Some of the ways to improve partnerships between agents and VARs are straightforward and what you might expect. Among them: learning about each other’s business models and communicating more effectively.

“You really have to know what’s going on within each other’s organizations,” said Mark Sondergaard, VP of sales with WTG, a master agency.

Those were just some of the conclusions that channel partners reached Wednesday at an Agent-VAR Partnering Best Practices Workshop during the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas. Participants broke out into groups to discuss such issues as the cloud, compensation models and finding the right partner.

Catherine Lazarock, president of Simplicity Communications, Inc., said the agent/VAR partnership will erode if agents don’t give VARs leads that will work. She also emphasized that it was important to understand a partner’s business.

“You can do that over lunch. It’s not complicated,” she said. “In that conversation, talk about compensation and make sure they understand.”

Many agent/VAR relationships continue to be informal, online surveys commissioned by Channel Partners and CompTIA have found.

Lazarock indicated that formal agreements are recommended when dealing with larger VARs but that informal agreements are OK when sharing leads with smaller organizations.

Channel Partners and CompTIA have found that agents overwhelmingly are paying a commission to VARs while VARs are paying a referral fee, said Carolyn April, director of industry analysis with CompTIA, an IT trade association.

VARs, the surveys also have found, are – by and large – earning a bigger percentage of revenues from agent partnerships than agents are earning from VAR relationships.

“Frankly I would have thought it would have been flipped the other way,” Channel Partners Editor-in-Chief Khali Henderson said.

In a live online poll during the workshop that asked partners how they expected revenues from their partnerships to change in the next 12 months, most respondents indicated they anticipated either revenues to increase significantly or somewhat. A majority of the people in the room were agents.

The convergence of IT and telecommunications may help explain some of the anticipated growth in revenues.

“Convergence is driving a lot of new relationships,” April of CompTIA said. “Cloud computing is driving a lot of new relationships.”

Still, the agent/VAR relationship is far from perfect. Asked in another live poll about specific pain points, many partners cited lack of commitment and dissimilar goals.

One participant alluded to the importance of building a deep relationship in which partners can trust each other to promote the right services and steer clear of stepping on each other’s toes.

And sharing leads may not be the most prudent business arrangement. One channel partner said his  group determined that there’s always some disparity when an agent and VAR are sharing leads. In other words, one of the parties invariably will have shared more.
Establishing a compensation model “does put a more solid business practice in place,” he said.

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WTG Recognized Across the Board in the Channel

Plus WTG Hosts Unforgettable Event for its Agent Partners and Provider Sponsors

WTG was recognized for its outstanding work in the Channel at this year’s Spring Channel Partners Conference and Expo. MegaPath, ACC Business, tw telecom and Airband were among some that awarded WTG with top honors during the conference for their accomplishments of the past year.

“This has been an incredible ride for WTG,” stated CEO Vince Bradley. “With our rebranding, huge presence at the conference (20×20 booth, speaking engagements, sponsoring the VAR event, etc.), additionally receiving top agent awards at the event to already have been named the top Master in the industry (TA), a CRN Five Star award winner for Connectivity plus a Top 10 Up n’ Comer; it is a great time for the WTG channel.”

In celebration of its accolades, WTG hosted its “One Night Only” Event at Cleopatra’s Barge inside CaesarsPalace, Las Vegas, NVon Wednesday, March 28. The event was supported by Gold sponsor Data Storage Corporation; Silver sponsors Time Warner Cable Business Class and Technology Law Group plus Bronze sponsors tw telecom, Velocity Networks, West IP Communications and XO Communications.

Agent Partners and Provider Sponsors enjoyed a memorable performance from the Rat Pack which brought back the feeling of oldLas Vegasclass with Frank, Dean, Sammy and Marilyn. Guests were able to mingle and network with their peers while toasting to the success of another great Channel Partners Conference and Expo. Guests indulged in cocktails, appetizers and desserts throughout the night. Data Storage Corporation raffled an Apple iPad 2 during the event. The big winner was a top WTG Agent PartnerBob Morrisonfrom Morrison Telecom Management.

WTG VP Sales Mark Sondergaard, stated “This event offered our agents a unique and diverse experience that parallels our business model while allowing our sponsors and agents to actually network with each other and achieve ROI.”

About WTG
WTG is the #1 Master Agent in theUS(source: recent Telecom Association Members Choice Awards) and a CRN 5 Star Vendor for Connectivity Services. WTG has provided exceptional service to agent and VAR partners since 1996. Commerce Consulting Corporation (CCC), WTG’s parent company, has the most diverse portfolio in the industry with over 100 Providers, including voice, data, managed services and cloud products and services. It also includes the following specialty Divisions with dedicated extra support: award winning wireless/mobility, Wholesale, Cost Containment (TEM, Logistics and all other Cost Containment) and its Energy Division, Energent, which includes Electricity, Natural Gas and DSM. WTG Agents have the ability to sell and consistently expand their business without revenue commitments or quotas. WTG is 100% partner driven and pays top commissions in the industry. WTG exceeds expectations with a dynamic approach to automation, partner support and its commitment to success.

Press Contact:
Salwa Scarpone
WTG Marketing
Vice President of Marketing
sscarpone@wtgcom.com
310.456.2200 x304

CHANNEL PARTNERS — The newly rebranded WTG (Booth #205 at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo), formerly World Telecom Group, has announced the destination for its first-ever President’s Club trip.

The master agency will host top-selling partners at the Las Casitas, a Waldorf Astoria resort, in Puerto Rico in early February 2013. Agents will earn a four-day, three-night getaway to San Juan. Perks include round-trip airfare, transportation to and from the hotel, marketing materials, and automatic qualification for WTG’s annual Tee & Sea event.

“Our agent partners are very loyal and we are excited to be able to acknowledge and reward them for all their hard work with this fantastic adventure,” said Vince Bradley, CEO of WTG. “The Waldorf in Puerto Rico provides a unique combination of an exotic location while still remaining in the U.S.”

The announcement comes as WTG has shortened its name to feature just an acronym.

“The new company name is a natural evolution of where the industry is headed,” Bradley said. “Our industry has expanded to so much more than telecom. We believe this will better represent the company and our industry in an environment where cloud is such a big play and IT distribution has become so prevalent.”

WTG now has new logos and new websites for the agency, and its energy and parent companies, will be revealed soon.

CHANNEL PARTNERS — Fixed cellular broadband service provider Accel Networks (Booth #641 at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo), today announced that since its Maestro launch in February, Accel master agent WTG has witnessed tremendous interest in Accel’s fixed wireless offerings from its subagents.

Accel says Maestro is the first smart antenna system for multi-location organizations that optimizes wireless performance for both 3G and 4G cellular networks. Launched last month, Maestro addresses the need for better and more cost-effective connectivity, tackling issues such as low data rates, latency, jitter and link availability that until now had been viewed as a limitation for enterprise wireless service. The patent-pending, self-optimizing Maestro system generates and maintains the highest carrier-to-noise ratio, creating link performance and availability that meets or surpasses service levels for T1s, MPLS and DSL, the company said.

“The combination of 4G and Maestro has opened up tremendous opportunities for our agent partners,” said Tem Wu, director of wireless for WTG. “They got very excited about Maestro once they learned that they can offer clients similar bandwidth, latency and reliability of T1 lines at a fraction of the price. Combine that with a much faster installation time than wired options and a residual compensation program they are familiar with – and we’re seeing tremendous interest in Maestro for robust primary as well as T1 backup services. Frankly, 4G plus Maestro has created a tipping point in the kinds of services that can be offered businesses via fixed wireless.”

CHANNEL PARTNERS — EarthLink Inc. (Booth #221) said today it has secured new agreements with many of the industry’s master agents.

The contracts cover EarthLink Business‘ nationwide services. Agencies that have signed on include:

• Converged Networks Services Group (CNSG)
• Intelisys
• MicroCorp
• PlanetOne Communications
• Sandler Partners
• TBI
• Telarus
• WTG
• X4 Solutions

The new agreements, announced at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, let agents sell EarthLink Business voice, data, cloud and managed IT services products nationwide.

“The EarthLink Business Channel Partner program has truly reached a milestone with the finalization of new nationwide agreements with the most successful and respected Master Agents in our industry,” said J.R. Cook, vice president of the partner channel for EarthLink Business. “These are ongoing relationships forged over many years, and many of these valued partners played a major role in our past successes. There is a mutual enthusiasm for what this channel can do with the addition of our nationwide IP and hosted voice, as well as the exciting managed IT services and cloud solutions available across EarthLink’s nationwide private network.”

EarthLink Business Complete services include DSL, T1 and Ethernet, all of which provide quality of service and class of service guarantees.

“Since launching the National Master Agent Program, I am very pleased to report that all National Master contracts are now executed,” said Sherri Turpin, vice president of channel strategy for EarthLink Business. “Each has embraced the unique, strategic relationship we are taking with them and are committed to work hard to best position the EarthLink product suite with their constituencies.”

CHANNEL PARTNERS — Airband Communications (Booth #338) says its channel program grew by more than 100 percent in 2011 and sales by its top 10 agents increased 120 percent collectively last year.

Making the announcement at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo, Airband’s agents say the spike is due to record-high demand for Airband’s voice and data services, including Internet, VoIP and business continuity solutions that are delivered on Airband’s wholly owned, fixed-wireless network.

The company says its fixed-wireless network bypasses the local phone and cable infrastructure so customers don’t have to worry about downtime that can be caused by cable cuts or natural disasters. In addition, Airband customers can leverage the flexibility of fixed-wireless to upgrade bandwidth within hours, rather than waiting weeks for traditional providers to adjust their service. Airband also says it provides unique benefits to companies that need to move office locations within a short amount of time because its wireless infrastructure puts broadband over the air and is not constrained by last-mile network availability of wireline service providers.

Airband’s top 10 agents for 2011, based on sales performance, are: eXemplify Group; RealCom Associates; TeleConsult Solutions; Aligned Communications; City Communications Integrated; Pro Technology Solutions; Zoom Communications; Telarus; World Telecom Group; and Sandler Partners.

“The flexibility of Airband’s architecture, the scalability of their voice and data services and their willingness to offer a customized approach makes them a clear choice for many of our clients,” said Robert Hayes, chief executive officer of eXemplify Group. “By pairing customer service with a reliable IT infrastructure, Airband delivers the high-quality voice and data services that eXemplify’s clients demand, all within a cost structure that benefits our clients’ bottom line.”

In one of its largest channel partner deals of 2011, Airband worked with eXemplify to install a 450-seat hosted VoIP and Internet access solution for a business center owner whose seven properties previously operated on separate networks served by multiple providers.

CHANNEL PARTNERS — Comcast Business Class (Booth #305) is doubling down on the channel, beefing up staff and systems as well as adding more agents, the company announced Tuesday at the Channel Partners Conference & Expo in Las Vegas.

Comcast channel chief Craig Schlagbaum, vice president of sales – indirect channels, told Channel Partners that the cableco is doubling the size of its channel management team to provide at least one channel manager and in some cases two across its 16 regions. The leadership team also now includes Cary Tengler as well as Scott Mull, Matt Wilson and Kevin Conmy.

Comcast also has added sales engineering support so that there is now one sales engineer for every two or three channel managers.

The cableco also added more Partner Support Coordinators. PSCs make sure orders are entered and accepted and monitor their status. Further, Comcast added a new position, a Partner Account Coordinator, which manages post-sale issues from order to installation. The PACs are focused on either SMB or enterprise products.

Schalagbaum said the new position will help Comcast more closely monitor customer satisfaction.

Since launching the program in spring 2011, Comcast has been supporting the channel with “less than optimal resources” while it demonstrated traction and success to the company’s executive leadership, Schlagbaum said. He claimed triple-digit growth rates since the launch. “In the first month we had less than 100 orders, now we have a multitude higher than that each month,” he said.

The launch of metro Ethernet in the fall also is driving some of the growth in sales and the need for more resources, he said, noting agents and their customers are responding to the cableco proposition of a diverse last mile, particulary to enable cloud delivery.

The investments extend to system improvements to the WebTop partner portal as well. The service availability tool was rolled out to master agents in fourth quarter 2011. In first quarter 2012 it was extended to subagents. In addition, real-time order status updates are coming in April. Previously, this was done manually, Schlagbaum explained, adding that while these may seem perfunctory, they are substantial since Comcast is new to the channel and had no tools in place.

Finally, Comcast said it is adding a fourth master agency, MicroCorp Inc., to its roster. The company launched with just three: Telecom Brokerage Inc., Intelisys Inc. and Telarus Inc. It also has signed a few more direct relationships in addition to the eight previously announced: Advoda and World Telecom Group.

Schlagbaum said there is more to come in 2012, including a new voice/data/HDTV offer for the hospitality industry and metro Ethernet over HFC due out in third quarter.

Read More from Channel Partners Online

By Joseph F. Kovar

Adding connectivity is not only one of the fastest ways for a solution provider to add a new revenue stream, it can be a fairly easy process, according to a panel at XChange on Monday.

The rise of the UC market is causing a huge shift as he old communications mainstay, PBX, continues to fall out of favor, said Rob Brown, vice president of carrier services at Ronco Communications, a Tonawanda, N.Y.-based UC solution provider.

Implementing UC can seriously cut communications costs, especially for customers with multiple sites, Brown said. He cited a customer with 16 sites who had a phone bill approaching $50,000 a month that was able to cut it to $12,000 after implementing UC. “That’s return on investment, and the money saved can be spent on other services,” he said.

“For solution providers that have not yet started working with carriers to provide services such as UC, there are several ways to get started,” said Vince Bradley, president and CEO of World Telecom Group, a Malibu, Calif., carrier services master agent.  “These include signing direct contracts with carriers, which require certain commitments and quotas on the part of the solution provider; working with a master agent who provides back-office support without the need for commitments or quotas; or joining a referral program that provides less compensation but requires no upfront engagement,” Bradley said.

Having a mix of carrier partners is important as customer location often determines which carriers can be used, Brown said.  “Some areas are limited in terms of carrier choice,” he said. “We’ve walked away from deals because we don’t have the right carrier… Sometimes you need to be creative.  Maybe an account has 20 locations, but the primary carrier covers only 17 locations.”

Connectivity can be a profitable solution for VARs, said Ray Mota, managing partner at ACG Research, Gilbert, Ariz..

“For many in the channel, the No. 1 pain point is the cost of customer acquisition,” Mota said.  “We’ve found that as you offer connectivity, you increase customer retention by 27 percent.”

Click here to read more:  http://dc.ubm-us.com/issue/57433

Thanks to all of WTG’s great Agent Partners who helped us attain this great accolade once again!