Howdy folks, and welcome to the week in Playback. CE Pro’s Executive Editor Zachary Comeau and I have been hard at work throwing together our Wage & Salary study for 2025, but while that’s finishing proofing in the oven, there was one finding we wanted to talk about a bit more ahead of the study’s release.
It’s no secret that finding quality talent is a challenge in custom integration (CI), and I feel like part of that has to do with the uniqueness of the industry. CE Pro has hosted plenty of discussions talking about labor shortages and how integrators and industry organizations are addressing them, but most of the time, those are related to technician shortages.
Finding quality sales personnel, however, has grown to be a thorn in many integrators’ sides, apparently. It’s a tough question: Do you pull a technician who already knows the business and try to train them in sales? Or do you get a professionally trained salesperson with no knowledge in CI and work to educate them on that instead?
It’s gotten so bad that the median annual salary for an entry-level sales rep ballooned 20% over the last two years, vastly outstripping pay growth in all other areas of an integrator’s business (which averaged out to around 3%).
This could explain why sales trainings have become so popular among integrators, and that might even point to integrators going the in-house route, but until we have a few more conversations with those firms, it’s all conjecture for the time being.
Of course, if you have some experience there, I certainly wouldn’t begrudge feedback (you can contact me at [email protected] with any insight).
Still, it’s data points like this that can highlight how the uniqueness of this niche industry, while endlessly fascinating and exciting, can be a bit of a double-edged sword at times.
With that out of the way, let’s see what we have on Playback this week.
1. A New Age (Hopefully) for Digital Keys
Source: CE Pro
The Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA) officially released its Aliro 1.0 specification this week with the hopes of homogenizing the otherwise disparate access control ecosystem.
Announced in November 2023, the Aliro 1.0 specification is defined as a communication protocol with a common credential meant to facilitate interoperability between mobile devices, wearable and access control readers.
The end goal is, through the adoption of certified devices, to enable consistent experience across all connected hardware.
On the client side, the standard is built around providing more consistent, secure experience, with two big benefits being consistency and personal security. Custom integrators stand to benefit as well, though with easier setup and more efficient troubleshooting across devices.
2. WiiM Sees Ongoing Demand for Multiroom Audio in CI
Source: CE Pro
WiiM expanded its network of manufacturer reps, citing strong demand in the CI channel for its steadily growing portfolio of multiroom audio products.
Per the company: “WiiM’s ecosystem of streamers, amplifiers, and smart audio products continues to gain traction with integrators looking for flexible, software-driven solutions that support multi-room and home theater projects with seamless control integration and unmatched sound quality.”
The company broke away from its flagship streamers and amps most recently with the launch of a wireless speaker and subsequent follow-up in a pared down version designed for filling out multiroom systems.
3. The Quiet Talent Shortage
Source: CE Pro
Digging into median worker pay, CE Pro found many personnel salaries remained largely unchanged in 2025, except for one: entry-level sales reps.
With the increase in sales salaries, however, CE Pro also noted a decrease in sales commissions. In 2025, 48.9% of respondents were paying between 5-10% on sales commissions, down from 59% in 2023. The number of companies paying less than 5% on commission nearly matches that at 41.9%.
“The rise in sales compensation is noteworthy,” says Hagan Kappler, CEO and co-founder of Daisy.
“Good sales talent that can handle consultative, design-forward selling is commanding a premium. For design and engineering roles, the market is particularly competitive and we see even higher compensation.”
4. URC Grows Out Automation Modules
Source: CE Pro
URC released its Intelligent Shading Utility as a follow-up to the company’s Circadian Lighting Utility, launched earlier this year.
The Intelligent Shading Utility, as with prior and forthcoming Utility modules on the Total Control Platform are built on the URC Automation Engine, which itself serves as the backend framework upon which the Utilities’ decision-making is conducted.
According to URC, the Utility acts as a “smart home automation script,” that evaluates each shade every few minutes before deciding on whether it should be adjusted or not.
The system will reportedly even factor in latitude and longitude readings so it can calculate the sun’s exact elevation throughout the day to align window treatments along its path.
5. Phoenix Marketing Groups Closes a Banner Week
Source: CE Pro
Screen Innovations (SI) and Shade Innovations announced they would be partnering with Phoenix Marketing Group (PMG) to deliver support, training and in-field expertise to SI dealers nationwide this week.
As part of the partnership, PMG’s seasoned, CI-focused sales team, which comprises over 40 trained sales professionals, will act as an extension of SI’s own sales and support force, ensuring dealers across the country receive consistent service.
PMG also secured an additional win with the expansion of its representation agreement for SoundTube to provide increased coverage across its assigned Midwestern territory.
