Conferencing: Commodity or Fat Minute?

 through their first conferences in a high-touch environment. The more comfortable users become with collaboration technologies, the more they will use them, meaning more profit for the agent as well.

Agents also should consider which businesses in their base are currently using conferencing solutions and where that revenue is going if not to them. Another agent or provider is picking up that traffic, and Copper Conferencing’s Flynn warned that this can put other revenue generators, such as local, long-distance and MPLS, at risk.

Where’s the Money?

Of course, the real concern here is profit. How much can I make and how soon can it be in my pocket? With easy account setup and faster provisioning times, conferencing allows agents to be paid in the commission cycle subsequent to setup.

“Conferencing remains one of the few services that represents high margins with very low barriers to entry,” said Greg Plum, channel manager for The Conference Group. “Conferencing is the ‘fattest’ minute in the industry, which translates into lucrative, residual commissions for the procuring agent.”

Agents considering conferencing should investigate different companies’ incentives and programs as well. For example, Premiere Global’s buy-rate program allows agents to determine their own commissions. “By empowering them with the ability to use their own knowledge and experience to set retail rates for their prospects and customers, we enable our partners to have a great deal of control over their own income,” said Jensen.

The Conference Group, which derives 40 percent of its sales via the channel, also offers a wholesale pricing model for its agents, allowing them to set their own margin on a client-by-client basis, with typical margins ranging from 40 percent to 80 percent. The provider also offers a new International e-commerce portal, which instantaneously issues live passcodes to a customer with a valid credit card 24 hours per day – and all usage is tracked back to the originating agent for commission purposes.

ConferencePlus Inc. is another provider that offers wholesale-type rates to agents, allowing them to set their own price point and control their own margins. The company reported margins ranging from