By Ted Schuman, CEO, PlanetOne Communications

It’s sad to say, but I have told my father on more than one occasion the only difference between telecom and the car business is we wear nicer suits. It wasn’t always that way. I recall a time when someone said they would do something for you ... it happened. When you gave a gift to someone they said ... thank you. When a channel manager or VP left one carrier they called and stayed in touch instead of trying to steal client and agent lists.

When you have been doing this for more than 20 years, I can honestly say I have seen it all happen more than once and it never ceases to amaze me. The only silver lining is you can almost always count on:

A) They’ll be fired soon or leave their current employer

B) They’ll end up in jail

C) They’ll set up accounts on the side and then leave the carrier to become an agent

D) They leave the industry

E) They’ll call on you again with a new program which is ALWAYS better than what they were selling before

The people we are the most successful with today (vendors and agents) are the ones we have strong personal relationships with that have been built on mutual respect and trust. This comes from doing the common things uncommonly well:

A) Returning calls in a timely manner

B) Responding to e-mail

C) Being professional

D) Showing concern for you and your business

E) Going the extra mile to help regardless of the time of day

F) Showing appreciation for your business

G) Being creative to resolve issues

H) Creating win-win scenarios

I) Paying us in a timely manner (had to throw that one in!)

The entire industry has been stretched very thin. Everyone works on tight schedules, tight budgets and struggles managing their workload. However, if you just remember to embrace some of the endearing qualities our parents hopefully taught us ... your income, quotas, job satisfaction, blood pressure and happiness will take care of itself.

Slow down and call someone to say “thank you.” Return that call you’ve been putting off. Respond to that e-mail in your inbox you’ve ignored. Help someone solve a problem.

You can’t place a value on doing this. It doesn’t cost you anything but your time and as MasterCard likes to put it’s “priceless.”

Ted Schuman is founder and CEO of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based PlanetOne Communications. PlanetOne currently represents more than 20 providers and supports more than 1,000 agents with three offices around the nation. Schuman has more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the telecom industry and more than 15 years experience in indirect channel management.

User Comments !

It is unfortunate that people in this business need to be reminded of the simple things you mentioned. Nonetheless, good post that will most likely yield nothing from those who are reading it.

Posted by: Telco4Life | May 01 2008 13:40:33