12 / 24
to use IT to move their businesses forward. For master
agents, keeping up with this transition requires sig-
nificant investment in specialized personnel, product
education and training, back office processes and
pre- and post-sales support.
“We’ve had to increase our headcount in sales en-
gineering, order fulfillment and project management
as well as our help desk support,” said Raue. “We have
had to invest in training and certification for our em-
ployees such as CompTIA training certifications
in Security, Project Management and Cloud
Essentials, as well as master trainings and
fulfillment processes for most all promi-
nent hosted PBX providers, and invest
in systems such as
SalesForce.com.”
“For the past four years, we have
been assembling a team of very ac-
complished people with specialized
expertise,” said Praske. “We have
been doing tons of client education
– mostly one-on-one but also semi-
nars for our clients and prospects.”
Those experts include business
consultant types who can discuss
business strategies with the C-Level
executives who are increasingly part
of the technology purchasing process
and are leading organizations’ digital
transformations. “We make these (business
consultants) available to our subagents to go
on-site for their meetings,” said Praske.
“Sales engineering will also be more important in
the coming years,” emphasized Vince Bradley, WTG CEO.
“WTG has a sales engineering practice that continues to
identify the best solutions for our agent community’s cli-
ents and assist with supporting their implementation.”
Automation, likewise, will be an important corner-
stone of the transition, said Bradley. “WTG has been
constantly updating the PartnerEdge system to meet
that increasing demand. For example, in addition to
being able to identify fiber in an automated way, we are
now utilizing a tool whereby our distribution can find
out what hosting provider a client is using.”
It’s an expensive proposition, masters agents tell
us, but it’s a transition that must be made, and one
that, all the while, relies on maintaining significant
growth in access revenues from traditional and pri-
mary providers to subsidize the investments.
“I’m not sure how somebody who is getting started
today can jump into this world,” said Praske.
“I believe it is a barrier to entry to scale now for
new master agent entrants to the marketplace,”
Raue concurred. (Although Raue does see room for
specialized smaller agencies to work targeted sub-
agents of masters that do not possess the skill and
knowledge to make the transition themselves.)
On the other hand, as the communications ser-
vices landscape grows increasingly complex and
wide-ranging, the part master agents play within
the channel only grows in terms of influence and im-
portance. In other words, it’s hard to imagine that a
single sales rep or agent will be able to keep up with
the breadth of services that go into today’s commu-
nications solutions and all the conversations that go
into packaging and selling them.
“Cloud services have made our role as a strategic
advisor – or coach – all the more important,” said Ted
Schuman, PlanetOne Communications CEO. “In many
cases, we’re the glue that brings the deal together and
positions the partner as the cloud services expert and
trusted advisor.
“What’s great about cloud is the detail behind the
deal and the teamwork needed to execute – that’s
where we excel and where our partners rely on us
most to add value and protect their profits,” continued
Schuman. “Similar to managed services, process is para-
mount when it comes to cloud services. Without it, suc-
cess isn’t repeatable or sustainable.”
It’s certainly been a winning formula for PlanetOne,
which has seen its cloud business grow from 5 percent
of revenues to 35 percent during the past year.
And PlanetOne certainly isn’t alone. As can be seen
in our annual Master Agent Directory (May-June issue
of
ChannelVision Magazine
), masters are partnering
with the full spectrum of cloud services and platform
providers, from Amazon to Zayo.
That’s not to say agents and sub-agents shouldn’t
be leery of agencies that “scramble to sign agreements
with as many cloud providers as they can identify.”
Despite any gold rush of opportunity that comes with
major transitions, the value proposition of the master
agent largely remains the same.
“Our perspective is that the master agent’s role in
the ecosystem has not changed much, but rather the
focus of the channel in general has re-aimed its sights
upward to the ‘cloud,’” said Bradley.
At the end of the day, master agents, said Bradley,
still are looked upon to provide education, support and
a safe working environment for their agent partners.
Regardless of the widgets, the model remains based
on adding value to service portfolios, navigating and
managing vendors and ecosystems in the best interest
of sub-agents and their end users, and putting agents
in position to make consultative sales built upon appro-
priate business solutions – ultimately providing a “con-
sistent ease of doing business in the ever-fluctuating
landscape,” said Bradley
As Schuman summed up matters: “A good master
agent is relentless about service levels and will have your
back, always.”
It’s just that, nowadays, there are a lot more pieces
for them to masters.
p
12
THE CHANNEL MANAGER’S
PLAYBOOK