Cell Phone Plans and Gadgets Galore

While writing this article, many of the people I spoke with were on their cellular phones — on their way to or from work, between appointments or they just had a few spare minutes. You can guess, then, that the consensus attitude toward cell phones is that they’re — in a word — indispensable to many distributors.

Distributors use them to stay within earshot of their customers at all times. Phones also serve as valuable tools for communicating with the office and relaying time-saving route changes and special stops. The cell phone provides a level of connectivity that leads to more efficient, more profitable businesses and gives distributors the ability to satisfy customers’ needs more quickly and reliably than ever.

It seems every company is now using cellular phones to consistently meet the needs of an increasingly demanding marketplace. The plans offered by providers are getting better all the time, and the benefits of having them far outweigh the meager cost, distributors say.

Some companies purchase and provide phones for their salespeople, others reimburse them for a certain amount of the cost each month and some give their sales force the freedom to purchase — and pay for — whatever best suits their individual needs. (One distributor told me that the salesperson who spent the most money on his cell phone bill each month also had the highest sales for the company each month.) Cellular phones are a valuable sales tool.

“They’re a lifesaver,” says Dan Burrows, president and owner of Expert Chemical & Supply, Homewood, Ill. Customers have all-the-time access, and they can really make increase efficiency and timliness, he says.

“I had a customer who actually had all his toilet paper stolen,” says Burrows. The customer was a nice hotel — not an ideal place for a toilet paper shortage. “We had someone out on the road and we were able to get a hold of him and get the delivery to the customer.”

The time saved by communicating with cell phones greatly benefits Burrows’ business, who says he can make quotes and get responses more quickly now, plus stay in touch with customers, drivers and sales reps.

“I couldn’t see how I could do business today without them, and I don’t see how we could have made the gains we have in the past few years. Our business has experienced 25 to 30 percent growth because of cell phones.”

Few Downfalls
Along with the pros of having a sales force armed with cell phones, there are some downfalls. Dropped calls and poor reception are a nuisance, distributors say, and there are a few more annoyances caused by cell phones and cell phone use.

Cell phones can make some sales reps lazier, says Ken Klusman, president of Maintenance Solutions in Scottsdale, Ariz., whose seven-member sales force all carries phones. “It’s much easier for them to call the office and ask a question about a product or something else trivial than it is for them to look it up.” Instead of knowing the customer and the product inside and out like they should, salespeople become reliant on the instant contact, Klusman says. It’s a small price to pay, though, for what can be accomplished on a cell phone.

And Klusman says cell phones are a necessity in keeping up with the competition. “The customers almost expect to communicate with the reps via the cell phone.” Maintenance Solutions attaches its sales reps’ cell phone numbers to their business cards so they’re never far from reach.

No Easy Choice
There are a number of components to every plan. The main factors distributors should consider when looking for cell phone plans is the area they cover, the number of minutes included in the package and the types of calls they make, including the time of day. Many packages are available, and many are designed to meet the unique needs of small- to medium-sized businesses.

Searching for the plan to fit your needs and keeping on top of the latest in offers and upgrades will keep you paying the least for the most, says Kraig Ausman, vice president of Apsco Cellular of Milwaukee.

“What you really need to do is sit down and give the dealer your guidelines — what you want and need — and allow them to come up with the best plan for you. Every business is different so if you work with an agent that knows what they’re doing they’ll come back with a plan that will make you happy,” Ausman says. Make sure to shop around, too, and get a couple of bids on cellular service before you commit to anything, he adds.

Keep up-to-date, too, on your plan, phone and accessories. Ausman suggests taking your bills in to your agent a couple times a year and having them double-check to make sure you’re doing what’s right for you. The technology changes from day-to-day, says Ausman, but most good agents will review your use and help you stay up to speed on what you’re getting for what you pay.

There are a ton of variables to each plan, Ausman says, including business use versus personal use, where salespeople travel, airtime needs, the number and type of phones purchased with the plan and the amount of calling done among the phones on the plan. There are plans that share minutes, nationwide plans, plans that are regional and local. All these should be considered before choosing a provider’s or a company’s plan.

Other helpful features include detailed billing, which shows the calls made, and there’s caller I.D. and voicemail — all helpful features, Ausman says.

Accessorize
Besides the provider’s standby features, there are a number of accessories distributors can use to keep themselves safer and happier with their phones. New gadgets to enhance your cell phone use are springing up daily, says Walter Suppin, general manager of www.cellwest.com, an online superstore for cell phone accessories and supplies.

The No. 1 selling item, Suppin says, is not hands-free technology like you might assume. Rather, it’s antennas and antenna-related products. “If you can’t get reception, who cares if you have a headset,” he says. One-third of his sales come from this product category.

“People are using car antennas in their homes, they’re mounting them on their roofs or wherever,” he adds. An average antenna runs about $35.

Some of the newer phones also have jacks in the back where you can plug in more powerful antennas to ensure optimal reception.

Products and their variations come and go — right now, the one product receiving the most hype is a hands-free unit that plugs into the cigarette lighter and has a cradle that allows it to lie flat. The battery is charged at the same time and the top-of-the-line version allows the user’s conversation to be broadcast over the car’s stereo with minimum feedback. That accessory costs about $90 and is called the CCM FM Navigator. It was only recently made available in the United States.

Heavy-duty long-lasting batteries are also a common upgrade, and some allow the phone to stay charged up to four weeks. There are vibrating batteries, too, that allow the user to turn off the ringer in meetings, even when they’re expecting an important call.

Cell phones are going to continue to be an integral sales tool for distributors. Many can’t imagine life before cell phones. It’s important, though, to remain current on what’s available and what best works for your company. Keep your eye on the new accessories and options available, like the Wireless Web. Many phones are enabled with the capabilities already. It will only be a matter of time before people use “wireless” more widely, too.

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