agents

Can You Guess the Carrier

March 13, 2009

Telecom is broken. I can't remember the last time an order went smooth. Well, wait, I can actually, it was a BellSouth Metro E. The REUC order center for BellSouth FCC circuits really knows how to work an order. For 10 years that group in Sunrise FL has been outstanding to work with.

Posted in agents, bellsouth agent, telco, telecommunications

Where's ACC Business Going?

March 12, 2009

ACC Business is a subsidiary of AT&T. It uses the AT&T network to provide voice, data and Internet services to small and medium business via agents only. ACC Biz does not have a direct sales force. Tech support and billing through ACC Biz is actually more customer friendly than using AT&T.

Posted in agents, channel, telco, telecommunications

Correction on Airband

March 11, 2009

As it turns out, Airband is NOT leaving the Indirect Channel altogether. My source corrected me that Airband did let two channel managers (East and West), but that these C.M.'s were not making their numbers. Airband did retain the channel manager in Dallas and is interviewing internally to fill a channel manager position. Airband will be putting some more focus on it. Maybe that focus is the result of the extra $3M in funding Airband got last month.

Final quote, "Just thought I would let you know it looks like they may have been shedding some dead weight, but not eliminating the channel all together." Thanks for letting me know.

Posted in agents, channel

AT&T Striking and Hiding

March 11, 2009

It looks like AT&T is heading for a strike. Most people at AT&T I know have already been cross trained (I use that term loosely) to handle union jobs. A wholesale account manager will be heading to Michigan to be a T1 installer. Nice. Glad I don't have any AT&T orders in the system.

Also, it looks like AT&T is keeping its sales meetings quiet.

Posted in agents, bellsouth agent, channel, telco, wireline

What Would You Do?

March 9, 2009

Let's say you had a Channel Manager who only checked email twice a day: 6 AM or 7 PM. Nothing in-between. You couldn't get much response out of him outside of that. It's affecting your ability to get quotes and answers and time to process orders.

Now let's say that you Google his phone number and find out that he has a second profession. Not just a Channel Manager but a whole second career. Wow!

What would you do?

The picture on the website for his second job clearly identifies him as the channel manager you have met. The contact info on his websites are identical to the ones on his telecom business card.

What would you do?

Posted in agents, channel

When the Agent Contract is Broken

March 9, 2009

At the Channel Partners Expo in Vegas last week, I helped man the booth for the newly formed Technology Channel Association, a non-profit agent association that was formed to create a community for best practices, a code of ethics, and solid training of the indirect channel.

Regrettably, the TCA received two separate pleas for help from agents. Both agents were no longer receiving commissions from a carrier.

In one case, the agent was wearing a shirt to advertise the lost commissions. The word I heard was that he had failed to meet quota for a few months.

Posted in TCA, agents, channel, commissions

Airband Says Bye-Bye to Channel

March 7, 2009

This was in my email inbox today:

Airband has decided to move in a direction which doesn't require Channel Managers. In this economy, tough decisions have to be made, in an effort to reduce SG&A expenses I will no longer be employed with Airband. Airband has an awesome product, granted it appears Airband is on the "bleeding edge" of the WiMAX space. They are attempting to get the processes in place to make the bleeding edge comment disappear. I am sure you will be contacted and served possibly by Direct Sales. I trust you will give them assistance in learning how we, Agents, conduct business.

Correction written here. (It was just a re-alignment of the channel).

Posted in agents, channel, economy, wimax, wireless

Embarq Changes Recurring Conditions

March 3, 2009

Starting in April, any accounts that fall out of contract will no longer receive a commission from Embarq. So you will need to stay on top of your contract re-casting.

It's a PITA because not every carrier pays for re-casts. But ILEC's are funny and this one will be CenturyTel soon, so who knows what that will lead to.

You should be using CRM any way to track your sales activity as well as when contracts renew. (I have gotten really lax at this myself).

Want a free CRM? Zoho has up to 3 users free, plus Zoho Business is free too. Let me know if you are giving it a shot.

Posted in agents, commissions

Working Channel Partners in Vegas

March 3, 2009

When you attend the Channel Partners Expo in Vegas, you have to bring your A game. (Rich Tehrani who is doing Channel Partners and CompTel is in a whole other league!) There are meetings from morning till evening. Parties and dinners. Gambling and shows. It puts your legs to the test, especially when Starbucks at the Rio is so full its SRO (standing room only).

Posted in agents, channel, expo

An Excel-lent SUTUS Bundle for SMB's

March 2, 2009

SUTUS, the maker's of the Business Central 200 office-in-a-box, have announced inter-operability with Excel SIP Trunking. The real news for the marketplace is that Excel and SUTUS (along with Polycom) are bundling a system for small business.

The Business Central 200 is developed specifically for businesses of up to 25 employees, Sutus Business Central™ comprises a wide array of advanced telephony, data and networking functions. It includes a business-class phone system, file server, email server, router, firewall, wireless access point, VPN remote access server, and automated backups. It has the ability to simultaneously support both standard phone line and VoIP connections and comes with an array of business productivity features.

Posted in PBX, VAR, agents, channel, economy, sip trunking, smb, telecommunications

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