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If you are a channel agent or a VAR or a service provider looking for a VoIP Provider to be your VoIP provider, there are 6 questions to think about:

1. Do you want to White Label, wholesale or a retail package?
2. Will you be serving consumers or businesses?
3. Will it be POTS replacement or Hosted PBX?
4. Will you be selling PBX, phones and other hardware?
5. Do you want to do Tier 1 support?
6. How will you sell it? (Or do you have a sales team?)

While many ITSP's (Internet Telephony Service Providers) can do all of it - white label, wholesale, retail, hosted PBX, analog replacement - it is difficult for each to excel at all of that. And you don't want to get half way down the road to have your vendor shift gears and the wheels fall off.

Support is key because "the blinking light" syndrome means that you will be getting calls about "how do I do that?" or "why can't I dial long distance?" So it's good to define responsibilities (and what is Tier 1 support).

Why know your market? Because most ITSP's have not designed an offering to compete against Vonage, Magic Jack or the cable companies. (And besides B2B is way more profitable).

The last question is real: How will you sell it? If you have 100 clients, only 10-20% are going to convert without some type of sales effort. And that doesn't amount to many lines for all of the effort that both you and your vendor will be expending to get this partnership moving forward.

I have seen far too many ITSP's bring on numerous agents/resellers/VAR's/partners, only to see lots of start up activity that never converts to enough sales activity to account for the effort.

If you are a carrier or a Master Agent, do you need more agents or do you need to give a lift to the ones you have?

There's a sales management theorem that when you use Pareto's Principle, you should spend you time with the Top 20% of your sales force not the bottom 20%. Why? Because the people bringing 80% of your sales are the ones you want to keep happy. Also, the more efficient and less bumpy you can make the sales process for them, the better for all the sales team, but especially the top dogs.

If you have a bunch of agents who signed up, what are you doing with them? Is your Channel Manager talking with them? What's he saying? The more you know about their business, the bigger the opportunity for you to actually work together.

Knowing the goals and strategy of your agents can help you target training, leads, case studies, white papers, and tips to them. The more relevant, the better.

Right now, I would be looking to add value to my agent channel. How?

1. Seminar with a tax specialist right now.
2. Seminar with a Financial Planner about IRA and the market
3. Seminar with a sales trainer for improvement in Consultative Selling

What? None of this has to do with telecom, you say? No kidding. But it shows that you value them as business people and want them to be successful. Sure. You could give them more webinars on MPLS or whatever the new acronymn is for cloud-based WAN connections, but are you really adding value? Do you know the Kawasaki 10-20-30 Rule? Do you survey your channel anonymously to get feedback on any training you give -

• one week later what do they remember;
• was it valuable time spent;
• what can they directly apply;
• any clients in the database that might be a fit now?
• do you know how to pitch the service/product?
• do you know who we target? and why?
• have you looked at your notes since the call?
• is working with you "easy & enjoyable"?

A couple of years ago, one carrier asked me what they could do to make working with them easier. Since I am rather direct, I answered explaining about the poor follow up. Sadly, it was never addressed. If you are going to drop the coin on a channel, don't set it up for failure.

As we head into Channel Partners Expo in Vegas, carriers and master agents will be looking for new agents and visiting with old ones.

• What are you specifically looking for in your next agent?
• What questions will I ask a prospective agent?
• Are we a quoting machine or lowest priced carrier?
• Does the agent already have a carrier like us? If so, why is he looking?

And I know some of you are thinking, "We just want to sign up agents!" Sure, but it isn't about numbers. It's about Enrolling partners into your Program." (or maybe it is just a Numbers Game - lots of agents, thousands of quotes, hope for the best, why aren't they selling my stuff?).

Right now, wholesale VoIP providers are looking for me to help them train their customers to sell more SIP trunking and Hosted PBX. They want their client ITSP's to be more successful. If you are a VOIP company and you have 75+ partners, is that a successful channel? Not unless 15 of those partners are selling a deal every week.

I'm not saying don't add new agents. I'm saying look at your current agents and figure out how to make them more successful so that they can create more revenue for you. It is a partnership after all.

I moderated a SIP trunking panel at Microcorp's event in Atlanta in Sept. of 2008. The result was that the carriers were pushing SIP Trunking as a cost savings replacement for PRI. There was no differentiation among the 4 carriers - whose names I will not print. So then I am at the IT Expo in Miami for the Reseller panel on SIP Trunking titled "The Service Provider Perspective" hoping for something different. It was different. I was bored to tears by the middle of the 3rd presenter.It was one commercial after another about the company and how they could save money.  It was a shame too, because it was a packed room with people eager for some meat. (Lots of notepads and pens poised).

I know I run negative, but wouldn't they have been better served to engage the audience? How about starting with a question: "Has anyone heard of BandTel? Can you tell me what you have heard?  Really. Well, that is somewhat roight but here's the rest of that story. ....  " Then one minute later: "Do you know where our sweet spot is to our resellers?"

There were four carriers up there. Not one talked about productivity, benefits, sweet spot, differentiation, or interoperability.

Productivity: If you are a Broadsoft based ITSP, your SIP trunk allows you to provide Broadsoft Anywhere and API-based software to your customer as a SIP overlay on the trunk. That is a huge deal.  It adds much value to a what a PRI can do for the customer PLUS it extends the life of the PBX while adding missing features as an overlay.

Benefits: the advantage of SIP and SIP endpoints like a softphone. A SIP trunk can extend the PBX to remote sites.

Differentiation: I'm not sure anyone in telecom with a VP of Marketing title understands that term or knows who Jack Trout is. (Trout and Al Reis wrote the book on Positioning in 1981).

Interoperability: PRI is a time tested standard and SIPconnect (SIP Trunk) is just a SIP Forum recommendation for a specification that contains numerous RFC's. This allows for various interpretations of the configuration. The IP-PBX interface must be checked for interoperability with the carrier's switch. Not every IP-PBX card can work with every SIP trunk unfortunately. There is also the necessity for high-quality Internet access for the SIP trunk to work reliably.

One other issue I have is that it is sold on price. The costs are much lower than PRI. There is still a port needed. there is still an access line needed unless it is all over going to be carried over the Internet, in which case, the quality will likely be sketchy. Even the long distance rates are cheaper, even though the costs to th ecarrier aren't much different from TDM LD rates.  Go figure.

The revenue side is mentioned because PRI is TDM and can fetch higher revenue than anything with IP in its name. IP means cheap, which means less revenue. Less top revenue for the service providers books, less ARPU, and less commissions for agent or sales guy selling SIP Trunking. All with the extra headaches of inter-op.

It's a Party! SUTUS, Megapath and Polycom are hosting a seminar about their combined offering on Feb. 24 in San Jose. (Email me for an invite!)

What offering? Well, you know about Polycom's IP Phones, even the HD Voice models. SUTUS offers a piece of hardware that is an office-in-a-box, which is more than just an on-premise IP-PBX. 

"The functionality includes wired and wireless networking, file server, email, VoIP PBX, auto attendant, voice mail, internet router, security and access to managed services. The Business Central 200 is designed to meet the needs of companies with 25 or fewer employees."

The third party is MegaPath, the merged DLEC of Metifice, DSL.net and Megapath. The company has had a string of announcements since it completed its $11M purchase of DSL.net. "It has achieved Cisco® Powered Managed Service designations for its Managed IP Trunking and MPLS-VPN offerings, " according to a Feb 2 press release.

"MegaPath relies on Cisco's high-performance routing equipment to deliver managed services that enable businesses to consolidate all applications onto a single private network.... Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) virtual private network (VPN) service provides private IP networks with high-quality, high-security, and any-to-any connectivity. The service is based on the Cisco IP NGN architecture, MPLS and Cisco Design and Implementation Guides. The service delivers appropriate levels of latency, jitter and packet loss to help ensure the successful concurrent handling of multiple types of traffic, especially voice and video, from customer site to customer site."

MegaPath rolled out a Voice and Data bundle over T1 and SDSL in its network footprint of 340 Central Offices this month. The voice service called DUET comes in 3 flavors:

Whether you have standard analog phones, a Key System, a digital PBX, or an IP-PBX, Duet can work for you with one of the following products:

• Duet : Use your existing equipment and phones.
• Duet PRI: Use your existing digital PBX equipment and phones.
• Duet SIP Trunking: Use your existing IP-PBX equipment and phones.

The IP Trunking service is a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)-based trunk delivered by Broadsoft and Acme Packet.

Agents can not only sell the bundle, but can also sell MPLS-VPN and Managed Security. MegaPath offers a network-based firewall to keep it simple for small businesses. The voice service is delivered over the providers MPLS network. It is apparent that MegaPath has grow past its roots of being a straight DLEC (data CLEC based on DSL). In fact, th ecompany told me at the IT Expo that it no longer aggregates BellSouth DSL via RBAN. I guess they have grown their own network with ADTRAN DSLAMs, Cisco routers and switches, Acme Packet session border controllers, and Broadsoft's softswitch platform. Now MegaPath is throwing a party to announce its inter-operability with SUTUS and Polycom. It completes the package. See you in Vegas.

It's a busy Expo. Full house this morning for the Service Provider Round Table with Broadvox, 8x8, InPhonex, MagicJack, Telefonica, and TW Telecom. It seemed like they would all like their ILEC associated costs to drop so they can drop their prices even lower. (I won't even rant about theMagic Jack deal).

8x8 made a statement about not wanting to collect communication taxes on its service. He sells POTS replacement. Cities and counties need the tax revenue from communications services. It's in the tens of millions of dollars. To want to shirk that responsibility just grates me.  If the ILEcs didn't collect taxes, their bill would be lower too.

There are so many applications that you can add to cell phones to allow for some form of calling. For the life of me, I can't figure out how these would be mainstream - and how there could be a demand for hundreds of them.

Are people now trading in all of their calling cards for an app? All the penny pinchers that were using calling cards have a data plan on their phone that allows them to make VoIP calls?

I get that landline usage is way down as folks move to not only cellular only, but pre-paid cellular. But how much International dialing is being done on cell phones? Wouldn't the majority be migrating to Skype?

Even look at that market: the PC-to-PSTN market. Pulver's FWD was in the marketplace first (and won an FCC ruling with his name on it). Yet it seems that only Skype is left.

Leads me to think that when these mobile VoIP apps are being marketed, you need to be very specific about what the benefit is. And you need to make it stupid easy.

VoIP originally was sold as the answer to the next wave of cost savings for consumers and especially for small business. Business phone lines have always cost more than residential lines because, in theory, businesses use the phone line more often. (I guess, if you have 2 teenagers then that equals 1 small business).

Now that businesses are looking for ways to cut costs, analysts are predicting a rise in VoIP sales. Maybe. Define VoIP.  Hosted PBX certainly offers an attractive ROI, but to take full advantage of it, there is an upfront CAPEX (capital expenditure) that includes: IP Phones, cabling, POE switch, and some form of IAD or QOS Router like an Edgewater.   A lease could alleviate some of this, but Voxilla agrees with me on the CAPEX question.

If we are talking about the myriad apps that offer VoIP on the cell phone, I have to ask, why? These apps don't work on every handset. These apps either use up minutes (on callbacks) or data. It seems that it would be cheaper to bulk up the minutes than go through the trouble. But Gary Kim writes that the small business segment will move mainly to cellular IF the iPhone can become like the desk phone. I guess people like to ask, "Huh? What? you cut out there." Or more likely they aren't paying attention any way so don't care about call quality, dropped calls, or dead batteries.

VoIP mainly makes sense when there is a lot of inter-branch calling. Or when there is a virtual office, tele-workers, or other location varied need.

While SIP Trunking is the new buzz word, it is sold primarily as a PRI replacement, which makes no sense to me.  TDM and PRI are tried and true. You might save 10%, but so what? SIP Trunking isn't a standard so it may or may not work with your PBX IP card, depending on carrier and implementation. And how much cheaper do you think long distance will be on a SIP Trunk versus a PRI?

If the SIP Trunk is a means to extend the life of a IP-PBX as well as add SIP overlay features, that would be a better offer, but that isn't the "I'll save you 10%" deal that most folks tout. 

Overall, cellular will probably win for the mobility.

Tech Data and Fonality Inked a distro deal.The bloggers like VAR Guy made it sound like Tech Data was going into managed services under the whole UC umbrella. It's just one more set of SKU's for Tech Data's IP PBX category.

New Edge Networks announced Voice Connect as an extension of its MPLS service to deliver VoIP to end offices with QOS. "Voice Connect services include Hosted IP PBX, SIP Trunking and enterprise class features, with a variety of service options for locations requiring only a few voice lines to supporting the needs of large corporations."

Grandstream's GXE502X IP PBX and AireSpring's SIP Trunking Services Achieve Interoperability. Inter-Op is key because SIP Trunk is a spec not a standard. SIP trunks can be delivered various ways unlike a PRI which basically has 2 configurations available off a class 5 TDM switch.Note how specific the model number is for Grandstream. I feel sorry for the office with GXE502 or GXE501X.

I'm coming late to this discussion (here and here and here), but I'll still offer my opinion. VoIP isn't Dead; it got lazy.

We have been talking VOIP and Converged for a while. We have zoomed past the point where VoIP will save you a lot of money.

Consumers use their cell phone for long distance calls, not that the average consumer had a domestic LD bill greater than $25 in the last 2 years. (International is another story). Consumers have been dropping home landlines in favor of a mobile phone. The cellcos have added unlimited voice plans. So where's this money your saving me? Huh?

There are SOOOO many VoIP apps - Skype, Jaxtr, i2 - what good are they? IM on my phone? Why? Text messaging is easier. VoIP calls? Why? I have Unlimited Calling or at least a bucket of minutes large enough to fix the monthly cost. As I told a prospective client: IMO, there aren't that many folks making that many calls to International on their cell phone. So where's the market? On International, it costs more to call to and from a cell phone depending on the country - so the savings?

It isn't about savings. It's about convenience and efficiency and productivity and ease of use. Unless your product or service or app can Deliver that, don't release it.

VoIP got crowded and then lazy. There was too much "buzz", too much noise. The focus disappeared. It's about Mash-ups like the one Gavin Stark wrote for BarCampTampaBay with RubyonRails and Asterisk whereby you dialed the number, put in the room number, and the session titles were read to you along with session start times. Bingo! Useful voice app.

Newber - location aware phone app. If Apple ever releases it, everyone with an iPhone will be able to enjoy the ingenuity of that app.

Medical Scheduling apps that dial out reminder messages to patients about office visits allow for the doctor to have a clearer schedule (efficiency). It can also be co-opted to dial patients to remind them to take meds, get an annual physical, or to collect blood sugar or vitals from the elderly or the sick. This is VoIP at its best -- and we need more of it. This kind of app is useful and productive - and likely can result in lower healthcare costs. Hello!

It's not just the marketing Message, it's the whole product world view. We think VoIP, so we think cheap dial-tone. How about we remember that the new IP Phones (like the Aastra 35iCT sitting on my desk) are computers that happen to run voice apps along with other XML apps. That Voice is just the killer app alongside email - and unified messaging or UC is all about one inbox for voicemail, email, and other messages - on whatever device (IP phone, PC, net appliance or smart phone) you can access it on. It's about Click-to-call not VoIP. What does VoIP enable?  When the developers figure that out, the marketing message should be clear.

The discussion on VoIP: dead or Alive resulted in a podcast. Hear it here.

Discussing the economy on telecom sales today in some parts of the South, I was led to the following: Bell-Head versus Net-Head. What, you ask. Another way to ask it is Why can some folks sell TDM/POTS/PRI and why can some people sell VoIP?

VoIP is just an application, like UC, voicemail, and conferencing. That's Net-Head thinking. It's just eye pee!

VoIP is an unreliable step-sister to POTS. That's Bell-Head talk.

According to one client, voicemail-to-email is the killer feature for VoIP. But there's the question: What motivates a businesses to move to VoIP?  It's not price; it's Productivity.

How do you sell VoIP? Not like you sell POTS or PRI. It isn't the same. TDM is all plug-n-play in a similar way. VoIP requires a consultative approach.

• What are you doing with your PBX?
• Where are your offices, your people?
• What do you do with the phone system?
• What do you WANT to do with the phone system?
• Do you need a mash-up?

The only thing close is Centrex in TDM world -- and the Bell-heads didn't sell that  very well either. It was too complicated. TDM is transaction.

IP is possibility. There are no rules in IP. It's not black and white. (That's what drives the Bell-heads crazy!) 

If you want to sell VoIP, you have to be a Net-Head. It's all about the possibility.