My TA News

Vendors Thank & Educate Top Producers at WTG's 15th Annual Agent Partner Holiday Event

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

I had the pleasure of attending World Telecom Group's 15th Annual Agent Partner Holiday Event on December 7th and can report that I learned a few hot tips (see below) from WTG's top vendors about what they'll be rolling out in 2013.  

Nancy and I also golfed, dined, danced and caroused in Vince's  VIP suite until way too late - but that'll be another blog post entirely!

Following is some of what I saw, learned and listened to during the vendor presentations.  To learn more about the benefits of WTG's master agency program, click here to view the 21-page program handout that was provided to WTG agents and guests.

To get information about becoming a WTG partner visit WTGcom.com or email.

 

CLEAR Professional - The same company that owns the Clearwire 4G nationwide wireless networks that resells services to many top consumer wireless brands appears to be getting ready to roll out a wireless broadband business solution that "lets you deploy internet service that is faster than DSL or T1 service ... in days, not weeks or months".  

Doug Smith and Greg Smith spent an hour telling us how great the service is. They shared with all the WTG agents in the audience information including case studies and prospective price points before telling us that the whole solution is still in Beta and would not be available to retail businesses through agents before March 2012.  

(After noticing my "Press" badge they also asked me not to spill any product or price beans. So please, don't try to buy any of the photos I snapped of their presentation.)

Hot 2013 Tip:  Get ready to pitch all your DSL & cable customers a "wireless T-1" in 2013.

Contact:  Greg Smith, Channel Manager, email, 208-323-3588
                    Doug Smith, email, 503-705-5829 
                    1475 120th Ave NE, Bellevue, WA 98005

 

MegaPath - Lewis Hill & Janeen Fisher shared an engaging presentation that illustrated how MegaPath Corporation operates one of the largest end-to-end communications networks in the country, providing a full range of data (Ethernet, T1, DSL, wireless and more) voice (hosted and integrated), security (UTM, MPLS, SSL) and Hosted IT (Exchange, Sharepoint, data back-up) services for small, medium and enterprise businesses nationwide. Listen to audio of presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip: Rolling out Ethernet over DS1 in 2013. MegaPath is a great "upgraded" home for all your Cbeyond customers and prospects.

Contact:  Lewis Hill, Channel manager, email, 310-683-2640
                    555 anton Blvd., Suite 200, costa Mesa, CA 92626

 

Windstream - Frank Stepczyk, Samantha Spencer, Hyla Vick and Peter Orosco shared the story about how Windstream is a nationwide, enterprise-focused communications and technology service provider with a commitment to be their customers' trusted adviser and how they deliver the right combination of smart solutions and personalized service. 

Presentation highlights included: S&P 500 company with $6 billion in annual revenue; 450,000 business customers nationwide, 150 US offices, 14,500 employees, 100,000 fiber miles, 6 NOCs & enterprise class data centers. Listen to audio of presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:  In addition to Allworx, you can access Mitel, Avaya, Cisco & Shoretel business phone system equipment solutions through Windstream next year.

Contact:  Samantha Spencer, Channel Manager, email, 310-733-2227
                    15260 Ventura Blvd., Suite 1410, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403 

 

XO Communications - Brent Lacho, Jaime Zarate, Joann Amaral and Frank Reyes shared how XO is one of the nation's leaders in providing advanced VoIP, internet, managed network and hosted IT solutions.  XO offers an award-winning partner program with outstanding benefits for XO Business Partners and offers customers the right network, the right solutions and an unrivalled focus on delivering the best customer experience.

Hot 2013 Tip:  XO's new "Concentric" division will aggressively compete against the likes of MegaPath, Cbeyond, Telesphere and others for any and all "cloud business". In 2013 you'll also see XO competing for content acceleration deals (think Netflix or YouTube) and in cloud voice deals with a hosted call center that includes predictive dialing. Listen to audio of presentation.

Contact:  Brent Lacho, Partner Business Development Manager, email, 805-499-2111 
                    818 7th St. Suite 920, Los Angeles, CA 90017 
                    Jaime Zarate, Concentric Partner Manager, email, 214-235-5700 
                    5700 Highlands Parkway SE, Smyrna, GA 30082 

 

Time Warner Cable Business Class - Robert Czech and Mike Jacobsen shared how TWCBC, a $1.4 billion division of Time Warner Cable, offers a suite of data, video and voice services to businesses of all sizes and, through its NaviSite subsidiary, managed and outsourced information technology solutions and cloud services.  TWCBC was founded in 1998, offering high-speed internet to small businesses. Today, it serves approximately 450,000 business customers throughout Time Warner Cable's markets.  Listen to presentation of audio.

Meryl Charles of TWCBS's NaviSite division also gave a quick overview of their application management solutions for enterprise customers. Listen to audio of presentation. 

Hot 2013 Tip:  TWCBC completely bypasses the LEC with their fiber and cable (DOCSIS) internet solutions for business. They don't provide MPLS but they do provide point-to-point circuits.

Contact:  Robert Czech, Partner Channel Manager, email, 303-324-3212
                    5081 5th Street, Boulder, CO 80304
                    Meryl Charles, Channels Director, email, 408-643-9470
                    2119 242nd Street SE, Bothell, WA 98021 

 

Level 3 Communications -  Rodney Nesbit, Matt Winterburn & Christopher Smith shared how L3 is a premier global provider of data, voice, video and managed services. They combine their reliable, secure network and flexibility to adapt to local requirements to provide stronger connections around the globe. They focus on understanding customers' challenges and delivering industry-leading customer service. Listen to partial audio of presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:  Level 3 is positioning itself as the "goto vendor" for global MPLS.

Contact:  Rodney Nesbit, National Channel Manager, email, 213-996-5548
                    818 West 7th Street, Suite 510, Los Angeles, CA 90017 

 

tw telecom - Greg Bean and Steve Jacknow shared how tw telecom provides industry leading data & IP services, metro Ethernet, IP networks, VoIP and managed quality of service in over 27,000 route miles of fiber in 16,000 commercial buildings in 75 markets. Listen to audio of presentation.  

Hot 2013 Tip:  twt expects to eclipse competitors by showcasing how their "Intelligent Network" enables enhanced management, dynamic capacity and applications aware networking.

Contact:  Greg Bean, Channel Sales Manager, email, 502-992-1106
                    10475 Park Meadows Drive, Littleton, CO 80124 

 

WTG/Energent - Vince Bradley, Tem Wu, Mark Sondergaard and Susan Penalvolpe shared how WTG is the #1 master agent in the US and a CRN 5 Star Vendor for Connectivity Services with the most diverse portfolio in the industry with over 100 providers in voice, data, managed services, and cloud products and services.

Specialty Divisions with dedicated extra support include Cloudology, award winning wireless/mobility, equipment, international, wholesale, cost containment (TEM, logistics and all other cost containment) and its energy division, Energent (electricity, natural gas, revenue recovery, DSM and LED lighting).

WTG agents have the ability to sell without revenue commitments or quotas. WTG is 100% partner driven and pays top commissions.  Listen to audio of presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:   WTG expects to continue as the top mobile wireless master agency in 2013. During 2012, one WTG subagent earned $127,000 in up front wireless commissions while another agent earned $70,000 on just one wireless deal.

Contact:  Email, 310-456-2200 x2, 22761 Pacific coast Highway, Suite 101, Malibu, CA 90265

 

Telesphere - Jeff Savage and Rob McCarthy shared how Telesphere is the leading provider of unified communications and leads the market by delivering a simple, flexible and powerful voice and data solution to enterprises while specializing in the convergence of multiple services including: IP communications, video, private SIP trunking and internet services over its private MPLS network. Listen to audio of presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:   Hosted VoIP agents can get Telesphere hosted VoIP service free for their offices.

Contact:  Rob McCarthy, Regional Channel manager, email, 415-962-2666
                    9237 East Via de Ventura, Suite 250, Scottsdale, AZ 85258 

 

Integra Telecom - Julie Dzubay, Paul Merritt, Stan Durst and Jack Chavira shared how Integra is one of the largest facilities-based providers of communication and networking services in the western United States. They connect businesses of all sizes with advanced technology solutions in 35 metropolitan markets. Integra owns and operates an enterprise class network consisting of a 5,000-mile long-haul fiber-optic network, 3,000-miles of metropolitan fiber and a nationwide ip/MPLS network. Their fiber connects directly to more than 2,000 commercial buildings and data centers. Through their expansive Ethernet footprint they can deliver high-bandwidth services to more than 400,000 businesses. Listen to audio of presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:    In addition to network services, Integra also supports NEC and Mitel business phone system solutions.

Contact:  Paul Merritt, Director Indirect Sales - West, email, 425-970-7145
                    700 SW 39th Street, Suite 200, Renton, WA 98057 

 

Masergy - Josh Garland, Dan McGarry and Randy Clark shared how Masergy provides managed, secure global network and cloud communications services to enterprises across multiple locations. Masergy's integrated network and software solutions enable customers to seamlessly deploy and manage unified communications on a global basis.  Listen to audio of the presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:     Average Masergy deals in 2013 are expected to bill between $15,000 and $25,000 per month. To learn the "6 Screening Questions" to ask your existing customers to learn if they're Masergy prospects listen to 7:10 in this audio presentation or review this screen shot.

Contact:  Dan McGarry, Director - Channel Development, email, 415-671-6325
                    601 Mongomery St. Suite 2010, San Francisco, CA 94111 

 

Telx - Kirk Horton, Alina Adamian and Mark Jiannino shared how Telx is a leading provider of interconnection and data center services in strategic, high demand North American markets.  With 17 premier C3 Cloud Connection Centers, Telx increases speed to market and reduces connectivity costs by providing direct connections to a community of the industry's highest performance networks and access to 1,000+ customers.  Listen to audio of the presentation.

Hot 2013 Tip:   Telx is opening the Seattle market in April 2013. Presell agreements earn a 1x MRC spiff for a 12 month agreement and a 2x MRC spiff for a 36 month contract. 

Contact:  Kirk Horton, VP Channels, email, 415-466-0554
                    2820 Northwestern Parkway, Santa Clara, CA 95051
                    Mark Jiannino, channel Sales Director - West, email, 562-896-9373
                    600 West 7th Street, 1st Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90017 

 

Comcast Business Class - Charlie Rodriguez & Nick Tornetta shared how Comcast Business Class offers internet, Ethernet, voice and TV for business with internet speeds up to 66 times faster than standard DSL and T1, Ethernet up to 10 GBPS, a variety of voice options and TA.  Listen to audio of the presentation.

Comcast sponsored the big Ciena truck to showcase their network. Listen to the audio tour of the Ciena truck.

Hot 2013 Tip:  While Comcast offers plays in the 10 meg to 10 gig customer bandwidth range, it's in the 10 meg range where they feel their pricing can't be beat.

Contact:  Charlie Rodriguez, Partner Channel Manager, email, 925-371-3523
                    3055 Comcast Place, Livermore, CA 94551 

New Telesphere Managers Help Agents Win Mid-Market UC Deals From PBX Box Vendors Like Avaya & NEC

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

Telesphere, a nationwide provider of hosted IP telephony services and unified cloud-based communications solutions based in Arizona, is helping experienced agents better compete against unified communications ("UC") box vendors like Avaya and NEC in the mid-markets with two new management hires.

Industry veterans Josh Redick and Rob McCarthy, based in New York City and San Francisco respectively, are being very well received in the agent community. They seem to be re-introducing Telesphere's UC solutions to the agent community just as successful agents are moving into the mid-market where hosted VoIP proposals need more than low price and/or free IP phones to compete against the likes of Avaya, Cisco, NEC and Asterisk.

Following are quotes from successful agents about Telesphere's new hires.

“After meeting with Josh and the other members of the Telesphere team during the Channel Partner Show in Orlando,  I am super excited to be working with Telesphere and we have big plans in regards to this partnership.” – Gina Pigott, CEO, MPG Management Associates Group

“I have worked with Rob McCarthy for years and was pleased when he moved to Telesphere. We are currently working on both marketing and integration projects with Telesphere that will create significant value for our agents, thanks to Rob.  Rob has brought an innovative edge to Telesphere needed as agents support their customers’ move to the cloud.” --Jeffery Ponts, Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Datatel Solutions, Inc. 

 “ACE Consulting Group has had a longstanding, excellent relationship with Josh Redick.  He is a consummate professional and industry veteran.  As a new regional manager with Telesphere, we are pleased  he has decided to join their team.”  - Lou DiMuzio, President & Managing Partner

Redick and McCarthy join four existing Telesphere managers Dan Maier (Denver), Skyler Stewart (Phoenix), John Callaway (Phoenix) and Scott Bahnson (Minneapolis).   In addition to these six, Telespere is looking to add four additional channel managers in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas/Houston and LA.

What Do These Hires Signal About Changes in the Marketplace?

I've spoken directly to a couple respected agents about these hires and both agents are now actively working Telesphere into their 2012/2013 marketing plans.  Based on my recent conversations, the following are my personal take aways from an agent's point of view.

 

1. Telesphere should be considered for mid-market UC deals.

Over the past year whenever I've spoken to mid-market and multi-location agents about which carriers they pitch in larger UC deals when they're up against PBX box vendors like Avaya or NEC, many like Smoothstone/West IP if it's a large "rip & replace" deal or Vocal IP if the deal requires a customized voice integration with existing systems and equipment.

Telesphere has always branded itself as a "unified communications" company just as Smoothstone always has but because Telesphere rolled itself out city-by-city (much in the same way Cbeyond did) many agents have always seen Telesphere as a regional powerhouse in especially in the Southwest and Mountain states.

Telesphere's biggest agent over the past 8 years, Concierge Communications, is also based in Arizona.  But just as Concierge is seen by many in the industry as an integrated solution provider that can service mid-sized, nationwide clients, so too is Telesphere beginning to be seen as a nationwide UC provider.

For the longest time the best mid-market and enterprise UC customers have been locked up by the PBX box vendors combined with AT&T, Verizon or Level3.  As credible UC/cloud integrators like Concierge bring Telesphere into bigger deals, mid-market PBX VARs are seeing they will either need to bring the likes of Telesphere and other hosted UC providers into their proposals or find themselves competing against the likes of Clark Atwood.

 

2. Telesphere should be considered for nationwide Broadsoft deals.

I've spent quite some time over the past couple years trying to divine the differences among all the hosted VoIP and "unified communications" service providers in the marketplace. The best way I've found to separate one from another seems to be by these four categories: underlying platform, network coverage, integrated applications and pricing.

Regarding underlying platform, Telesphere is in the Broadsoft camp which means all their "communications magic" comes out of a proprietary Broadsoft platform. (Broadsoft also powers Vocal IP, MegaPath, Alteva, SimpleSignal and other providers wanting to claim credibility in mid-market deals.)  In my humble opinion, Broadsoft has established itself as the "carrier grade" universal standard against which all others VoIP switch manufacturers are measured.

By contrast, Smoothstone/WestIP and Broadview Networks, two other well known solution providers are "non-Broadsoft".  The only real knock that I've heard repeated about non-Broadsoft switch technology is that "it doesn't scale past 10,000 seats" or "what happens if their programmers quit?"  The top argument for non-Broadsoft switches are the fact that the code is highly customizable for mid-market customers that need specialized code written to integrate critical business applications.

Without trying to end the "Broadsoft vs. non-Broadsoft" argument, suffice it to say that Telesphere is in the Broadsoft camp and many mid-market customers and their telephony consultants will only consider Broadsoft solutions.

The second major UC/hosted VoIP differentiation category is network coverage and in this category Telesphere appears to be as big as they come in the Broadsoft category meaning "nationwide for all practical purposes".

In the old TDM/Class 5 "hard switch" days, phone carriers bragged about all their 5ESS or DMS500 switches like Jay Leno brags about all his cars. In today's "softswitch" world where carrier switches are defined by software, measuring "who's the biggest" is a bit more difficult. I've been told that Broadsoft switches actually come in "pairs" such that one switch can cover two separate cities.

For regional businesses this only matters if you're considering doing business with a company that appears to have their switches in a distant land. For instance, TelePacific is a classic business phone company in California that totally dominates the California marketplace. When they roll out a hosted VoIP solution later this year they will put a serious hurt on non-California based hosted VoIP carriers trying to compete in California.

But as great as Telepacific is in California, few businesses in New York would think to ask TelePacific for a phone system quote (but they would ask for one from Broadview Networks, a classic business phone company based in New York that has since rolled out a nationwide hosted VoIP phone solution.)

But what's a true nationwide multi-location business to do for nationwide business phone service? If most of your locations are in New York you'd start with Broadview and if most of your locations are in California you'd start with TelePacific. But if your locations are evenly spread over the whole country you need to call on a unified communications provider that can do the whole country.  Telesphere is positioning itself for credible consideration in this category.

The other "nationwide voice carriers" are XO, PAETEC/Windstream, CenturyLink, Level3, AT&T and Verizon but they are not known for their expertise in integrating voice applications which is the foundation of "unified communications".  This is where the big PBX box vendors dominate. They tell customers, "Buy lots of our voice boxes and then put them on your nationwide data network and you're done."  

But what if your nationwide customers want a single-vendor unified communications solution without having to buy dozens or hundreds of PBXs?"  That's when you call Telesphere and Telesphere's mid-market "hosted UC" competitors.

How does Telesphere fair on the third and fourth differentiators of integrated applications and price? I'm not totally sure, one agent I talked to really liked Telesphere's CRM (customer relationship management - e.g. Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics) and collaboration (chat, IM, conferencing) integrations but readily admitted he did not have a rich frame of reference with regard to Telesphere's competitors.

As Telesphere is Broadsoft based, it's reasonably safe to assume that their application integrations are bullet-proof (Broadsoft dosn't roll stuff out that doesn't work) and probably feel alot like what other Broadsoft based providers offer.

Regarding price, when carriers get into the mid-market they're going to price any deal based on both their hard and soft costs to get the deal. Broadsoft based providers are generally higher priced than non-Broadsoft providers due to the extra Broadsoft licensing they have to pay for. But since the dominant hosted UC player in the industry (Smoothstone/WestIP) is known for their high prices even though they're  non-Broadsoft based, I'd look to Telesphere to be trading some margin for market share especially as they try to pick up deals in New York City and the California Bay Area.

 

Hosted VoIP vs. IP-PBX RFP for 23 Seat CPA Needs Hosted VoIP Proposals: Can You Compete and Win?

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

As many of you know, in addition to running Telecom Association I'm also an active agent and telecom consultant. (You can view my agent consultant website at www.BaldwinTel.com.)

About a month ago I secured a non-commissioned consulting client that wanted me to help them sort through seven premises based IP-PBX phone system proposals they had received to replace their 14-year old Executone business phone system.  

Over the past month I've reviewed their existing proposals and interviewed them about what they were trying to get from their new phone system.

 

What They Have & What They Want

Their business is not all that complicated - they're a CPA/accounting firm with just one location that needs 22 phones replaced.  Two of their owners like to work remotely from a home office and they'd like to have the option of having more employees work from home.

What they like most about their current Executone phone system is their ability to "park" a call and then "all page" to get another person to pick up the phone.

What they like least about their Executone is that it's old and they don't want to buy any more old replacement parts for a 14-year old phone system.

Their voice and data network services are currently being provided by TelePacific - eight SmartVoice analogue voice lines provisioned as part of a 4.0 meg EoC ("Ethernet over Copper") circuit. TelePacific has advised the client that they can convert the 8 analogue lines to either SIP or PRI for a one-time charge of $200. Their TelePacific agreement expires in January 2013.

While they don't have a burning need for all the new VoIP phone features they hear about, they certainly want to be able to take advantage of them as they learn how to use them.

 

Which IP-PBX Business Phone Systems They're Considering

Following are the IP-PBX proposals they have on hand or are waiting for:

1. Avaya IP Office
2. Mitel 5000
3. Samsung OfficeServ 7200
4. Star2Star Starbox 2200
5. NEC SV8100
6. Vertical MBX, and
7. 3CX (the dealer dropped out - we need a new 3CX dealer)
8. Allworx
9. BandTel SIPTrex

While they certainly seem to want to buy another premises based system (since they got 14 years of life out of their Executone),  I told them that they really should look at a couple hosted VoIP solutions. While they had not been approached by any hosted VoIP dealers, they said they were certainly interested in knowing if hosted VoIP was a better deal over the IP-PBX proposals they have.

 

Can You Propose a Hosted VoIP Solution that Beats IP-PBX?

Since the customer's paying me directly to help them evaluate prospective vendors I can't represent any hosted VoIP solutions myself but I can invite hosted VoIP solution partners or vendors to review the RFP ("request for proposal") I've created and bid directly themselves if they seem to be a decent fit for the client.

Following are the hosted VoIP vendors that are considering the RFP:

1. RealLinx
2. Cloud Connect

I'd like to include the following hosted VoIP vendors if I can find an agent or partner to do the RFP:

1. Broadview
2. Megapath/Speakeasy
3. Telesphere
4. SimpleSignal
5. 8x8

If you're an experienced agent partner of Broadview, MegaPath/Speakeasy, Telesphere, SimpleSignal or 8x8, or you're an experienced partner of another hosted VoIP solution provider that is well matched to the SMB/small business marketplace and would like to take a look at the RFP and perhaps submit, please send me an email to Dan@BaldwinTel.com.

The RFP is reasonably simple and should not take you more than 60 minutes to complete.  Let me know if you're interested. I need all RFPs complete by July 13th. 

Done-for-You Marketing: 2012 Nationwide Local Business Phone Service Buyer's Guide for SMBs

By Dan Baldwin, Editor
951-251-5155 email

(Note: This is posted at BusinessPhoneNews.com and is designed as "done-for-you" marketing that authorized TA members can use on their end-user blogs and email newsletters.)

Click here to view a list of vendors and partners that specialize in providing business phone service to multi-location, nationwide businesses.

If you're looking for metro specific buying information check our metro specific directory.

For the purposes of this buyer's guide, "Local Business Phone Service" is defined as the service connected to a local phone number used for making and receiving voice phone calls over a "land line". The "Nationwide" part means the company providing the phone service can pretty much provide and manage any phone number anywhere in the US.

A nationwide local business phone service vendor or channel sales partner (AKA telecom agent, broker, consultant, etc.) works with multi-location businesses that want a single point of contact to work with "all their phone companies".

 

"Nationwide Local" vs. "Local Local"

The local phone companies most business customers use are what I call "local local" phone companies because they provide local phone service but they only do it in their "local" area. Now granted the old "Ma Bell" or RBOC's (regional Bell operating company) like AT&T, Verizon and CenturyLink's "local" areas cover dozens of states each, but none of them cover ALL the states and they don't overlap each other's local territories.

As well, the alternate "competitive local phone companies" or CLECs that sprung up after the 1996 deregulation of local phone service (XO, PAETEC, Windsteam, Broadview, etc.) are all generally "land locked" to some local "on-net" footprint where they can provide dial-tone service from their own network and switching equipment.

Cable companies like Comcast, Time Warner Cable and others suffer the same "on-net" challenges. They might provide fine business phone service in one area but they do not provide service to other areas. The ILECs or independent local phone companies that serve rural areas fall into the same boat.

The obvious problem for multi-location businesses with office locations in multiple phone company local areas is that they need to work with multiple different phone companies to coordinate the dial-tone for their multiple offices.  Multi-location companies that want to have a single dialing plan and a "single phone system" that works over any phone line provisioned by any phone company throughout their multiple locations needs to work with a "nationwide local business phone service" vendor or sales partner.

 

Who Provides Nationwide Local Phone Service?  IP Carriers and Resellers

"IP carriers" (the IP stands for Internet protocol) are companies like AireSpring, Alteva, MegaPath, Smoothstone, Telesphere and others that use "softswitch" phone technology from the likes of Broadsoft, Metaswitch, Asterisk or similar to provision business phone service anywhere in the US using private high-speed data networks and/or the public Internet.

Many of today's IP carriers started out as CLECs or resellers. Many of today's biggest phone companies are also rolling out IP carrier solutions. In five or ten years it is predicted that all phone service will be provided via some flavor of IP carrier solution because the "old phone system", the copper wire one put in the ground over the last 100 years, is just too expensive to maintain.

"Resellers" are companies like PowerNet Global, GLOBALINX, TouchTone, Ernest Group, Wholesale Carrier Services, Granite, BullsEye, Lightyear, TNCI and others that generally own some of their own network but who also "resell" the networks of the larger "facilities based" RBOC and CLEC providers.

 

Which Type of Nationwide Local Phone Company is Best For Your Multi-Location Business?

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:

*************

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.

Chicago Confidential: Last Day - Which "Cloud" Business Phone System Pitch Sells Best & What Happens Next?

Posted 8/26/11 By Dan Baldwin
TA Executive Director, 951-251-5155

The promise of learning the best way to sell Alteva's unified communications business VoIP phone system "in-the-cloud" is what got me out of my office this week and to the semi-annual Channel Partners trade show hosted this Fall in Chicago.

I sat through two days of Alteva's Sales Certification program for one reason, to learn the best "cloud services" business phone system pitch so I could get busy selling more "cloud solutions" to all my customers that are supposedly just waiting to hear the right sales pitch to "buy some cloud" which will no doubt solve all their IT headaches.

While I'm sure we can all agree that the best VoIP/SIP/Cloud business phone system and related applications will be determined by more than just an "elevator pitch" - the biggest customer sale starts with an elevator pitch.

 

Who's Got the Best Business VoIP Phone System "Elevator Pitch"

So to make the best time of the last day of the trade show I went booth to booth recording every VoIP business phone system pitch I could find in order to hear (and them learn) the best one.

The following TA vendor members that provide business VoIP or "cloud" phone services are presented in alphabetic order.

Which one do you think is best?  Please leave a comment below. 

 

AireSpring

Ron McNab of AireSpring

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Alteva

Peter Caperonis of Alteva

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GLOBALINX

Michael Machonkin of GLOBALINX

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MegaPath

Ross Anderson of MegaPath

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Simple Signal

Dave Gilbert of SimpleSignal

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TouchTone

Steve Kaplan of TouchTone

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Vocal IP

Josh Redick of Vocal IP

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Other Services Complimentary to Hosted VoIP 

AireSpring's MPLS Mesh Service

Ron McNab of AireSpring

*****************************************************************************

 

Ben Bronston, Telecom Lawyer

Ben Bronston, Telecom Lawyer

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Granite

Charlie Pagliazzo of Granite Telecom

 

What Happens Next? 

As telecom agents and channel partners it's our job to "learn the pitches" and sell the heck out of this stuff.

While certainly most telecom customers are going to want to dig all the way down to the nitty gritty (with your help) to find the best service providers for their unique position in the market, it's our job as professional independent sales advisers to help our customers understand which three vendors they start their conversations with.

That's where a good "elevator pitch" comes in.

So pick your favorite couple hosted VoIP and unified communications providers, learn their pitch, sell their stuff - and then tell me all about it at the next Channel Partners trade show in Vegas!

Telesphere Shares their SIP/Hosted VoIP Competitive Advantages at San Diego Master Agent Lunch & Learn (Watch Video)

Posted 3/9/11 By Dan Baldwin, TA Executive Director

I had the opportuity last month to attend and video tape a "Lunch and Learn" put on by Telesphere's Jeff Savage and Joe Testa for the San Diego based master agency ATEL Communications hosted by Andrew Cohen.

The best part of the presentation was the half-dozen case studies that were presented that really showcased where Telesphere had positioned itself as a fierce competitor in the SIP trunk and hosted VoIP space.

If you're a telecom agent, channel partner or IT consultant that specializes in multi-location business customers and their business phone sytems and local phone services you should really watch this video tape presentation of Telesphere's partner program so you can see how it compares to the ones you know or if you find yourself competing against them.

Click here or the image below to watch the video at TA's new TELEPEDIA.org site.

Click here or the image above to watch the video at TA's new TELEPEDIA.org site.

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Vegas Dance Card: Who to Meet with at the Channel Partners Conference

By Dan Baldwin, TA Executive Director
951-251-5155 email, Posted 3/1/11

If you're going to the Channel Partners Conference in Vegas this month, check out the following from your fellow TA members and vendors.  Check VegasDanceCard.com  daily for updates through the end of the show.  Scroll below to learn how to get listed.

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Here's the "Best of Show" from TA's Vendors & Members!

 

Training

"Grow" Annual Agent Conference by Telarus, Saturday, March 13, 1:30 pm to 7pm - Learn about new technology, new rewards and best agent practices. Dinner sponsored by Vocal IP. Register here...

 

Energy Institute: The Channel's Next Frontier by WTG, Sunday, March 13, 9 am -WTG/Energent CEO Vince Bradley will detail the differences between energy & telecom.

 

Trends and Changes on the Infrastructure Horizon by Qwest, Sunday, March 13, 2:30 pm to 3:20 pm

 

MPLS University by MegaPath, Monday, March 14, 9 am to Noon RSVP

 

Enterprise Cloud Migration Case Study, by Smoothstone, Monday, March 14, 2pm.  Hear a real-life story from a customer who has made the migration to a cloud-based enterprise communications.   Register...

 

 

Parties

San Diego: Top Area Agents Meet at Telesphere/ATEL Lunch & Learn

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

While everyone likes to go to the big national tradeshows to get out of town, the serious action for several years has been happening at the local metro lunch & learns where the telecom vendors get personal one-on-one time with an areas biggest voice and data telecom agents, channel partners, applications brokers and IT consultants.

Next Tuesday, February 22nd, all that action's going to be happening at ATEL Communications when they play host to Telesphere.  

If you're a voice & data "Big Dog" in San Diego, make sure you RSVP for this event and then go visit with Telesphere next Tuesday in the company of your peers.

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Here's some of what you'll learn as submitted by Telesphere's Joe Testa:

Overview of how Telesphere  provides unique voice and data services over  a private IP network. We are building the nation’s largest hosted PBX business phone service for unified communications. We'll also cover our financial overview as well as how we integrate the office phone, computer and mobile devices utilizing FMC or fixed mobile convergence.  Cloud communications enables wireline and wireless convergence.  One of the  largest providers of voice services over the Broadsoft Platform, in which Broadsoft is the world leader in hosted IP platforms and solutions.

Trends and other industry information, hosted IP services market share, hosted IP revenue. Some key features, Speak to dial, fax to email, dial from webpage, call center solutions, hosted call recording.

Whats in it for you, the telecom agent, channel partner & IT consultant by partnering with ATEL Communications and Telesphere.. Diversification of your financial portfolio, residual income on both the network and phone equipment. Telesphere has less than a 1% churn and an average life of a customer is 8 plus years. Residuals paid for the lifetime of a customer. 

RSVP for this event One attendee will win an iPad!

Telesphere - News Template Title, Body and Footer

News Template: Title 

1.  Title - In the title above please make the first word the main vendor or service category name that this news story is about followed by a colon followed by a competting title.

For example:

AireSpring: New February Promotions Announced topping $1,000 per order

or 

Video Conferencing: A+ Rolls Out Affordable, High-Quality Desk-Top Conferencing

Leading with the main category makes it easier for readers of TA's Daily Digest Email Newsletter to quickly scan all headlines and then click on the ones that are important to them. The Daily Digest comes ouot the day following the news post. If you want to go back and change your archived news post headline after the Daily Digest has gone out, that's fine.

 

News Template: Body

2. Opening Summary - The first 400 characters (not words) of the body will appear in the Daily Digest Email Newsletter so you want it to lead with keywords, action verbs and whatever is compelling to agents about your news so they will feel compelled to "click here to read whole article".  Feel free to include hyperlinks in the opening summary of they add value.

3. Images - If you have images within the first 400 characters they will appear in the Daily Digest Email (which is good) because that will draw the readers eye to your news. I good size for these images is about 120 x90 pixels. After the first 400 characters images can be no wider than 565 pixels.

4. Font Defaults - When you create a news story from scratch in our portal, when you click "preview" you'll see the default post font is 12 point Arial with one and a half line spacing. 

5. Using Your Own HTML - Feel free to use your own HTML by simply pasting it into the HTML window. This is the ony way to get tables in.

6. Width Limit is 570 Pixels - Anything wider won't appear when viewers view your post atwww.myTAnews.com. 

7. Audio & Video - Feel free to use embed code below the first 400 characters.

8. Vendor Footer - Cut & past in the vendor footer we've created for you that you can see below.

9. Category Choice - In the category window in the right column please choose your vendor name along with any services and/or metros clearly mentioned in the news article.  Please don't "category spam" by over clicking categories that are not the main topic of your news post.  It's better to do a separate news post for different categories you want to cover as we are getting our audience to "category subscribe".  When "category searchers" come across your news it needs to be about that category.  TA is open to adding categories if it seems appropriate. Let us know what you need.

10. Keyword Choice - Where as categories are predefined, keywords are up to you. Whatever Internet searchers are searching for (where your business is the answer) should be your keywords. don't use keywords though unless the keywords are actually in your news post in a meaningful way.

11. Edit Your Permalink - The "permalink" for your post appears under the title bar and is automatically generated. Before you do your final publish you should edit the permalink and put in as many keywords from you news post as is appropriate. This will drive more web search to your post.

12. Promote Your News Link to Your Own Social Media Audiences - Shorten your permalink atbit.ly and then Tweet it out on Twitter and then post it to your LinkedIn account and Facebook page as news.

13. Promote Your News Link - Let everyone know they can read all your news at myTAnews.com/(vendorname). Feel free to post this link on your own website.

11. Need Help? - Contact Kathleen Brown at 951-296-3870 or Dan Baldwin at 951-251-5155.

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About Telesphere

There are a lot of great agents out there. Are you one of the best? If you are a communications agent that focuses on consultative selling, a phone vendor that wants to expand into a managed VoIP service, or an IT consulting firm that wants to offer true convergence to your clients, you have come to the right place.

Telesphere's agent program features:

• Independent agreements
• No quotas
• Local channel managers to assist with product knowledge, proposals, and order processing
• List of master agencies for additional support if desired
• 100% track record of paying agents on time
• Get paid on the network AND the phone/equipment – earn nearly four times more!
• Upfront commissions + residual + phone spiff
• Residual commissions for the life of the customer up to 20%
• Strong financial backing from telecom industry pioneers
• Annual President’s Club trip
• Agent Portal with access to pricing, collateral, commissions, order tracking, product info
• Monthly training & product webinars
• Nationwide footprint
• Strong financial backing
• Engineering & executive team support for larger opportunities
• Nationwide on-demand live or webinar training

For more information on Telesphere’s Agent Program, please contact us.

For more information, contact Jeff Savage, VP of Sales, at 480-385-7050, jsavage@telesphere.com, or visit Telesphere’s corporate or agent web site, LinkedIn, LinkedIn Group, Twitter, Facebook, Blog Posts, or TA Index Page.  Telesphere’s Email News: view, subscribe.