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VoIP Provides Recurring Revenue Opportunities for Dealers
Although you might be tempted to go for the pure hardware play, VoIP isn't really a hardware business. The real money is in locking up monthly fees.
In the final analysis, many partners view a move toward IP telephony as inevitable.
"Anybody in the data business now needs to be looking at voice as an application, because the lines between the two are blurring," according to Pegley.
And the benefits can be huge. "The payoff is generous margins in a market segment that is growing and largely being ignored by the big carriers," says Marcario.
"VARs can be tremendously successful here."
Partners agree that the following tactics will make for a successful sales pitch.
Plan on a consultative sell.
Integrators need to understand each client's business particulars so they can devise a solution that will make the customers' lives easier, at an economic advantage.
This doesn't mean selling toll-call savings, but rather the convenience and efficiencies of VoIP.
Emphasize ease of use.
Instead of pushing a laundry list of glitzy bells and whistles, pick the few that will improve life for clients.
Most want technology that makes their jobs simpler in some way, whether it's through unified messaging or one pipeline to maintain instead of two.
Sell mobility.
Features that free workers from the home office are very popular, according to partners.
"There's a definite interest in being able to have access to the same capabilities away from a desk as at a desk," says Terry White, vice president and senior program director at Telecom Intelligence Group, a provider of telecommunications research, news, and newsletters.
Sell a solution set.
"If you're selling a solution with hardware, data access and charges for voice, you're sitting on a recurring revenue stream, and perhaps an annual maintenance fee," says Marcario.
"The [integrators] successfully selling in this market are taking the solution approach."
Carol Hildebrand is a business and technology writer based in Wellesley, Mass.
"Anybody in the data business now needs to be looking at voice as an application, because the lines between the two are blurring," according to Pegley.
And the benefits can be huge. "The payoff is generous margins in a market segment that is growing and largely being ignored by the big carriers," says Marcario.
"VARs can be tremendously successful here."
The VoIP Sell
Partners agree that the following tactics will make for a successful sales pitch.
Plan on a consultative sell.
Integrators need to understand each client's business particulars so they can devise a solution that will make the customers' lives easier, at an economic advantage.
This doesn't mean selling toll-call savings, but rather the convenience and efficiencies of VoIP.
Emphasize ease of use.
Instead of pushing a laundry list of glitzy bells and whistles, pick the few that will improve life for clients.
Most want technology that makes their jobs simpler in some way, whether it's through unified messaging or one pipeline to maintain instead of two.
Sell mobility.
Features that free workers from the home office are very popular, according to partners.
"There's a definite interest in being able to have access to the same capabilities away from a desk as at a desk," says Terry White, vice president and senior program director at Telecom Intelligence Group, a provider of telecommunications research, news, and newsletters.
Sell a solution set.
"If you're selling a solution with hardware, data access and charges for voice, you're sitting on a recurring revenue stream, and perhaps an annual maintenance fee," says Marcario.
"The [integrators] successfully selling in this market are taking the solution approach."
Carol Hildebrand is a business and technology writer based in Wellesley, Mass.
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