Joel Maloff Vice President – Channel Development Phone.com Building Your Business with SIP Trunking and Unified Communications InGate SIP Trunking and Unified Communications Summit February, 2012

Introduction Channel Sales Partners can generate significant income selling SIP trunks and Unified Communications This session takes a sales and marketing perspective, and specifically, the view from the independent agent. This presentation contains some material covered in more detail in the online program “SIP Trunking for the Sales and Marketing Professional,” available from The SIP School (

Building Your Business Overview SIP Trunks and UC Channel Sales Opportunities What to look for in a SIP Trunking, Hosted PBX, and/or Unified Communications Channel Program Identifying YOUR SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot” and what to avoid Interpreting the customer’s Status Quo Uncovering areas of added value Creating a cost justification/ROI model Overcoming Objections Closing the Sale Keeping the Sale

SIP Trunks and UC Unified communications includes mobility, presence, web conferencing, a variety of other solutions, AND voice communications via SIP trunks. SIP trunking is therefore a subset of the unified communications umbrella.

SIP Trunks and UC Unified Communications can be multifaceted, complex and confusing to potential buyers. That’s bad for sales. By focusing on specific benefits and documented ROI, your chances for a sale go up. SIP trunking can provide the substantiation you need!

Channel Sales Opportunities SIP Trunking, Hosted PBX, and Unified Communications are young industries. Most service providers are less than five years old. Channel programs are only just now beginning for these services and the models vary widely.

Channel Sales Opportunities What to look for in a service provider Strong existing reputation Comprehensive suite of services that address YOUR marketplace Competitive pricing Low customer churn rate Clear partner compensation program Interactive web-based tools for partners

Channel Sales Opportunities What to avoid Organizations with a limited track record in these specific services Bias towards specific technologies “Only a Broadsoft-based service provider is worth considering.” Base your decisions on demonstrable evidence rather than speculation. There are many excellent alternatives and no one technology has all of the answers in terms of features, quality, and cost effectiveness.

The SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot” Each ITSP is different. What is your partner’s “sweet spot” Number of concurrent calls? Number of locations? Minimum current telephone bill? Number of PRIs total and/or per location?

The SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot” Number of minutes per month? Incoming? Outgoing? Local, domestic long distance, international? Inbound Toll-free? Specific vertical industries? Specific geographies?

The SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot” As a sales organization, knowing who and where to target can be the difference in making your numbers or failing to perform.

Interpreting the Status Quo Reviewing an actual customer bill for cost savings Identifying areas of “soft” savings

Finding Added Value Consolidation of offices Creation of “Virtual” presence Domestic International

Cost Justification and ROI It is easy to assert cost savings; it takes work to prove it. “Hard” cost savings come from three primary areas: Usage sensitive call charges Fixed price services (PRI, DSL, local exchange lines, et al) used for voice services

Cost Justification and ROI Fees and Surcharges EUCL The End User Common Line (EUCL) charge is a federally regulated monthly service charge applied to certain local voice service offerings. RCRF The Regulatory Cost Recovery Fee (RCRF) Imposed by some carriers on business and residential long distance customers used to recover costs associated with Federal regulatory fees imposed upon these carriers. Others

Cost Justification and ROI Calculating potential savings Understand current costs by examining a current bill if possible. Try to make sure that it is a representative month and not an anomaly. Identify usage charges and their breakdown regarding local, domestic long distance, and international. Identify fixed monthly charges for PRIs, DSL, and surcharges.

Cost Justification and ROI Some vendors do offer ROI tools for SIP trunking. cLP/index.aspx?ListSource=PressRelease cLP/index.aspx?ListSource=PressRelease Unfortunately, the level of detail may not be sufficient for you – unless you are a salesperson for that company!

Cost Justification and ROI What are the challenges with “overview” ROI tools? Total Number of employees Minimum of 50 Number of Physical Locations Minimum of 5 Percentage of Inter-company calling Asserted savings is 38%! What is missing from this picture?

Cost Justification and ROI

Calculating potential costs Identify fixed monthly charges for PRIs, DSL, and surcharges. Calculate the number of SIP trunks (concurrent calls) and Internet bandwidth required using the spreadsheet on the next slide.

Cost Justification and ROI

Calculating potential savings and value Include all costs for all solutions Consider surcharges and fees such as EUCL (Approximately $40 per PRI or T-1 monthly) and RCRF (Approximately 3.5% of all domestic and international calling charges) Most ITSPs do not include EUCL and RCRF fees. Show the monthly total costs, percent saved via SIP trunking, and the estimated annual savings.

Cost Justification and ROI

Simple tools provide simplistic answers; business is complex today! If you want to deliver quality to your prospects, preparation is in order; they will welcome your expertise!

Overcoming Objections Conceptual Internet Telephony is here to stay AT&T asks the FCC to allow shut-down of their traditional PSTN services in favor of IP Telephony. “… the VoIP access and SIP trunking services market will continue to build on its downturn-defying 40.1 percent growth in user base and 22.3 percent growth in revenues in 2009.” (North American VoIP Access and SIP Trunking Services Markets, Frost & Sullivan, April 2010)

Overcoming Objections Technical Financial Emotional

Closing the Sale ASK FOR THE ORDER!!! Make it easy. Make it simple. Make it painless.

Keeping the Sale Minimize churn! Keeping and growing existing customers is more valuable than new sales. The salesperson’s job is NOT done when the service agreement is signed. Ensure that service is delivered as sold and when promised. Maintain regular contact to avoid unexpected churn, expand existing services, obtain referrals, and solicit testimonials.

Conclusions Successfully selling SIP trunking, hosted PBX, and unified communications services requires a combination of good old fashioned sales skills and knowledge of the SIP trunking environment beyond just surface information and platitudes. Customers NEED these solutions – you need to be able to help them make the buying decision from you!

For More Information Joel Maloff, Maloff NetResults The SIP School