Sprint prepares to do battle against potential iPhone customers

If you're thinking about switching over to AT&T to get your hands on an iPhone, don't expect to cancel your plan without a fight. Sprint has begun a new campaign to fight customer losses due to the iPhone launch.

The numbers from people on the inside are showing that the company expects to lose around 6% of their current smartphone customers. 6% is a fairly big hit, just for a single phone. AT&T is looking smarter every day for getting in on the exclusivity deal with Apple.

I pray that Sprint doesn't resort to some of the tactics used by AOL, because we all know how hard it is to cancel your service with them. The people over at Sprint have always treated me fair in the past, I doubt that they would stoop to those levels.

If you're curious just what to expect, check out this text from an internal Sprint document on their iPhone Talking Points campaign. What is interesting is that they actually made a few errors on the capabilities of the iPhone such as the camera and WiFi. Thanks to MacDailyNews for uncovering this.

iPhone Talking Points Guide for Sales and Customer Care

Sales and Customer Care may use this reference guide to learn:
• Details about the iPhone
• Ways to favorably position Sprint to our customers
• Sample talking points

Marketing may use this as background material for other sales and marketing deliverables.

• Refer to the categories listed below for specific talking points.
• Always make it a point to understand the customer’s interest in a conversation about iPhone in the context of his / her account profile and specific business or personal need.
• Retail sales should use Maximize or sView to understand the customer’s current profile in order to fully understand the customer’s needs.
• The Sprint network is a significant differentiator especially when discussing iPhone features and functions.
• Always refer to network talking points at s.n.c >coverage>network information and updates>customer information during conversations with customers about the iPhone.

Sample Talking Points - iPhone:
• Apple positions the iPhone as a multi-functional device with these features:
• Phone with unique visual voicemail allowing users to scroll through voicemail similar to viewing email
• Camera (1.3 mega pixel)
• MP3 player (4G or 8G)
• Mobile Internet tool delivering desk-top like visuals
• Photo organizer
• The iPhone is only available through AT&T (Cingular)
• Operates on their Quadband GSM, EDGE network
• Sells for $499 or $599

Potential iPhone negatives:
• Most current Smartphones have secure email necessary for business functionality. The iPhone uses Yahoo and Mac email which is not secure.
• It does not have a keyboard. Users may find the virtual keyboard difficult to use.
• It has a non-replaceable battery.
• It offers no external storage.
• It operates on AT&T’s EDGE network, which is slower than Sprint’s Mobile Broadband network.

Sample Talking Points - Network Speed:
• Network speed is the main point of differentiation between the iPhone and any product Sprint sells.
• The iPhone only operates on the GSM, EDGE networks and therefore users will experience slower downloads than they would with smartphones that run on the Sprint Mobile Broadband Network.
• Sprint Mobile Broadband coverage is competitive with any other carrier.
• Reaches more than 208 million people across the country.
• Covers more than 11,000 cities and 1,000 airports.
• Sprint is the leading wireless provider to businesses.
• Mobile broadband service in 220 major markets and more than 870 airports coast-to-coast.
• “Great device, but slow downloads.”
• “Using the iPhone on the GSM/EDGE network may be like having a really powerful computer on dial up.”
• “Whether you want music, email, web surfing or business files, our phones will download everything faster.”
• “No matter what feature you are interested in – our network provides speedy downloads.”
• “Concerned about coverage? I think you’ll see that we are comparable or better than all other carriers. Let me show you the map on our Power Network Coverage Tool to verify your coverage area.”

Sample Talking Points - Music:
• Sprint offers a variety of phones that are also MP3 players:
• Upstage
• Fusic
• Fusic II
• MotoQ
• Blackberry 8830
• “We have many handsets that are MP3 players.”
• “You want to have music with your phone? Let me show you the new Upstage or the Fusic II.”
• “We also have PDA phones that are MP3 players if you want to combine lots of features.”
• “With Sprint, you can download music instantly without being tethered to a computer.”
• “With Sprint you can quickly download music or anything else you want.”
• “Any music phone from Sprint lets you download songs instantly – out of thin air.”

Sample Talking Points - International:
• Sprint offers several phones with international capabilities.
• Show them the IP-830W by Samsung.
• Blackberry 8830 works on CDMA/EVDO and GSM/GPRS
• “Let me show you the IP-830. It’s an international phone and Smartphone with many of the features of the iPhone.”
• “The iP-830 is a slider-style phone which people tend to prefer over the iPhone style.”
• “Plus with Sprint, you get speedy, untethered downloads. You don’t have to be wired to a computer.”

Sample Talking Points - Storage:
• Sprint offers a variety of phones with external mini-drives for unlimited storage:
• Upstage
• Fusic II
• Motorazer
• MotoQ
• Blackberry 8830
• (Or other products as appropriate.)
• “If storage is an issue for you, let me show you all the devices that have external mini-drives for unlimited storage.”
• “Did you know that many of our phones offer external storage? Unlike the iPhone, which is only available in 4G or 8G, our phones offer unlimited storage.”
• “Are you sure 4G or 8G is enough storage for you? To give you a comparison, most iPods/MP3 players hold 40 to 60Gigs or more.”
• “The Upstage takes external mini-disks for unlimited storage.”
• “Our full line of PDA phones also offers unlimited, external storage.”
• “And remember, whatever you download and want to store, you can do it instantly with Sprint.”

Sample Talking Points - Price:
• The iPhone will sell for $499 or $599
• Given this price range, many Sprint phones will appear to be a great value, especially since they offer similar features over a faster network.
• If someone is interested in the iPhone, show them the PPC-6700 or the IP-830. Highlight all the features:
- Email
- International
- Camera
• External storage (iPhone doesn’t offer)
• “Sprint offers a wide variety of comparable phones that are much less expensive than the iPhone.”
• “Sure we have less expensive phones than the iPhone. The MotoQ, for example, is only $79 and is an MP3 player, PDA, camera, mobile internet device, and of course, a phone.”
• “With the MotoQ, you can use the money you save to pay for the monthly service.”

Sample Talking Points - Mobile Internet:
• Sprint has the largest mobile broadband network.
• With the Sprint mobile broadband card and a laptop, customers can experience desktop quality internet almost anywhere.
• The iPhone allows desk-top like surfing, but is on a slow network.
• Show customers other phones with internet capabilities such as MotoQ, PC 6700, etc.
• “If you want desktop-like mobile surfing, you should check out our broadband card.”
• “With the broadband card and a laptop, you can be online just about anywhere, anytime.”

Sample Talking Points - New Technology:
• Industry analysts and publishers agree that Sprint leads the industry in technology and innovation.
• Wall Street Journal, IDC, Yankee Group
• Sprint is already building out the 4G network which will be four times faster than today’s network technology.
• “Have you seen the Upstage? It’s a two-sided phone.”
• “The iPhone is an Apple product and has some nice features. It also has a nice price. Do you really need all those features in one device?”
• “Sprint has a variety of innovative phones.”
• “Sprint is a proven leader of technical advances and you can count on us to bring innovative services.”
• “Our Sprint Mobile Broadband Network, for example, provides downloads five times faster than AT&T’s EDGE.”
• “We are leaders in the 3G, EVDO network and plans are underway to build out the 4G network.”
• “We will lead in the Wi-MAX deployment."

Sprint begins ‘talking points’ campaign against Apple iPhone; expects initial customer loss up to 6% [via macdailynews]