Door to Door Cable Sales & Auditing 101

Cable CRM, Making the Left Hand Talk to the Right Hand

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Recently, I was watching a humorous video that showed a Direct Sales Representative (DSR) making a pitch to a customer for new services. The funny part of course was when the same companies tech walked out the door after he had finished installing the same new product. The video, made before cable CRM software like started gaining traction, highlighted why it is important to be able to make sure DSRs, technicians and the home office are on the same page.

Although the concept of showing a customer having purchased for a new product before the DSR knocks on the door is great for building demand perceptions, it can also be a signal that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. Wouldn't it be nice if the DSR knew that the customer had already called and was being installed? While we are on that subject wouldn't it be better if the DSRcould have a daily updated street sheet, the latest promotional special information and of course have all this information right at his fingertips accessible on a mobile handheld device?

But wait, that's not all. Implementing a CRM specifically designed for the cable industry will also enable DSRs to perform online credit checks as well as eliminate the paperwork and office calls required to make a sale using the old paper street sheet and clipboard method. This means faster sales, more sales calls and more sales. We wish we could throw in a pair of handy steak knives with the deal but that is another commercial.

So instead of steak knives, a cable CRMsolution also can also come with the ability to perform tap audits as well by having the lost or reduced service subscriber information also on the handheld with real-time information. Now the DSRs can make sales calls and perform tap audits in the same neighborhood increasing the opportunity for new sales, cross selling, up-selling and reducing cable churn all in a days work.

Tell us how you manage your DSRs to speed up the sales cycle as well as other tools you use for sales force automation.

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