Have you ever sat back and wondered who exactly is the customer in the Vendor/Agent/Client model? Let’s break this down into what I think is very simple. We have an End Consumer, an Indirect Agent and a Vendor. The Agent’s world consists of bringing the Vendor and End-Consumer together. Therefore a lot of people like to think of agents as a ‘Middle-Man’.
We are the hunters of what is called the Indirect Sales Force. We don’t work for any one vendor or master. We are basically 1099 employees and we get paid a commission for business that we bring to a vendor. We pay our own insurance and when we don’t work, we don’t get paid. Most of us chose this life because we were the best of the best at the company we used to work for. Many of us realized that with a little persistence and a decent business plan, that we could do better for ourselves then we could working directly for a vendor. Most of us decided we would rather set our own goals and control to whom and what we sold as opposed to being asked to just sell whatever our particular company happened to offer as a service. Those of us that made it past the initial tough period of building a decent customer base know that we made the right decision and have never looked back.
Our priority is the End-Consumer, and secondarily what we make on any given deal. Too many times our Vendors agent managers treat us very similarly to an in house sales agent. All too often an agent manager or vendor representative is asking us when the deal will be signed, that it needs to be in by ‘the end of the month/quarter/year’. First, as an Indirect Agent, we are always going to try and get the deal signed as quickly as possible, as we don’t get paid until the service starts billing. We do try and help the agent managers, when possible, to bring in deals by the end of the month or quarter or year. But honestly, it doesn’t matter to us if a deal comes in on the 31st or the 4th of the next month. Sure, we will try, so letting us know it would be better for you if we were to get the deal done in a certain time-frame is fine, but don’t repeatedly beat us up about deadlines, because we work for ourselves and frankly our interests are more aligned with the End-Consumer and what their needs are. One of the reasons we chose this life is so that we don’t have to answer questions like this. If is that important we would suggest doing something to help us close the deal within the time-frame desired.
With that said, it is important to understand what the Indirect Agent’s incentive might be to try and rush a sale. For example, a common ‘carrot’ that is suggested by many vendors is to “Give the customer a free month if they sign by said date.” How does that help us the Indirect Agent? That just means we don’t get paid commissions on the free month. What would incent me as an Indirect Agent to take something like that to the End-Consumer? I can bring it in a week later and not miss getting paid. Now if vendors were to suggest something that wouldn’t be taking money out of the Indirect Agent’s pocket and understood that what they are asking us to do is put more time and effort into a sale then we would otherwise have to, then these conversations and the results would likely improve. For example, offer the Indirect Agent a bump in commission, maybe an additional SPIF, a gift card, etc. Ultimately, give us a reason to want to get it done for you and something that will justify our efforts in doing so.
I was reading over a contract with a new vendor today and it said that I had to inform them if the End-Consumer was going to leave at the end of the term. How does this make sense within the Vendor/Agent/Consumer model? In essence, the End-Consumer is the Agent’s customer and we will always do what is in the best interest of OUR customer, not what the Vendor considers to be in their best interests (i.e. keeping the End-Consumer utilizing that vendor’s services). Often times I choose to recommend multiple vendors to my customers and review the pros and cons of each vendor. It is my consultation that helps the End Consumer (my customer) make an informed decision on their services. To me, it is the responsibility of the vendor to offer a high quality service at a competitive price and to illustrate to me the Agent that whatever service the vendor is selling can be differentiated from other service options. Shouldn’t the vendor be doing everything they can to sell the Agent on their services? Shouldn’t they be saying “Hey Bill, you are a valued customer of ours; we will treat YOUR customers the best we can! What can we do to make you the Agent want to bring more of YOUR customers to us?”
I negotiate deals for my customers daily, getting them the best possible terms, conditions, and pricing possible. It is that consultation and ability to negotiate the best deal possible that allows me to retain my customers over the long term. We as Agents basically do all the dirty work that our customers either don’t want to deal with or more commonly don’t know how to deal with. We are an unbiased resource for telecommunications services and it is the ability to quote multiple similar solutions and to explain the differences that allows us to provide a value to the End-Consumer. As opposed to a vendor who would only be able to quote the ‘best service they have’ for the specific engagement. So rather than consulting and making the End-Consumer an informed buyer, a vendor’s direct sales person is basically selling the End-Consumer on something that may not be the best for the End-Consumer, but it is the best that particular vendor has to offer for the situation. We have access to well over 50 different carriers/vendors and for every deal that comes our way I am able to sift through all the options and make sure they are not purchasing a service or solution that isn’t right for them. Basically, we help the End-Consumer make the right decision every time.
If we don’t get treated fairly by the vendor, then I will quit recommending that vendor and when it comes time to re-up a service I may very well suggest another vendor based first on whether the service is right for the End-Consumer and secondly on how well we as the Indirect Agent are treated by the vendor. The fact is, often there are multiple options, priced very nearly the same for most Telecommunication needs, so it should be the responsibility of the vendor to do whatever is necessary to keep us the Agent happy with their services. It isn’t only about the actual service and the price; there are many aspects of this model between the vendor and agent that can set one vendor aside from another. How quickly do you get quotes to the Agent? Are installations professionally handled in a timely manner without continual delays and/or screw ups? How much effort and support will a vendor offer through the process, from pre-sales all the way through implementation and the life of the contract? The point is, there are many different ways that a vendor can increase their presence with an Agent. If we feel we are not getting the support that we need, or we get better support from another vendor (thus making it a better experience for the End-Consumer) then we will recommend shifting that business to another vendor. If the Vendor is not treating the Agent right, then why would we ever think that the vendor would suddenly start treating OUR customers right? I can’t tell you how many times I end up having to explain to a vendor that our customers are our customers, and if Vendors started operating on the assumption that the better they treat an Agent the more customers that Agent will bring to the Vendor the better off we will all be.
The other day I had a long conversation with a VP of a major vendor on this subject. He was all over me to get a deal done, however I knew that my customer had very valid reasons why the deal needed to wait and my customer had asked for my discretion and to not share the reason with anyone. After talking with the VP and explaining in general terms why this deal couldn’t be rushed he said to me “You know what; I never looked at it that way”. On another occasion, a vendor was all over me once again to get a deal done. This vendor went on a long diatribe about how much work he did and how many other people he had to get involved, etc. He became so persistent and such a pain to deal with, that I went to his biggest competitor and negotiated a better deal for my customer. The customer initially wasn’t real happy about changing vendors, but after I was able to illustrate to him that it was in his best interest and showed him how much money he would save by moving my customer was more than happy to change vendors. In fact, in that case my customer moved all of his circuits to said new Vendor as they came off term. So in this case, the ‘bad’ Vendor lost quite a bit of business because they treated the Agent like an employee and not as a customer.
In my opinion, Vendors should realize that the Agent is YOUR customer and the End-Consumer is OUR customer. If you, the Vendor, wants a deal closed by the end of the month, quarter, year, etc., offer a solution that is in the best interests of the Agent. Offer us a bonus or deal or trip or toy. That is what motivates us, not giving up money. Don’t say “Hey that sells for 10k a month, how about if we do it for 9k if they sign by the end of the week?” Simple math here….I lose 1k a month on a 36 month contract. That is 36k at 15%. That equals $5400 over the term. If I have done my job right, I have already negotiated a fair price for my customer. I have to make money to stay in business. Why would I want to give away 5k to bring it in this month?
Ponder!
