More and more small business owners save both time and money by buying some or all of their firm's telecom services through professional telecom agents for the same reasons they buy their homes through a professional real estate agent - they want to get the best value for their telecom dollar spent, avoid the risks associated with a bad purchase and have someone watching out for their best interests. Following are three detailed reasons business owners rely on telecom agents.

Reduce Risk By Learning All Solution Options

Experienced small business owners know that plenty can go wrong when contracting for telecom services, not the least of which is the complete loss of their dial tone. The inability to make a phone call for a couple of hours though pales in comparison to being stuck with tens of thousands of dollars of useless phone equipment. The most important reason to buy telecom services through a telecom agent is to make sure you know all options available to you prior to selecting a particular telecom solution.

As with any industry, most small business problems can be solved with a wide variety of solutions that all exist on the same continuum - from almost free to ridiculously expensive. The low margins associated with the "almost free" solutions on the continuum prevent them from being promoted with any vigor while the obscene margins associated with the "ridiculously expensive" options ensure that an army of salespeople will be constantly bringing them to your attention.

Employed sales people usually only make a one-time commission selling you something and are instructed by their employer to sell you "the widget" regardless. Agents on the other hand make small monthly commissions but make them every month for the length of your patronage. Unlike an employed telecom sales person, the independent telecom agent is only interested in your long term satisfaction (long term as in ten years) so they will be highly motivated to earn your long term patronage and referrals. As such, telecom agents will make sure you understand what they understand about telecom solution options - some cheap ones are worthless, some expensive ones are valueless and some right in the middle offer the best combination of price and quality.

Reduce Risk By Conducting A Better Reference Check

Common sense and a healthy fear of litigation prevents legitimate competitors from publishing, "Telecom Companies To Avoid And Why" - but understanding which firms are on that unpublished list prevents small business owners from making expensive mistakes. Corporate sales employees will suggest that everyone except his or her company is on that list or avoid commenting on competitors all together.

Telecom agents on the other hand make a business of telling the good telecom providers from the bad. Since agents have the opportunity to represent all telecom providers, they need to be able to predict which providers are positioned to offer quality service at the best price over the long run. Like end-users, telecom agents understand that flashy promos are often nothing more than fancy lures designed to get otherwise sensible business owners to take advantage of an offer "too good to be true" which they'll end up regretting later.

Through organizations like Telecom Agent Association, agents are able to keep track of the telecom providers that offer the best combination of long term low price and high quality. They also keep an unwritten list of which providers need to be avoided. Before signing your next telecom service contract make sure you ask a telecom agent if the carrier you're signing with is on Santa's "bad list".

Save Money By Knowing All Market Rates, Terms & Promos

As shocking as it may seem, it's quite possible for a service provider to charge three different end-users three different prices for what is essentially the same service. While telecom agents are compensated by the telecom carriers they are representing to you, the long term success of any telecom agent depends on your long term happiness. If you're doing business through an agent that has references that go back several years you can feel comfortable that they are looking out for your best interest.

The terms of any telecom contract you're being offered through an agent has usually been decided upon by the agent.  Telecom providers allow telecom agents to earn different amounts of commission based on the terms of the contract you sign. A three-year term contract pays an agent better than a one-year term contract. As well, higher monthly rates pay the agent better commissions than lower monthly rates. This being said though, if price is your only shopping criteria, it's likely that the prices and terms the agent is suggesting is the best available. If on the other hand the agent is providing a great deal of complimentary consulting services like solution design and implementation management, the prices may be higher to compensate the agent for the extra time invested in your account.

The questions you need to ask anyone presenting you a telecom services contract are the same questions you would ask when making a hotel reservation, "Is this the very best price I can get? Is there any other way to get a lower price? Are there other people who can sell the same service at a lower price?" Don't be shy, be hard core. The time for buyer's remorse is before signing, not after.