The New Sprint Plan with an iPhone 6 Saved me a Bundle.

The excitement continues to build on the Apple iPhone 6 and now I am personally vested in the hype and the pre-order promise of better service plan and cellphone experience

Unfortunately, I dropped my iPhone 4s and the front glass shattered. I have dropped it a zillion times in the past 28 months and never had an issue. At the time of the debacle, I wondered if this was serendipity or some kind of planned obsolesce.

I researched my options and realized that replacing the glass was really not an option for me. Yes, I could attempt to repair it myself or take it to a repair shop. Yet, would the phone never be the same. It still works with the cracked glass. If I take it apart there is a 22% chance that I will never be able to put it back together or accidentally fry a component – been there, done that.

If I take to a service center there is no real guarantee. It could work for a while and then just stop in the middle of that crucial conversation with the wife or my boss – been there and done that too. I realize the darn smart phone has become a staple in my business and personal life. I can not afford to be without it.

After looking on the Sprint site, I noticed that an Apple iPhone 5c was only going to cost $50 plus tax. I just needed to renew my 2 year commitment. Sounded like a deal to me and hopped into the VW and puttered into town. I never thought about the iPhone 6 especially since I haven’t really been sold on why it is better than my trusty (now busted) iPhone 4s. Let me preface my comment, prior to the iPhone 4s I was a loyal Blackberry user and before that my cell phone was Nokia flip phone.

As I mentioned in my previous article “Watching Apple”, I felt Apple did a fair job with the September 10th launch. However, the key to their success this time around would be that the new products would be pulled through by the loyal Apple followers - "Apple Heads". Moreover, I mentioned that several competitors offered products similar and in some cases with better features. The word on the street, is new Apple products are not loaded with the major innovations they have been known for and seemed the strategy was to launch new products as a response to the competition's latest innovations.

I got to the Sprint store and sheepishly presented my shattered phone and asked about my options. I knew from my research that I was definitely eligible for an upgrade.

James the associate, mentioned that I was on a grandfathered contract plan and that I may be able to save some money on my monthly bill by switching to a new plan. I don’t know if you are like me, once he said I could save some money my ears perked up and suddenly my experience wasn't looking so bleak. Heck, I am always open to saving money.

Over the years, my cell phone has grown to be higher than my bundled TV cable, internet and home phone bill. I have four cellphones on a contract and saved $70 a month by changing plans with additional services and no termination fee for ending the old contract. The services including free WiFi tethering and an increased Data GB bandwidth.

I signed off on the new deal and asked James to pull an iPhone 5c and so we could get a tech to perform the data transfer and I could be on my way back up the hill. James stopped me and said that since I was not on a contract rate a variety of phones were available on a 24 monthly lease with no money down based on my credit. I was still $70 a head on the service so I was ready to just lease an iPhone 5c or upgrade to a iPhone 5s. At that point James told me that the new iPhone6 had a monthly lease that was less than either of the models I had mentioned. The only issue was that the iPhone 6 was on a pre-order status I would have to wait a few days.

Then it hit me. The clever folks at Apple created a dealer push plan. They gave an incentive to the dealers to push the product into the hands of the consumer. My inner Marketing Guru beamed with delight as I noted the synergy created by Apple’s B2C pull through initiatives melding with their B2B dealer incentive tactics.

When I become the CMO of Apple I will be implementing the same sets of strategies. Of course, I personally based my decision to pre-order the iPhone 6 solely on the deal - a $169 savings off the MAP and no money down. To Apple’s credit, they successfully took me right out the market. I never considered reviewing any other any competitors. I was intrigued by the buzz, sold on the savings and no out of pocket expense.

So it is official, I am one of the 4 million waiting for a new iPhone 6. Hopefully, it arrive on schedule this Friday.