05.19.2008 — The executives at Warrendale, Pa.-based Guardian Home Technologies are brimming with optimism.

What? How can a high-volume installation company that depends solely on new construction (for its home entertainment business) be so excited about the slowest housing market in nearly 30 years?

Are they crazy?

On the contrary, companies like Guardian Home Technologies (a division of $120 million Guardian Protection) are super smart.

The company's braintrust sees this slowdown as an opportunity to garner tremendous market share among builders and telecom service providers. And its initiatives are working.

The $37-million Guardian Home Technologies division now has contracted relationships with more than 600 homebuilders to do structured wiring, security, multiroom audio, central vacuum and more.

In the past year alone, it has inked deals with more than 100 new builders. At the same time, the company has signed with such telecom service providers as Verizon, acting as an integration partner for FiOS.

"The economic slowdown is a chance for us to gain marketshare," says Bill Graham, senior VP of sales and marketing, bluntly.

The company is garnering the marketshare by offering certain services to builders at a bargain-basement price.

In a nutshell, it's providing its security systems at a loss today in order to get the long-term builder contracts for tomorrow (while still getting the recurring monthly revenue from those alarm monitoring contracts).

It may not be the strategy of choice, but the company is doing what's necessary within its business model to be two years ahead of the curve.

It begs the questions: Do you see the current economic climate as a potential windfall for your business or as a threat? Are you thinking two years out?

Part of the answers to these questions depends on whether you are a "glass-half-empty or glass-half-full" type of person. But a bigger part depends on your short-term and longterm business strategy.

Of course, during a business slowdown, it's important to trim waste and frivolous spending. Things like cutting out extra trips to the distribution counter, eliminating a part-time position and being more efficient in service calls all help.

But, in terms of marketing, now is not the time to be drastically cutting.

In my mind, you should be gobbling up mindshare and marketshare by actively pursuing new relationships with builders, architects, interior designers and telecom companies, just like Guardian is doing.

Get out there and network harder than you ever have before with other trades. Don't just schmooze; sign deals with them now.

Your willingness to work with them when times are tough will pay off handsomely later. You will become their go-to contractor. Builders will be especially appreciative.

Make sure you do your due diligence, but reach out and target the specific builders and architects with whom you want to work.

You may not reap immediate monetary rewards while the housing market sags, but it puts you in the right position when the market comes back.

What are you doing? Let us know.