Flores, 27, beat the scammers with a combination of stellar service, customer reviews, word-of-mouth recommendations, and guerilla marketing. He doesn’t spend any money on search engine marketing. would get ahead with a combination of stellar service, customer reviews, word- of-mouth recommendations, and guerilla marketing (putting out door hangers in condominiums, flyers on cars, etc.). These days, Alpha Lock & Key spends not a sin- gle cent to boost its search engine perfor- mance. “We’re beating the scammers the old-school way. No technology, because you know what? A scammer can’t beat a good review. They can’t. We’re an honest, family-owned, fairly priced locksmith company.” That’s not to say that success was in- stant when the then-24-year-old launched his company with his best friend/busi- ness partner in 2012. They grossed just $54,000 the first year, hiring locksmiths on commission. “I honestly didn’t make any money that first year because I was feeding so many guys,” Daniel recalls. He gave his crew this advice: “We are really going to bring back the trade the way it’s supposed to be. It’s not about the money; it’s about the security. If you go out there and give good customer service, the mon- WWW.ALOA.ORG And grow it has. Thanks to five-star reviews aplenty on service provider web- sites, excellent word-of-mouth, and a sol- id presence at local events (a monthly booth, for example, at the popular Sun- coast Gun Show), Alpha Lock & Key has not only amassed an enthusiastic core of commercial and residential clients but also a tightly guarded list of rich and fa- mous clientele. Daniel and his team of eight locksmiths (two full-time) work on lavish mansions, billionaires’ yachts, sports stars’ safes, luxury hotels, and high-end shops such as Fendi. Photos on the company’s active Instagram feed (@alphalockandkey) are a fascinating blend of new lock technology, in-progress work photos, and gorgeous skydecks overlooking stunning beaches. To provide subtlety when servicing wealthy or celebrity clients, Alpha Lock & Key’s service vans are plain white. “Those people don’t want a truck with a wrap that says ‘Bill’s Locksmith’ outside their home,” Daniel explains. “That’s why all of our trucks are blank. We do a low-key, the Tiffany’s of locksmiths, but we try to keep Jared prices with Tiffany’s cus- tomer service.” For one particular $60,000 custom watch safe with winders, Daniel says it took five of his guys two and a half days of prep work just to prepare the client’s “Every company I subbed for, it was just people scamming people. I decided, ‘You know what? This is just not right. I love locksmith- ing, and I want to make a differ- ence in the trade.’’ SEPTEMBER 2015 KEYNOTES 15
