INDUSTRY NEWS

5/12/2008 - Why What You Say Next Matters The manager I worked for when I was first promoted into management was a great coach. He would always say "As a manager, what you say next is even more important than what you just said." I'll admit that the first few times he said that I had no idea what he was talking about. Over time, I learned from his actions what he meant. He always took that little bit of extra time to explain or to show you what he was talking about. His management style made me realize that many managers I had worked for managed more in passing than in conversation. They were already on to the next thing - whatever it might be - instead of focusing on the employee or situation in front of them. Her... MORE

2/15/2008 - February FasTrac Dealer News Letter  LINK

2/15/2008 - 7 REASONS WHY PROTECT CELL WILL BOOST YOUR REVENUE IN 2008 As business plans are finalized for 2008, now is the time to implement new strategies to increase revenue flowing into your organization. Through the sale of Protect Cell Handset Protection Plans, which are similar to the handset protection programs offered by carriers, you will earn an average of $32 for each new phone sale. So, why would you continue to attach a carrier plan to new handsets when you can earn significantly more with each Protect Cell sale? If you sell one Protect Cell Handset Protection Plan per store daily, at the end of a month, you will have generated almost $1,000 in gross profit, for that store location. You can do the math: Number of plans per store per mont... MORE

2/15/2008 - NEVER SAY, WILL THAT BE ALL? Never say, ‘Will that be all?’ Sometimes I wish I owned a chain of convenience stores – like Quickie Marts or 7-11s. Everday they get a gazillion customers in their door to pay for gas, buy soft drinks, chips, or the newspapers. But what do their customers usually hear at the point of sale at the convenience stores? ‘Will that be all?’ And what do their customers say most of the time? ‘Yep. That’s it.’ I might recommend to these stores that they train their people to ask one question : ‘Have you have this week’s TV Guide? Because I know a secret – most of the people in the United States own a TV. And if they handed the new TV Guide to a gazillion customers everyday they would not... MORE

2/15/2008 - When MUST is always and SHOULD is Most of the time One thing that fascinates me when working with retail chains is seeing the different levels of performance that spring from the same retail strategy. All of the stores have the same products, merchandising, marketing, and approach to engaging the customer, so why do some stores grow their sales year after year while others struggle to equal last year's numbers? Why do some stores almost always score nearly perfect mystery shop and customer experience scores while in others the only consistency is inconsistent scores? At this point I'm sure you're thinking to yourself that the answers to these questions are pretty obvious. It's people. More specifically, it's leadership. An... MORE

12/12/2007 - DECEMBER FASTRAC NEWS LETTER  LINK

12/12/2007 - NOT GETTING THE RESULTS YOU NEED FROM YOUR ADVERTISING? You need to spend that hard earned co-op on a monthly basis or risk losing it. The easy way out is to spend it blindly on advertising mediums that are easy to use with a generic “carrier” template. The real measurement here is not going to be how attractive your ad looks, or whether it is well written, but whether or not it works. One of the biggest challenges dealers face is how to improve their advertising results without spending additional funds. What can you do to make sure you a get a great response with your ads? 1. Focus your resources on prospects within the buying radius of your stores. You can’t sell everybody……so stop advertising to people who may see y... MORE

12/12/2007 - ADVERTISING WITH DIRECT RESPONSE TOOLS We know your days are jam-packed running your retail business, managing staff, returning phone calls, reading emails - the list goes on and on. That is why we want to give you some quick answers to questions we have been asked in the past about using direct-response tools in advertising. 1. Why should I use a vanity 800 phone number as the primary direct-response tool in my advertising? There are lots of reasons! First, 45% of Americans have initiated purchases using the telephone - compared to just 37% who have initiated a purchase over the Internet. Second, unforgettable phone numbers are proven to generate 30-60% higher response rates when used in advertising. Third, call... MORE

12/12/2007 - HALF OFF HOLIDAY SALE Stop guessing about your marketing and sales decisions. SalesSmarts analysis packages offer the concrete data needed to make better decisions. And, for a limited time only, you can purchase a package at a fraction of its normal cost. Act now to gain a new perspective on your target market. Retail managers can garner insight on their neighborhoods, customers or expansion plans with our Location Demographic Analysis. B2B sales managers can help generate better sales leads through our Sales Territory upgrade. With the new year fast approaching, now's the time to nail down your sales and marketing plans. And with this special, limited-time offer, there's never been a better oppor... MORE

12/12/2007 - REINFORCE SALES PERFORMANCE THIS HOLIDAY SEASON Assuming that shortfalls exist in your stores, and that lost opportunities are great enough for you to take action, what can you do to influence the way things are moving? How can you stimulate movement where there is none? How will your people react? Consider this sales management plan. 1. Set your performance criteria. What do you want your people to do? How should they do it? How often should they do it? For example, should salespeople recommend accessories to every customer, or just when they have enough time? Why should they do it? Are they responsible for the results of their efforts? Are these efforts totally under their control? If yes, what are the predictable ou... MORE

9/11/2007 - 3 WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR RETAIL TRAFFIC 1. Greet each customer and introduce yourself by name. A sales person says, ‘Hi, I’m Chris. Welcome to our store.’ Compare this to, ‘May I help you?’, ‘Can I help you?’, ‘Do you have any questions I can help you with?’ Which greeting do you feel is more likely to lead to a relationship? My mother drives 35 miles from our home on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland to Baltimore, where she could do some serious shopping. I am too young to stay by myself, so she takes me with her. This is good and bad. I like the tall buildings in Baltimore and I like the turkey sandwich I order for lunch at the big store’s restaurant. But I dread the rest of the trip. I sit in chairs by d... MORE

9/11/2007 - PLAN NOW FOR YOUR 4TH QUARTER DIRECT MAIL Now is the time to plan ahead for your holiday season direct mail campaign. Be ready to capitalize on the most profitable quarter of the year, and understand that you will be competing with many different offers and advertisements during that time. So what do you do? Utilize Targeted Direct Mail to reach new customers. Why? A well put together Direct Mail campaign produces on average a 200% the response rate and 3 times the credit approval rates as newspaper for the same cost. Most Dealers don't do Direct Mail because it takes too much time and effort. The Dealer needs to spend time researching and buying the right list, have creative done, find a print shop, and... MORE

9/11/2007 - WHO'S MINDING THE STORE? With the 4th quarter fast approaching, everyone involved in retail management is gearing up for yet another incredible selling opportunity. Are you fully prepared? Are you comfortable in answering the following question: Who’s Minding the Store? Having spent countless hours and dollars developing a solid sales team, giving them proper training, selecting the perfect retail location, designing the space to be pleasing to the shopper, stocking your stores with the latest and greatest product mix and advertising your locations with a multi-pronged approach, you are now ready to watch it all come together like a well oiled machine. And it does…so long as the owner, district manager or s... MORE

9/11/2007 - WHY ALL HANDSET PROTECTION PLANS ARE NOT THE SAME Most of the major carriers offer cell phone insurance plans. Now there is a new alternative to what everyone else is doing. Protect Cell, a new program powered by Digital Leash for Wireless Retailers, offers a broader range of plan options, more flexible payment options, a bonus Lost and Found program and many dealer benefits that will help wireless retailers increase revenue and improve customer satisfaction. More Plan Options Protect Cell is not a “one size fits all solution.” There are three plan options for protecting cell phones and other mobile electronic devices from mechanical failure, breakage, water damage, loss and theft: The Standard Phone Plan covers basic p... MORE

9/11/2007 - NEW LOWER COST OPTIONS NOW AVAILABLE TO TRACK YOUR RESULTS Simply put, if you are not tracking your advertising response rates, and monitoring how your sales people handle inbound telephone inquiries, you are setting your business up to fail. The Wireless Industry has never been more competitive, and every dollar you spend to drive new buyers to your stores must provide a return. It's a battle for every customer, and simply spending co-op dollars because you need to "spend it or lose it" is no longer an option. If you are finding it impossible to track your advertising results manually, while trying to make sure your sales people professionally handle inbound calls, read on. With the busy advertising season quickly approaching, it... MORE

4/13/2007 - APRIL FASTRAC NEWS LETTER  LINK

4/13/2007 - YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU DON'T KNOW Many of us go through life blissfully unaware of important details that can make a world of difference. From our physical health and our relationships to our business practices, until some event or detail is pointed out, we are oblivious to its existence. Sounds confusing? NASA calls them the unk-unk’s (unknown unknowns), the hidden aspects of any business or operation that are not apparent until something goes wrong or right. When something goes right most of us attribute the success to something we did. However, when something goes wrong, people look for the unknowns—trying to find answers in the process or core elements of a business. I was recently at a training s... MORE

4/13/2007 - TARGET MARKETING YOUR CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS For wireless retailers we have found that direct mail produces, on average, 200% of the response rate and two to three times the credit approval rate of newspaper ads and other forms of media dollar for dollar. With this knowledge gained from tracking actual response rates from hundreds of different advertising campaigns, Dealers would be wise to to give serious consideration as to how every dollar of co-op advertising monies are spent. At the same time it is becoming ever more difficult to lure new buyers into stores as the penetration rates approach 75%. Advertising to new customers now a days is very difficult to get a return on your investment. With most Wireless Retailers now... MORE

4/13/2007 - SET YOUR BUSINESS UP TO BEAT THE COMPETITION Now that most of the carriers are creating more distance between themselves and their Dealers with rebranding efforts, it is now more critical than ever that each Dealer work diligently to build their own identity. Each Dealer must now think like a Carrier, and set themselves up to handle sales with "call, click or visit" solutions to capture new sales. Part of developing this process is creating a professional image and trackability for every customer inqiry to your business. Consider setting your business up with a service that will help you accomplish that. The service which is customized to provide Retailers with a pure easy to remember 800 number, tracks all call from adverti... MORE

2/27/2007 - GETTING THEM IN By Ed Legum - President of The Edmond-Howard Network Know your competition. What is your strategy for driving sales of wireless products and services through your stores? It may help to first see what your competitors are doing. Businesses that understand marketing understand this : one objective of marketing is to set yourself apart from your competition. If you agree, then it follows that good wireless retailers give their potential customers compelling reasons why they should buy from them instead of their competitors. To start you may want to consider these questions: Who are your competitors? What are they doing? What do they sell? How do... MORE

2/27/2007 - NEVER SAY "Will that be all" Never say, ‘Will that be all?’ Sometimes I wish I owned a chain of convenience stores – like Quickie Marts or 7-11s. Everday they get a gazillion customers in their door to pay for gas, buy soft drinks, chips, or the newspapers. But what do their customers usually hear at the point of sale at the convenience stores? ‘Will that be all?’ And what do their customers say most of the time? ‘Yep. That’s it.’ I might recommend to these stores that they train their people to ask one question : ‘Have you have this week’s TV Guide? Because I know a secret – most of the people in the United States own a TV. And if they handed the new TV Guide to a gazillion customers everyday they would not... MORE

2/27/2007 - RADIO ADV STUDY: VANITY 800 NUMBER OUTPERFORMS OTHERS BY 58% Radio is one of the most popular forms of media today with over 13,800 radio stations reaching 94% of the U.S. population every week. And, according to a recent study, Tollfree Numbers in Radio Advertising, listeners are more likely to respond to a radio ad that lists a vanity 800 phone number (e.g. 800-NEW-CELL) than an ad with a numeric tollfree number. Creative Broadcast Concepts, Inc. and Grieger's Chrysler Dodge Jeep joined 800response to test the effect on response rates of placing different types of phone numbers in otherwise identical ads. The radio study analyzed the use of a vanity 800 number (800-TRADE-NOW) versus a numeric 800 number (800-954-2828) as the direct-response m... MORE

2/27/2007 - CUSTOMER CARE: THE BEST WAY TO BOOST PROFITS THIS YEAR Based on trend predictions for 2007 and the hundreds of articles I read throughout 2006, the best advice I can give cellular retailers to increase their sales revenue is simple: Take care of your customers. Fact is, consumers have so many options when shopping for a cellphone, accessories or service: countless handsets, an array plans and several carriers. Because the U.S. market is essentially saturated, competition for the remaining buyers is stiff and as a result, pricing and product/plan/carrier offerings are the same from one cellular retailer to the next. What’s to draw a potential customer to your store instead of somebody else’s? Not much. One competitive frontier rem... MORE

1/9/2007 - CELLULAR MANAGER INTEGRATES MINUTE-GUARD AND RATEPLAN.COM With the cellular industry constantly changing and amidst ever-increasing competition, you’re probably looking for some edge to gain a competitive advantage. Many retailers look outside the company to bring in special product and service offerings to drive sales and differentiate their stores from their competition. While new products and great services work well, companies need to look internally and get the most out of their current resources. If you buy a fast sports car with a V6 engine, you can add all the performance spoilers and add-ons you want to the exterior of the car, but if that engine is running on just two cylinders, that car won’t be traveling anywhere fast. It’s... MORE

1/9/2007 - JANUARY FASTRAC DEALER NEWS LETTER  LINK

12/29/2006 - INCREASE YOUR DOLLAR PER CUSTOMER Carriers offer from 10 to 30 plans. The popular plans with bundled minutes are usually in the $39.95 to $49.95 range. When your salespeople know your offers and what your competition offers, you gain a serious advantage. When they also understand your offers well enough to show how a recommended plan might best fit the needs of your customers, you will win more business. You can tap wireless data to keep churn low and add profits to the bottom line. Third party bolt-on applications are also a potential source of new business, increasing the monthly airtime usage and reoccurring revenue. Once used, many applications, such as gaming, commerce, email, location, wireless Inte... MORE

12/29/2006 - 7 REASONS DIGITAL LEASH WILL BOOST YOUR REVENUE IN 2007 With the holiday shopping season coming to a close, now is the time to implement new strategies to keep a steady stream of revenue flowing into your organization. Through the sale of Digital Leash Handset Protection Plans, which are similar to the handset protection programs offered bycarriers, you will earn an average of $32 for each new phone sale. So, why would you continue to attach a carrier plan to new handsets when you can earn significantly more with each Digital Leash sale? If you sell one Digital Leash Handset Protection Plan per store daily, at the end of a month, you will have generated $2,500 in revenue, and $1,000 in profit, for that store location. If earning a... MORE

12/29/2006 - MINUTE-GUARD RECEIVES FULL PATENT APPROVAL Minute-Guard has recently been awarded full patent approval on its patent filings, which fully protects this very unique service that is long overdue in the Wireless Industry. Minute-Guard, a new minute monitoring service, provides wireless users with text message and e-mail alerts before they go over their minutes. These alerts are delivered via text message and/or email and sent daily, or when a user reaches 75, 80, 90, 100% of his or her allotted minutes. Minute-Guard also tracks text messaging usage, and works for individuals, families & businesses. Dealers & Retailers earn signficant commissions by offering this service to their customers at the point of sale. This product... MORE

10/19/2006 - SPICE UP YOUR 4TH QUARTER ADS! As you know, when companies want to sell products or services they often use incentives, or ‘gift with purchase’ programs as motivators to get customers to buy now, and to differentiate their ads from their competitors. They can be in the form of merchandise like a Free Portable DVD Player or MP3, Gifts Cards, or travel opportunities for as little as $8 each. It’s the "carrot and stick" theory refined over years of trial and error, by legions of smart marketers and savvy merchandisers - all to improve the success of their sales programs. It works because people can often be persuaded to change loyalties and behavior, or act when given a good enough reason to do so. The four main... MORE

10/19/2006 - 5 GREAT WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR ACCESSORY SALES As the holiday season rapidly approaches, there is no better time to implement some proven ideas that will increase your accessory sales and your bottom line. Whether you currently subscribe to some of these theories or not, all have a proven history of adding to the bottom line and can be easily integrated into your current strategies. 1. Educate the consumer and the sales floor A percentage of customer purchases are destined for a return, but these returns can be drastically reduced. How? Many customers enter your store with a frame of mind that they don’t need accessories and the items included in the box will allow them to use the product to their expectations. Yo... MORE

10/19/2006 - OCTOBER FASTRAC NEWS LETTER  LINK

10/19/2006 - IT'S NOT TOO EARLY TO PLAN FOR THE MOST PROFITABLE MONTH OF YEAR Now’s the time to think and plan for the best six weeks of the year. This year, like every other year, retailers look forward to the Holiday selling season with mixed emotions. Great expectations mix with uncertainty; excitement mixes with apprehension. And for good reason. According to the NRMA (National Retail Merchants Association), in the months of November and December retailers generate 33% of their yearly net sales, 33% of their yearly gross profits, and over 50% of their yearly net profits. During this period salespeople and managers earn over 70% of their yearly commissions. These numbers take place over the six week period between the day after Thanksgiving... MORE

10/19/2006 - TELL YOUR CUSTOMERS WHAT'S ON SALE OR WHAT'S SPECIAL Walk into any store and ask yourself, ‘What’s on sale?’ See anything? If not, management has failed to stimulate the traffic flow. Ask yourself, ‘What’s special?’ See anything? If not, management has failed to excite customers. Now do the same with your store. Stand outside the front of your store and look at the entrance. What is the sell-story? Have you flagged customers with an incentive that says, ‘Inside there is something exciting happening.’? Step inside the front door. Take a pen and paper in hand, and capture exactly what you see. Take pictures of every inch of your store. Create an electronic or physical photo album that walks you through your displays and... MORE

9/13/2006 - SEPTEMBER FASTRAC DEALERS NEWS LETTER  LINK

9/13/2006 - MAKE MORE MONEY IN WIRELESS MAKE MORE MONEY IN WIRELESS by Andrew Pierce, CEO of Flagship Retail Services, LLC How do I stay in business for the next year? The next quarter? The next month!! That is the common question echoed by wireless dealers nationwide, and the response from industry experts is that only the best agents will prosper. To be profitable in wireless you need to stand out. Stand out for the customers, stand out for the carriers, and stand out against the competition! This all starts with your image. The statistics below will reinforce this. Over 66% of recently surveyed wireless customers said they prefer to go into a carrier store because it has a more professional ap... MORE

9/13/2006 - A 15 POINT PLAN TO MAKE THE MOST OUT OF YOUR TRAFFIC An excerpt from "New Profits in Wireless Retailing" www.hownet.com by Ed Legum, President of the Edmond Howard Network 1. Greet each customer and introduce yourself by name. A salesperson says, ‘Hi, I’m Chris. Welcome to our store.’ Compare this to, ‘May I help you?’, ‘Can I help you?’, ‘Do you have any questions I can help you with?’ Which greeting do you feel is more likely to lead to a relationship? My mother drives 35 miles from our home on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland to Baltimore, where she could do some serious shopping. I am too young to stay by myself, so she takes me with her. This is good and bad. I like the tall buildings in Baltimore and I l... MORE

9/13/2006 - START PLANNING NOW FOR YOUR 4TH QUARTER DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN Now is the time to plan ahead for your holiday season direct mail campaign. Be ready to capitalize on the most profitable quarter of the year, and understand that you will be competing with many different offers and advertisements during that time. So what do you do? Utilize Targeted Direct Mail to reach new customers. Why? A well put together Direct Mail campaign produces on average a 200% the response rate and 3 times the credit approval rates as newspaper for the same cost. Most Dealers don't do Direct Mail because it takes too much time and effort. The Dealer needs to spend time researching and buying the right list, have creative done, find a print shop, and... MORE

7/28/2006 - FOCUS MANAGERS ON GROWING SALES AND GROSS PROFIT In 1974 the top Radio Shack store manager made a bonus of nearly $150,000 – for running one store for one year. That was real money back then. I asked him what the secret was of his success. He said, ‘I get to the store everyday at 6:00. From 6:00 to 10:00 I do the paperwork, clean the store, count stock, order inventory, and train my people. From the time the store opens until it closes, we sell.’ To be successful he had to do this, because at that time Radio Shack operated 2000 stores nationwide and not one of them had a computer. Managers and salespeople wrote receipts for every sale they made. They asked for and captured the name and address of every customer by hand. At the end... MORE

7/28/2006 - RECOMMENDING FAMILY PLANS NOT ALWAYS BEST DEAL FOR YOU OR YOUR CUSTOMERS RatePlan.com and MinuteGuard are pleased to announce the launch of two significant enhancements to the RatePlan.com tool and MinuteGuard service. RatePlan.com now offers retailers the ability to compare Family Plans as part of its rate plan analysis tool. MinuteGuard now tracks text messaging in addition to its minute monitoring feature. Family Plan Analysis Today over 50% of all new postpaid cell phone activations are on family type plans – and this number is growing daily. In addition, over 80% of all teenagers with cell phones subscribe to family type plans. Contrary to popular belief, however, family plans are not always the best deal for the consumer and let’s face it; com... MORE

7/28/2006 - REINFORCE SALES PERFOMANCE Assuming that shortfalls exist in your stores, and that lost opportunities are great enough for you to take action, what can you do to influence the way things are moving? How can you stimulate movement where there is none? How will your people react? Consider this sales management plan. 1. Set your performance criteria. What do you want your people to do? How should they do it? How often should they do it? For example, should salespeople recommend accessories to every customer, or just when they have enough time? Why should they do it? Are they responsible for the results of their efforts? Are these efforts totally under their control? If yes, what are the predictable ou... MORE

7/28/2006 - A CREATIVE WAY TO KEEP YOUR CUSTOMERS COMING BACK Are you struggling to find that silver advertising bullet? Wondering why your co-op advertising dollars don’t seem to be generating results? Think about this. Penetration rates are approaching 75% - most people already have a phone. Competition for new subscribers is at an all time high – customers can buy a phone just about anywhere these days. What makes you and your business different? Why will people buy from you? How do you keep your existing customers coming back to you? We see a major shift coming in the next few years in the way businesses advertise and look to lure new subscribers. Savvy retailers have implemented highly targeted customer base marketing campaigns... MORE

6/5/2006 - 3 WAYS TO MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR RETAIL TRAFFIC 1. Greet each customer and introduce yourself by name. A sales person says, ‘Hi, I’m Chris. Welcome to our store.’ Compare this to, ‘May I help you?’, ‘Can I help you?’, ‘Do you have any questions I can help you with?’ Which greeting do you feel is more likely to lead to a relationship? My mother drives 35 miles from our home on the Chesapeake Bay in Annapolis, Maryland to Baltimore, where she could do some serious shopping. I am too young to stay by myself, so she takes me with her. This is good and bad. I like the tall buildings in Baltimore and I like the turkey sandwich I order for lunch at the big store’s restaurant. But I dread the rest of the trip. I sit in chairs by d... MORE

6/5/2006 - FIRST IMPRESSIONS By Andrew Pierce - Kiosko USA First impressions are everything, and you have two opportunities to capture a great first impression with your retail store. The first is the outside appearance of your store. Exterior Store branding is essential to bringing extra visibility to the store front, attracting more people to go inside and spend money. Modern, well lit signage gives a non-carrier store visibility raising it to a carrier store level and giving it an edge over its competition. A store should play up a carrier name as much as possible to play off their advertising. Consumer’s recognize large companies and are drawn to shop at stores which carry those products. Exteri... MORE

6/5/2006 - CREATING RESIDUAL INCOME FOR B2B DEALERS This month’s article on creating residual income for B2B dealers is one in a series of articles that TracPoint is presenting to highlight the many opportunities available to wireless retailers that subscribe to RatePlan.com and MinuteGuard. Last month’s article addressed how the inclusion of RatePlan.com into a formalized sales program would greatly enhance a sales team’s revenue producing activity. This month’s article, on the other hand, demonstrates the money saving features of MinuteGuard for small and medium sized businesses, and how Dealers earn an ongoing revenue stream by providing this beneficial service. Today, small and medium enterprises are faced with mounting telecomm... MORE

6/5/2006 - DEFINE YOUR EXPECTATIONS Define your desired customer experience. Who are your target wireless retail customers? What are their expectations? Describe both the actual wireless products and services they want to get from your stores, as well as the level of service they demand. Which of the following categories of products and services can customers find at your retail locations? . • Consumer wireless products and services? . • Wireless data business solutions? . • Internet service? . • Satellite video? Define and document the wireless consumer products and services customer experience that you desire from entering to final purchase. What is the acceptable am... MORE

5/1/2006 - DESIGNING YOUR WIRELESS STORE Ed Legum - President, The Edmond-Howard Network I picked a Saturday to take a mystery shopping tour of a major market to see how the stores might do business on the busiest day of the week. My goal was to hit four of the seven carriers selling service there. But I’m not going to tell you who is who. Instead, I’ll describe the situations, and let you guess. Stop One My first stop is at an agent’s store. The salesperson is dressed in a sports shirt and shorts, and hasn’t shaved in a while. He comes up to me and says, ‘May I help you?’ I say, ‘What’s the story on wireless?’ He says, ‘Well, what did you have in mind?’ I say, ‘I’m confused – there must be 100... MORE

5/1/2006 - SPRING....THE TIME TO PLANT THE SEEDS OF SUCCESS By Andrew Pierce, Director of Sales - Kiosko Usa. www.kioskousa.com With the arrival of Spring and the beginning of the second quarter, the time is now to plant the seeds of future success. How? It’s all about adding new revenue opportunities with new locations. And this time of year, it’s all about the supply and demand in retail. When the supply is up and the demand is down, wireless retailers in search of new locations will discover an abundance of opportunities. The beginning of the year is when most retailers’ lease contracts have ended. And typically most retailers have not started to hunt for new locations, but more should be. With more location options to choose... MORE

5/1/2006 - TARGET MARKETING AROUND THE BUYING RADIUS OF YOUR STORES For wireless retailers we have found that direct mail produces, on average, 200% of the response rate and two to three times the credit approval rate of newspaper ads and other forms of media dollar for dollar. With this knowledge gained from tracking actual response rates from hundreds of different advertising campaigns, Dealers would be wise to to give serious consideration as to how every dollar of co-op advertising monies are spent. Still why do most dealers avoid direct mail? Perhaps they want to avoid the time and effort it takes to (a) find and buy the right list, (b) write and design an attention getting, hard-working mailing piece, (c) print the job, (d) determine pos... MORE

5/1/2006 - INCREASE YOUR DOLLAR PER CUSTOMER Ed Legum - President, The Edmond-Howard Network Carriers offer from 10 to 30 plans. The popular plans with bundled minutes are usually in the $39.95 to $49.95 range. When your salespeople know your offers and what your competition offers, you gain a serious advantage. When they also understand your offers well enough to show how a recommended plan might best fit the needs of your customers, you will win more business. You can tap wireless data to keep churn low and add profits to the bottom line. Third party bolt-on applications are also a potential source of new business, increasing the monthly airtime usage and reoccurring revenue. Once used, many applications,... MORE

5/1/2006 - HOW TO GET YOUR SALES STAFF TO ENGAGE IN REVENUE PRODUCING ACTIVITY Last month TracPoint announced the launch of its revolutionary rate plan analysis tool (RatePlan.com) along with the cell management tool MinuteGuard. The two programs provide wireless dealers with the tools to assist customers in choosing the right rate plan as well as a proactive monitoring service to keep customers on the right rate plan. In order to better illustrate the benefits of RatePlan.com and MinuteGuard, TracPoint will present a series of articles over the next several newsletter issues that highlight the key components of these two programs. This article will focus on a dilemma faced by most wireless dealers today: How do you engage your sales personnel in Revenue Pro... MORE

3/30/2006 - TRACPOINT WIRELESS PRINCIPALS TO SPEAK AT CTIA TracPoint Wireless is attendeding the CTIA Wireless show held April 4-8, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. TracPoint President Brad MacArthur and Vice President Mark Landgren are panelists for a wireless training session entitled: "Maximizing Your Wireless Retail Marketing Results". Attendees will have the opportunity to participate in a block of wireless-specific training sessions where they will learn practical ways for improving their marketing results and ROI. The session is facilitated by the Wireless Industry's leading consultant, Ed Legum, President of the Edmond Howard Network. The panel will include discussion on how the Wireless Retailer can improve marketing resul... MORE

3/30/2006 - TRACPOINT LAUNCHES REVOLUTIONARY NEW LEAD GENERATOR FOR WIRELESS DEALERS After over a year and one-half in development, TracPoint Wireless is pleased to announce the launch of its revolutionary rate plan analysis tool (RatePlan.com) for wireless dealers. Rateplan.com provides wireless dealers with an easy to use tool that offers consumers real value in comparing their current rate plans against those of any or all of the top ten carriers. At the same time, the tool assists dealers in building a database of wireless prospects and incorporates turnkey e-mail and direct mail programs for marketing to the prospects. RatePlan.com is available to dealers on a monthly subscription basis, with no long term contracts required, and is currently being offered with low in... MORE

1/10/2006 - TRACPOINT WIRELESS PRINCIPALS SPEAK AT CES 2006 TracPoint Wireless announced they attended CES 2006, held January 4-8, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. TracPoint President Brad MacArthur and Vice President Mark Landgren were panelists for a wireless training session entitled: "Maximizing Your Wireless Retail Marketing Results". Attendees had the opportunity to participate in a block of wireless-specific training sessions where customers and prospects alike learned practical ways for improving their marketing results with TracPoint programs. The session was facilitated by the Wireless Industry's leading consultant, Ed Legum, President of the Edmond Howard Network. The panel included discussion on how Wireless Retailers... MORE

10/23/2005 - TELL YOUR CUSTOMERS WHAT'S ON SALE OR WHAT'S SPECIAL Walk into any store and ask yourself, ‘What’s on sale?’ See anything? If not, management has failed to stimulate the traffic flow. Ask yourself, ‘What’s special?’ See anything? If not, management has failed to excite customers. Now do the same with your store. Stand outside the front of your store and look at the entrance. What is the sell-story? Have you flagged customers with an incentive that says, ‘Inside there is something exciting happening.’? Step inside the front door. Take a pen and paper in hand, and capture exactly what you see. Take pictures of every inch of your store. Create an electronic or physical photo album that walks you through your displays and... MORE

10/23/2005 - THIS HOLIDAY SEASON GIFT YOUR CUSTOMERS THE GIFT OF MINTEGUARD Minute Guard, a new minute monitoring service, provides wireless users with text message and e-mail alerts before they go over their minutes. These alerts are delivered via text message and/or email and sent daily, or when a user reaches 75, 80, 90, 100% of his or her allotted minutes. Dealers & Retailers earn signficant commissions by offering this service to customers at the point of sale. This product is now available to be sold by both Wireless Reatil for consumers, and B2B staff into larger business accounts, for as little as $2.99/mo or $24.95 for the entire year! Proactive minute monitoring gives users and account managers warning prior to incurring costly overage ex... MORE

9/6/2005 - NOT GETTING THE RESULTS YOU NEED FROM YOUR ADVERTISING? You need to spend that hard earned co-op on a monthly basis or risk losing it. The easy way out is to spend it blindly on advertising mediums that are easy to use with a generic “carrier” template. The real measurement here is not going to be how attractive your ad looks, or whether it is well written, but whether or not it works. One of the biggest challenges dealers face is how to improve their advertising results without spending additional funds. What can you do to make sure you a get a great response with your ads? 1. Focus your resources on prospects within the buying radius of your stores. You can’t sell everybody……so stop advertising to people who may see y... MORE

9/6/2005 - IT'S NOT TOO EARLY Now’s the time to think and plan for the best six weeks of the year. This year, like every other year, retailers look forward to the Holiday selling season with mixed emotions. Great expectations mix with uncertainty; excitement mixes with apprehension. And for good reason. According to the NRMA (National Retail Merchants Association), in the months of November and December retailers generate 33% of their yearly net sales, 33% of their yearly gross profits, and over 50% of their yearly net profits. During this period salespeople and managers earn over 70% of their yearly commissions. These numbers take place over the six week period between the day after Thanksgiving... MORE

9/6/2005 - PLAN NOW FOR YOUR 4th QUARTER DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN Now is the time to plan ahead for your holiday season direct mail campaign. Be ready to capitalize on the most profitable quarter of the year, and understand that you will be competing with many different offers and advertisements during that time. So what do you do? Utilize Targeted Direct Mail. Why? A well put together Direct Mail campaign produces on average a 200% the response rate and 3 times the credit approval rates as newspaper for the same cost. Most Dealers don't do Direct Mail because it takes too much time and effort. The Dealer needs to spend time researching and buying the right list, have creative done, find a print shop, and then determine postage... MORE

9/6/2005 - SEPARATE SALES FROM CUSTOMER SERVICE In a meeting with a wireless carrier someone brings up the fact that 60–70% of their customers traffic comes there for service. We had heard this since the early 90s. So, we ask them how this might affect their salespeople’s ability to get the job done. One manager says, ‘Our salespeople are in a tight squeeze. They get paid on sales and have to make their quotas. At the same time, we expect them to take care of customers who come in to pay their bills, complain, ask for help deciphering their bills, or upgrade their service.’ Another says, ‘Some of our markets are so small, that they cannot support a larger store operation.’ We have even heard and seen some small wirel... MORE

7/14/2005 - ARE YOU SNEAKING UP ON YOUR PROSPECTS? In my last article, I outlined 2 specific ways to use direct mail to get the attention of qualified prospects and follow up with them. I hope you are having success with those strategies. Now, I'd like to talk about my preference form of direct mail which is the envelope mailing. If you decide to use an envelope mailing you now have two other basic choices to make using what I call the billboard or the sneak up approach. Many successful marketers favor the sneak up approach. In this approach there's nothing on the outside of the envelope that identifies it as business mail. There is no company name in the return address. There is either a person's name or no name at... MORE

7/14/2005 - REINFORCE WIRELESS SALES PERFORMANCE Assuming that shortfalls exist in your stores, and that lost opportunities are great enough for you to take action, what can you do to influence the way things are moving? How can you stimulate movement where there is none? How will your people react? Consider this sales management plan. 1. Set your performance criteria. What do you want your people to do? How should they do it? How often should they do it? For example, should salespeople recommend accessories to every customer, or just when they have enough time? Why should they do it? Are they responsible for the results of their efforts? Are these efforts totally under their control? If yes, what are the predictable ou... MORE

6/13/2005 - OFFER TO RUN CREDIT APPROVAL ON EVERY PERSON THAT CALLS IN FROM YOUR ADS Offer to run credit on every person that calls in from your ads. How many more people can you get to come into to you store if they know they’re already approved and their order is ready and waiting? Did you know that over 90% of the people who respond to your ads are never invited to the store by your sales people? They are also given no reason to come in. Industry surveys show that consumers responding to wireless advertisements will call in, ask a few questions about the promotional offer, the handset and rate plan, then thank the sales person and hang up. The typical sales person follows along with customer and let’s them go with out getting any information!! The s... MORE

6/13/2005 - SPICE UP YOUR ADS WITH SOMETHING DIFFERENT As you know, when companies want to sell products or services they often use incentives, or ‘gift with purchase’ programs as motivators. They can be in the form of merchandise like a Free DVD Player or MP3, cash or travel opportunities. It’s the "carrot and stick" theory refined over years of trial and error, by legions of smart marketers and savvy merchandisers - all to improve the success of their sales programs. It works because people can often be persuaded to change loyalties and behavior, or act when given a good enough reason to do so. The four main business drivers for incentives marketing programs are: · Gaining customers · Increasing customer loyalty · Changing... MORE

6/13/2005 - CULTIVATE CUSTOMER LOYALTY What causes chargebacks? Simply put, customers aren’t happy. They don’t feel good about their service and they aren’t getting the kind of performance they expect. This is caused by a combination of any or all of: (a) shock! the first bill arrives and they cannot understand the charges (b) poor coverage in their area (c) an awareness that they can’t afford service According to industry averages, out of 100 new customers, 2.5 cancel their service within their first six months. But you can improve this with your customers by contacting them on a regular basis. We call these types of programs Anti-Churn and CRP, Cus¬tomer Retention Programs. They remind your customer... MORE

5/16/2005 - DIRECT MAIL DONE THE RIGHT WAY REAPS REWARDS For wireless retailers we have found that direct mail produces, on average, 200% of the response rate and two to three times the credit approval rate of newspaper ads. With this knowledge from the 800 tracking reports, dealers may gain leverage in negotiating with their media companies to procure price reductions and more insertions based on actual results. Still why do most dealers avoid direct mail? Perhaps they want to avoid the time and effort it takes to (a) find and buy the right list, (b) write and design an attention getting, hard-working mailing piece, (c) print the job, (d) determine postage costs, and then (e) coordinate the entire process, so the new direct mailing... MORE

4/12/2005 - TELESALES.....AN OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUR BUSINESS? How do you increase sales? With many carriers in each market and the opportunity for retail store growth limited due to saturation, what can you do? Are you confident that your retail store personnel are doing everything they can to project a professional image and capture critical sales data on all telephone inquiries? Is there another sales distribution channel out there you can tap into quickly and easily? Consider taking orders over the phone for delivery. The savvy Dealer will look to increase over all sales results by combining the efforts and expertise of the Wireless Dealer retail locations and their own inbound sales team . By giving the customers who see your advertisment... MORE

3/11/2005 - NEW SERVICE REDUCES CHURN WHILE IMPROVING OVERALL CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Minute Guard, a new minute monitoring service, provides wireless users with text message and e-mail alerts before they go over their minutes. These alerts are delivered via text message and/or email and sent daily, or when a user reaches 75, 80, 90, 100% of his or her allotted minutes. Proactive minute monitoring gives users and account managers warning prior to incurring costly overage expenses. Advanced warnings allow users to alter calling habits, upgrade plans, and make other adjustments to keep costs under control. Minute Guard provides the customer an easier way to manage their minutes, which greatly reduces “sticker shock syndrome”. “Many wireless retailers find... MORE

3/11/2005 - BEAT OUT THE COMPETITION WITH YOUR OFFER! In todays highly competitive Wireless Industry, how might you set your-self apart from your competition? Can you create a compelling offer in your advertisements they cannot match? Stiff competition and the huge number of wireless retail stores make it likely customers will shop and compare offers. Your competitors are matching your offers, and you are matching theirs.......but why should you waste your hard earned co-op advertising dollars allowing the competition to benefit? Most wireless advertisments offer free phones, free accessories, and promote a particular rate plan. This strategy handcuffs dealers who sell for the same carriers, since all the offers are so similar customers... MORE

3/11/2005 - CREATE HARD WORKING ADS The two main components of ads are: (a) copy – the headlines and stories that tell your readers why they should buy, and (b) graphics – the type style, layout, illustrations, and photography designed to punch through the clutter. Let’s look at each separately. Copy that sells Advertising legend, Herschell Lewis, judges copy by posing four questions: 1. Is the reader immediately aware of what you’re selling? 2. Can someone unfamiliar with wireless understand it? 3. Have you motivated the reader to buy from you? 4. Does the reader know what to do to buy from you? Consider these actual retail headlines, the most important part of the copy, the top six carriers ra... MORE

1/17/2005 - INCREASE YOUR SALES AND ROI BY SELLING OVER THE TELEPHONE Is there another sales channel out there you can tap into quickly and easily? How do you increase sales and expand your market area without adding additional retail stores? Did you know that you can close up to 20% of all inbound calls from your advertising over the telephone for delivery? Let’s address how you can quickly and easily set your business up to do just that by making a few changes to the way you handle inbound calls from your advertising. The TracPoint Wireless Inbound Sales Program is designed to increase over all sales results and ROI by helping you combine the efforts and expertise of your Wireless Dealer retail store locations and an inbound tele-sales staff.... MORE

1/17/2005 - YOUR BEST LOCATION IS NOW AVAILABLE! By Andrew Pierce - Kiosko USA Like most people, you may be sitting back during the 1st quarter, pouring over sales numbers from the holidays, and trying to catch your breath. When the 2nd quarter rolls around, you can start looking for your new locations, right? WRONG! The 1st quarter is a proven time to find the best locations available in retail. Malls are eager to fill open spaces from companies who bailed out after the holiday bonanza. A lot of leases are worded to terminate at the end of the calendar year. Retail strip centers are putting out their “space for lease” signs. You will be able to negotiate the best lease terms, find the best places, and... MORE

1/17/2005 - START THE NEW YEAR OFF WITH THE RIGHT TOOLS TO GROW YOUR BUSINESS By Scott McGillivary - Vice President - iQmetrix As 2005 rolls in, the search continues for creative ways to achieve success in the realm of cellular retail. However, what remains consistent is the need for timely and accurate information. With new products being introduced and increasing carrier pressures, the executive must be highly responsive to stay ahead. Failing to have timely information readily available is often the breaking point between making the right decision and making the wrong one. And so the question becomes, where do you get the information you need to make wise decisions and stay informed? You have dedicated adequate corporate resources to decision making... MORE

1/17/2005 - MARKETING PLANS FOR 2005 January is a time when many companies begin to roll out plans for the year ahead, and for many this means looking at marketing activities. In the wireless dealer market, those activities traditionally have revolved around advertising and direct mail. These are tried and true marketing vehicles with which you are all accustomed. Could this be the year that you distance yourself from the competition by taking a fresh look at your marketing options? Why consider PR? While advertising can be highly targeted, public relations is more flexible and can be incorporated in a variety of settings including newspapers, magazines, television, the Internet and even speaking opportunitie... MORE

12/10/2004 - MINUTE GUARD ALERTS USERS TO IMPENDING OVERAGE MINUTE GUARD ALERTS USERS TO IMPENDING OVERAGE www.minute-guard.com by Sam McPheeters - President - Minute Guard Minute Guard Alerts Users To Impending Overage Minute overage continues to account for a large part of monthly cellular expenses both for consumers, as well as businesses. Growing more prominent within the cellular industry, “overage” is becoming a common term and almost a monthly expectation when your customer receives their wireless statement. Whether it’s a daughter who loves to talk, or an employee that abuses their phone, there has been little help to paying customers when dealing with costly overage expenses. Several carriers have addressed the probl... MORE

12/10/2004 - THE 7 MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO IMPROVE YOUR ADVERTISING RESULTS THE 7 MOST IMPORTANT FACTORS TO IMPROVE YOUR ADVERTISING RESULTS http://www.tracpointwireless.com/assessm... by TracPoint Wireless You need to spend that hard earned co-op on a monthly basis or risk losing it. The easy way out is to spend it blindly on advertising mediums that are easy to use with a generic “carrier” template. The real measurement here is not going to be how attractive your ad looks, or whether it is well written, but whether or not it works. One of the biggest challenges dealers face is how to improve their advertising results without spending additional funds. What can you do to make sure you a get a great response with your ads? 1... MORE

12/10/2004 - INCREASE RESPONSE BY UP TO 30% ! http://www.tracpointwireless.com/800-co-... by TracPoint Wireless A Custom 800 number can make it happen! When it comes to boosting your bottom line and keeping you top-of-mind with customers, nothing pays off quite like a Custom 800 number. We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating: Companies that use unforgettable Custom 800 numbers in their advertising and marketing materials increase response by as much as 30%. And that’s just the start of the benefits you’ll enjoy when you utilize 800 Co-op Response They’re Simply Unforgettable Months after a campaign has ended, advertisers report that the phones are still ringing. Why is that? Vanity 800 numbers... MORE

12/10/2004 - TAKING THE BLIND FOLD OFF WITH 800 CO-OP RESPONSE- Case Study Cutting Costs and Increasing Sales for Wireless Dealers http://www.tracpointwireless.com/800-co-... by Brad MacArthur - TracPoint Wireless Cape Cod Wireless Case Study and ROI Pre-Implementation of 800-Co-op Response Like most dealers today, Cape Cod Wireless spends their co-op dollars on a number of different mediums including…..newspaper, radio, penny savers & other types of direct mail. Cape Cod Wireless has also had a heavy emphasis on radio advertising for their 15 locations. Unsure of which mediums were generating results because it had been nearly impossible to get their sales associates to accurately track response rates at the retail stores.... MORE

11/5/2004 - TRACPOINT NEWS LETTER Welcome to the Tracpoint Wireless FasTrac News letter. This free monthly publication is focused on one area- increasing your sales. TracPoint Wireless Inc. identifies revenue solutions for the Wireless Dealer Market. Utilizing a network of experienced wireless executives, the company creates sales and marketing solutions, then bundles these into proven turnkey programs which can be easily implemented by the Wireless Dealer. We share this LINK

10/15/2004 - UPGRADES.......THE NEXT OPPORTUNITY Wireless Dealers are tasked with reducing churn and improving customer retention within their existing customer base. With the opportunity for new subscriber growth shrinking by the day, processing Upgrades and Contract Extensions can provide a significant source of incremental revenue for the Dealer. Considerations: *Currently the only way Dealers can process upgrades & contract extensions is with a face to face transaction inside the Store, thus limiting the opportunity to process large quantities of upgrades *To Maximize the Upgrade/retention opportunity Outbound calls must be made. *Dealers are not set up professionally to make Outbound scripted calls *To r... MORE

10/15/2004 - RETAIL POS - THE NEW DIRECTION Scott McGillivary - Vice President iQMetrix Would you use an abacus to calculate profits? Would you track customer service by knocking on doors? If you answered no to either of these questions, then take a minute to think about the system you are using to manage your wireless retail business. The cellular and telecommunications industry is at the forefront of technology. New and innovative retail management systems are needed to keep up with this fast-paced retail environment. Replacement of Outdated POS Systems: Strengthening the Retailer-Customer Link There is a widespread replacement of POS across North America as retailers address challenges and leverage tech... MORE

10/15/2004 - THE WIRELESS INDUSTRY'S NOT-SO SECRET WEAPON Philip Adler - President MPell Solutions As you know, when companies want to sell products or services they often use incentives, or ‘gift with purchase’ programs as motivators. They can be in the form of merchandise like a Free DVD Player or MP3, cash or travel opportunities. It’s the "carrot and stick" theory refined over years of trial and error, by legions of smart marketers and savvy merchandisers - all to improve the success of their sales programs. It works because people can often be persuaded to change loyalties and behavior, or act when given a good enough reason to do so. The four main business drivers for incentives marketing programs are: · Gaining custome... MORE

9/15/2004 - THE BENEFITS OF GOOD PR FOR YOUR BUSINESS By Kevin Whalen - Topaz Partners It’s widely accepted that the news stories and articles we see in newspapers and magazines can have a major influence over our decisions about products and services we buy. These articles carry more credibility than advertisements – and they can provide detail and insight that ads often can’t deliver. If managed correctly, these media placements can be an effective – and more affordable – alternative to advertising and other forms of marketing. But generating these stories is no easy task. Advertising is a paid, purely promotional medium whereas PR must be “earned”. More and more companies are turning to PR consultants to help navigate this world... MORE

9/13/2004 - PLAN NOW FOR YOUR 4TH QUARTER DIRECT MAIL CAMPAIGN Brad MacArthur TracPoint Wireless Now is the time to plan ahead for your holiday season direct mail campaign. Be ready to capitalize on the most profitable quarter of the year, and understand that you will be competing with many different offers and advertisements during that time. So what do you do? Utilize Targeted Direct Mail. Why? A well put together Direct Mail campaign produces on average a 200% the response rate and 3 times the credit approval rates as newspaper for the same cost. Most Dealers don't do Direct Mail because it takes too much time and effort. The Dealer needs to spend time researching and buying the right list, have creative done, find... MORE

9/13/2004 - SPEAK THE LANGUAGE YOUR CARRIER SPEAKS By Ed Legum President The Edmond-Howard Network I took part in a retail panel discussion on the last day of an industry trade show. One of the panelists, Scott Bauhofer, a merchandising vice president for Best Buy, titled his presentation: Retailers are from Venus; Carriers are from Mars. He talked about the gap in communications between these two key players. Bauhofer’s appeal to carriers: Understand the retailer’s business and language. When might you expect this understanding to take place? Here’s a clue – you may have a long wait. Here’s another clue – To gain influence with carriers, understand their business and language. Esteemed mangement consultant, Peter Drucker, sa... MORE

8/30/2004 - OFFER YOUR CUSTOMERS SOMETHING DIFFERENT How might you set your-self apart from your competition? Can you create a compelling offer in your advertisements they cannot match? Stiff competition and the huge number of wireless retail stores make it likely customers will shop and compare offers. Your competitors are matching your offers, and you are matching theirs.......but why should you waste your hard earned co-op advertising dollars allowing the competition to benefit? Most wireless advertisments offer free phones, free accessories, and promote a particular rate plan. This strategy handcuffs dealers who sell for the same carriers, since all the offers are so similar customers have no compelling reason to buy from on... MORE

8/30/2004 - IT'S NOT TOO EARLY Now’s the time to think and plan for the best six weeks of the year. This year, like every other year, retailers look forward to the Holiday selling season with mixed emotions. Great expectations mix with uncertainty; excitement mixes with apprehension. And for good reason. According to the NRMA (National Retail Merchants Association), in the months of November and December retailers generate 33% of their yearly net sales, 33% of their yearly gross profits, and over 50% of their yearly net profits. During this period salespeople and managers earn over 70% of their yearly commissions. These numbers take place over the six week period between the day after Thanksgiving... MORE

8/16/2004 - AND THE DEALER SURVEY SAYS: Over the past 6 months through our news letter, Tracpoint Wireless has polled and surveyed thousands of Dealers across the country on many different topics. We wanted to share with you the results so you can get a good sense for how your peers and competitors have responded: Q- What is your primary plan to increase sales? 44% Improve Sales Process and training 27% Increase Advertising 22% Pursue alternate sales channels outside of Retail 7% Add more stores Q- Are you confident your retail store personnel present a professional image when answering the phone... MORE

7/14/2004 - SELL ACCESSORIES ON PURPOSE Ed Legum, President of the Edmond-Howard Network In Ellen Langer’s book on thinking, Mindfulness, she makes a point about how dependent our perceptions are on context. For example, she says that if we see a lion in a cage we feel and think one way, and if we see that same lion in our living room, we have a totally different view and reaction. A pleasant experience in the zoo turns into fear in the home. Yet the subject is the same; it is the context that changes. With this in mind, here are three ways of approaching accessories that we’ve observed. Each gives a different context of how accessory inventory is managed in the wireless communications industry. To gain a new awareness... MORE

7/14/2004 - 70% COMMISSION WITH NO INVENTORY Tom Novak, President Aries Manufacturing HOW IT WORKS- Your customer is in your store. They want to purchase an item you do not have in stock. You promptly access your customized website. This website is linked to the Aries website, which has immediate access to over 3500 products. Simply locate the item you are interested in and place the order through the website. Aries will ship the product directly to your customer the same day! The customer pays via credit card at the time of sale. Aries will pay you a commission on a monthly basis. Your customer is happy. The product they wanted is delivered directly to their home or business within days. They will be sure to... MORE

7/5/2004 - A 15 POINT PLAN TO INCREASE SALES IN YOUR STORES Ed Legum, Presiden of the Edmond-Howard Network Visit a mall today, stop the first ten people you meet, and ask them, “What is your opinion of the typical store salesperson?” What adjectives do you think they’d use? We’ve asked this question thousands of times across the United States and Canada. Here are the answers we hear most often: pushy, disinterested, unknowledgeable, unavailable, rude, hurried, inexperienced, confused, bored, anxious to go home. The way it was in 1956 My grandmother used to walk me over to Teddy Earle’s corner grocery store, although we always just called it Teddy’s. I watched as she handed Teddy a list of things she needed. Teddy then went a... MORE

6/9/2004 - RCR TRACPOINT BREAKING NEWS RCR Breaking News TracPoint offers dealer, retailer marketing programs June 08, 2004 1:43 PM EST TOPSFIELD, Mass.—TracPoint Wireless has introduced a suite of revenue programs and value-added services designed to help wireless dealers and retailers increase new subscription activity. LINK

6/8/2004 - TRACPOINT WIRELESS PRESS RELEASE TRACPOINT WIRELESS LAUNCHES NEW TURNKEY SALES AND MARKETING PROGRAMS FOR WIRELESS DEALERS AND RETAILERS TOPSFIELD, MA (Business Wire) - June 8, 2004—TracPoint Wireless today introduced a suite of revenue programs and value-added services for wireless dealers and retailers. With intense competition for new wireless subscribers, TracPoint’s sales and marketing programs are designed to help wireless dealers and retailers increase new subscription activity in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace. TracPoint has developed key sales and marketing programs in areas such as advertising tracking, targeted direct mail and call center services. These programs help dea... MORE

5/19/2004 - Opening a New Store? OPENING A NEW STORE? by Andrew Pierce Kiosko USA Gone are the days of hanging out a shingle to be in business. Here are a number of important hints to keep in mind as you develop your expansion strategy on opening new doors. Your goal is to sell, but there are a number of hurdles along the way. Start Early! Even if your lease does not start for 6 months begin the process by lining up contractors and fixture providers. Although it seems obvious the sooner you begin the smoother the process goes. Find out about site requirements and municipality requirements! New codes and regulations have made the process of gaining permits and approvals somewhat more wor... MORE

5/19/2004 - No Silver Bullets........Just the best way to Advertise Are you struggling to find a more effective way to advertise? Don’t have the time for creative and copy writing and worrying about carrier co-op approvals? Tired of competing with full page carrier ads in the newspaper that don’t generate results? Consider Targeted Direct Mail. Most Dealers don't do Direct Mail because it takes too much time and effort. The Dealer needs to spend time researching and buying the right list, have creative done, find a print shop, and then determine postage costs and coordinate entire process so the Direct Mail drops on time for the current offer (a daunting challenge for anyone not in the Direct Mail business) We have simplified the...