If you are a telecom agent, you have been in those meetings with the IT staff where the mere mention of cloud-based services causes the record to scratch and the glaring of IT eyes are upon you.  This fundamental difference of opinion as to own or not to own (lease) is not a new one, but it has picked up considerable steam with the new discussions of moving things out of the IT realm and into the cloud.

I always have been of the opinion that the IT staff would survive whether IT is on premises or cloud-based, due to the evaluation and additional business efficiencies that need to be driven by IT.  IT staffs are also in a bit of flux as they not only have to possess IT skills, but now have to be able to evaluate the business side of things as well, especially with the discussion around cloud-based services. The days of simply running a phone switch or being a network admin is becoming the way of the dinosaur. As an example, most midsize shops we work with have staffs of five to 10 and the IT guy is wearing multiple hats all day every day. With the shrinking of IT staffs and the outsourcing of IT resources and services, IT’s role has changed significantly in my opinion. More and more emphasis has been placed on finding efficiencies/reducing costs and reducing head count. Do more with less. To that end, cloud in my opinion is IT’s friend.

On the other hand, we have recently walked into accounts and found that the IT staff was far more interested in keeping its arms around all aspects of the IT enterprise. Two-thousand square feet of servers on-premises, discussion of home-grown Asterisk-based VoIP PBX … it came as no surprise these guys had no interest in hearing anything about moving services to the cloud. We shelved any education about cloud or why the cloud would be in their best interests, arguably because we didn’t have the ability to teach these individuals. In this case, we took up the discussion with finance (CFO) and let the chips fall where they may.

I can see that if your sole existence in an enterprise is managing the phone switch, discussions around hosted VoIP may be harmful to your long-term existence. However, even in this instance there is still going to be the need for someone to manage the infrastructure and perform MACDs. And, since you will be able to do that in less time, this will free you up to attack other aspects of enterprise IT and learn other skill sets.

At this point, there is no question that IT is morphing with the advent of cloud. The onus is upon the agent to educate IT staffs wherever and whenever possible to this fact. This endeavor is requires walking a fine line, but is the key to our success.

It’s my opinion that “the cloud” is IT’s friend in most cases. Regardless, the cloud is coming to a business near you. If a company’s IT staff and its telecom agent don’t embrace it, a business will find someone that will because it is compelling in so many ways. As agents, we are students of the cloud, but we will soon need to become teachers.

What are your thoughts on the “friend or foe” discussion? Do you have any thoughts on how we can educate and become better teachers of the cloud?

How to Save on Telecom in a Down Economy

Has your business IT budget suffered due to the recent downturn? Are you facing important decisions like layoffs of valuable well-trained personnel while trying to make vital upgrades that will allow you to continue compete in the city, state or global marketplace? Trust me, you are not alone. Our phone continues to ring with clients asking how they can save on their hardware, software and telecom expenses.

Telecom – An Indispensable Expense

Before making any major changes, business owners and managers undoubtedly look at all expenses, but they may not know exactly where to look to find savings. They may be surprised at the savings they can find in their telecom services.

We understand there is a fine line you walk when it comes to your telecom expenses. If you think about it, your telecommunications services are just as important as your utility services. If you cannot professionally and adequately communicate with your vendors, partners, suppliers and clients, you will quickly be out of business.

What Are Your Options?

Audit Your Inventory
In case you have put this off, this would be an excellent time for your organization to do an audit of your circuit and/or POTs line inventory. You would be surprised what services don’t get disconnected over the years and continue to bill. This is an extreme case, but as an example, we have a client with 55 locations for whom, after an audit of invoices and site surveys, we found over 300 lines that were not being utilized whatsoever. We were able to have most of these circuits disconnected immediately, which resulted in a savings of over $15,000 per month.

Renegotiate Your Terms
Telecom carriers are by no means immune to the recent downturn. Just like you, they are struggling for every dollar of revenue and trying desperately to minimize their costs. Also, like you, they cannot afford to lose one customer, even if that means they will have to write down the business.

If you have services today that are more than you need for your operations, you may be surprised to find that carriers will be willing to negotiate with you. Undoubtedly they will ask for something in return, such as a longer term or, if you have room, an increased commitment. This may sound counter-intuitive, but you may also find that you can sign a new agreement in the middle of your term for a lower price while improving your services and bandwidth.

Due to the more widely available products such as Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, VoIP and others you will probably find that you can get more for less. Be careful though, some of these technologies come with growing pains associated. Most of these technologies, depending on the carrier, will perform flawlessly over time.

Exercise Business Downturn Clauses
If your carrier contract has business downturn clauses, those can be exercised with some documentation provided. Most of these clauses are pretty loose in carrier agreements, and with any documentation, you have a case to downsize your telecom infrastructure. If you experience any pushback here, you can always remind your carrier that some spend is better than no spend in the event that you go out of business due to your telecom expenses. In most cases, it is just a matter of finding the right person to explain your situation. We would recommend you start with a sales manager or, even better, a sales director to state your case. This will typically save you time and headaches.

Upgrade Your Technology
Technology refresh clauses in your carrier agreements are also an excellent way for you to reduce your spend while improving your services. Due to the increased efficiencies in carrier networks, you can expect to spend less for the latest WAN technologies – and why not upgrade now in an economic slowdown?

If you are currently negotiating a new carrier agreement, be sure to ask for a technology refresh clause and a business downturn clause. These terms are often overlooked and the carrier generally provides them with little to no pushback. Arguably, you won’t need a technology refresh to upgrade in this business climate. Carriers are more than willing to move you to their less expensive networks because they have improved margins, which means you can expect to pay less. It will help you in the negotiations to know this going into it.

Going to the Channel Show? So are we!

1. Agents are Invested in Your Success Long Term
   This is an incredibly important concept to understand when choosing to use an Independent Telecom Agent! When you work with a direct sales representative for a telecom company, one that may be here today and gone tomorrow (rep or company), they are paid only when they bring in a new sale. As we know, in the world of corporate sales, comp plans drive sales behavior, and sales reps are specifically told, “If your customer has a problem, send them to the Help Desk. Do not get involved. You are ONLY paid to bring in new business. Give them the Toll Free Number.” There is absolutely no motivation, despite the direct representative’s best intentions, for them to ever speak to you again after you sign the dotted line. It’s unfortunate but true. On the flip side, because Independent Telecom Agents are commission only and residual based, earning a small percentage of the monthly telecom bills, it takes them, in many cases, up to 24 months to get paid what the direct representative will get paid 30 days after the sale. The entire motivation for someone even becoming an Independent Telecom Agent is to build a book of business of happy customers that no longer have to find a new representative every couple of years to deal with. This relationship only makes sense for the agent if you retain services with them for over 24 months, so they have EVERY motivation to assist you in addressing and solving any service issues that you may ever have. A good Independent Telecom Agent isn’t just another business associate; they become part of your team.
2. They Don’t Have a Quota to Make
   One of the biggest issues consumers have with the local RBOC/ILEC is that if you call in to the call center to order new service, you will only be told about what THEY want to sell you. NOT what is best for you. Everyone LOVES to sell bundles in telecom, but let me ask you this: Why do you need Centrex calling features or voice mail on your alarm or elevator lines? Do you need call transfer or remote access to call forwarding on every line in your hunt group and on your fax lines? Do you have mysterious charges in the back of your phone bill for web hosting or other items you are afraid to disconnect in case you actually use them? Are they small enough they aren’t worth your time to inquire about? In my experience, when I call the ILEC/RBOC directly from the agent channel, I get offered different and more attractive packages than I get over the phone through the call center. It is a regular occurrence for Independent Telecom Agents to uncover up to 10-20% of pure fluff on your bill during the auditing process. Why does this happen? Simple. The direct representatives you buy your service from have a quota to make, and they will often sell you what is good for them. They will NOT only sell you what is good for you. They are directed to sell what is profitable for the carrier they work for, and are paid accordingly based on their ability to perform those duties. Top Independent Telecom Agents, almost without exception, do not carry quotas with any carriers. Because they do not carry quotas, you will not find them pushing you towards a solution that doesn’t feel right just to meet their numbers. Be frank and ask your Independent Telecom Agent if they carry quotas with the carriers proposed. If they do carry a quota, be sure to ask enough questions about the solution they are suggesting to determine if it is right for you.
3. Extra Incentives and Promotions
   The Telecom Industry is increasingly moving towards the Independent Agent Channel. In fact, last year, a local ATT/SBC agent manager in the Texas market confided that the Agent channel gained more business through their agent Winback program than they did through their direct Winback program. Even they were shocked! There are several reasons for this. Independent Telecom Agents are typically more knowledgeable of the products they offer, they are better trained, they set proper expectations with their clients, their clients tend to remain clients longer (since they were sold the right program), and it is more cost effective for the carriers to deal with Agents. They do not pay base salaries or benefits, in addition to commissions. Strangely enough, where I have seen this benefit the customer most is in the form of special incentives and promotions offered only through the Agent Channel. It is not uncommon for agents to compete head to head with a direct representative for one of the carriers they are representing. It is also not uncommon for the agent channel to have promotions or incentives that the direct representative has not been given access to for the customer, and the agent will typically win the customer with the better offer. If the direct representatives have promotions available, they are often compensated extra if they do not use them for their clients. Independent Telecom Agents will pull out any available promotions available in an effort to gain your business for the long haul, as they are typically not incented or penalized for use of promotions.
4. Same Pricing
   The exact same standard pricing is used in the Agent Channel and the direct sales channels. In spite of all of the additional knowledge you can tap into with Independent Agents, you can be sure you are not charged any extra for it. For large projects, special pricing is available to both Agent and direct channels at the same rates. It’s an incredible model that helps the customer and agent win, and insures that all potential clients are treated equally.
5. They Understand Next Generation Technology
   Independent Telecom Agents will typically be better versed in MPLS, IP-VPN, VOIP, hosted solutions, call center applications, and SIP technologies since they need to understand multiple carriers’ offerings and have attended their trainings. Direct representatives will often know a few tweaks to their individual limited product line a little better than agents that do not exclusively sell their product do, but they will not have the overall understanding of all that is coming with new technology. No carrier can be the master of all technologies and master of all niches. It’s a business impossibility. So it follows that it is nearly impossible for a direct representative to have the same breadth and width of exposure to the applications you are facing decisions on. Business is fiercely competitive, and implementation of some of the newer technologies correctly can literally save larger companies hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. That may be the exact edge your company needs to gain the competitive edge in your marketplace for security, marketing, recruiting, or even retention. Likewise, implementing a bleeding edge technology that is not ready for prime time may cost you the same. Using an experienced Independent Telecom Agent who is looking out for your best interests may make all the difference.