DHP is dead

[jeffwtux]

Well, I think you can forget about DHP being a reason to take Dish over Direct. DHP is dead. The DHP promotion has gone consistently downhill since Q1-2 last year. It's gone from 3 months free(reg channels and locals) to 1 month free of everything, to not even 1 month free of reg channels and locals(for 3 or 4 receiver systems. Then you of course have to pay $5/month extra, just to not own the stuff at the end. Plus, of course DishAT100 is $2 more than DirecTV TC. Man it just sucks to be a Dish retailer right now. I still have Free-For-all and that's great, but with AT100 being $2 more than TC who should I target? I'd say Indians are about it. ZeeTV, SET, and Sun are my 3 most popular channels right now.

[TNGTony]

Jeff....target AT50+Locals at $30 or AT150 or even AEP potential customers!

Target Indians, Pakistanis (here in the US planning to blow up another building), Russians, Poles, Danes, French, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabs (helping the Pakistanis), Israelis, Brazilians and Portuguese customers!

When I was in sales, I always had some competitor somewhere that was cheaper on something! You have to find first what the customer wants and then guide him to the product you offer that the competitor may not be able to match! Sell up by selling down. Start at AEP+Locals at $79.99 (which arguably beets the competition and is definitely cheaper) and work DOWN. When and if the customer balks at that, drop all the way to the cheapest package (which also beats the competition). If the customer says they want more than that, then go to AT150! Or AT100+HBO/Cinemax which ALSO arguably beat the competition!

See...now you have to SELL. Before you didn't. :)

See ya
Tony <---made a decent living in sales for nearly 20 years. Happy to be out of it too :)

[Frapp]

Originally posted by TNGTony
Jeff....target AT50+Locals at $30 or AT150 or even AEP potential customers!

Target Indians, Pakistanis (here in the US planning to blow up another building), Russians, Poles, Danes, French, Dutch, Italian, Japanese, Chinese, Arabs (helping the Pakistanis), Israelis, Brazilians and Portuguese customers!

The problem with this theory is that Echostar does NOT pay full commissions on international customers. Why ???? , I have no idea :confused:

[jeffwtux]

No, they don't pay commission on the international packages, but I give away about 30% of my commission on every sale. I can afford that. So I use the bonus of a free install of an international dish as a way to get a Free Dish install. Those have been half of my customers lately.
As for DHP, it will cost $35 for At50+locals on 1 TV. That's not worth it. Anybody wanting AT100 I'll only have a chance at if they REALLY WANT HBO AND CINEMAX, and AT150 will be tough even with HBO and Cinemax. They really should've made the combo better than AT100 not worse. I don't care if it already lands perfectly on $59.99, people aren't that dumb. TC+ w/locals is a far better deal.

All this plus DirecTV is simply the bigger brand name. I can overcome that if I have a better deal, however, now I clearly don't except in those few instances.

[shilton]

I would suspect that Echostar is gearing up to kill this plan and come up with something else anyway. With the advent of Cell-Phone contracts, etc many people are no longer so afraid of longer term commitments and I think that you will see a bigger push back to the "Get the system and the install for free" and you have to remain a customer for 1 year deal...That is what has driven cell phone companies to the growth they have seen. Dish has seen tremendous growth with its Club-Dish promos and they were geared toward getting the customer to own the equipment. This only makes sense as "if I own it...I am less likely to jump ship". let's face it, it I am only "renting" the equipment that is too much like having cable and the freedom to call and say "hey..I don't want this anymore". If you kill this type of plan and force people to own a stake in the equipment, that equates to longer term customers and that is what will bring about growth to Echostar in the long run. Don't fret yet...I bet a new plan is on the horizon. Charlie seems to change things up about once a year around the time of the price increases.

[Rayser]

Jeff
D* announced that they will be raising prices in 2Q 2003 during their Earning Release Call today. The number mention was a $2 increase so when everything shakes out there might not be any relative change. Lots of interesting numbers, average customer revenue $60, suscriber aquisition cost $540, added 1,057,000 customers in 2002, estimating 750,000 new customer 2003.

[drjake]

I disagree. DHP is alive and kicking especially with the DTV price increase. You pay $5 extra a month but you get up to four receivers. Once you have more than two receivers, it is cost prohibitive to do anything other than DHP, as you will need multiswitches or quad LNBS, plus you will have to purchase the receivers. If you choose three receivers, your going to pay $99 for the receiver, probably $150 for a quad LNB and $30 for installation of the third receiver. Amortize that total of $280 at $5 a month, it takes 56 months to pay off the equipment. Add a fourth receiver for $99 + $30 installation and your paypack period is now 70 months.

[jeffwtux]

Rayser, that average price is just spin lower the percentage increase, just like Dish used. The fact is that it's an over 6% increase on Direc Tc and Dish AT100. I guess they think that's fair because cable raises the completely unregulated "Expanded Basic" teir much more rapidly, yet the % increase is based on the total amount including the broadcast or barebones basic. However, the average price DirecTV used is closer to digital cable than analog basic. I guess, this will be a batlle of promotions once again. I give away 30%. I can play that game any time:) I figure I get more customers from Indian programming than I lose for not having NFL Sunday Ticket, so I'm not sore about that at all.
BRING IT ON!!!