Most organizations don’t think about engaging the services of a Telecommunications Consultant or Telecommunications Agent despite the potential long-term cost savings.
As someone who has been on both sides of telecommunications transactions, meaning both as a customer and as a representative of a communications company (and having served in technical, sales and executive management roles), it is obvious to me that many organizations aren’t aware of all of the options available to them in the marketplace or what kind of terms are available contractually.
Granted, it is a hard sell. How does an industry insider explain to someone that they “don’t know what it is they don’t know” without it coming out wrong? But, look at your own industry, are there lots of things you know about your industry that the average person engaged in another profession wouldn’t know?
In one of my first engagements bidding out telecommunications services for a private firm, and despite them having a fairly sharp and ruthless purchasing manager, I was able to secure an approximately 40% reduction in an Indianapolis company’s communications costs while moving the technology level of the organization ahead at the same time.
While that may represent an extreme example, let us consider the typical small to mid-sized business with a telecommunications bill each month of maybe somewhere between $350 and $1000. Just saving 10% on that bill is worth somewhere between $1,260 and $3,600 over the term of a typical three year contract. That’s certainly worth investing an hour or two of time with a telecommunications consultant to make sure that good value is received for those dollars.
Or what about the all too common instance where a vendor is proposing tens of thousands of dollars in hardware for a new phone system when numerous options exist that may (or may not) be a good fit and would prevent a large, up front capital investment in something that will depreciate by 80% as soon as it is nailed to the wall or bolted to the rack? Or what about instances where there may be ways to get increased value out of the same levels of spending?
It’s also worth noting that the person you buy from may not be your sales representative a year later. Salespeople have quotas to make and some companies can be brutal and quick to replace a struggling rep. Six months and out and now the person you thought you had a relationship is gone and the new guy didn’t make the commission off your sale and has less personal ownership of your account. Working through a consultant allows there to always be someone who knows your business, your services, how your building and offices are wired and to be always looking out for things on your behalf regardless of what company is selling them. PLUS, you get to tell all of the telecom company “cold calls” to call your consultant – that alone has to be worth something.
If you’re getting ready to commit to thousands of dollars of spending over the life of your next telecommunications contract, why not invest in a few hours of time to have an expert who has been involved in tens of millions of dollars worth of telecommunications transactions to help you through the process and make sure you have all of the information and know all of your options?
Contact us at TelecomIndy.com by calling me personally at 317-513-2406 or check the consulting box in the General Services Inquiry form.
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. 
