My TA News

How to Sell Avaya, Adtran or Samsung Business Phone Solutions to Customers (Even if you don't want to)

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

The majority of TA's 3,800 members do not sell equipment  based business phone systems (also known as CPE or customer premises equipment) like Avaya, Adtran or Samsung for the same reason that many interconnects (business phone system resellers) are getting out of the business - selling CPE is a low margin business with high labor requirements.

While that may be true, it is estimated that 50% or more of US based businesses already have Avaya, Adtran or Samsung phone system equipment integrated into their telecom solutions that they want to keep using.

Many customers however are finding it increasingly difficult to find Avaya, Adtran or Samsung dealers that are experts in integrating their CPE into their customer's larger integrated voice and data telecom suite.

Is this a problem or an opportunity? YES!

Lack of high quality CPE vendors that can provide a single source solution for integrated communication solutions is certainly a problem for business end-users but a big opportunity for TA's 3,800 members that are positioning themselves as a one-stop telecom, tech and IT shop.

So what's a TA member to do if their customers or prospects want them to provide and support CPE like Avaya, Adtran or Samsung that they don't currently provide?

Contact NTSDirect, a new TA vendor member that can help any TA member design, price, install and support Avaya, Adtran or Samsung (whether they want to or not).

 

How to Discuss NTS Direct with your Clients

While your clients certainly want a single source solution, they might initially have reservations about sourcing Avaya, Adtran or Samsung through your company if they do not perceive that you'll be able to properly support the CPE.

Following is a reprint of an end-user blog post published at BusinessPhoneNews.com that explains to end-users how they can source the CPE they need through the tech or IT vendor that they want to get it from.

Click the audio player below to listen to the introductory interview I conducted with Scott Davis, President of NTSDirect.  To download the MP3 of the interview, click here.

 

 

Click here to download a whitepaper interview with Scott that was created from the interview.

For more information, contact Scott Davis of NTSDirect via email or call 877-483-5393.

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Can separate technology equipment vendors really work together successfully to provide business end users with critical productivity applications that require integrated telecommunications solutions?

Not usually (or not cheaply).

OTMA to Publish "Business Phone Buyers Guide for CPAs" in July, Seeks Co-Authors

By Dan Baldwin, Executive Director, 951-251-5155 email

Office Technology Marketing Association or "OTMA", a vendor neutral, partner financed organization spun off from TA in 2010 announced today that it will publish an e-book titled "Business Phone Buyers Guide for CPAs" in July 2012 and is looking for co-authors.

The prospective e-book uses an active case study of helping a California CPA firm replace their existing TDM phone system with an IP-PBX solution or a hosted VoIP solution. The e-book will compare and contrast the pros and cons of the hardware vs. hosted phone solution for small accounting firms.

Co-authors of the e-book project will enjoy a limited license to distribute the e-book to their own customers and prospects in their own metro marketplace.

For more information, click here to view and print the OTMA memorandum.

Listen to Experts speak about Unified Communications using Mobile Phones at Channel Partners!

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

Why learn the strategies on Mobile Phone and PBX/Hosted Integration?

Educate yourself first so you can understand your business customer’s needs.

The best way to learn what Andrew and other business mobility subject matter experts have to say to your customers and prospects is to attend the:

Mobilizing the Business Communications System session at the Vegas Channel Partners Expo on Wednesday, March 28th at 9am.

Along with co-speaker Trent Shoultz, Director of Field Business Development at Mitel, Andrew and Virgo's Khali Henderson will be speaking on how mobile phones now integrate with all business phone systems including PBX solutions and IP systems and Hosted.

 

Mobility Session Questions to be Addressed Include:

• How do I choose the right device(s)? 
• What applications are best for my business?
• How to integrate Smartphones and my network?
• Will employees & management have real-time voice communications?
• Is this a secure connection, Is it HIPPA?
• Which employees benefit by being mobile?
• Does voice mobilization support cloud computing & visa versa?
• Will this improve employee productivity and morale?
• Which providers' solutions are right for my customers?
• How do we integrate iPad and soft phones?
• What do we do as agents to become experts?

 

Following is the Published Mobility Session Overview:

"Supporting mobility is key to serving today’s business communications needs, but simply offering wireless devices with voice and data isn’t enough. Workers need their mobile devices to function as extensions of their enterprise communications environment. Delivering so-called fixed mobile convergence (FMC) can be done in hosted and fixed environments. This session will look at the available options, their pros and cons and how to determine the best fit for each customer engagement. 

DONE-FOR-YOU-MARKETING: Explain "Presence" and Unified Communications to Your Hosted VoIP Customers & Prospects

By Dan Baldwin
TA Executive Director
951-251-5155 email

Looking for a way to get into larger, multi-location and mid-sized business customer accounts? Start putting yourself out as a trusted advisor in the realm of "unified communications" or simply "UC".

Following is a blog post I wrote that helps explain the unified communications concept of "presence" to business owners and managers as it relates to their business phone system.  

Authorized TA members can use these and other BusinessPhoneNews.com blog posts for their own end-user business customer blogs and email newsletters.

Contact me for more information about using this content for your own marketing. 

Following is the content from this blog post:

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As the economy finally starts to pick back up for many American businesses, owners and managers are happy to see that their incoming phone lines are starting to ring again but sad to know that they still have not staffed their business back up to answer and properly address the increase in prospective customer phone calls.

How can a business owner get greater efficiency out the the reduced number of employees they have reporting to work each day?

Take a look at the "presence" feature offered by many newer "unified communications" (AKA "UC") business phone systems and services.

Below is a video that simply shows how the unified communications "presence" feature works on the NEC Univerge SV8100 phone system.

While the NEC phone system solution featured is produced by a "premise based" phone system (one where you make a major capital purchase and the phone system sits in your phone closet or a "private cloud") there are many similar enterprise grade "hosted VoIP" phone service solutions offered by companies like Smoothstone, Alteva, Telesphere, MegaPath, Broadview, Vocal IP and others.  

Subscribing to an enterprise grade unified communications solution from a hosted VoIP or "cloud" business phone service provider means a business owner can access "presence"-type features without having to commit their entire capital improvements budget for the year.

 

What's "Presence"?

When I first started selling business office phone systems 30 years ago, the phone on your desk helped you make and receive phone calls and not much more.

DONE-FOR-YOU-MARKETING: Got customers with small locations looking for cordless "cloud phones"?

By Dan Baldwin 
TA Executive Director
951-251-5155 email 

Following is the text to a blog post and email newsletter article that promotes the idea that your multi-location customers with small locations can get the cordless "cloud phones" they're looking at through you.

See all the done for you marketing pieces that you can license for your own customer blog & email newsletter atBusinesPhoneNews.com. 

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For over 10-years, hosted VoIP providers (initially Vonage & 8x8) have been telling small businesses that "the cloud" (their broadband DSL or cable Internet connection) can host their phone service so they can abandon their expensive local phone company lines and save money.

The idea was fine when it was first proclaimed, but the actual phone equipment that small offices needed to work "with the cloud" did not have all the features required like intercom, music on hold, cordless handsets, etc.

 

Panasonic's "Office Cloud Phones" to the Rescue?

For years Panasonic has been a phone equipment champion for small businesses. The phones are pretty inexpensive, fairly easy to install and easy to

DONE FOR YOU MARKETING: Help Your Small Customers find the Right Unified Communications Vendor

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email 

Unified Communications or "UC" is usually thought of as an integrated business communications solution that only large businesses can afford.

Click here to view a blog post at BusinessPhoneNews.com you can share with your small customers to show them how you're an expert at helping them choose a UC vendor that tailors solutions for the under 100 phone set.

The post is also reprinted below.

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I've been helping small and medium sized business customers choose business phone equipment and business phone services for over twenty years and I've never once had a customer or prospect with a office phone system problem call and ask me for a

DONE FOR YOU MARKETING: Show Customers with Uneven Phone Usage How They Can Save Up to 25%

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email 

Click here to see the blog post published at BusinessPhoneNews.com that can be shared with your customers with uneven phone usage.

The post shows how GLOBALINX's seasonal & burstable phone solutions can save them up to 25% on their phone charges.

The post is reprinted below.

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Owners of businesses with uneven phone usage are often forced to buy a business phone system that's bigger than they really need AND buy more phone lines then they will consistently use.

Some businesses like amusement parks or ski resorts are only really busy for half a year at a time. Other "swing-shift" type businesses like restaurants are only busy for a couple hours a day.

In the past, uneven usage businesses like these had no choice but to

Boston Master Agency ACE Consulting Group Selects Vocal IP As Their Top VoIP/SIP/IP-PBX Solution Provider

By Dan Baldwin, 951-251-5155
TA Executive Director, email

ACE Consulting Group, LLC out of Boston has announced that they've selected TA vendor Vocal IP as their number one solution vendor for hosted VoIP, SIP trunk and IP-PBX phone systems.

 

Why Did ACE Pick Vocal IP?

Who Did Vocal IP Beat Out?

When I read the announcement these two questions above were formost in my mind so I gave a call to Andrew Gregoire, CEO & Managing Partner at ACE and following is what he had to say.

Because Vocal IP Sees Every IP Installation as a Unique Project

"My partner Lou DiMuzio and I choose Vocal IP over other providers because they start every one of our IP installation projects with a clean piece of paper and an engineering mindset," Mr. Gregoire said.  

Vocal IP Bests their Biggest Competitors because of their Engineering Focus

"We've worked with the biggest voice and network service providers in the game on IP projects for our large, multi-location 400+ seat opportunities and still have to give the nod to Vocal IP," Mr. Gregorie continuted.

 

I spent a good 20 minutes on the phone interviewing Mr. Gregorie about everything from the size of his average IP customer project and specifically which other IP providers he had experience with.  I came away from the call with a clear understanding that this endorsement was no favor done for an old college friend but one made out of necessity to ensure ACE's IP clients were working with voice and data engineers more interested in accommodating the client's applications then in forcing the client through their IP "cookie cutter".

When it comes to choosing an IP vendor, the question every telecom agent, channel partner and IT VAR want to know about a prospective IP vendor is, "Which of my peers have already selected you, who'd they select you over and why?"

Andrew Gregoire and Lou DiMuzio of ACE Consulting Group, LLC out of Boston have choosen Vocal IP as their number one solution vendor for hosted VoIP, SIP trunk and IP-PBX phone systems for the reasons cited above.

If your multi-location customers need an "out of the box" IP solution that integrates the best of hosted voice, SIP trunks, existing phone systems and/or different voice and data networks call ACE Consulting and see if they think Vocal IP should do your project for your customer.

 

Following is additional information about the ACE/Vocal IP partnership

About ACE Consulting Group

ACE Consulting Group, LLC is an independently owned firm.  We are "Your Communications & Energy Specialists" based in New England; we service our clients locally, nationally and internationally.  We represent multiple carriers and suppliers in the Telecommunications and Energy industries.

Formed from the former One Stop Communications, we have been providing our services since 2001.  Our management team is composed of industry veterans and brings a combined over 40 years of experience.  We consult individually with each client to provide the most appropriate solutions for them and their businesses.  Our multiple tiered methodologies, simplifies the process and helps each client achieve success in today's competitive marketplace.

"At ACE, we believe in a partnership approach when consulting and handling our client technology needs and demands.  We have found the highest levels of expertise when working with the Sales & Sales Support teams at Vocal IP. 

They allow us, as the customer advocate, to help design the best solution for every client we work with. Vocal is by far the most flexible Carrier in the marketplace today and their technical knowledge is very impressive.  That knowledge is reflected in all our Vocal proposed solutions" said Andrew Gregoire, CEO of ACE Consulting Group.

Lou DiMuzio, President & Managing Partner at ACE Consulting, adds "We are looking forward to continuing our growth with Vocal.  They are our business partner and our success depends on leveraging this relationship and utilizing the key Vocal assets and resources available. 

Our companies have a lot of synergy and our goals are the same, continue to grow and achieve success through dedicated support, great service and cutting edge technologies."

 

About Vocal IP Networx

Vocal IP Networx is a nationwide facility based ISP, IP Telephony and Cloud services provider headquartered in New York City.  Vocal IP Networx operates 2 Super POPs, one in Newark NJ and the other residing in Las Vegas NV. Vocal's network platform is fully redundant and geographically diverse.  

Vocal's infrastructure is fully managed 24/7/365.  Vocal IP Networx has a national service presence and is focused on multi-location organizations within the SMB & Enterprise marketplace.  Vocal IP Networx has a full suite of Cloud services and products that are designed to reduce IT management efforts and costs for its  customers.

The Vocal IP technical teams are considered IT, IPTelephony, and Data networking experts.  Vocal's Partner Program has been recognized and featured within the Telecommunications industry for over 7+ years now.

"I have worked closely with Andy, Lou and other members of the ACE team during the early stages of our partnership and it is refreshing to see the way they always put their customer's need first. 

Like Vocal IP Networx, ACE is extremely flexible in their approach to designing the appropriate solutions for their customers.  Their well thought out solutions always meets and often exceed their customer's expectations. 

We are very excited to name ACE Consulting Group as the newest Master Agent to join the Vocal Partner Program," said Vocal IP Networx's Channel Leader - Josh Redick.

Granite Voted a Top 50 Channel Program By Channel Partners Magazine

Granite was selected from nearly 250 nominees comprised of carriers, resellers, master agencies, and hardware and software vendors.  Candidates for the Top 50 Channel Programs came from the 2011 listings of the Channel Partners Channel Program Guide, self-nominations and write-in names.

The Massachusetts-based competitive service provider specializes in POTS, T1, Internet, cabling and loss prevention for multi-location organizations.  The company's clients benefit from a single point of contact; one consolidated online invoice with management reporting for all locations; Web-based line and feature inventory by location; 24/7 customer service and meaningful savings.

"We appreciate that our agent partners consider Granite an important part of their value proposition and look forward to continuing to meet the Channel's need for quality services and support," said Charlie Pagliazzo, Granite's Channels Director.  "Our plan to continue the growth and success of Granite is tied to our commitment to our partners."

Each year, Channel Partners asks its readers to determine the communications industry's 50 best indirect channel programs; the most recent survey took place in July and the results were compiled from responses given by 1,500 qualified channel partners, including master agents, subagents, independent agents, VARs, dealers, consultants and brokers.

All 50 winners are featured in the September 2011 issue of Channel Partners magazine; in a Guide available on Aug. 24; recognized during the general session at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo on Aug. 24; and designated as a 2011 Top 50 Channel Program winner in the Channel Program Guide online.

"Once again, Channel Partners readers have taken the time to recognize the programs that best support their work," said Larry Lannon, Channel Partners' group publisher.  "Channel Partners is proud to honor these companies that set the standard for backing indirect partners selling network and IT services."

Channel Partners is the country's leading resource for communication distribution channels.  For more than two decades, Channel Partners has been the undisputed leader in providing news and analysis to alternate distribution channels serving the communications industry.  It is the unrivaled resource for resellers, aggregators, agents, brokers, VARs, systems integrators, interconnects and dealers that provide cloud-based communications and computing services and associated CPE, applications, and managed and professional services.  Channel Partners includes a monthly print publication, a Web resource, periodic electronic newsletters, Webinars and Reports.  It is the host of the twice annual Channel Partners Conference & Expo and the Channel Partners Network on LinkedIn.

For more information, contact:

Charlie Pagliazzo, Granite
Director, Alternate Channels
877-884-5200

Chicago Confidential: Final Post, What I Learned - Ask Customers for My Commission, Use Cloud to Sell Cloud & Party More!

Posted 9/1/11 By Dan Baldwin
TA Executive Director, 951-251-5155

Well I'm back into the happy grind of catching up on taking care of my customers and getting kids into school but what was learned from my week long investment into the Channel Partners Expo in Chicago last week?

Following is what I got out of it:

 

Ask My Customers for My Commissions

After the exhibit hall closed Thursday evening the CP Expo folks sponsored the "Channel Partners Zone" or "CPZ" modeled after the "TMZ" celebrity gossip TV show.

I think most of those in attendance were hoping for some juicy gossip as tongues were loosened by the open bar. When the four panelists (Dave Gilbert, Peter Radizeski, Larry Walsh and John Siefert) started getting questions from Khali Henderson they all made a brave attempt to add some sass to topics that would only elicit yawns from the non-telecom people world like, "Is the transactional agent dead?" and "Is 'cloud' really taking over?"

The only subject that seemed to inflame audience passion was the age old challenge of "termination for convenience" when someone brought up the topic of Internap cutting agent commissions. 

One subagent in the audience argued that agents need to access carriers through a large master agent for protection. A larger master agent in the room then reported that their agreement with Internap was adversely affected in spite of their size.

It was after 10 minutes of this "carriers are bad" conversation that I decided that on every future deal I would ask my customers to pay my monthly commission after chiseling the carrier price down to near wholesale.

Why shouldn't customers pay telecom agents directly?

Customers pay their IT consultants directly. They pay their software VARs directly. When I suggested to the CPZ audience that they ask their customers directly for their commissions it was like I was talking a foreign language that they could not understand. Most stared at me blankly for a moment before going back to complaining about the carriers.

Admittedly I have not yet been able to get all my own telecom clients to pay me monthly for taking care of their account but I am asking every customer if they'd like the opportunity.

A larger customer I've recently acquired is paying me directly a 15% per month override on all the telco and data invoices I'm scrubbing and managing for them. The rate drops to 10% the second year and 5% the third year and beyond and the customer has a 90 day option of cancelling.  I've agreed not to take carrier commissions unless they want to lower their monthly fee by the commission amount.

I must admit I'm working harder for this customer than I've worked for past customers. Best yet, since that carriers are not paying me they know they can not expect any unearned loyalty from me in the form of getting the customer to sign a longer contract or by letting the carrier keep a higher price to get a decent margin. 

My customer's paying me my commission directly to ensure they have the lowest price and highest quality in return for the lowest commitment - and that's what they're getting!

For those of you that want to stick to trying to get your carriers to live by the letter or spirit of your contracts, you had better become best friends with a telecom lawyer like Ben Bronston, Mark Del Bianco or Tom Crowe. 

Telecom agents at CPZ including Jill Maertz of Accelerate Communications,  Karin Fields of MicroCorp,
suit guy, Josh Anderson of Telephony Partners, Dan Baldwin of ATEL Communications and
Michael Bremmer of National Communications

 Use More (Unified Communications) Cloud to Sell More (UC) Cloud

In the real estate sales game the most popular saying is, "The three most important things are, 'Location, Location and Location'".

I'm quickly starting to believe that in the voice & data world the three most important things are, "Cloud, Cloud & Cloud" (or "unified communications" or simply "UC" if you want to use the "grown-up name' for "cloud".)

In the Chicago conference, "cloud" stopped being some nebulous ethereal solution and started being what I've suspected that it really is, the ability to instantly communicate with anyone via phone, email, chat or video AND be able to securely access and share any document or software application INDEPENDENT of one's geographic location or end-point (desk phone, computer, smart phone, tablet, etc.)

But how do I sell more cloud?

Use more cloud. 

Apparently I'm already a trend setter because I've been using Gmail (Google's cloud based email) for over 5 years and Google Apps (their cloud based word processing and spreadsheet program) for over two years.

I never give a thought to computer hardware challenges because all my documents and emails (going back over six years) are always instantly accessible and searchable from any computer on the planet.  Better yet, when using Google's Chrome browser on any computer I can communicate and share information with anyone in my email address book with an intuitive click of a button.

I've assumed that my peers still chained to Microsoft Outlook or Internet Explorer were able to communicate as easily as me but that does not seem to be the case.  This becomes glaringly obvious when I work out of a client's office for a day on one of their computers still trapped in the world of restrictive Microsoft software licenses.

What's an agent to do?

Start with your home office. Send it all to "the cloud". Pretend you don't have a hard drive on your computer. Pretend your smart phone gets stolen. How do you keep working?

This is what your customers are thinking about. If you want to properly consult with them as a respectable telecom agent or channel partner in the realm of unified communications then you need to be able to show that you as a consultant are at the forefront of UC usage in your own work world.

It's not just about selling voice & data T1 circuits or business phone systems anymore.

"UC yourself" on the cheap

While 70% your customers are likely stuck in the Microsoft world, as a consultant you don't need to fill your office with Microsoft servers and Microsoft's visions of UC software licenses to mimic the cutting edge of using UC 100%.

Click here to read a blog post from a fellow that totally UC'd himself for just $10.

While the UC solution he created may or may not be an elegant solution that a grown up business would want to adopt, it steeps the "UC consultant" (you) into what UC is really all about - the merging of email, contact records, phones and files - independent of geographic location, computer hardware or high priced IT consultants (exactly what your clients want). 

I'm taking my business to UC all the way using these and similar tools. I recommend that you do the same.

Start working with business phone service vendors that are mastering UC

I came early to the channel partners show at the special invitation of Louis Hayner of Alteva to sit through and review Alteva's Unified Communications Sales Certification program.  (Click here to read the review.)

With every vendor converstaion you have regarding selling their SIP trunk or hosted VoIP solution you need to ask, "How does the solution integrate with various types of customer's unified communications migration strategies?"

Just off the top of my head I know Alteva's deeply integrated with the whole Microsoft suite of UC applications. In Chicago, SimpleSignal demonstrated how their UC solution dovetails with their hosted VoIP solution.  Other UC-centric TA vendors include Broadview, CenturyLink, MegaPath, Smoothstone, Telesphere, Vocal IP and many others. (If I left your company out email me a link to your UC web page and I'll add you in.)

 

Party More! It's good for business (and the desire to conduct business)

While I initially thought ending each "Chicago Confidential" blog with a blurb about a Chicago music club I visited each evening would make boring telecom blogs more interesting, I actually found that visiting the clubs and being exposed to live music was a cathartic experience on many levels.

(Of course it might also have something to do with having two of three kids in college and the onset of some sort of mid-life awakening.)

In any event, the music seemed to give me energy and happiness that I took back to the trade show events the next day.  Recharged, I actually found myself looking forward to the tradeshow everyday - which has not always been the case.

Or maybe it was all just something about "Chicago".

I can strongly encourage all the vendors looking for cool after hours events and even the CP staff to take the after hour parties into the local community just like World Telecom Group (WTG) did with their Chicago Carnival on the Navy Pier.

Great stuff and great for business!

Kudos to Cbeyond as well. Their moonlight cruise on Lake Michigan with the Chicago skyline as a backdrop was also pretty awesome for the attendees.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But What Did You Learn?

I'm just one telecom agent (and future expert unified communications consultant) But I'm not even rich (as measured by money anyway) so who cares what I think. 

I learned the three items listed above but what did you learn?  If you were in Chicago last week and you learned something worth sharing please leave a short or long comment below.

 

 

TA's Other 2011 Chicago Channel Partners Expo Blog Posts

• Chicago Confidential: Final Post, What I Learned - Ask Customers for My Commission, Use Cloud to Sell Cloud & Party More!
  
  
• Chicago Confidential: Last Day - Which "Cloud" Business Phone System Pitch Sells Best & What Happens Next?
  
  
• Chicago Confidential: Day 4 - Agent Only Events, WTG's Pier Carnival & Joanna Connor at Kingston Mines
  
  
• Chicago Confidential: Day 3 - Walking the Trade Show Floor & Mississippi Heat at Buddy Guy's
  
  
• Chicago Confidential: Day 2 - Why Alteva's Certified Hosted VoIP Sales Training Looks Like a Winner & Real Chicago Music by Mr. Blotto
  
  
• Chicago Confidential: Day 1 - Alteva's Unified Communications Certification Training & Sightseeing