Celluphone turns 25 this year, which makes it the oldest brand in wireless other than Motorola. How does a company thrive for so long in this tumultuous industry? If you ask company President, Mike Mohr, he’ll tell you that it’s passion.
“Our longevity and success are primarily due to a constant focus on entrepreneurship for the independent wireless retailer,” he said. “It is what we love to do.” He also credits that focus for having made Celluphone so adaptable. “We have an ability to change with the times,” Mike explained, “to find and take advantage of new entrepreneurial opportunities that have made our dealers continually grow stronger. These new opportunities have led the company to create several services that are exclusive to their dealers, which provide competitive advantages, but Mohr emphasizes that these services were not created overnight.
Celluphone’s founder Mitch Mohr, Mikes father, opened the company in 1983 as a direct sales organization that sold mobile phones mostly to business and entertainment customers. The telemarketing room, along with advertising campaigns, generated their sales leads. Those leads were given to a direct sales force that closed deals at over $3,000 a phone. Celluphone installed the mobile equipment, which included the 10-pound battery pack and large whip antennae in the customers’ cars. But it wasn’t long before Mitch Mohr imagined a new sales model that would capture a budding market. He believed a retail store model held the most promise for this new technology.
Mitch Mohr invented a smart, long-lasting retail strategy. Rather than open his own stores, he decided to develop and nurture other wireless retailers. He created the country’s first wireless Master Agent and to this day Verizon Wireless still lists Celluphone as Master Agent number A01. But it was the company’s first salesperson, Nancy Moore, who cast the mold for their ongoing sales and customer service style. She was known for “nurturing” her dealers, which established the company’s sales style that is still in use today. Nancy leveraged a motherly sensibility to support her retailers in every facet of their business; a practice that has made Celluphone integral to the success of more than 2,000 retailers across the country and across multiple carriers.
The Master Agent’s role is to provide support services for both its carriers and its dealers. For its carriers, Celluphone provides professional, efficient and experienced sales support to independent dealers that service thousands of communities and neighborhoods. Moreover, they would not have attained status or longevity in the business without an impeccable reputation for credibility. Or at least that’s what seems obvious to its founder. “I think we have been with Verizon Wireless for 25 years for a reason,” Mitch Mohr reflects. “Yes, production is a big part of it. But so is our belief in honoring a partnership with our carrier that works for both parties. This has been crucial in maintaining a successful long-term relationship. We are constantly trying to improve that partnership, and staying focused on the long-term.”
In the last quarter century, Celluphone has seen much, but according to Mike Mohr, it’s nothing compared to what the company is seeing now. “Though our industry has gone through a lot of changes, none have been greater or more important than what is happening today. Innovation is creating tremendous opportunities for independent retailers, as long as they take advantage of them.” But he also warns that there will be heartache for those retailers unable to adjust. He believes there are marketing tenets essential to thriving in the new wireless world.
You must, he says:
1. Own Your Community (think locally): Carrier stores and big box retailers are fundamentally driven by a national perspective. That leaves the door open for independent retailers to own the 5 or 6 square miles around their location. This means constant targeted marketing to this group, providing great customer service (another area where independents can outshine the big guys) and being active in the community. The key is to build loyalty among your base to drive constant repeat and referral business.
2. Sell the Experience (think inside your box): A well set-up store and sales process should allow the customer to experience the services, not just touch the phones. The new wireless world is driven more by what you can do with a device than by how it looks, and to a lesser degree what it costs. There are also several new revenue opportunities created by innovation, including selling lucrative add-on services and accessories. Retailers must put themselves in a position to take advantage of these opportunities.
3. Diversify Your Product Lines Around the Wireless Core (it’s not just a phone anymore): There are many products and services that retailers can sell to help bring in customers and drive wireless sales. 3G is in full swing, with most carriers’ datacards offering speeds as fast as WiFi and almost seamless national coverage. Almost everyone has a laptop, the entire point of which is to be mobile. Why not attempt to sell a datacard to everyone who walks in the door? Most phones now come with cameras, so why not sell digital photo frames and photo printers? The camera and music functions of the new phones all are greatly enhanced by extra storage, so why not sell a mini-SD card with every phone sale?
4. Make Sure the Customer Gets What They Need and Understands What They Bought (train your customer, don’t just sell them and send them on their way): A new key metric for wireless retailer is their customer’s likelihood to recommend a store and its products to friends. This starts with a smiling greeting. But it requires really doing a great job in the sales process as a great customer experience. And this is harder than ever. The complexity of the sale, the many benefits of the product and the sophistication of the buyer has shifted the primary job at the point of sale is to discover the customer’s true needs and match those needs to the products and services offered. Then thoroughly explain and demonstrate so that the customer understands what they are buying. A retailer that masters these basics can dominate. Given the owner-operated, community-focused nature of successful independent retailers, this can be a huge competitive advantage over the big guys.
Mohr’s point is to take advantage of huge numbers of the revenue opportunities created by innovation and maximize the unique role of the neighborhood wireless retail store. “In many ways, these opportunities really point out that this is just the beginning of a New Wireless World,” he says.
Today, Celluphone provides more than a dozen value-added services to their retailers. With competitive commissions as the starting point, other services they provide include:
Field Sales Support: Celluphone has a large field sales team that constantly visits dealers to assist with training, merchandising and planning.
Fast Cash: A unique and exclusive incentive program for retail sales people that rewards them with cash for selling the most profitable plans and features. Participants carry a Fast Cash debit card that is funded automatically every two weeks simply by activating a subscriber. “We literally put money directly in their wallet,” says Mike Mohr.
Wireless Phone Protection: Carriers have made millions selling similar services. Celluphone’s program allows independent retailers capture some of this revenue.
Trade-In program: When customers upgrade their phones, they often throw away their old one. Retailers can actually get paid for this old phone, and use the money to help close the sale or add to the bottom line.
Dealer Rebates: Consumers get rebates on phones, so why shouldn’t dealers? In the dealer’s case, the rebate is automatically posted as a credit to the equipment account as soon as the activations occur. The bottom line is effected immediately.
World-Class Training: Celluphone believes they have developed the largest and most-recognized training team among any agent in the country to help dealers. The “University of Celluphone” provides in-store, seminar and webinars for sales and operation training designed for every level of a wireless retail staff and management.
Many of these services are only possible because of Celluphone’s proprietary technologies that integrate activations, equipment sales, commission accounting and training. The result is real-time reporting for dealers about critical business information at both the store and employee levels. Celluphone’s dealers can access all of its myriad services, including activation processing, equipment purchasing and reporting, directly through the Celluphone.com sales portal. “We have invested a lot of time, work and money in creating a robust, comprehensive sales portal to help our dealers thrive in this business,” he says. “They can learn about and conduct their entire wireless business in one place.”
With its host of services, built on 25 years of experience and constant innovation, Celluphone believes that they help dealers mine the most revenue and success from these opportunities. “The exciting part is the best times in wireless may be right ahead of us,” Mike Mohr comments. He invites retailers who would like to become part of the Celluphone family to visit http://www.celluphone.com or call
800-362-8822.