When working with a small provider of VoIP based hosted PBX services a few years back I ran into a situation where one of our channel partners was pitching a hosted VoIP PBX solution to the perfect candidate for the service we offered – that is a multiple location, small company with around thirty of forty phone stations who desired some flexibility in how they located or relocated staff between offices.
We were competing against an on-site, dedicated solution by one of the major VoIP hardware providers that was going to easily cost the customer an extra hundred thousand dollars over five years. We actually could sell both systems but felt the hosted solution made the most sense for this particular client even though our company would make thousands less.
After I accompanied the sales representative for our reseller on the appointment we stepped into the hallway and I immediately suggested, “You are going to lose that sale because the person we just met with wants to ‘play’ with an on-site solution (either for fun or possibly just to pad a resume with having implementation and administrative experience on that system).”
I don’t think I was taken seriously in suggesting that somebody would actually spend two or three times as much on a solution, in this case many tens of thousands of dollars, to just be able to add a blurb to their resume. My recommendation that some contact be made with the actual owner or CFO of the company, somebody with a vested interest in their financial performance, was ignored.
Needless to say, the owner of that company ended up with two or three times the required expense for what they were trying to accomplish and somebody on his staff got new toys to play with.
If your organization is getting ready to make large investment in network or telecommunications systems or services and you just want an extra set of eyes (or more) than give me a call personally at 317-513-2406 or check the appropriate boxes one of the engagement forms here at TelecomIndy.com.
Sean Shepard has information technology and telecommunications experience spanning three decades. He has worked on both the client and the provider sides of the telecommunications industry in both technical and account management roles at companies such as MCI Communications (now Verizon), Sprint, TW Telecom and others.
... Mr. Shepard has a strong reputation in the marketplace for providing excellent customer support and communication, being a problem solver and a strong customer advocate. 
