More Agents or Lift the Ones You Have? Part 2

Last month, among other things, I asked in a general way if you survey your channel anonymously to get feedback on any training you dispense. Let’s focus on that for a moment. In particular, do you seek feedback regarding –

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

A carrier once asked me what they could do to make working with them easier. 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.

At Channel Partners Expo in Vegas, carriers and master agents were 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’s just a Numbers Game — lots of agents, thousands of quotes, hope for the best, and 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 (News - Alert). 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. IT

Peter Radizeski is head of RAD-INFO (News - Alert), Inc., a consulting agency specializing in the telecom industry.

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