Networking - ESX

The Kentucky International Convention Center transformed into a hub of knowledge and innovation, offering attendees a fantastic opportunity to explore the latest trends, challenges, and solutions at the 2024 Electronic Security Expo (ESX). While the Expo showcased a myriad of cutting-edge technologies and products, it was the Educational Sessions and Main Stage keynotes that truly made a lasting impact.

It never ceases to amaze me how the industry is eager to share both best practices and lessons learned. Many of the sessions clearly resonated with attendees, particularly those focusing on attracting and retaining employees, leadership development, enhancing the customer experience, optimizing operations, and increasing enterprise value.

“ESX is a show and conference that just continues to deliver! Great time, lots of networking, great exhibit floor, education, and fun!”- Tracy Larson, President, WeSuite

This success is no accident. Our advisory board, composed of industry thought leaders, worked diligently to develop relevant topics for educational sessions and select keynote speakers. Over the years, we have generally hit the mark, but we greatly value feedback from those who matter most—our attendees. We continually refine topics, speakers, and presentation styles based on emerging industry trends and attendee input. We also extend our heartfelt gratitude to the volunteer speakers who generously shared their time and expertise, fostering both professionalism and personal and professional growth.

esx

During the Keynote Luncheon, Ryan Leak offered valuable insights on leadership and inspiring others, posing a thought-provoking question to the audience: “What’s it like for people to be led by me?” He guided us through a journey of self-awareness regarding our leadership skills. Meanwhile, Justin Forsett, former NFL player, shared his General Session message on leading teams through change, adversity, and opportunity—key issues currently facing the Electronic Security industry. Despite his smaller stature, Forsett’s stories of resilience and perseverance were truly inspiring.

“ESX 2024 was incredible! Since we were able to meet with actual decision makers, we closed more than 150K in sales on the ESX show floor. That paid for our booth and was the first time we left a tradeshow with an immediate ROI!” Jake Voll, CEO, SS&Si Dealer Network

Additionally, David Selinger, Dean Drako, and Marty Guay provided crucial insights into the evolving competitive landscape of the industry. They emphasized the importance of embracing change and innovation in delivering security services and discussed the inevitable impact of AI on all stakeholders.

While ESX may be considered a smaller show, its intimate setting fosters meaningful interactions on the Expo floor. Attendees and exhibitors engage in deeper, more personal conversations, allowing both sides to gain a clearer understanding of each other’s needs and preferences. This setting also gives attendees ample time to explore new products and services that could enhance customer experience and boost company valuation.

We are very grateful to our exhibitors and sponsors, who are the backbone of the event. They provide the essential framework that enables us to create an exceptional learning and interactive experience for all.

“The ESX 2024 show is really the highlight of the summer for the security industry. It is the best of both worlds, it feels like a big industry tradeshow at times, but delivers the value and best practice sharing of a smaller industry event. It is really an event that allows us to have meaningful longer conversations with key customers and prospects alike. If you are a dealer or integrator that is interested in RMR you need to be at ESX!” – Mark Hillenburg, Vice President of Industry Relations at DMP – Digital Monitoring Products

Networking events are special opportunities where new connections are forged and existing relationships are renewed, especially during the ever-popular ESX Pub Crawl. Not only are they fun, but also offer a chance to build valuable relationships—ranging from lifelong friendships to connections with industry influencers and mentors.

“As a sponsor of ESX, we were thoroughly impressed with the quality of decision makers on the expo floor that provided us with access to key industry leaders. The focused and intimate environment of ESX allowed us to engage in meaningful conversations, fostering connections that exceeded our expectations. We are confident that the relationships and insights gained at ESX 2024 will drive significant progress for our company. We look forward to participating again at ESX 2025.” – Michael Zydor, Managing Director of Affiliated Monitoring

And to top it all off, we honored exceptional volunteer leaders and technicians with well-deserved awards throughout the program. Industry esx awards play a crucial role in recognizing their contributions, encouraging continued involvement, and celebrating the positive impact they have on our field. Among these accolades, one program stands out as particularly meaningful: the scholarships awarded to the children of first responders from police and fire services. These scholarships are a heartfelt tribute to the brave individuals who serve our communities, providing support to their families and investing in the future of their children. By recognizing and assisting the next generation of these heroes, we reaffirm our commitment to giving back and making a meaningful impact beyond our industry.

“What an incredible week at ESX! This year’s event was truly the best yet, and the dedication and hard work from the ESX team shone through in every aspect. From the engaging sessions to the invaluable networking opportunities, everything was top-notch. I’m already looking forward to next year’s ESX in Cobb County, Atlanta, Georgia. Kudos to everyone involved for making this such a memorable experience.” – Kirk MacDowell, President, MacGuard Security Advisors

Ultimately, despite the challenges that security integrators have associated with sending their employees to tradeshows—such as opportunity costs, time away from work, and logistical considerations—the benefits often far outweigh these hurdles. The growth, connections, and knowledge gained from such experiences highlight why it is a worthwhile investment. Consider this: the fear of training employees only to have them leave is understandable, but the greater risk is not training them effectively and having them stay.

Supporting employees in attending ESX not only fosters their personal and professional growth but also drives the long-term success of your organization. I invite you to seize the opportunity for meaningful development and industry advancement by joining us from June 16-19 at Cobb Galleria Centre in Cobb County, Atlanta, Georgia. Invest in your team’s future and unlock new possibilities for your company’s success.

Registration is now open for the ESX 2024, a trade show and educational conference owned by the Electronic Security Association (ESA) and The RMR Educational Event of the Year. The event designed by and for electronic security and life safety integrators/dealers will be held June 3-6 at the Kentucky International Convention Center in Louisville, Kentucky. 

ESX provides security professionals with a forum to learn about the latest technology innovations. As well as acquire proven business strategies and gain new insights based on best practices. As well as the opportunity to connect with peers and grow a trusted network. Prospective attendees are encouraged to seize the advantage of early bird registration rates available until April 19, 2024.   

Bring the Team to ESX

Crafted as the pinnacle learning event, ESX offers an exclusive opportunity for security professionals. The ability to delve into best practices, unparalleled educational sessions, and team-centric benefits. To underline this commitment, ESX introduces special team registration discounts. Four security professionals registering under the same pass can generously bring a fifth colleague from their company free. This provision aims to foster comprehensive team involvement by facilitating knowledge sharing at a reduced cost.

Interested security pros eager to grow in their professional development can secure their spots now at www.esxweb.com/register.

“We are excited to open early bird registration for ESX 2024 and invite the security community to join us in Louisville for another year of education, innovation, and networking.” says George De Marco. “ESX is the must-attend event for security professionals seeking to stay informed about the latest best practices, technologies, and trends shaping the changing competitive landscape.”

ESX Expo Floor: Where Business Gets Done

At ESX’s expo floor, attendees will engage with exhibitors for invaluable insights. Like spanning marketing strategies, sales tactics, installation training, merchandising, and more. Exclusively catering to the pro-installed channel, ESX ensures exhibitors more quality conversations. While fostering a focused and immersive experience for all participants. Additionally, the event’s design amplifies intimate interactions and quality dialogues across the industry by facilitating one-on-one engagements. Which is a hallmark of ESX’s commitment to an enriching experience. Although, expo Booth spaces and sponsorship opportunities are still available but limited so act fast!

Learn more here – www.esxweb.com/promote-your-products-at-esx

Networking with Industry Peers

ESX distinguishes itself by curating engaging networking events that break the ice and encourage connections among attendees. Among these events, attendees can look forward to:

Opening Celebration: A grand kickoff event that sets the stage for an immersive experience, allowing attendees to connect in a vibrant atmosphere.
Pub Crawl: An informal and interactive evening where participants explore various local establishments while networking and fostering camaraderie.
Weinstock Celebration: A renowned event designed to bring attendees together in a convivial ambiance, offering an exceptional opportunity to network and build relationships.

Unparalleled Educational Programming

In addition, to gaining expo access. Dealers, integrators, and monitoring professionals wielding the Deluxe or Executive Pass can also attend unparalleled educational sessions curated by peers and industry thought leaders. Acclaimed as the industry’s strongest educational programming, ESX’s sessions garnered rave reviews in 2023, with over 80% of attendees rating the education sessions as VERY GOOD or EXCELLENT.

Official ESX Hotels at Discounted Rate

To enhance your ESX experience, secure your registration today and take advantage of specially curated official ESX hotel choices at discounted rates. Deadline to book is Monday, May 13, 2024:

The Galt House Hotel
Omni Louisville Hotel
Embassy Suites Louisville Downtown
Louisville Marriott Downtown

Register now and secure your spot to unlock the unrivaled learning, networking, and immersive experiences that ESX 2024 has to offer.

While ESX 2023 is now in the rearview mirror, security pros will have the coming months ahead to apply many of the best practices and business insights to their organizations.

The event promises quality interactions and best practice sharing among leaders in the electronic security and life safety industry. This is THE event for education and networking in the channel — and the 2023 event delivered just that.

TOP 4 REASONS ATTENDEES CAME:

To network with industry colleagues
To discover new business ideas, trends, opportunities, or strategies
To gain industry knowledge and perspective
To enhance leadership, management or business skills

The show’s impact will ripple well into 2024, when the industry’s leaders will gather again June 3-6 in Louisville, KY for ESX 2024.

87% of attendees rated these sessions VERY GOOD or EXCELLENT

TOP 10 EDUCATION SESSIONS:

Driving Higher RMR on Every Sale

Top Reasons Why You Should Be Offering Cloud-based Access Control Systems

6 Ways to Reduce Truck Rolls, Optimize Field Services and Increase Customer Satisfaction

Keeping Score – A Better Alarm Verification Method

Fear Not – How to Raise Your RMR and Labor Rates without Losing Customers

The State of Marketing and Digital Tools for the Modern Company

Leveraging Your Existing Customer Base for Sales and RMR Growth

Understanding Recurring Revenue Financing in Today’s Climate

The Business of Fire Alarms – Part 2: Understanding Codes, Standards, and New Technologies

How to Encourage Collaboration Between Sales and Installation Staff

WHAT ATTENDEES ARE SAYING ABOUT ESX

“Great week at ESX 2023. We’re excited to bring home new ideas to share with our team and customers!”

“An incredible week of learning and celebrating with friends from across our industry.”

“Our Preventia Security management team had such a great time at #ESX2023 in
Louisville, KY! It was a great experience for our leaders as they got to connect and network with other security professionals in our industry.”

“Some great discussion points and ideas that I took away on how to improve our operational response. Open and engaging dialog with valuable input from attendees as well.”

“This is the best national one stop place for our industry!”

WHERE THE INDUSTRY GATHERS.

The Electronic Security Expo (ESX) is the largest tradeshow open exclusively to security professionals, providing a platform for industry experts to gather and exchange knowledge, insights, and experiences. In addition to the wealth of information available through education sessions and the expo floor, ESX offered various networking opportunities that contribute to professional growth and relationship building.

Opening Celebration with a Live Karaoke Band

The kickoff networking event for ESX was the Opening Celebration, which set the tone for the entire event. This lively gathering offers security professionals an opportunity to come together in a relaxed and entertaining environment. The presence of a live karaoke band adds a unique element of fun, encouraging attendees to unleash their inner rock star or dance along while their fellow security pros hit the main stage. Attendees were also provided with local beer and spirits and a mix of local Louisville, Kentucky flavors. This event cultivates a sense of camaraderie among participants, fostering connections that extend beyond professional interests.

The Pub Crawl

At the pub crawl, ESXers visited the local Louisville nightlife while engaging in meaningful conversations with friends within the industry. By visiting multiple local establishments, attendees have the chance to interact with new people, fostering new connections and expanding their network. The relaxed and social atmosphere of the pub crawl encourages open dialogue, enabling individuals to exchange ideas, best practices, and industry insights in a relaxed setting. The pub crawl is an excellent avenue for establishing long-lasting relationships that extend beyond the confines of the tradeshow.

Weinstock Celebration

ESX’s Weinstock Celebration was the event that honored and recognized ESA’s Weinstock Person of the Year, Jamie Vos, for his outstanding achievements and service within the industry. In addition to celebrating this award, it was also ESA’s Diamond Jubilee which commemorated the association’s 75th anniversary. This milestone signifies the ESA’s long-standing commitment to the industry and offers attendees and ESA Members a chance to connect and reflect on how the association and its many volunteers contributed over the years. The event was 1920’s themed, and attendees were encouraged to dress in their finest prohibition-era attire while enjoying some giggle juice and exploring the Frazier History Museum in Louisville.

Bring The Team to ESX

Registration is open for the ESX 2023, and offers several attendance options, including access to the Expo Only and an Executive pass for access to exclusive leadership sessions. Discounted prices on all registration types expire April 7th, 2023. Additionally, ESX offers a special where if 4 security pros register for the same pass, they can receive a 5th for free. This creates an opportunity to bring your whole team to ESX for best practice sharing at a discounted cost.

ESX attendees learn new skills, make new connections, get exposed to new products, and inspirational moments. ESX is a meaningful event open exclusively to the professional security and life safety integrator and is designed to allow passionate professionals the ability to learn more, share more and interact more. No chaotic crowds. Just tailored networking and educational sessions designed to help you and your team grow your business.

Here are four things you and your team can expect to experience by attending ESX:

Skill Development

ESX features keynote presentations and educational sessions from industry experts and influencers. These presentations aim to teach attendees new skills, best practices, and provide actionable takeaways to achieve long-term success. If you and your team are attentive and eager to learn, they’ll leave with new tools and ideas to incorporate into their day-to-day workflow.

“Best education sessions I have ever attended.”

Networking Opportunities

ESX differs from other industry tradeshows as it focuses on quality engagements and creative ways to encourage interactions that break the ice. ESX attendees can expect (# of networking events ) that focus on shared experiences that forge lasting connections, including the Opening Celebration, The Pub Crawl, and the ESA’s Weinstock Celebration where security pros will honor the Morris F Weinstock Person of the Year and ESA’s 75th Year, The Diamond Jubilee.

“ESX has always been a great social event to meet new people and strengthen relationships with both new and existing peers”

Experience New Products

Be more than just a badge scan. The expo floor is open exclusively to security and life safety integration and monitoring professionals; it isn’t diluted or redirected for end users. It is a targeted resource for productive business conversations and features the latest products and services in categories, including access control; video surveillance; central station technology; intrusion and fire alarms; custom electronics; IT and networking; monitoring services; identification systems, and more.

Additionally, ESX is the event to promote your products or services. If you are interested in sponsorship and expo booth options, take a look at ESX’s sponsorship brochure here: esxweb.com/electronic-security-expo-sponsorship.

“The quality of the conversations that we’ve had and the leads that are going to be coming out of this have been fantastic.” says Steven Coughlin, Account Executive at Bold Group and exhibitor at ESX 2022

Be Inspired

Everybody’s motivation dips from time to time. When you go through the same routine every single day, it’s natural to lose focus or burn out. ESX provides a great opportunity to step away from the day-to-day grind and experience something fresh and exciting. You and your team will build skills and gain actionable insights while at ESX, but they will also feel reinvigorated after spending time in a new, high-energy atmosphere. You may think that spending time out of the office will hurt productivity – but once your employees return, they will likely be more productive than ever thanks to their newfound motivation and inspiration.

“I don’t know of a more insightful convention to attend. This was the most beneficial 3 days of my career.”

With Speaker Sherry Vidal Brown, PHD, SMU Cox School of Business

When it comes to hiring, it can be challenging to identify who could be the right fit for the company, and sometimes new hires are not well suited for a specific job. So how do we find a “team player” and someone who will be a successful new hire?

Your Company’s Brand is Your Hiring North Star

Sherry Brown, leader of this Leadership Workshop, recommends that as a company it is important to first understand and define what it is and what its values are. This is integral because if your company’s core values are “working as a team” then you to look into new hires that share that value as well. Once hiring managers are aware of specific company values, they can know who their target audience is and who to target with job postings. Hiring new talent means looking at what sets them apart from everyone else. Managers should also have proficient interviewing skills, have questions tailored to core value and brand, and know how to screen resumes based on the company’s values and needs. When a company knows what their brand is, it is easy to identify who falls in line with that brand and message as an employee.

Retaining The Talent

Retaining employees has been a challenge in the market for a few years now. So how do you make sure that your talent doesn’t walk away? The importance comes from being able to hire someone that falls in line with the company goals and values. If an employee can see career growth and is in tune with the company culture, benefits, and environment then it will be very hard for them to walk away. It is well known that when employees feel seen, valued and taken care of by their employers they prefer to stay long-term at their jobs.

Fulfill Your Brand’s Promise

However, this is all easier said than done. Sherry Brown says it is important for companies to be consistent in their branding, values, and culture as well as how they treat and value their employees. The company should do assessments of itself to screen if they are living out their core values and brand message for their employees. This is a key factor in being able to retain talent. Employees want to know that their employers care and respect them.

Ultimately, Sherry Brown tells us that firstly, companies need to be able to identify “who” they are as a whole in terms of culture, values and branding. Secondly, identify specific talent based on who they are and see if they are a good match for that. Thirdly, have managers be able to screen successfully with interview questions tailored specifically to those core values. Last but not least, keeping your employees cared for by implementing your brand’s promise goes a long way and will result in long lasting employment.

The UNevent for Quality Interaction and Collaboration.

The ESX Community is a group of passionate professionals who share, learn and brainstorm each year to elevate their game — both personally and professionally.

To create and support this community, ESX focuses on quality engagements and creative ways to encourage interactions and break the ice. It’s time to rethink what an industry event should offer. Stop settling for shallow interactions that leave you lost in a crowd — and join a community of passionate security professionals ready to make a difference.

As an intimate event that focuses on relationships, ESX is defined by the passionate professionals who attend. Networking events focus on shared experiences that forge lasting connections, and the expo floor is designed to give adequate time for in-depth discussions.

By providing these opportunities, ESX becomes a launchpad for new ideas, plans and partnerships that move the industry forward. The networking events included the Opening Celebration and Pub Crawl, and the ESA’s Weinstock Celebration.

Opening Celebration

The 2022 Opening Celebration, sponsored by Affiliated Monitoring, welcomed security pros with live music and great conversations after a few years away from an in-person ESX.

The Pub Crawl

The Pub Crawl made stops at The Library for games and live music and pros took to the mic for a night of singing at Pete’s Dueling Pianos. Stops were sponsored by JLM Wholesale and immix.

Weinstock Celebration

ESX’s NEW Weinstock Celebration provided an opportunity to celebrate the accomplishments of the 2022 Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year, Steve Firestone, at ACRE Distilling. Pros were treated to live music, liquor tasting, cigar rolling, and more — all sponsored by ESA’s Diamond Partner, Resideo.