Sell The Complete Product Line

Situation:

It’s one thing to sell cable. It’s another thing to sell the “triple play” – cable television, telephone, and high-speed Internet service. As the company expanded its product offerings, it had a couple of challenges. First, reps were order-takers; they gave the customer only what they asked for. Reps were reluctant to initiate a discussion of another product. They needed the confidence and skills to initiate the discussion. Second, reps needed not only more product knowledge, but also more information about how their product stacked up to the competition.

Solution:

We worked with Cable ONE over several years helping their reps move from “gatherers” to “hunters.” First, we introduced a series of customer-focused sales training programs as the foundation for their communication skills. Reps embraced it. Supervisors monitored it. Additional support helped them gain mastery. Then we taught them how to initiate the discussion of another product and get the customer interested in exploring it more. Reps also got a deeper dive into their product knowledge which included competitive comparisons so they could tackle that indifference.

Results:

Cable ONE has met its sales goals. It also has reduced the cost of training by being able to continue to update their product knowledge training as the market place rapidly changes. Cable ONE started with a small operation and has grown to be the 10th largest cable operator. They feel that part of that success is their local, customer service approach.