David Crombie comments in Comms Business Magazine

Sunday, 04 February 2007 00:00

What about the channel proposition itself? Resellers need to be convinced not only that VoIP will work for them and their customers but also how they will make a living from it. Many resellers have been brought up on a sales model that goes something like, ‘Buy a £20,000 list price PBX from a distributor for £12,000 and sell it to user for £18,000 then bank the maintenance contract for the next five years. How do we get these resellers to adopt a per phone per month service charge and still keep their mortgages paid?

David Crombie – CEO, Voicenet Solutions

Recently we’ve heard a lot about how big the VoIP market is going to be, how many businesses will take it up, and what the industry is doing about it, all over the world. But how can the telephony reseller make money out of it and how do we counter the old dilemma of being able to make money after the initial deal?

Hosted IP services offer attractive ongoing revenues for resellers, that are prepared to think differently, and to move away from the all up front, then nothing afterwards PBX commission model. We offer an alternative to voice resellers where anyone keen enough to exploit the opportunity, could build a very attractive on-going revenue earning business.

Traditionally the sale of a PBX creates only one main revenue source, which is supplemented in parts by a support contract. However that part is very much dependant on the reliability of the installed system, and how many employees required to support it.

At Voicenet Solutions we’ve opened up a new commission model for the reseller that moves away from irregular payments, and starting afresh at the beginning of each month. We’ve put together an all-in-one, margin rich package, to include equipment, installation, training and call costs, that the reseller can sell on a per-seat basis. They can then use this, as the foundation, for a service based operation, that will generate secure and sustainable recurring revenue.

Once the customer is signed up, we’ll pay the reseller a sign-up bonus, then an on-going commission for the life of the contract.

We also offer our resellers a full web-based sales tool that will allow them to tailor different products to different customer needs and arrive at a competitive cost per seat. The simplicity of this service and the plug and play system is key as there is not a PBX out there that offers this kind of flexibility.

Resellers can now be more creative about selling the solutions that people actually want.

It is great for them to be able to sell solutions that offer the prospect of longevity, and the longer the contract, the longer recurring revenue goes on. They can then use this, as the foundation, for a service based operation, that will generate secure and sustainable recurring revenue. When this revenue gains momentum, it proves to be an extremely lucrative, and hassle free alternative to the PBX.