We have a five-week training program that includes field work, classroom sessions, role playing and extensive product knowledge. This starts the RAE on a career-path that includes management opportunities.

TCW: How can you afford to do that?

James: We prefer to ask “How can we not afford to do this?” We focus on quality over quantity and by investing in our employees from the start we give them a better chance to be successful and if they are successful, EGC will produce results for our cable partners. If our cable partners and our employees both win, then EGC will continue to grow and be successful.

TCW: You’ve been in the cable business for over 14 years now, what do you think is the most significant change in that time?

James: There have been many changes, but it has all been driven by competition for the customer. Competition has forced technological advances and customer service improvements. Everyone is competing for the customer’s business and looking for that way to be the provider of choice – which can be difficult because each customer has different needs. That is the primary reason I think door-to-door sales has preserved. With marketing you can do extensive targeting, but there is no substitute for going to the customer’s home, seeing what is important to them. Do they have children? Do they have a favorite sports team? Do they pride themselves on landscaping and their yard or maybe they have a collectible car? Do they have a dish? Are they already connected? These are things that you only know for sure if you see them, so door-to-door sales give us the opportunity to have an in-person dialogue with customers and potential customers.

TCW: That is a good point, but aren’t people reluctant to answer their doors to strangers in this day and age?

James: That is certainly a concern for many people which is why our training includes important information on making the right appearance, which includes clothing, grooming, posture and identifying yourself properly. We also emphasize working the right hours for the right prospects. Current customers who you are trying to upgrade are more willing to talk to you than non-customers are.

TCW: Sounds like you’ve got a good process in place, so what is your biggest challenge?

James: Recruiting. Each market is a little different and our standards are high. We do not take just anyone. We are looking for people who will represent EGC and our partners in the right way and produce the right results. We do extensive background and pre-employment checks and only accept the people we feel are a good investment of our time and money. Remember we have a paid training period of up to five weeks, so we don’t want to make that investment without a high likelihood we will get a return on that investment.

TCW: Thanks for your time James. Any last words of advice?

James: Try not to over complicate things. The cable business has changed but the sales business hasn’t. It is all about communicating to customers that you have what they want at a price that represents a good value.

Elite Global Communications, Inc. is a Wayne, MI based company that does door-to-door sales, installations, service, audits, maintenance and collections for several MSO’s throughout the Midwest.