Years ago, master agencies were mostly telecom brokers. Today, with cloud services, hardware, data center, managed services, mobility and adding their own services, master agencies have morphed.
The models vary greatly. A couple, like COLOTRAQ, are specialists. A few are cloud services brokerages. A couple have become distributors of next-generation technologies in communications and IT infrastructure. Others just got bigger. Then you have something like TD Mobility that puts all the devices and cellcos in one place - kind of niche.
There are a couple of master agencies that don't call themselves that at all. Both leverage what they consider to be exclusive assets - fiber maps and lit building databases. Access to that database is the lure for selling circuits, colo, etc.
Peter Thiel says, "Businesses succeed better when they differentiate rather than compete."
The key is to set yourself apart, which is hard to do in a crowded marketplace. People forget that being all things to all people or a one stop shop (like Amazon or WalMart) is about price and convenience. The ease of doing busy - especially in telecom - is a big deal. Greasing the mess that is telecom is a big thing.
People also forget that People do business, not with organizations, but with People that they like and trust. Channel is mainly about Relationships. And ease of doing business. And relationships. How can that help set you apart?
