A call to arms to all Velbus installers.
We all need to come together and work as a big team, between us we have thousands of hours of experience working with what has to be the nicest automation system in the world.
(Okay, we might be biased a little)
But it’s also the best kept secret and that has to end.
This week sees the launch of the www.control4.com drivers for Velbus, meaning that we can now knock on the doors of high end installers and offer this great product and our skills in installing it.
From the straw poll that I’ve done so far, it seems there are two kinds of Control4 installer.
-
Those that have an entire team of trades that will take care of every part of an installation, including the backbone systems.
These people will buy Velbus hardware once you show how easy it is to install and commission. -
The arty types that just want to focus on the AV, because they either don’t want to deal with the backbone or just don’t have the skills.
These people will love the fact that they can harvest the settings from a fully working Velbus installation and use the assets within their UI.
So please, use this dealer locator feature on the Control4 website and give people a call.
https://www.control4.com/dealer_locator
For example, there are 48 installers in Belgium
more than 120 in France
Sure, you’ll get mixed responses, don’t we always.
But you’ll also find people that will welcome you with open arms and give you a slice of a massive pie.
For example
I’ve made only 4 phone calls to C4 installers this week and I’ve got 2 confirmed meetings and 1 interested in a “Welcome to Velbus” session I’m running soon.
There’s also a >£50,000 project that I’ve been invited to pitch for.
They aren’t going to offer the massive projects right away, purely because they will be nervous, but get that first one up and running and they’ll be your friend for life.
(Or as one chap said to me, they’ll buy the Velbus kit until Control4 bring out something similar.
However, C4 uses centralised logic for their hardware and who would ever trust a single PC to run mission critical events like heating and standard lighting?)
All you need to do is take a small demo unit to their offices with a TCP server of some kind onboard.
Linux
Velbus-TCP link
or
SnapCraft Velbus-tcp link
{I’ve got a script to take care of the installation for you link }
Windows
Velbus-PB-Server link
Plug into their LAN
Let them find the IP address
Get them to download the Velbus Control4 drivers.
They’ll set up a Bridge and it’ll scan your demo unit and harvest all the channel names.
(There will be a How to document available soon for them to follow, don’t teach them to suck eggs, they’ve done this bit a thousand times with other hardware and to be honest it looks very complex)
From there on, they can use all the Velbus assets just the same as they can with anything else.
(Does this sound familiar to anyone???)
The big difference is that the drivers will only work for Six hours in demo mode.
If they buy enough hardware or services from you, give me a shout and I’ll arrange for a free project license for them. (One license per project)
Or they can buy a license for ~£300 from the developer, which will go towards further development and support.
(If you can hide / incorporate the cost of a licence in your quote that would be better as it eases the burden on my company, also they are used to paying ~£300 for licences anyway)
In conclusion, if you want to break into the higher paid projects, I’ve unlocked the door, you just need to open it.
Good luck to each and every one of you.
Please post you success stories, so that everyone gets inspired.
A massive thank you to everyone that has supported me in my ventures over the last decade.
Every single person I’ve interacted with has helped polish my skills or created some great work that has empowered us all.
Special thanks to @cedricb @Golfy @richturner @jeroends
for their efforts, none of us would have this opportunity today if it wasn’t for your hard work.