There is a certain cell phone maker who likes to say that for every issue or question “there is an app for that.” If you have one of their devices, you know that for the most part this is true. Likewise, when it comes to finding solutions to the demands of any network, the same applies to AdTran. This is true from the simplest LAN to global networks; AdTran has a hardware based solution. Need to set up remote network monitoring of security cameras at an off-site location? There‚s a router for that. Want both analog and SIP phones terminating at your office? There‚s a switch for that. For every office, from the smallest business to enterprise, it is certain that AdTran has a product to make infrastructure and communications more manageable.
Always interested in improving our own vendor catalog, we here at TBI have spent the last few weeks working on our AdTran certifications. Like their armada of routers and switches, AdTran offers many degrees of certification. Each is a valuable tool for selling AdTran products as well as improving your IP telephony and networking knowledgebase. For the sales professional, there are certifications in IP telephony, internetworking and microwave wireless. For the more advanced, there are technical certifications available in the same areas. These certifications are a boon to anyone who not only sells AdTran products but also supports them for their clients. Furthermore, if anyone is game, there are even more advanced levels of these technical certifications. Training varies per product, some done as self study while others are taken as either online or in-person classes. Time spent amounts to a few hours for a few days, and all certifications involve some form of testing. Worried about testing? No need – the instruction and training materials do more than enough to ensure that you are ready for your tests.
So, what does this all mean to those of you out there selling? Based on a previous blog post, you may remember that learning new skills opens doors to opportunities for upselling. Upselling can preserve and grow existing relationships. Upselling can also impress new customers. This is true when you show them that not only can you sell them a T1, you can also make sure that their new SIP phones work on their network and that the whole thing is very secure.
Maybe you have a client with a number of analog lines, and though tempted they are still on the fence about SIP. They have questions. How will it work with their network? Is it going to expose their end users to the dangers of the internet? If you add more hardware, won‚t there be more opportunity for failure? All valid questions, but if you start the conversation by discussing the AdTran Netvanta 7100, for example, you could not only calm their fears, but you could really impress. You could show them how all of their routing, VPN, SIP and firewall are managed securely in one device. They could get rid of a few network interface devices in the process. They could run a smarter, more efficient network. They could even add wireless in the process (standard with the 7100).
Of course every AdTran devices doesn‚t have all of these features, but you can be sure that for every set of unique client networking needs there is an AdTran device that will fit the bill perfectly. Having the knowledge and training from AdTran will help you determine the best opportunities for customer networking and infrastructure. Plus AdTran devices come with a less expensive price tag than the primary competition. Who doesn’t appreciate getting savings while still being cutting edge? And for the sub-agent, the cost of these extra sales is just the short time spent in training.
So instead of that ubiquitous app for everything, your client will be saying, “there’s an agent for that.” Make sure that that agent is you.
Filed under: Master Agent Tagged: | Master Agent, Sales, Telecommunications Products
I like this post very much. Agents MUST take the brave step into at least discussing equipment and then bringing in the right partners.
I recently sold the idea of an IP-PBX phone system to a 9-location law firm prospect after only sitting through a couple of introductory IP-PBX training sessions.
After selling the customer the concept, I brought the whole deal to a master agent that was certified on the equipment and he closed the deal with me. An $80,000 sale with a pretty decent margin!
And because the customer was looking for equipment first, we were then able to sell the $8,000 per month MPLS network solution needed to make the whole application work.
Get the equipment, get the network! Ain’t telecom a great job?!
[...] carriers, vendors and agents looking to capitalize on new opportunities, was the relationship that TBI forged with ADTRAN . To encourage sales, ADTRAN representative Andy Solomon was stationed at the TBI booth, speaking [...]