The Agent Advantage

Deb McKernan, CFO of Northstar Partners, a commercial real estate firm, ran things by the book. Unfortunately, the book was When Bad Telecom Happens to Good Companies.

McKernan’s frustration was reaching epic proportions after two years of sub-par telecommunications service that included constant problems in moving data between Northstar’s Minnetonka headquarters and its downtown Minneapolis office. When word came in January 2005 that Northstar would be moving its headquarters to Eden Prairie, McKernan knew it was time to cut her losses and find a more reliable service provider.

On the advice of her phone-equipment company, McKernan called Jon Foster, founder of St. Louis Park–based Fostar Telecom, Inc. Fostar is one of a growing number of agent companies that help clients navigate the complex maze of voice and data options—from dial-tone and cell-phone providers to Internet service providers and companies offering voice over Internet protocol (VOIP) service—to find the right package and providers that fit their needs.

Working with an agent ensures stable relationships between your business and your telecom providers.

Telecommunications agents are uniquely positioned to serve clients, because they represent a range of service and hardware suppliers. “Agents are advocates for their clients,” says Marc Agar, president and CEO of CA Communications, a telecommunications agency based in Minnetonka. “They provide a consistent and broad level of expertise to match the client’s communication needs with the right product, solution, and carrier. In addition, an agent represents several carriers versus dealing with one company that only offers its own products.”

Telecom agencies represent service providers (also called carriers), which offer communication services, such as local and long-distance and Internet connectivity.

Agents can also act as resellers for equipment manufacturers that supply telephones and other necessary hardware. The number of companies that agents represent can vary considerably: Fostar Telecom has seven such relationships while CA Communications has 10, and Mendota Heights– based telecom agency Digital Planet Communications, Inc. is a broker for 53 carriers.

Like an insurance agent armed with products from a range of insurance companies, a telecom agent can offer clients a broader perspective than a salesperson employed by a service provider and selling only that company’s products. A skilled agent’s product knowledge is often quite extensive. There are many different types of networks and phone-system platforms. Agents have to ensure that a client’s phone system will be compatible with the provider they’re recommending. Many things can go wrong with new technology in play, and an agent has to make sure a client’s conversion to a new provider is seamless, with no interruption of phone service.