Secom was founded in 1965 as an independent manufacturers’ representative firm. We serve the professional/commercial audio industries including contracting, A/V, recording, MI, pro audio, background music, touring and cinema .

Since 1990, Secom has been active in the CCTV and access control markets. We service all of the local and national distributors, systems integrators, and consultants.

We employ six (7) field sales people located in three (4) offices (Atlanta, GA; Birmingham, AL; Columbia, SC, Knoxville, TN). There are an additional six (6) office support people.

The company principals are full time, active salesmen.

They are:

CEO: Edward H. Wolffe

Education: B.S. in Engineering

Georgia Institute of Technology

President: Robert M. Bakert

Education: Marketing

Georgia State University

Additional sales and support people are:

 Atlanta, GA

Shirley Hamilton is responsible for the security dealers and distributors in Georgia, and serves as security sales manager for the remaining states. Prior to coming to us in September of 1997, Shirley owned and operated a firm selling to the security markets.

Billy Makarewicz, graduate of Georgia State University and our resident DJ, began playing music for others at 13. Veteran of the Prom, Party and Wedding circuit, in most recent years his focus has expanded to the underground club scene. Billy is responsible for MI and DJ sales.

 Columbia, SC

Carl Yandle, Vice President, holds a degree in marketing from University of South Carolina and an associate’s degree in electronic engineering from Midlands Technical College. Carl had six years of experience in the systems contracting business before coming to us in July, 1990. Carl is responsible for Audio, Video and Security sales in  North and South Carolina.

Knoxville, TN

Robert Taylor has a BS from the University of Tennessee. After six years as a systems integrator in the Knoxville area, Robert joined TOA as the Southeastern Regional Manager. Two years after he was hired by TOA, Robert was promoted to Field Sales Manager, and then National Sales Manager. Robert is responsible for Audio, Video and Security products in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Alabama.

Atlanta, GA office staff

Elizabeth van Hees, BA in Marketing. Now in her 15th year with us, Elizabeth offers inside sales and customer support for audio, video and security.  She is also the designer of www.secom.com and maintains it on a regular basis.

The remaining Atlanta office support personnel are Linda Apple (customer support), Ray Newberry, and Edith Fink (bookkeeper).

Secom currently supports a customer list of approximately 1800 active accounts, and is located in a 5,000 square foot, modern facility combining offices, multiple training/demo/meeting rooms and a warehouse.

We have an inbound WATS service for our customers, two high capacity FAX machines/lines, a 14 terminal Ethernet PC based system with internet access at each desk as well as Word, PowerPoint and Excel. Our custom software package allows each sales and support person (office and field) instant access to: 3-year dealer sales history per manufacturer, the manufacture’s customer number, the manufacture’s sales programs, plus all the normal addresses, telephone/fax numbers, contacts, speed dial number and much more. This system allows each user to update dealer information and to share information on dealer developments. It also allows our sales people to generate custom sales reports and do dealer mailings, giving them the best tools to manage their territories and time. This dealer sales data is automatically emailed to each field sales person on the 1st and 15th for importation to a Palm device for use in the field.

Our general email address is info@secom.com . Additionally, each individual has a unique email address allowing our manufacturers to address us individually or as a group. Most manufacturers send sales information to us via sales@secom.com, and we then disperse the information appropriately. Dealers enjoy the advantage of sending their purchase orders to orders@secom.com 

Our web site, www.secom.com, offers a link to each of our manufacturers and summarizes the latest news on their products. As of 2002, our dealers are able to access their dealer pricing via our website with password protection.  We also have a unique access code to this pricing information for consultants as well.

A little bragging: we have six times been voted one of the nation’s top rep firms by a write-in vote of our dealers in a Sound and Communications survey. This survey spanned six consecutive July issues between 1992 and 1997. We were the only rep firm to make the top list all six years. In the July 25, 1995 issue, we were clearly voted #1 in the United States, and we made promotional coffee cups for our customers to celebrate this fact. The magazine discontinued the survey in 1998.

We maintain a coveted position with the consultants in our territory. They are an important key to our systems contracting success. We call on and service them with the same attention given our top dealers. I don’t think it’s presumptuous to say that our efforts have an "effect" on the equipment specified. Because of this level of service and our personal relationships, we know about projects and specifications as well as the invited bidders so that we can "close the loop" and get the orders.

We stage demonstrations, product comparisons, and make major end user calls in support of our dealers, consultants and manufacturers using information gathered from local business journals, manufacturers’ leads and/or dealers’ invitations. It is our technical knowledge of our products that have made these calls successful and supportive of our dealers’ efforts, and it is what distinguishes us from many of our competitors.

For demonstration events, we invest many hours arranging facilities, equipment, hotels and food. This, and the extra effort of repeated dealer and consultant contact prior to the event, insures that the attendance at our demonstration events will meet everyone’s expectations.