08.28.2008 — Going after the home automation market over a decade ago, when most of his peers were still very much in fear of it, says Jon Summer, owner of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Cyber Sound & Security Inc., was the best business decision he ever made.

Summer grabbed that market before it was ready, got a stronghold on the builder segment and hasn't let go since.

"We were the first to go after the builders with home automation when everyone was terrified, scared the stuff wouldn't work," he says matter-of-factly.

"I knew it was the future and was willing to go through the learning curve right out of the gate when I started the business 14 years ago. We were going full speed on home automation and made it clear to the builders it would help them sell their spec homes."

Summer acquired a lot of his business sense from his father, who owned six Dictograph franchises in the Southwest and managed about 2,000 employees. Summer worked for him, coming up through the ranks, doing pre-wiring, trimming, and sales.

Summer started Cyber Sound in 1994.

Why Builders Come to Cyber Sound

Now a seasoned contracting company, builders are drawn to Cyber Sound's services and comprise just about all of the company's business.

"We've built up a true service company over these 14 years," Summer says.

"We're a well oiled machine when it comes to knowing how to work with contractors. They rely on us because of that experience, because we service our products and because we do what we say we're going to do.We follow through."

In essence, Summer says Cyber Sound invested its energy early in knowledge and in its customer relationships.

"We knocked on doors and didn't stop until we had too much business we couldn't knock on doors anymore."

Cyber Sound picked just the right doors to knock on, too, as an average residential job falls somewhere between five and 10 million dollars.

"There are about 300 licenses in Arizona, but only about six competitors who do the high-end like we do," Summer points out. "We don't do any production work, and our average job is about $200,000 to $400,000."

Staying on the Cusp Helps Growth in a Down Market

Cyber Sound has built up an impressive clientele and has been recognized repeatedly as an industry forerunner.

Crestron has named the company its No. 1 Residential Dealer in Arizona for the past four years. And, for three years running, Cyber Sound has landed on CE Pro's CE Pro 100 list of highest-revenue integrators.

Continually improving its ranking on that list, the company has advanced from 35 in 2005 to 30 in '06 to 27 last year.

"We're growing in a down market because we are on the leading edge of technology," Summer contends.

"When you've been in business 14 years, you become very referral-based as a lot of people are out there talking about you."