How do you scale a sales team inside a security or life-safety business—without hiring too fast, burning cash, or building a “hope-based” sales org?

In this episode of Entry & Exit, hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble break down the exact framework they’ve used at Alarm Masters to grow from founder-led selling to a six-person sales team—and the systems that make it repeatable. They cover quota math (3–5x coverage), segmented sales roles (hunters vs. farmers), the KPIs that prevent surprises, and why face-to-face wins in this industry.

You’ll also get real-world guidance on hiring, ramp expectations, building playbooks, and how to design your sales process around a clear value proposition—so your reps don’t default to discounting when pressure hits. Plus, they share quick updates on what’s happening at Alarm Masters, including new add-ons and expansion plans across Texas.

What You’ll Learn

• When to hire the next salesperson: The “pay for the next rep” principle (and how to apply it without waiting a full year)
• Quota math that actually works: Why 3–5x OTE coverage matters—and a simple way to think about it
• Segmented sales strategy: Why you shouldn’t expect one rep to do everything (and the roles to hire first)
• Hunters vs. farmers (install base): The difference between new-logo selling and expanding existing accounts
• Leading indicators & KPIs: Pipeline coverage, close rate, average deal size, conversion rates, and sales cycle length
• The gospel of face-to-face: Why more in-person time increases win rate and reduces attrition
• Sales process + value prop alignment: How “we’re the Chick-fil-A of security” shapes the entire sales motion
• Practical ops reminders: Contract audits, customer communication, and why intentionality beats hoping it works

🔗 Connect

Stephen Olmon
Collin Trimble

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Avoid expensive post-close mistakes by running a calm, disciplined first 90 days after acquiring a security or life-safety business.

In this episode of Entry & Exit, hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble break down what actually happens after you close—and why most buyers hurt themselves by moving too fast. Drawing from real acquisitions (and real scars), they lay out a practical “stabilize first, optimize later” playbook: how to earn trust with a new team, avoid culture-killing moves, protect licenses and compliance, and lock down customer relationships before you start changing systems, comp, pricing, or process.

You’ll hear the biggest early-stage mistakes (the ones they made), plus the specific moves they now treat as non-negotiables: meet your top customers, over-communicate the transition, centralize logins, audit contracts, and use the seller’s knowledge before it disappears.

What You’ll Learn

• The 90-Day Mindset: Why your #1 job is to be the world’s best employee first—not the hero CEO on day one
• Team & Culture Traps: How arrogance, fast firings, and premature promotions create attrition (and how to lead with humility)
• Stabilize Before You Optimize: Which operational “improvements” (tech stack, process, comp, parties/bonuses) backfire if you rush them
• Customer Protection Plan: How to identify your top customers, meet them early, and prevent churn through over-communication
• Operational Risk & Compliance: License/CEU gotchas that can bite you when you’re distracted by integration work
• Post-Close Hygiene: Passwords/logins, contract cleanup, and why “we’ll get it later” becomes months of pain
• Pricing & Branding Decisions: Why you shouldn’t raise prices (or kill the acquired brand) in the first 90 days
• Homework Framework: Build your “do / don’t” list and keep your first 10 priorities mostly learning, not change

🔗 Connect

Stephen Olmon — https://x.com/stephenolmon
Collin Trimble — https://x.com/TXAlarmGuy

More Entry & Exit — https://www.entryandexit.co/

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Avoid expensive post-close surprises by mastering the first seven days after signing an LOI.

In this episode of Entry & Exit, hosts Stephen Olmon and Collin Trimble deliver a brutally practical due diligence playbook for buying a security or life-safety business. Drawing from real acquisitions, they break down exactly how to run diligence without chaos—and why skipping steps almost always shows up later as lost revenue, integration pain, or legal risk.
This episode walks through a real-world due diligence checklist, focusing on what to request immediately, where buyers most often get blindsided, and how to protect yourself before money changes hands.
What You’ll Learn

The Week 1 Protocol: The specific diligence requests you must make immediately to uncover key-person risk and owner dependency
Financial Deep Dive: Why quality of earnings analysis and RMR audits are non-negotiable in security and alarm acquisitions

Legal Pitfalls: Purchase agreement strategy (Asset Purchase vs. Stock Sale), assignability issues, and spotting “tribal knowledge” gaps
Risk Management: How customer concentration and undocumented arrangements should impact deal structure and walk-away thresholds
Whether you’re evaluating acquisition due diligence for a small alarm company or a multi-branch integrator, this episode breaks down the real cost of rushing diligence—and how disciplined buyers avoid it.

🔗 Connect
Stephen Olmon

Collin Trimble

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New Episodes Every Wednesday!

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