Building Your Business with SIP
Trunking and Unified Communications
InGate SIP Trunking and Unified
Communications Summit
January, 2014
Joel Maloff
Vice President – Channel Development
Phone.com
www.phone.com
Jmaloff @phone.com
Introduction
 Channel Sales Partners can generate
significant income selling SIP trunks
and Unified Communications
 This session takes a sales and marketing
perspective, and specifically, the view
from the independent agent.
 This presentation contains some
material covered in more detail in the
online program “SIP Trunking for the
Sales and Marketing Professional,”
available from The SIP School
(www.thesipschool.com).
Building Your Business Overview
 SIP Trunks and UC
 Channel Sales Opportunities
 What to look for in a SIP Trunking, Hosted
PBX, and/or Unified Communications
Channel Program
 Identifying YOUR SIP Trunking “Sweet
Spot” and what to avoid
 Interpreting the customer’s Status Quo
 Uncovering areas of added value




Creating a cost justification/ROI model
Overcoming Objections
Closing the Sale
Keeping the Sale
SIP Trunks and UC
 Unified communications
includes mobility, presence, web
conferencing, a variety of other
solutions, AND voice
communications via SIP trunks.
 SIP trunking is therefore a subset
of the unified communications
umbrella.
SIP Trunks and UC
 Unified Communications can be multifaceted, complex and
confusing to potential buyers.
 That’s bad for sales.
 By focusing on specific benefits and documented ROI, your
chances for a sale go up.
 SIP trunking can provide the substantiation you need!
Channel Sales Opportunities
 SIP Trunking, Hosted PBX, and Unified Communications are
young industries.
 Most service providers are less than five years old.
 Channel programs are only just now beginning for these
services and the models vary widely.
Channel Sales Opportunities
 What to look for in a service provider
 Strong existing reputation
 Comprehensive suite of services that address YOUR
marketplace
 Competitive pricing
 Low customer churn rate
 Clear partner compensation program
 Interactive web-based tools for partners
Channel Sales Opportunities
 What to avoid
 Organizations with a limited track record in these specific
services
 Bias towards specific technologies
 “Only a Broadsoft-based service provider is worth considering.”
 Base your decisions on demonstrable evidence rather than speculation.

There are many excellent alternatives and no one technology has all of
the answers in terms of features, quality, and cost effectiveness.
The SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot”
 Each ITSP is different.
 What is your partner’s “sweet
spot”
 Number of concurrent calls?
 Number of locations?
 Minimum current telephone bill?
 Number of PRIs total and/or per
location?
The SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot”
 Number of minutes per month?
Incoming?
 Outgoing?
Local, domestic long distance,
international?
Inbound Toll-free?
Specific vertical industries?
Specific geographies?





The SIP Trunking “Sweet Spot”
• As a sales
organization,
knowing who and
where to target can
be the difference in
making your
numbers or failing
to perform.
Interpreting the Status Quo
 Reviewing an actual
customer bill for cost
savings
 Identifying areas of “soft”
savings
Finding Added Value
 Consolidation of offices
 Creation of “Virtual” presence
 Domestic
 International
Cost Justification and ROI
 It is easy to assert cost
savings; it takes work to
prove it.
 “Hard” cost savings come from
three primary areas:
 Usage sensitive call charges
 Fixed price services (PRI, DSL,
local exchange lines, et al) used
for voice services
Cost Justification and ROI
 Fees and Surcharges
 EUCL
 The End User Common Line
(EUCL) charge is a federally
regulated monthly service
charge applied to certain local
voice service offerings.
 RCRF
 The Regulatory Cost
Recovery Fee (RCRF)
 Imposed by some carriers on
business and residential long
distance customers
 used to recover costs
associated with Federal
regulatory fees imposed upon
these carriers.
 Others
Cost Justification and ROI
 Calculating potential savings
 Understand current costs by
examining a current bill if
possible.
 Try to make sure that it is a
representative month and not an
anomaly.
 Identify usage charges and their
breakdown regarding local,
domestic long distance, and
international.
 Identify fixed monthly charges for
PRIs, DSL, and surcharges.
Cost Justification and ROI
 Some vendors do offer ROI tools for SIP trunking.
 http://www.xo.com/forms/campaign/ExternalSales/ESIPCal
cLP/index.aspx?ListSource=PressRelease071510
 Unfortunately, the level of detail may not be sufficient for you –
unless you are a salesperson for that company!
Cost Justification and ROI
 What are the challenges with “overview” ROI tools?
 Total Number of employees
 Minimum of 50
 Number of Physical Locations
 Minimum of 5
 Percentage of Inter-company calling
 Asserted savings is 38%!
 What is missing from this picture?
Cost Justification and ROI
SIP Trunking Customer Usage Analysis
Type of Calls:
# Calls
Duration
in Minutes
Average
Call Duration
Direct Dial Interstate
Direct Dial Intrastate
Toll-Free Interstate
Toll Free Canada (call from Canada)
68,247
104,953
1.54
1,419
1,693
1.19
2,257
4,731
2.10
987
2,381
2.41
Current Carrier A
Current Carrier B
Current Carrier C
YOUR
Cost/Minute
Carrier A
Total
Carrier B
Total
Carrier C
Total
YOUR
Total
$ 1,469
$ 24
$ 66
$ 43
$
$
$
$
0.0201
0.0840
0.0201
0.1950
$
$
$
$
0.0500
0.0490
0.0150
0.0490
$
$
$
$
0.0180
0.0490
0.0180
0.0490
$
$
$
$
0.0140
0.0140
0.0140
0.0180
$
$
$
$
2,110
142
95
464
$
$
$
$
5,248
83
71
117
$
$
$
$
1,889
83
85
117
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
0.0300
0.1381
0.2100
0.1400
0.1380
0.2190
0.2190
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
0.0300
0.0556
0.0509
0.0675
0.0503
0.1520
0.1363
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
0.0300
0.0400
0.0600
0.0400
0.0400
0.0700
0.0500
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
0.020
0.045
0.040
0.036
0.050
0.041
0.040
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
147
245
86
40
19
21
9
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
147
99
21
19
7
15
5
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
147
71
24
11
6
7
2
International from U.S.:
United Kingdom
3,216
4,900
1.52
Japan
1,068
1,777
1.66
Hong Kong
310
408
1.32
Singapore
210
287
1.37
Brazil
93
138
1.48
Australia
63
96
1.52
Norway
39
39
1.00
USAGE SUMMARY
Total Direct Dial Domestic
Total International
Total Inbound Toll Free
TOTAL MONTHLY USAGE
PROJECTED ANNUAL USAGE
# Calls
Duration
in Minutes
Average
Call Duration
72,910
4,999
3,244
113,758
7,645
7,112
1.56
1.53
2.19
81,153
128,515
1.58
973,836
1,542,180
Carrier A
Total
MONTHLY
COSTS
ANNUAL
COSTS
Carrier B
Total
Carrier C
Total
$
$
$
$
$
$
$
98
80
16
10
7
4
2
YOUR
Total
$
$
$
2,347 $
567 $
464 $
5,402 $
313 $
117 $
2,057 $ 1,559
268 $ 217
117 $ 43
$
3,378 $
5,831 $
2,442 $ 1,819
$
40,536 $
69,972 $
29,306 $ 21,830
Cost Justification and ROI
 Calculating potential costs
 Identify fixed monthly charges for PRIs, DSL, and surcharges.
 Calculate the number of SIP trunks (concurrent calls) and
Internet bandwidth required using the spreadsheet on the next
slide.
Cost Justification and ROI
SIP Trunking Customer Fixed Cost Analysis
Dedicated Circuits
SIP Trunks
Type
Bandwidth
Number
PRI
T-1
E-1
DSL
1.5 mbps
1.5 mbps
2.048 mbps
512 kbps
1
1
1
CODEC
G.729
G.711
BW per call
(kbps)
Number of Voice
Channels
Concurrent
Calls
50
80
23 $
$
30
0
CODEC Dependant
Total BW
Required (kbps)
7
7
Total
Monthly
Monthly $$
MRC Per SIP
Trunk
330 $
528 $
450.00 $
300.00 $
$
$
450
300
-
Total MRC
20.00 $
20.00 $
132
132
Cost Justification and ROI
 Calculating potential savings and value
 Include all costs for all solutions
 Consider surcharges and fees such as EUCL (Approximately
$40 per PRI or T-1 monthly) and RCRF (Approximately 3.5%
of all domestic and international calling charges)
 Most ITSPs do not include EUCL and RCRF fees.
 Show the monthly total costs, percent saved via SIP trunking,
and the estimated annual savings.
Cost Justification and ROI
Total Cost Comparison
Carrier A
Carrier B
Monthly Recurring Line Charges
Monthly Recurring SIP Trunk Fees
Average Monthly Usage Charges
Average Monthly Surcharges and Fees
$
450 $
$
$
3,378 $
159 $
TOTAL MONTHLY FEES
Percent saved by SIP Trunking
ANNUAL SAVINGS VIA SIP TRUNKING
$
3,987 $
44%
20,826 $
N/A
$
Carrier C
450 $
YOUR SIP Trunking
5,831 $
244 $
450 $
$
2,442 $
126 $
300
132
1,819
-
6,526 $
66%
51,292 $
3,018 $
25%
9,203
2,251
N/A
N/A
Cost Justification and ROI
 Simple tools provide simplistic answers; business is complex
today!
 If you want to deliver quality to your prospects, preparation
is in order; they will welcome your expertise!
Overcoming Objections
 Conceptual
 Internet Telephony is here to stay
 AT&T asks the FCC to allow shut-down of their traditional PSTN
services in favor of IP Telephony.
 “… the VoIP access and SIP trunking services market will continue to
build on its downturn-defying 40.1 percent growth in user base and 22.3
percent growth in revenues in 2009.” (North American VoIP Access
and SIP Trunking Services Markets, Frost & Sullivan, April 2010)
Overcoming Objections
 Technical
 Financial
 Emotional
Closing the Sale
 ASK FOR THE ORDER!!!
 Make it easy.
 Make it simple.
 Make it painless.
Keeping the Sale
 Minimize churn!
 Keeping and growing existing
customers is more valuable than new
sales.
 The salesperson’s job is NOT done
when the service agreement is
signed.
 Ensure that service is delivered as sold
and when promised.
 Maintain regular contact to avoid
unexpected churn, expand existing
services, obtain referrals, and solicit
testimonials.
Conclusions
 Successfully selling SIP trunking, hosted PBX, and unified
communications services requires a combination of good old
fashioned sales skills and knowledge of the SIP trunking
environment beyond just surface information and platitudes.
 Customers NEED these solutions – you need to be able to
help them make the buying decision from you!
For More Information
 Joel Maloff, Phone.com
 954-239-7243
 jmaloff@phone.com
 www.phone.com
 The SIP School
 www.thesipschool.com