Since retailing is the dominant distribution channel, I’ll address it first. Retailing in general has an image problem. We ask participants in our Retail Sales Skills classes to describe the general public’s image of retail salespeople. Almost all the responses are negative. The burning issue is how to improve this image: how to build a relationship with the customer that enables us to fully meet their needs. That relationship also helps the retail stores improve their revenue and profit contributions to the company, while reducing churn. From our studies we know this fact: at the end of their contracts, customers who do not have good buying experiences are four times as likely to leave their service providers. Within the carrier’s Indirect Channel, the account manager is responsible for producing results without having any authority to get the job done. The burning issues are: (1) how to give these account managers the tools they need to become expert resources, (2) how to build their credibility so agents will accept their recommendations, and (3) how to implement plans to improve the agents’ profitability and cash flow. The burning issue for the Business-to-Business channel is the challenge of offering a compelling reason for the enterprise customer to buy from this channel rather than from the retail channel. Merely offering price reductions is not enough. In many cases we’ve observed this channel functioning more as “retail-on-wheels” than a true whole solution provider for the enterprise.

In retail sales training we base our approach on extending uncommon courtesy to the customer. Considering the retail salesperson stereotype that is so prevalent, there’s no better way of setting yourself apart from the competition. We call it “surprising and delighting” the customer. Our client’s sales people surprise their customers by not being who they expect them to be and delight them by giving them a unique customer experience with a foundation of extending uncommon courtesy. By bringing the wall of defensiveness down our clients’ salespeople gather the information they need to make relevant and meaningful recommendations to their customer. The customers love it. We give the Indirect Channel a new model for their relationship with their dealers and agents. We begin with teaching the language of retailing. Until the account managers and their customers speak the same language, only the differences and problems are apparent. Speaking the same language transfers attention to opportunities, because agents begins to experience their Account Managers’ knowledge of how they do business. We also help Account Managers prioritize their time based on present and potential agent productivity. We then teach the account managers what to do when they visit a store to improve their agents’ sales, productivity, gross profit, and cash flow. Our Direct Channel (or Enterprise Sales Channel) sales and management training focuses on the one thing that this channel can contribute to its customers that sets it apart from retail: how to define and sell advanced wireless data applications that can increase the customer’s income, employee productivity, and their competitive advantage in the customer’s marketplace.

Our clients are telecommunications companies who seek new ways to improve their sales, employee productivity, gross profit, revenues, inventory control, churn reduction, agent productivity, and call center operations. We can begin our relationship with a complete assessment of their sales and customer care operations. Once the assessment is complete we deliver our recommendations. Then we develop the processes and training programs to execute those processes. Some clients choose to use our existing processes and training without the assessment. Our network of top industry experts deliver the training or certify our client’s training staff to deliver the training.

We have had clients conduct a Return on Investment analysis of our services. They have been delighted with the results. It’s our own way of surprising and delighting our clients just like we teach them to surprise and delight their own customers.

Being the Vice-President of Field Operations, I recruit, certify and direct the activities of our industry experts in their providing client services. I also manage the relationship between The Edmond-Howard Network and our clients.

I am invaluable, irreplaceable, and humble.

They get to meet the invaluable, irreplaceable and humble guy