Today, you can get your MPLS, wireline and conferencing services from the same carrier.  Whatever your infrastructure, you are able to use one carrier. You may not want to use a single carrier for all these services, but you have the leverage.

How do you leverage your spend?

• Know your spend and requirements. If you don’t have your usage and spend history there is no way to effectively negotiate.
• Negotiate services separately, but leverage the spend. You don’t want to negotiate a flat discount on all services because you’re leaving money on the table. You also don’t want discounts based on spend. If you choose not to use one of the services your spend commitments fall short.
• Focus on the complete picture, not just savings. Many organizations see price as the end goal, but the price is irrelevant if the service is poor.
• Include cross-functional spend and requirements. Many organizations have one group manage wireless, another manage wireline, and another manage data. Include cross-functional groups in your sourcing process.
• Include flexibility in your contracts. Most likely all of your service contracts aren’t expiring at the same time. Include language that allows you to come back to the table when other buckets of spend are available.
• Work quickly. Do your due diligence, but it’s better to get 90% of your savings and implement than spend nine months trying to get that incremental 10%. Time is money.

By following these tips, you can gain significant savings on all of your data and telecom spend.

Does your organization need help with your wireless contract negotiation or other wireless consulting services? We can help.

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Apple is looking to take even more market share from RIM with iPhone OS 4.  The OS upgrade hitting this summer will have improved data protection, wireless app distribution, device management, and improved email and VPN capabilities.

The two most enterprise attractive features are the Mobile Device Management and Wireless App Distribution capabilities.  These features make it easier for companies to manage their users.  I don’t see the improved email as a benefit to the corporation. Frankly, most organizations aren’t concerned that an employee can now manage the work and personal email in one mailbox. It’s nice for the user, but isn’t going to sell any business use devices.

With no mention of the iPhone for other wireless carriers, are these enhancements enough to get you  leaning away from your Blackberries?

Related posts:

1. iPad In A Corporate Environment?

We’ve talked before about the importance of a sales force toolkit, and the benefits of fixed mobile convergence before, and a femtocell can help with the viability of your chosen solution.

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Look at the presentation for a sample of the Wireless Program Audit.

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We’ve seen many organizations that provide their sales reps with cell phones, blackberries, perhaps modem cards, Wi-Fi access, fax numbers, home office landlines and long distance service, and the list goes on. In these organizations the sales reps aren’t satisfied. They still want more services; they need more tools, better software, etc. Why? Because the organizations haven’t understood the requirements and provided hardware and software that met those requirements. New services have been added to the toolkit over time as technology has evolved. If your sales force toolkit looks like this, you must re-evaluate and consider your entire mobility management program.

Re-evaluating or even creating a sales force toolkit has four main stages.

1. Current State Evaluation
2. Sales Force Toolkit definition
3. Vendor Selection / Negotiation
4. Implementation

Each stage is equally important and should be followed in this order to ensure your sales team’s needs are met, and you achieve the best possible service rates.

Current State Evaluation

The first stage of a Sales Force Toolkit project is understanding your current state. What services are provided and what is your organization spending? Understanding the spend of a large organization can be complicated by the number of expensed services.

To gather spend data, you’ll need to look at your company provided services and expense reporting data. Depending on your expense reporting data you may not have a clear picture of what is expensed. If you aren’t able to get to the details, I suggest conducting a survey of your entire sales team. Make the survey anonymous and you’ll get more honest answers.

The Sales Force Toolkit is much more than wireless service, so be sure your current state evaluation considers all possible expenses:

Wireless Service

• Individual and Corporate Liable (don’t assume because the company provides wireless service that reps aren’t expensing as well)
• Voice, Data, and features

Landline Phone Service

• Local Service
• Long Distance
• Fax
• How many lines?
• Features and services such as call waiting, etc.

Internet Access

• Home Office Broadband (are they paying for the more expensive business class?)
• Remote paid Wi-Fi Access (hotel, airport, etc.)

When conducting your survey you’ll also want to ask what types of tools the sales team is looking for. This will help when you begin defining the solution.

Sales Force Toolkit Definition

After you understand the current state, you’re now ready to define your organizations Sales Force Toolkit. There is a difference between what a sales force wants and what a sales force needs. The purpose of the toolkit is to meet your sales team’s needs, have a common presentation to your customers, and have the most efficient cost.

To adequately define the Sales Force Toolkit you’ll need to consider the following:

Services to Consider

• Wireless voice and data service
• Fax solution (eFax, or similar)
• Broadband internet
• Fixed Mobile Convergence

Hardware to Consider

• Laptop
• Wireless voice and data hardware (smart phone)
• Modem Card. You may be able to use your smart phone as a tethered modem, but there are limitations and little to no cost savings. This may change in the future and will need to be evaluated for your company.
• Femtocell (if there is poor coverage at a rep’s home office). The big three carriers (AT&T, Sprint, Verizon) each provide a solution.
• Multi-Function Printer/Scanner
• iPad?

Excluded / Discontinued Services

By providing comprehensive toolkit, there are redundant services that should only be offered on an exception basis.

• Landline local and long distance
• Dedicated Fax line
• Remote paid Wi-Fi
• Miscellaneous redundant charges

The biggest thing to keep in mind is that the toolkit must satisfy the sales team and the company’s requirements.  Your sales force may initially be upset about losing services, but remember the point of this exercise is to better equip the sales force, not cut costs. If done properly, you can achieve both, but be sure to focus on the enhancements and added functionality. Focus on the benefit.

Vendor Selection and Negotiation

Once you know what the toolkit will include, it’s time to negotiate with potential suppliers. Depending on your existing wireless service, the negotiations can be informal conversations, or full blown RFPs. No matter how complex your negotiations are, you will be introducing new services which equates to new revenue that your carriers will want. Don’t forget about the hardware when you’re selecting vendors. It’s not a good idea to go to Office Depot and buy 300 printers. Work through your organization’s IT and Office Supply contacts to negotiate your hardware prices. Sometimes working with one of the manufacturers directly is the best bet, but don’t forget about the retailers like Office Depot, Staples, or CDW. Also, don’t forget about the consumables like toner.

How you approach service providers will depend on your current situation. If you’re six months into a three year agreement with Sprint and AT&T, it’s better to focus informally with these two carriers rather than bringing in a third or fourth bidder. These two carriers (knowing their current position in your organization) will generally fight hard for the new revenue. If you’re coming to the end of your wireless agreements it’s a good idea to conduct a formal RFP for your complete wireless program.

Because you evaluated your current state (you did, right?) and understand the future solution, you are in a perfect position to negotiate for the best rates and equipment prices.

Implementation

After evaluating your current state, defining your sales force toolkit, and negotiating the best rates, you’re ready to implement the toolkit. Make no mistake; an implementation of this scale is complex. There’s more to rolling out your toolkit than just sending out equipment. You must, at a minimum, ensure the following tasks are complete:

• Understand who is getting what. Who needs new equipment, who needs services cancelled, etc.?
• Updating HR or your user database with the new equipment. Asset management is critical to maintaining a clean program.
• Make sure your IT support organization is prepared to support any new equipment and services
• Determine how new equipment will be rolled out. Are you able to deploy new equipment and services on-site, or will everything be handled remotely?
• Leverage your carriers. Work with your carriers to make sure all services and equipment can be activated with little to no user interruption.
• Set your communication plan. Make sure your communication is proactive and clear. Let your sales team know what they’re getting, how, and when. Make sure all activation instructions are easy to follow and accurate (again, leverage your carriers).
• Assign responsibilities. Identify people to manage each phase of the implementation as well as ongoing maintenance.
• Define timeline. How many services can you activate in a day? Are you implementing to the toolkit in one day, or staged over weeks?
• New Hire On boarding. What is the process for new sales reps? Who provisions the services, and how to they get their equipment?

Once all of these items have been defined, you’re ready to implement your new sales force toolkit. There’s always going to be a few snags, but with an effective plan you will mitigate risk and be able to respond quickly to any issues.

Defining a Sales Force Toolkit is not a simple project and it should be part of your overall mobility management program. However, you’ll be surprised at the competitive advantage, sales rep satisfaction, and savings this project will bring. At 3 Red Shells we’ve helped organizations like yours implement toolkits. Contact us if you could use some help with your project.

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Why will Google succeed where the carriers have failed?

The main reason Google Voice will work in the corporate environment is because it doesn’t require IT or Telecom involvement. If a user wants Google Voice they can begin taking advantage of it immediately. No need for business case review or ROI analysis. Forward your desk phone to your Google Voice number, update your auto signature and start giving out your Google Voice number exclusively.

You are able to configure Google Voice the way you want, not bound by stodgy IT Policies. Take advantage of visual voicemail, voicemail to text transcription, custom greetings,  and intelligent call forwarding. Everything an employee could want, right?

Is Google Voice better than the carrier solutions?

For forward-thinking IT and Telecom companies? No. For the vast majority of organizations? Yes. What the wireless carriers (and other stand-alone telecom companies like Cisco) provide is an extension of the PBX and free calling when “on campus”. A true Fixed-Mobile Convergence application. You get four or five digit dialing, intelligent call forwarding, voicemail stored on the Enterprise PBX (if you want), and your land line provider international calling rates.  The carrier solutions are better equipped at letting the organization manage the wireless and telecom services. Support issues are reduced, cost is often better managed, and it’s a common experience for all wireless users.

What do you do as an organization?

If you mange your wireless or telecom services for your organization the first step is to understand these new technologies. Work with your sales force, your managers, and other wireless users to understand their needs. As an organization are you providing the services they need? Talk to your wireless carriers and telecom providers to determine what their solutions are. Your account rep may not be the best person. Speak with your account team’s mobile application specialist.

After you understand the options, perform small pilot groups. The carriers should work with  you to provide free or discounted services during the pilot period. After the pilot, gather the feedback and make your decision. The Fixed-Mobile Convergence solutions provided by your wireless carrier do not require any capital expenditure; it’s just a small monthly expense that usually pays for itself in the first month.

Before implementing the service you will need to update your wireless policy.  Develop your training material, and determine how you will communicate the new services. Is your organization committed to providing the tools your workforce needs, or are you going to force people to find workarounds and sub-optimized solutions?

If 3 Red Shells can assist in any way, we’re more than happy to help.

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With any new technology it’s up to the organization to review and determine the appropriate use for the product. It seems companies fall on either side of the fence. One side being overly controlling. Picking one standard and going with that standard regardless of need. The other side being no control and letting users get whatever they want. Both sides have their issues. In regards to wireless devices I think it’s best to straddle the fence. Define your policy for standard users and exception users. One tip, exception users aren’t executives.

The iPad Exception User

There is one critical function that could make use of the iPad in the corporate environment. Sales. Sales is all about building that connection with the customer. Understanding their need, empathizing, and providing solutions. The iPad allows for a more intimate way of presenting. In smaller groups, one-on-one, or at lunch meetings, imaging pulling out the iPad and passing it around the room to show off a 3D model of your product, your website, or videos of users enjoying your solution. The iPad has functionality that is cumbersome on the PC and most importantly the iPad is intimate. I’m not talking staged presentations, I’m talking off-the-cuff conversations that allow you to connect with your customer.

Does this type of scenario make sense for your organization? If so, I suggest you begin testing with iPhone’s or iPod touches. Make sure your content will support the new platform, and that your sales force knows how to use it. Seth Godin talked about the iPad as a digital Talking Pad, and that’s the exact scenario I envision in a leading sales force.

Begin the work now to make sure your IT group and Sales Force are prepared, the 3G iPads are available in late April. I’m excited about what the iPad can do in the sales environment.

If you need assistance determining if the iPad (or similar technology) is a good fit in your organization, let us know.

Related posts:

1. Is Your Sales Force Properly Equipped?
2. Individual Liable vs. Corporate Liable
3. Google Voice Or True Fixed-Mobile Convergence?

It turns out, these are not the questions to ask.

More

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