1. Transitioning Customer Service Representatives to Sales Advocates

2. Agenda SEMCO Energy Gas Company at a Glance
Concept Introduction of Sales Through Service
Benefits of using utility Customer Service Representatives
Integrating New Ideas
Filling a need
Finding the right partner product
Implementation Challenges
Finding Solutions
Training
Incentives
Testing the Right Approach
Conclusions 2

3. SEMCO ENERGY Gas Company
SEMCO ENERGY Gas Company, headquartered in Port Huron, Michigan, is a regulated public utility that delivers natural gas to approximately 290,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in service territories in the southern half of the state's Lower Peninsula (including in and around the cities of Albion, Battle Creek, Holland, Niles, Port Huron, and Three Rivers) and in the central, eastern, and western parts of the state's Upper Peninsula. SEMCO ENERGY Gas Company is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of AltaGas Ltd.

4. Concept Sales Through Service
Expand service offerings to customers by engaging the utility’s customer service team - smartly capitalizing on this resource and continuing to increase its value to the organization
Create a no-cost incentive programs for representatives
Improve representative satisfaction—reduce turnover and associated recruiting/training costs

5. Benefits
Using the professional, dedicated and talented SEMCO Customer Service team to promote and sell Line Protection and Total Repair plans
Why SEMCO Representatives?
Extensive and intimate knowledge of customer base and issues
No one knows them better
Trust and loyalty of customers
Offering customers another solution
Skilled problem solvers with excellent phone skills
Already know how to “talk” with customers
Already have customer’s attention
Easy transition to a very soft “sell”
Limited impact
Offer ONLY when appropriate

6. Integrating new ideas Strong Customer Service Changing the Culture
Strong Partner
Customer Service Metrics
Great Product Customers wanted

7. Filling in a need
Each day over 10,000 Americans reach retirement age and transition to fixed income
-Pew Research Center
64% of American’s don’t have enough cash on hand to handle a $1,000 emergency expense
-CNN/Money Magazine
1 in 5 households are putting off repairs
-Ipsos Public Affairs

8. Finding the Right Product
Knowing that changing behavior into a more sales focused organization was better for the utility, its employees and its customers, finding the right product and partner was just as critical to make this initiative work
The Partner
HomeServe USA, a company whose mission it is to free its members from the worry of home emergencies
Over thirty five utility partners with nearly two million policies and perform nearly 300,000 annual repairs
The Product
HomeServe Warranty Protection Programs
Furnace Water heater protection
AC protection
Interior Gas Line Protection
Expanding to include
Interior electric
Exterior water line

9. Implementation Challenges
Apathy
Lackluster Sales
No Enthusiasm
Incentives
Competitions
Goals
Teams
Training

10. Finding Solutions
Knowing it was good for both the company, its employees and its customers, we made the decision to do one more “full court press”…
Secured senior management support
Secured partner support
Worked directly with call center management, supervisors and employees to determine how to structure the program
Timeline
Training
Incentives
Visibility
Confidence

11. Training Group Training Product Sales Training Why its ok to offer
Detailed overview of the products and combinations
Sales Training
Suggested transitions
Close tools
Why its ok to offer
Customers of a utility expect it to have answers for these issues
When a utility offers these programs it increases customers satisfaction by at least 30%
1 on 1
The 1 on 1 training proved most valuable in helping reps understand the transition
Helped avoid deciding for the customer
Provided encouragement to make that all important 1st offer
Allowed for individual call review

12. Incentives Bigger isn’t always better Overall best seller
Ongoing weekly incentives
Random selection as well as individual selection
Top of Mind
Keep the goals and the incentives in front of the reps at all time
Incent the Ask
Helped overcome the biggest hurdle
The agent just didn’t want to ask

13. Testing the Right Approach
Defined beginning and end
Two month timeframe to start
Grand opening and a celebration ending
Not during peak periods
Sell Only when on-call-hold times are short
Lessons learned
Turned out 2 months was too long and created some fatigue
Our next effort was 1 month and was received much better

14. Conclusions Utilizing sales through service is effective because
Increased rep awareness of various products
Strategically utilized call center time
We are testing the use of it in
Electronic bill payment and presentment programs
Budget billing programs
Evaluating its potential for burner tip conversion programs
Warranty products continue to be the right product given it’s a natural extension of the core commodity we provide
Numerous testimonials
Savings our customers thousands of dollars in repairs
Generating non-core revenue
HomeServe continues to be the right partner for this initiative