Wholesale Conferencing

In today's environment of people working out of their homes, representing other companies products and services as an agent or reseller, it is extremely important to find the right companies to represent. In the conferencing arena, this is also true. How do you find the right company that will be best for you and that will continue to pay you commissions on your sales? Here are eight tips on how to select a wholesale conferencing provider that will be a perfect fit for you.

Before we get to the eight tips, it is good to make the distinction between an agent and a reseller. An agent typically represents the conference company and sells using that companies brand. In the example of A+ Conferencing, an agent would represent themselves as being affiliated with A+ and would sell the A+ brand. On the opposite side of the coin, a reseller is one that usually sells his own brand, but the service would be private labeled by a wholesale company in his branded name. The customers would either receive a branded bill or a co-branded bill.

1. When contracting with a conferencing company, it is important to make sure that the company has its own bridging platform. The conference bridge is the piece of telecommunications hardware that houses the audio conference calls. If the company does not have their own bridges, then they would have to outsource these calls to a third party. This will be an obvious loss of control having three parties involved and with three parties, all three will be sharing in the revenue. Also, when considering different companies, have a test call on their bridge to sell how the quality is.

2. Sometimes bigger is not better. When looking at the different wholesale conferencing providers in the market, there are companies of all sizes from small to extremely large. When looking at the alternatives, it is best to rule out the very small and the extremely large providers. The small providers typically do not have enough resources and budget to grow the business. While the large providers have so much business that a small agent or reseller such as yourself can fall through the cracks and not receive much attention.

3. You should always check at least three agent references that are using the providers that you are considering. You should call them on the phone and ask them a series of questions about how you like working with them. Are they fair in dealing with you? Can you always get a quick response when you need an answer? Are your customers happy with their service? Are your commissions paid to you in a timely manner? Once you have interviewed the references, you will have a better idea of which vendor to select.

4. Have the prospective vendors send you all of their docs, including their contract and buy rates. You should either have your lawyer review the contracts or you should review them yourself. A simple contract is always better. Beware of contracts 15-50 pages or longer. Typically, these contracts have all of the legalese that favors the vendor, not the agent. Make sure that the contract has an "evergreen clause" or one that says that you will receive commissions as long as the customer stays and continues to pay the bills. Look out for clauses that say you will only be entitled to commissions for the first year only.

5. When you receive all of the buy rate schedules, compare the buy rates between each company. The buy rate is what the wholesale provider will charge you. You then mark up the price and sell the service at your sell rate. As an agent, you get the difference between your sell rate and buy rate. That is your commission. You don't necessarily have to go with the company that provided the cheapest buy rate, but at least make sure that you select one that is competitive in the industry.

6. Another clause to check when reviewing the contract is whether the company requires you to sell a minimum amount of revenue each month/quarter or they have quotas, which if aren't met, lead to some sort of penalty or lost revenue. Quotas, minimums and chargebacks simply lead to pressure for the agent that is not needed.

7. If you like the people at a particular company and you feel like they sincerely want you to work with them, then this is a good sign. Usually, you will get a good impression of one or two companies and everything seems to fit into place for you. This is a good indication that you probably have a good match. Always check and see how long it takes for them to contract you back. If it goes days, then look elsewhere.

8. Always have a backup provider. It is always a good idea to contract with two providers of similar services. First of all, they may offer different products or services or different pricing methodologies, i.e flat rate pricing vs. per minute pricing. Secondly, if one doesn't perform, then you always have an alternate provider to bail you out. Sometimes your primary vendor will blow a call and the customer wants to change. If you had a backup provider, you can accommodate them immediately.

There you have it, eight tips for selecting a quality conferencing service provider with a backup option. I wish you much success in your endeavors in the conferencing world. It is a great way to make a living with minimal costs.