When was the last time you reviewed your office’s telephone and internet bills? We’re talking a true invoice by invoice, line by line examination, plus a historical comparison of service offerings and rates over the years to see once and for all if you’re getting a good deal. Even if you do all that, it can tough to tell what even is a good deal.

Enter the telecom broker, a qualified specialist ready to answer those questions (and then some) about your telecommunication service expenses, giving you sweet peace of mind.

What Is a Telecom Agent?

Telecom agents, also known as telecom brokers or consultants, counsel clients on their telecommunications service contracts. These contracts include the many voice and data-based communications that are fundamental in a modern office, including:

• Office landlines
• Internet access and services
• Mobile phones and wireless services
• Voice package amenities (caller ID, group or conference calling, call waiting, etc.)
• Fiber-optic technology with internet connection/integration
• Phone line and bandwidth management

Not every telecom agent is identical, though. For example, some brokers are supplier direct while others are supplier-neutral, meaning they do not have a pre-existing sales partnership with a carrier. Ensure you’re working with a supplier-neutral telecom agent to receive objective, unbiased information on service providers fitting your exact needs — not advice netting a sales commission.

Ten Benefits of Using a Telecom Broker

There are several benefits to using an independent telecom agent that any business — regardless of scale, specialty or industry — can experience.

1. Get the Best Telecom Deal

Telecom audits are an often-forgotten way to perform indirect spend analyses, identifying “hidden” or overlooked expenditures poking holes into your monthly budget. Because let’s face it, when was the last time you dove deep into the “federal subscriber line charges” on your bill — or even looked into what the heck something like that means? 

Telecom brokers audit your complete telecommunications bills, assuring you you’re getting the right deal. These experts know how to spot duplicate or erroneous charges as well as secure the best overall telecommunications contract prices, whether you’re interested in switching carriers or just temperature-checking costs.

2. Survey the Supplier Marketplace

Shopping around for new telecommunications carriers can be riddled with frustrations. Some carriers may not be forthright with contract quotes, turn pushy with aggressive sales pitches or promise sign-on deals and discounts that never fully materialize. You’re left with buyer’s remorse, locked into a package that misses the mark.

Telecom consultants perform holistic marketplace surveys matching you with the services you need at the prices you can afford. They filter through the marketplace looking for competitive phone, internet and cloud contracts based solely on your communicated objectives, letting you avoid the sales pitches and marketing promises altogether.

3. Maintain a One-and-Done Partnership

Using an independent telecom broker gives you a single contact for all your telecommunication questions or concerns. That go-to touchpoint is both convenient as well as constructive, allowing an organic relationship to form where your consultant understands your 360° telecommunication needs and pain points.

Their familiarity breeds better business results. You and your staff have one clear contact to reach out to any time issues arise. What’s more, an independent telecom broker offers fewer change-management risks compared to traditional carrier representatives who are more likely to change jobs, creating servicing headaches based on frequent turnover.

4. Get Unbiased Telecom Packages

A supplier-neutral telecom agent provides unparalleled trust and transparency. Few private carriers will offer the same depth and breadth of telecommunications expertise as independent consultants, often because there is no business incentive to do so. After all, carriers make money off selling their own contracts, not analyzing competitors’ contracts for you. 

Working with a supplier-neutral telecom broker also eliminates a high-pressure sales timeline. You vet and research new contracts on your own terms, using your own goals and objectives and without dealing with a pushy salesperson. The result is a telecommunications arrangement that’s less biased in design and less stressful to manage, a double win for you.

5. Receive Customized Offerings

Supplier-neutral telecom brokers make recommendations based on your exact business needs, not off-the-shelf information. That translates into a potential telecommunications suite based on in-depth and personalized research across your:

• Current and past invoices, profiling a more cost-conscious telecom expense management (TEM) plan
• Telecom inventory, determining optimized telecommunications infrastructure
• A thorough telecommunications needs assessment
• Contract recommendations based on what services you truly need versus what you’re currently being charged for

6. Expand Your Servicing Network

Given their carrier independence, telecom consultants must have knowledge of the wide spectrum of telecommunication brands and businesses in your area. Top-tier brokers may even maintain direct business connections with various telecom carriers, including cloud providers and similar commercial IT services.

Telecom agents leverage that knowledge for their clients. They help you shop around to procure best-fit contracts, including service amenities such as integration support or the ability to expedite service claims for quicker resolution.

7. Simplify Invoicing

Current telecommunications invoicing for businesses includes managing multiple service vendors, each with their own billing cycles, transaction-management systems and bookkeeping for your accounts payable personnel to manage.

That means multiple invoices to pour over to check for errors, as well as multiple manual inputting and routing responsibilities. Working with a telecom consultant or conducting a telecom inventory management audit simplifies your accounts payable workloads, ensuring you’re supporting (and paying for) only the technologies you use and even streamlining your final number of monthly invoices.

8. Use the Lastest Communication Technology

Telecom brokers help clients navigate through the rapidly shifting way we talk, connect and make transactions in the business world. As pure phone line-based communications expand into an ever-interconnected, internet-of-things ecosystem with multiple pieces of equipment and cloud-based infrastructure, a telecom broker is there to translate technology into your business framework, then get you the best deals.

9. Harmonized Communication Workflows, Processes

New, expanded or recently merged businesses frequently face challenges when integrating all available communication technology into their new telecom systems. They must also reconsider current phone line and bandwidth availability, among other telecommunications infrastructure capabilities that may no longer be suitably scaled.

Telecom agents ensure team members and office locations aren’t using disparate or ill-fitting technology. This is especially pertinent for organizations with remote or field employees and for employees who travel a lot in their roles yet need to stay connected and cross-functional regardless of location. 

10. Refocus on Your Business

Perhaps the most significant benefit of using a telecom agent is the peace of mind brought by their expertise. Organization leaders can turn their attention back onto what really matters —creating executable business strategies, bettering operations and creating pathways for growth — not obsessing over telecom bills and negotiating contracts.

Are Your Telecommunications Bills Too High?

Get an answer once and for all with a free telecom audit from Merlin Communications. We’ll assess your current telecommunications contracts so you understand what exactly you’re paying for — and more importantly, if there’s a better deal out there.