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Use An Independant Agent
Ever increasingly, businesses are electing to obtain their telecommunication
services from independent telecom agents instead of direct reprentatives. We take look at the top 10 reasons why we see this
trend occurring in the marketplace today. Sales is known as a high turnover profession,
but the recent rash of mergers and acquisitions in telecom make it even more unlikely the representative who signed you to
your term agreement will still be there to assist you within the year. After making it past the first wave of Chapter 11 bankruptcies
following deregulation, the next industry wide phase is mergers and acquisitions. In the past several years we've seen a few
major mergers that include Level3/Broadwing (Focal), XO/Allegiance, ATT/SBC/Bell South, MCI/Verizon, Paetec/US Lec, and Time
Warner/Xspedius among others. By using an Independent Telecom Agent, you can be assured that regardless of continued merger
and acquisition activity or bankruptcies, your Independent Telecom Agent will have the same contact telephone number and email
address. He/She will not be laid off or fired, and will continue to supply you all of the options your company needs. Regardless of whether your Independent Telecom Agent recommends
a single carrier solution or a multi-carrier solution for your company, you still have a single point of contact to deal with
the person who knows your account best. During the pricing and evaluation process for new carriers, it is typical to request
at least 3 bids and have at least two appointments with at least three carriers each. The number of appointments you schedule
could easily surpass a dozen or more before an educated decision is made on your company's communications. When you use a
qualified Independent Telecom Agent, you can spend a single appointment determining the best course of action for your company,
and just one more evaluating the best options available in your market. Having a single point of contact is a huge time saver!
Your Independent Telecom Agent acts as an assistant buyer
for your company once he/she understands your business needs and preferences. He/she gets to know your organization, information
about your short and long term goals, and why and how you make decisions. Why would you want to repeat that process every
couple of years? Perhaps this should be ranked #1! When you use the services
of an experienced Independent Telecom Agent, you tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of someone who has been in
the field for many years-and most likely with multiple carriers. Your agent will typically have experience dealing with multiple
carriers in your market, including ones without a direct sales force, and can tell you how they actually perform. They won't
paint the rosy picture all of the carriers would prefer you to see when you think of them. Who has the most reliable network?
Who has billing problems? Who is going bankrupt? Who can make the desired install date? When using an Independent agent, you
don't have to listen to "The Company Story" for each carrier, as they tend to dress up their deficiencies and downplay
weaknesses. You get to hear the truth. Based on where your business is heading, whether that will
be expanding, streamlining, or downsizing, your Independent Telecom Agent can put you in the right situation. Just like buying
an inexpensive phone system that can't grow with you can create the need for a forklift upgrade sooner than expected, getting
stuck with a carrier that can't meet your future expectations can be crippling to any operation. Since most carriers have
gone to term agreements in the T-1 age of communications, it's key to get set up with a carrier that can migrate with your
evolving needs. Do they have an MPLS network to support VoIP? Do they do SIP trunking? Can they offer an IP-VPN solution for
your remote sites? Your Independent Telecom Agent understands the carriers' products and limitations, and can put you in the
right solution for your company. 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.
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. 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. 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. 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.
Use Independant Agents!
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