FREE Upgrade…
Act Now…
HURRY While Supplies Last…
Contract Buyout!
SOUND FAMILIAR?
OFFERS THAT SOUND TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE?
THEY PROBABLY ARE…
We are preparing to attend our annual Channel Partner Conference show in Las Vegas. Every year our goal is to learn what is happening in our industry, meet with existing and new vendors to discover new products and service offerings, and network with other Channel Agents to share strategies that would be a good fit for our clients. Anyone who has attended a conference knows part of the preparation includes getting bombarded with emails and phone calls from vendors who want us to stop by their booth, or schedule time to meet in person. These vendors will want us to recommend their products and services to our customers. Wading through all these calls and email solicitations can become a bit overwhelming.
This reminded me of the amount of solicitations that businesses receive on a daily basis. Mailers with “for a limited time” product offerings, phone calls with the “best packages for your business”, or even emails with “take advantage of the “free” upgrade for your business”. How do you and I as business decision makers choose which of these solicitations are legit and truly best for our business and worthy of a second look? Are there costs or issues hidden in the “fine print”? How do we make sure we are not getting the wool pulled over our eyes, taken advantage of, or worse yet lied to?
I make my decisions on who to meet with based on the following criteria:
- Does the company have a good reputation in the industry? Finding a company with values that align with ours. We often ask for referrals on who has partnered with them and what businesses or industries are a good fit for them.
- What is their story? Uncovering how they came into business and what their future goals are is important to us. The telecom industry has leaders that move around from one company to the next (it’s like they say that once it is in your blood and DNA, it is hard to get out). So, often we will listen to the stories of those leaders that we have grown to love over the years, those who have earned our respect, and we will give their new company a chance, should that company be a good fit for our market and customers.
- How will they support us, and therefore our customers? We joke about “sitting on hold so you don’t have to”, but let’s face it…there is a lot of truth in that tagline! You don’t like to waste your time getting transferred from one department to the next or waiting days for answers, and neither do we. Therefore, we look to industry partners who have a solid support system for us as agents. A little-known secret…higher standings are given to those who can actually meet with us in person.
- Most importantly, I ask my trusted advisors. As an independent agent, we have advisors in our industry that support us (often referred to as Master Agents). They become our “go to” when we truly want the scoop on the which vendors are the best fit for each product or service we offer.
Most businesses make decisions in the same manner. At InteleCONNECT, we would like to earn our spot as your trusted telecom agent. We are your telecom industry experts. As such, we can assist in making your life “clutter free” from all those telecom solicitations. We encourage our clients to simply forward them to us. We speak Telecom, if it is a valid offer, we will make sure you get those benefits through us and ensure that if you are making a change in services or providers, it is truly the best option for your business. Working with InteleCONNECT, you won’t have surprise costs, and you’ll only be presented with valid offers.
