not. Over time, it stacks. Twenty customers on monthly subscriptions means twenty revenue streams running in parallel, all month, every month.
The hardware business will always be the foundation. Managed services don't replace it — they sit on top of it and convert the work you've already done into ongoing income. Every system you've installed in the last five years is a potential subscription waiting to happen.
The biggest barrier to selling managed services isn't the customer — it's how you think about your own business. Here's what changes when you make the shift:
Consider two dealers, both installing 2 systems per month at an average of 16 cameras each. One sells hardware only. The other adds a managed service subscription to every install at $3/camera/month.
You don't need new customers to start building recurring revenue. You need to look at the customers you already have and ask: are they paying me every month, or just when something breaks? If it's the latter — that's the conversation to have.
MSP stands for Managed Service Provider. In the DW context, it means you're not just selling and installing hardware — you're providing ongoing, active management of your customer's surveillance system as a service they pay for monthly.
The model has three layers. DW builds and maintains the platforms. You, as the channel partner, manage your customers' organizations through your CP portal. Your customers access their systems and receive proactive monitoring through the platform. You sit in the middle — and that's exactly where the revenue lives.
Subscription keys are purchased through your normal DW distribution channel — the same way you order hardware. The keys are then assigned to your customer's organization in your CP portal. Your customer pays you for the subscription. The difference between your distributor cost and your customer price is your margin. You set it.
Keys run on 12-month or 36-month terms. Channel counts are flexible — you mix key sizes to match the exact camera count at each site. A 67-camera site gets exactly 67 channels worth of keys. Nothing wasted.
The 36-month key is worth leading with on established customer sites. It locks in the rate for three years, creates a longer revenue relationship from a single conversation, and eliminates the annual renewal discussion. For customers who aren't going anywhere — that's most of them — it's a better deal all around.
When you sell a managed service subscription, you're selling four things simultaneously, whether you name them or not:
Peace of mind — the customer's system is being watched 24/7 and they'll know if it isn't working before something bad happens.
Time savings — no one needs to physically check cameras. Health reports, alerts, and remote management replace site visits for routine monitoring.
Evidence preservation — secure cloud video sharing means footage gets to the right people quickly, without USB drives or email attachments creating chain-of-custody problems.
An ongoing relationship with you — customers on subscriptions don't call your competitor when they need a new camera. They call you. You're already on the account.
You're not selling software. You're selling a business outcome: a surveillance system that tells your customer it's working, instead of a surveillance system that tells them it failed. That reframe makes the conversation easier.
Before you think about new customers, look at the ones you already have. Your existing install base is the fastest, lowest-cost pipeline you own — because the trust is already there, the system is already installed, and the hardware is already DW.
Pull up your customer list and run it through these six filters. Anyone who matches even one of them is worth a conversation.
Don't overthink it. Start with this: pull your last 3 years of installation records. Circle every customer with more than one site, more than 16 cameras, or in one of the verticals above. That's your call list. You don't need a pitch — you need one question per customer. The conversation does the rest.
The managed service sales conversation is not a pitch. It's a five-step exchange that starts with a question, not a product feature. Here's how it runs from the first word to the signed order.
The whole conversation should take less than five minutes on a service call or install visit. You're not scheduling a separate sales appointment — you're having a brief, honest exchange with a customer who already trusts you. That trust is your biggest advantage over any other salesperson in the room.
Pricing managed services is straightforward once you understand two things: the MSRP is your ceiling, your distributor cost is your floor, and everything in between is your decision. DW does not dictate your margin. You price based on your relationship, your market, and what makes sense for your business.
myDW MSRP is $3.00 per camera, per month. Keys are available in 12-month and 36-month terms. Channel counts are mixed and matched to hit the exact camera count at each site — no rounding up, no waste.
The cleanest way to present managed services on a new install is as a line item on the quote — not an add-on conversation after the hardware is agreed. This frames it as part of the complete system rather than an optional extra, and it's much easier to remove a line item than it is to add one after a price has been accepted.
myDW Health Monitoring Service — 16 cameras × 12-month subscription: $576.00 annually / $48.00/month. Includes 24/7 camera and recorder health monitoring, real-time alerts, secure video sharing, and remote system management via cloud dashboard.
When presenting subscription options, lead with the 36-month term for established sites and customers with longer relationships. Frame it simply: the rate is the same, the term is longer, and the customer locks in their price without worrying about annual renewal. For customers who plan to stay in their location — most of them — this is the better deal. For you, it's a three-year revenue relationship from a single conversation.
Put the subscription on every new install quote as a line item. It should never be an afterthought. Customers who see it as part of the system from day one rarely question it. Customers who hear about it two weeks after the install almost always push back on the price.
Most objections to managed services come from one of three places: price sensitivity, satisfaction with the current situation, or a genuine lack of understanding about what the service actually does. Here's how to handle each one without being pushy and without losing the sale.
The best objection handler is a demo key. If a customer is on the fence and won't commit without seeing it — stop trying to talk them into it and let the platform do the work. A customer who logs into myDW and sees their own cameras on a live health dashboard sells themselves.
The sale doesn't end at the signed order. In managed services, what happens after the sale determines whether the customer renews — and whether they refer you to the next customer. Handled well, a managed service relationship is a permanent revenue line. Handled poorly, it's a one-term experiment that doesn't come back.
Before accepting a cancellation, find out why. Most cancellations fall into three categories: they forgot the value (haven't logged in since month one), they're facing a budget cut, or something went wrong technically that nobody told you about. Each has a different response — but all three are worth a conversation before you process the cancel.
The most common managed service cancellation reason is: "We weren't really using it." That is not a product failure — it is an onboarding failure. A customer who was walked through their first login and had a genuine first experience with the platform almost never cancels on those grounds. The 30-day check-in exists specifically to prevent this.
Managed service revenue is not automatic. A subscription that isn't being used is a subscription that will cancel at renewal. Protect your recurring revenue by protecting the customer relationship — first login, 30-day check-in, early renewal conversation. Three touchpoints per customer per year is all it takes to build a relationship that renews indefinitely.
Pull your last 3 years of installation records. Identify five customers who fit the profiles in Chapter 3. Call one this week — not to pitch, just to ask the opening question from Chapter 4. One conversation. That's where this starts.