3 Big Mistakes New Agency Owners Make

People launching a channel partner business can cost themselves thousands of dollars in mistakes.

So says Ashley Rowland, founder of the agency Adaptiv Advisors and the partner education platform Recurring Raise. Rowland, who left direct telecom sales in 2019 to form her own business, launched Recurring Raise to help new agents avoid the pitfalls she encountered.

Recurring Raise’s Ashley Rowland

Rowland said many of her peers from the direct sales world tell her they would love to launch their own firm. The vendor-agnostic agent business model appealed to her when she was selling for a carrier.

“You’re really excited to jump in and go sell from all of the different vendors. You have unlimited territory. You can sell anywhere, and an unlimited solution set to offer. And so you jump in, and you’re all excited about that,” she said.

But entrepreneurs who enter the agent channel find the industry more convoluted than they expected. They must sort through constant messaging bombardment from prospective vendors and distribution partners and determine where to focus their time and energy.

Rowland shared three costly mistakes that she and other agencies make.

1. Not Interviewing and Negotiating with TSBs

Technology solutions brokerages (formerly known as master agents) play a necessary role in providing agents a line card of technology suppliers. Some partners view them merely as a clearing house for their commissions, while others count on them for sales enablement and back office support.

Rowland said new agency owners often don’t do their due diligence in selecting the right TSB for their business. Rowland, who holds agreements with five different TSBs, encourages partners to interview prospective TSBs. You’re interviewing them — not the other way around.

Rowland suggested several key questions.

The first revolves around supplier agreements. Which agreements does the TSB hold? Moreover, do they partner directly with the vendors, or are they themselves subagents?

“Are you a middleman? Or are you direct to the vendors?” she said.

Second, ask the TSB about its tools. For example, Rowland said she couldn’t do business without her fiber lookup tool.

Third, who are the people that comprise this TSB?

“A lot of times a channel manager will recruit you, but they’re just a recruiter,” Rowland said. “So you want to know, who’s your point person? Who are you going to be talking to? Do you even vibe with them? Are they an experienced person?”

Privacy is another differentiator for Rowland.

“Do you give out your agents’ phone numbers and emails without their permission? Because that happens to me, and it’s really annoying,” Rowland said.

In addition, it’s good to ask the TSB for a referral from one of their agents.

Agents should also be negotiating with prospective TSBs. That means ensuring evergreen commissions and even negotiating higher commission rates. Remember that your services …