Secrets of a Salesperson #1: Cloud Providers are NOT all the same!

By current conservative estimates, there are about 2,000 VoIP, or cloud phone service providers in the USA.

TWO THOUSAND! Who has the time to check them all out? No one. So let’s trim it down to a manageable number… how about the top 10 in the industry?

Even if you’re just comparing the top 10, how can you tell what makes them different from each other? And how do you know which one is right for your needs?

If you talk to a representative from each one of the top VoIP providers you will hear the same thing: they have the best service, best platform, best reliability, best phones, best hairdos, best breath, best, best, best, blah, blah, blah.

But what’s the REAL story?

Here it is: they are not all the best, and they are not all the same.

Phone systems are like jeans.

What fits one person perfectly, is a terrible fit on the next person.

So how do you choose?

For one thing, you need an insider, who has seen behind the curtain and under the hood, and knows the reality of the companies out there. You need to hear about the real differentiators– the insider tips from the knowledgeable people who know what to look for in a business phone system provider.

We have those insider secrets, because we work with these companies and their customers, and we’re sharing them with you in this series: “Secrets of a Salesperson”.

Now you can shop like an IT pro. You’re welcome.

Insider Secret #1: Platform

“Platform” is the software that a service rides on– the back-end engine that drives it. Many of the leading companies all use the same software platform from the one company and re-label it to carry their logo. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s something you should know as the informed owner, and it’s something that the cloud phone companies aren’t telling you unless you ask.

Why does platform matter? Imagine you’ve narrowed your choices down to two competitors, but in reality you might be comparing two versions of exactly the same thing. Or, you might be deciding between one company that has put their sticker on someone else’s product, while the other company owns and operates their system in-house. This can make a huge difference when it comes to implementation, service, and how much you get tossed around whenever you have to call in for support.

Questions to ask:

What software platform does your service use?
Is it owned in-house, or white-labeled?
If it’s white-labeled, who handles implementation, support, and service issues?

When you ask this last question, be wary of any general answers such as, “Don’t worry about that. We’ll make sure you get taken care of.” Many sales people do not have their own implementation teams. They rely on the provider only. If there is a problem, there isn’t anything that you can do other than make phone calls.

Sonoran Integrations can help. Too many times a customer has come to us after having challenges getting any issues taken care of during implementation and afterwards. The label company doesn’t actually run the operating system, so they aren’t much help when problems arise.

So our first tip is to know that while cloud phone providers are NOT all the same….some actually ARE the same! To make an informed decision you just need to know what you’re truly buying, and then you need to hear the real life stories from people that have used their services. Ask for local references in your industry, or talk to a master agent that has worked with the companies in consideration, who can tell you what they’re REALLY like to do business with.

Use this first tip to start to narrow down your prospects, and stay tuned for more tips to make the decision a little easier. Or, use us to help narrow down the choices to the ones that will be the right fit for your business. We’ll let you know the real story from the trenches, because that’s what we do, and we’re here to help.