Falcon Direct - Committed to serving YOU!
 May 2012 eNewsletter
 
The New Falcon Direct.......

Last month, we announced that we would be making some significant changes in the way we do business, the suppliers with whom we work, and those we choose to serve.  

This new direction will involve dissolution of past alliances with some of our older suppliers and joining up with new suppliers who provide offerings more in line with our goals.  As a part of this process, we will no longer be offering products by  Eagleye (vehicle cameras) or Motorola (communications).  We will be sharing more information on changes in our supplier relationships over the coming months.

As many of our readers know, we have long assisted public safety agencies in sourcing available grant funds, provided system planning consulting at no charge, and provided resource information relating to compliance issues.  Several recent experiences have taught us that we either have to take a stand for what is right, or submit to participation in activities that are clearly wrong.  In addition, our offer to serve has been clearly abused by several users who feel no obligation to the concept of quid pro quo.  From this point on, our services for sourcing grant funds, system planning, and compliance issues will be limited to those who understand that business in not about selling more products or making more profits; but developing relationships that are mutually beneficial.

We are returning to the original precept on which our business was founded many years ago.  Our business model is based on serving those who serve others.  You will see some examples in this eNewsletter.

If the concept of working together for mutual benefit is of interest to you, we invite you to review the remainder of this eNewsletter.  If not, just go to the top or bottom of this page and click on Unsubscribe.  Or, if  you would like more information on our products and services,  we  invite  you  to    sign up for updates at http://falconinfo.blogspot.com.  If you are new to the Falcon family, we welcome you!  If you've been with us for awhile, we want you to know that we sincerely appreciate you, new or old, we look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship!
True Value, a short story.......
One of our customers recently asked us to take down a 100 foot tower.  It was a small volunteer fire department with limited funds.  We charged them $500.  We offered to erect the tower at a new location,  replace the guy wires, set ground anchors and supply new mounting hardware for $1,500 including installation.

A customer served by one of our competitors  had a 60' tower accidentally damaged by a truck driving into a guy wire.  The cost for taking the tower down - over $2,000.  The cost for replacing the old tower with a new 100 foot tower, over $20,000!

There are several points to make here.  First, the high priced tower was paid for by insurance.  The cost would have been the same if it had been federally funded with grant money.  Take away the free money, and reality sets in really quick!    The second point is that many public safety users have become accustomed to living off grant money, or in this case - insurance.  The fact is that these abuses simply cannot continue.

If we all don't get back to reality, users and vendors alike; we are all going to find ourselves in a world of hurt.  We are not any better or any smarter than many of our competitors.  What makes us different, is that we are ready to lead the change for a return to common sense business practices. We hope that you have a common objective.  In the long run, it will pay off for both of us!     
On the subject of FEMA Grants

 

The training workshops for the 2012 Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) start this month. We encourage all of our readers to attend one of these workshops to learn about some of the things that many overlooked last year, notably, the need for a grant project administrator. In the past, we have helped county fire associations in developing interoperable plans and referring them to qualified grant writers.  Our hope was that we would be considered as a vendor if the grant was awarded. This worked well for all concerned for a number of years.  However, things don't stay the same.  It is now time for a new way of serving you.
 
This year, our services will be a little different.  We will meet with any interested association or department to assist in developing an interoperable plan based on the individual needs of the user.  We will guarantee an interoperability plan that will meet SAFECOM guidelines relative to open standards, and competitive bids.  There is a charge for this service which is based on the size of the project. If you need assistance in writing your grant, we will recommend a qualified grant writer, but most importantly, we now offer grant administration services.  Your grant can pay for a project administrator who can professionally manage your grant when awarded.  We can show you how this service can pay for itself as well as assuring  that your project will not be influenced by a slick talking sales rep who does not have your best interest in mind.  Give me (Burch Falkner) a call at 205.202.1269 for more information.  This could be one of the best decisions you can make for 2012.

News for Industrial Users
Like others in our industry, over the past few years, we haven't paid a lot of attention to our industrial users.  We have  all been chasing the free money from our government.  Shame on us!  We ask your forgiveness and the chance to provide the level of support that you deserve.  In a nutshell, what has happened is that industrial 2-way users have been limited on the purchase of capital equipment.  This has created a higher cost for maintenance which can more easily be absorbed into corporate budgets.

The problem is that you may be paying MORE for maintaining old equipment than it would cost to acquire new equipment which would bring with it, better reliability, less down time, improved performance, and a host of other benefits  
 
We'll make you a challenge!  You tell us what you are now spending on maintenance, either monthly or annually; and the number of radios you are operating, and we will give you a plan for upgrading that may cost you LESS than what you are now spending for maintenance.  We want you to take a look at what kind of portable radio a few hundred dollars will buy today.  This video was made in Sweden, so you may not understand the language, but you WILL understand the capabilities of this incredible new radio. After you see the video, I think you will understand why this radio is well suited for EXTREMELY tough use.  Click here and then click on the play arrow in the panel showing the guy with the shotgun, and Yes, before you ask, he IS going to use it!   If you would like more information or a demonstration, just give us a call at 800.489.2611.  You'll be glad you did.
Narrow Band News
The CEO's of all Alabama hospitals were recently introduced to our Narrow Band Planning Guide by the Alabama Hospital Association. This was done to help their members better understand the requirements for narrow banding  by VHF and UHF 2-way radio users.  This guide is now in use throughout the USA for use by commercial, educational, institutional, governmental and public safety communications administrators.

It is available free of charge on request as a service to those we serve.  Our guide is a simple, non-biased planner to allow communications managers to make the best choice for their needs whether that might be continuation of analog technology, or any one of several digital technologies. If you would like to know the real facts, request your copy today.  We have a copy in PDF format that can be downloaded by email, or we will mail you a copy by regular mail (just like folks used to do things back in the 1980's).  To get your copy, drop us an email to ServingU@falcondirect.com.  Just tell us whether you prefer email or regular mail.  We'll take it from there!   
An Introduction to the Safer Communities Program

You'll be reading more about our Safer Communities Program in our next eNewsletter as well as on our Blog at http://falconinfo.blogspot.com.  For now let us just say that we are partnering with law enforcement agencies all over the State of Alabama and elsewhere to develop rapid reporting and response to all types of emergencies in the neighborhood, in the marketplace, and in the field.

We recently assisted the City of Wayland, MA to obtain a DHS grant with 100% funding to equip CERT teams with interoperable communications. The Wayland CERT teams can now coordinate activities between team members as well as public safety agencies using simple and affordable technology.

We are working with a number of Alabama law enforcement agencies to provide affordable and efficient  technology to offer better merchant safety in high risk locations, to enhance Neighborhood Watch programs, to provide rapid assistance when required in courtrooms and public offices.

Our Robber Stopper program is now available to law enforcement crime prevention units as well as a complete package to aid criminal investigation units. We have the equipment and the know how to help our friends in law enforcement to effectively combat copper thieves, burglars, and drug dealers. More information will be available at the Alabama League of Municipalities EXPO 2012 conference which will be held in Birmingham on May 20 and 21st. We will be in booth 805.  Stop by and see us!  If you can't attend, give us a call at 800.489.2611 for additional information.
Solutions Based Services.......
is the concept of taking the emphasis off of product sales and applying our capabilities to provide solutions to those we serve, or hope to serve.  That is what the new Falcon Direct is all about; doing very special things for very special people - people like YOU!  You may have also noticed that this eNewsletter has a different look from our previous eNewsletters. 

In the past, our eNewsletter was simply a print summary of our past months Blogs.  Now, our eNewsletter will have fresh content each month, just like this one. However, if you missed the recap of last months Blog, it is available by clicking here. 

Speaking of our Blog, you may be interested to know that the Search field at the top right side of the page can be used to search for information on any topic, such as fire pagers etc.  There is a LOT of information available to help you do what you do, a little better.  We thank you for giving us the opportunity to be of service. We wish you all the very best for the month of May.  Please call on us if we can be of service in any way!

                                                                                                               The Falcon Team
                                                                                                           Always at your service!

Thanks for visiting with us! We look forward to serving you! If you would like to receive a notification by email when a new eNewsletter is available, just drop us an email to ServingU@falcondirect.com or click on the link below.

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Falcon Direct, Inc. - 36 - 20th Avenue NW - Birmingham, AL - Phone 1.205.854.2611

This eNewsletter is published by Falcon Direct, Inc. as a service to our customers and those who have an interest in our activities. If you have received this email in error and do not wish to receive further eNewsletters from us, please send an email to ServingU@falcondirect.com with the word REMOVE on the subject line. Please be sure to use the same email reply address as the one addressed on our email to you. All statements contained in this eNewsletter are based on facts as we understand them at the time they are published. If you note any errors or corrections that should be addressed, please address your comments to the email address shown above.

Copyright 2012 - Falcon Direct, Inc.
This page was last updated on 05/02/2012