agents

TCA Channel Chief Summit

April 7, 2010

On Tuesday, the TCA Board gets together with the executives in charge of the channel of the TCA Vendor companies - Level3, XO, Motorola, Qwest, US Signal, SalesStream, NetWolves, Intercall and Global Crossing.

What's up for discussion? Raising the Bar for the Indirect Channel and Taking the Channel to a new level of performance and results. That's the marketing answer.

How to increase value in the ChannelHow to increase effectiveness of Channel PartnersSales ResearchCode of Ethics and the Certified Agent ProgramIt's going to be a full day and a half. You should have joined so that you could be there. Maybe next time.

Posted in TCA, agents, channel

Why Buy From an Agent?

April 7, 2010

As I start preparing for the TCA Channel Chief Summit next week, I have been reviewing the topics for discussion. One that pops in my head is Why Buy From an Agent instead of a Direct Rep?

In review of my client roster, many came to me because I had a deeper understanding of the products I was selling than most AE's. In fact, early in my career, I was brought in to a number of deals because of my knowledge of not just the product offering but also all the pieces that were required by the client to make that work.

Lately, it's a price game. VoIP Origination and Termination, Internet Bandwidth and transport (private line, MPLS, waves) - it comes down to availability and price.

Posted in agents, bandwidth, channel, sales and selling

An Interview with MegaPath

April 2, 2010

This is the raw footage of an interview with Dan Foster, Chief Sales and Marketing Officer at MegaPath Inc., that we did yesterday.

The first question is about the bundling of the SUTUS Business Central 200 for the Channel. MegaPath's priority is Inter-operability with IP-PBX vendors like SUTUS. MegaPath is the SIP Trunking Partner, pushing leads back to the VAR/Integrator/dealer network, including a rebate off the hardware (if available).

Posted in CLEC, PBX, agents, bandwidth, broadband, broadsoft, channel

ATC Assists TCA With Code of Ethics

March 30, 2010

ATC Instrumental in Collaborative Effort to Formalize Technology Channel Association's Code of Ethics

Association's Agent Committee Finalizes Professional Guidelines for Telecom Agents

Advanced Technology Consulting, Inc. today announced its critical involvement in a national, collaborative effort to formalize the Technology Channel Association's (TCA) Code of Ethics.

Posted in TCA, agents, channel

Channel Chief Summit

March 11, 2010

The Technology Channel Association, the only not-for-profit agent trade association, is holding the first ever Channel Chief Summit on April 13th. This is an exclusive event for the TCA vendor members to some together to discuss best practices in the Channel. Other topics will include the Certified Agent Program and the Code of Ethics that TCA committees have been working on.

If you are interested in attending, please contact me at 813-963-5884 or visit the TCA website at tcasite.org.

Posted in TCA, agents, channel

TCA Agents Ratify Code of Ethics

March 5, 2010

The Technology Channel Association's Agent Committee has ratified the Code of Ethics. (Download a copy here). The Code of Ethics must now be approved by the Board of Trustees. The Code of Ethics is the first step in the creation of a certificate program for Agents. One of the goals of TCA is to bring to market a Certified Agent program that will bring skills, knowledge and professionalism to the Channel.

Posted in TCA, agents, channel

Finding Your Best Clients

March 4, 2010

My agent pal, Dave, asked me how I find my clients. My first answer is that I sell only to a very specific vertical -- a Niche. And only to three verticals within that Niche - VoIP, regional CLEC and ISP.

Look at your client base. Who are your top 5 or 10 clients?

Posted in Marketing, agents, sales and selling

Channel Partners Need a Net-Head

March 1, 2010

Arrived in Vegas for the Channel Partners Expo (in conjunction with VoIP Nation). Seems everyone I speak with is looking for sales. We have at least as many channel agents as we have always had, so why the growing need for sales?

I think one reason is that most of the channel partners are TDM. Plug and play.

Posted in Internet, PBX, VAR, agents, bandwidth, cellular, channel, conferencing, fiber, saas, telecommunications, wi-fi, wireless

Changing the Cable Channels

February 23, 2010

As we head into the Channel Partners Expo in Vegas, we get the story of an agent being played by a carrier. Now it's not that unusual for agents to have carrier commission collection issues. There have been many stories about it in the last 18 months. What makes this unusual is that the carrier is a cable company.

Posted in agents, cableco, channel, commissions

What Do You Need to Know?

February 16, 2010

On a discussion today about certification training for agents under the TCA umbrella, we talked about what kind of training will it be.

Years ago, there was a CSP certification for agents that was created by Virgo (Phone+), Dale Stein of TAG, and Scott Levy. It didn't get much traction. Some think because of the money, but I think it's because agents don't want training.

How many agents think about the Industry, the Indirect Channel?

Posted in Internet, TCA, agents, channel, fiber, sales and selling, unified communications

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