This online system is set up to automate much of the sales and followup process. Your job will be to make the phone calls and convince businesses to purchase a $100 business picket. When you make a sale, you'll use the online Business Picket Sales Form to enter your sale. The system is set up to handle the rest of the process for you. Potential customers should not be directed to the online form - it is intended for internal use only.
If it is possible for you to be on the Internet and on the telephone at the same time, we recommend that before you make a phone call, you bring up the online Business Picket Sales Form, and then place your call. If you make a sale, fill out the form while you're on the phone with the customer. Before you hang up, confirm the contents of the "email" field and the "picket contents" fields with the customer. If the email address is incorrect, the customer will not receive his/her receipt. When you submit the online form, it will automatically email a receipt to the customer, telling him/her where to send the check, and it will submit the data to a database. We'll take care of it from there.
What if the customer wants to pay by credit card?
This system is not set up to handle credit cards. Please encourage the customer to pay by check. If the customer insists on paying by credit card, record the sale on a paper form and contact Colleen (projectplayground@cdmck.com) right away. DO NOT collect or record credit card numbers.
Can I test the form before I make my first sales call?
Yes. Please do! If you'd like to test the form, enter the business name as "Red Herring " and enter your own email address in the "email" field. You will receive the same emailed receipt that a customer will receive. Colleen will delete all records for "Red Herring" from the database.
How do I know that the receipt was emailed to the customer?
This is an area where I'm having some difficulty with my script (if you know PHP and can help me with this, please let me know!). First, it is vitally important that you repeat the customer's email address back to them to be sure that you've entered it correctly. When you submit the form, the script will check to see that the email you entered is a valid format (that it has no spaces, and that it has an @ symbol and at least one dot after the @) but it cannot check to see that the email address is functioning. We recommend that you give the customer your phone number and ask them to call you back if they do not receive the emailed receipt. In that case, make a note of the customer's name (or the business name) and email it to projectplayground@cdmck.com. I will already have the data for the order, and can make arrangements to get a receipt to the customer. If the customer does not call you, we will eventually notice that we did not receive their check and will follow up as necessary.
Do I have to collect any payments?
No. The emailed receipt will tell the customer to mail their checks to SAIL, and we will follow through from there.
Who can I contact if I have questions, concerns, ideas, or feedback?
The business picket sales push is co-coordinated by Jean McBrien and Colleen McKenna. Feel free to call or email either one of us. Technical questions or feedback about the online form should be directed toward Colleen. We are both available evenings after 5:00 PM via telephone or via email as follows:
Colleen:
Phone: 907-796-2249
Email: projectplayground@cdmck.com
Jean:
Phone: 907-463-5885
Email: jmm@alaska.net