by Susan Davidson, VP of Sales & Business Development

CLOSING A LARGE ENTERPRISE ACCOUNT REQUIRES MORE THAN JUST OFFERING THE LOWEST PRICE. An understanding of the prospective customer’s needs and the ability to add meaningful value to their business can differentiate you from the others trying to make the same sale. For nearly a decade, TMC has been helping its agents close large enterprise accounts by providing value-add solutions that create significant savings and efficiencies for their customers. Here are other ways TMC agents are winning these large enterprise accounts.

Rates for less than a penny

VALUE ADD 1: Perform a free analysis of customer CDR that reveals your customer’s current traffic patterns with a flat rate and with LATA-based pricing.

Enterprise businesses with more than $5,000 in monthly billing can save more by utilizing a LATA-based pricing structure. We’ve analyzed hundreds of CDRs and found that, in most cases, LATA-based pricing provides businesses with sub-penny rates and savings of 25 percent to 69 percent over a flat rate! Another benefit is that LATA-based pricing includes no RBOC charges and there are no fees associated with this pricing structure. A free analysis of your customer’s CDR will reveal the pricing structure that saves the customer the most and provides a real-life example of how LATA-based pricing can decrease their actual costs — which helps them make a decision on the pricing structure that works best for them.

Traffic patterns affect costs

VALUE ADD 2: Provide a free tool that allows customers to view their monthly calling patterns.

It’s important for enterprise businesses, particularly call centers, to spot calling trends and to be aware of specific costs such as average cost per minute. To help businesses understand how their calling patterns affect cost, TMC developed Rate Tracker, a tool that analyzes monthly traffic patterns.

Rate Tracker provides your customers with a customized view of their monthly calling patterns in both report and graph form. The tool creates a custom report each month that reviews all calls by service type, and also analyzes LATAs by service type (1+ etc.), and calls by type (interstate, intrastate etc.). Detailed information such as cost, minutes, calls and average price per minute are included in each analysis, which is included on the CD-ROM that is delivered to your customer each month with their invoice — at no cost. Rate Tracker has proven to be a valuable tool in helping customers make important business decisions such as identifying cost-efficient areas to dial.

Down with downtime

VALUE ADD 3: Provide a business continuity strategy.

TMC’s multicarrier network allows businesses to include two carriers in their network designs. If one carrier goes down, TMC, as the responsible organization (RespOrg), automatically switches traffic to the alternative carrier in just minutes. Businesses continue to run without interruption. Plus, they receive one invoice and one point of contact for this service.

VALUE ADD 4: Allow customers to be their own RespOrgs.

By offering your customers the ability to be their own RespOrg, you provide access to the SMS database that enables them to reserve and set up their own 800 numbers as well as to control their traffic with percentage allocation and geographical routing among TMC’s multicarrier network. Customers who choose to be their own RespOrg receive the highest level of disaster recovery on inbound calls and the lowest rates by least cost routing among TMC’s many networks. In addition to reduced downtime and receiving the lowest rates, customers have more control. They get instant access to their accounts to make changes and to manage their traffic.

Service sells

VALUE ADD 5: Offer your customer a telecom professional and one point of contact on their account.

Customers billing $3,000 per month or more are entered into TMC’s Premier Services Program. This exclusive customer-service-focused program is led and managed by dedicated telecom professionals. The Premier Services Manager is your customer’s contact for all of their services. They assist with verifying and reviewing services and rates on a regular basis, managing service due dates, and answering or facilitating product, service or billing questions. Issues are resolved quickly and customers like the convenience of dealing with one person who understands and manages their account. Agents are notified immediately about major account changes and up-sell opportunities.

At TMC, we’re continually developing new sales strategies, tools and unique ways to help our agents win new business. To find out more about TMC’s value-add solutions, please contact me, Susan Davidson, or a member of the TMC sales support team at +1 866 999 1133 or visit the Web site at www.tmcagent.com. If you’ll be attending the Channel Partners Show in Washington, D.C., stop by TMC Booth 707.