Once the decision to become an independent sales agent has been made, the next decision is whether to go it alone and contract directly with the carriers or contract with an established master agent. This question is best answered by first understanding that today's environment requires a consultative sales approach. The agent strives to understand the prospects needs and suggests several solutions from different carriers to fill those needs. The customer is given a choice without the hassle of dealing with multiple sales people.

In order to become a solution seller, going it alone then requires contracting with several carriers. Carrier contracts require revenue commitments and typically pay higher commissions with larger volume sales. Conversely, low monthly commitments produce low commissions. In contrast, a large master agent with an established base of business is capable of paying a sub-agent a larger commission with lower revenue commitments than the agent would receive from a direct agreement with the carrier. The larger master agents also represent a number of carriers, each with dedicated sales support teams. Thus, contracting with a master agent provides maximum flexibility -- an important criterion when considering the current level of uncertainty in the marketplace.

Among the benefits TBI offers its subagents are commissions at or above those an agent could receive with a direct contract, as well as insulation from carrier revenue commitments, certification requirements, and exclusivity clauses. In addition, TBI offers agents access to the carriers' best rates, trouble-free provisioning, and increased exposure and credibility through national advertising.

Perhaps most importantly, TBI's preferred relationship with more than a dozen of the industry's best carriers and resellers, and a solid understanding of the comparative advantages and costs associated with them, gives TBI the ability to assist agents in adapting to any fluctuation in the market. If a vendor or carrier abandons agent support or raises rates so they are no longer competitive, as two examples, TBI will provide alternative vendors and support to help the agent easily switch to selling for other vendors.

TBI represents carriers with services in all markets, including: local service through R-BOC's and C-LEC's, long distance, frame relay, private lines, Internet access, MPLS VPN, hosting, and IP Telephony.

Customers generally like dealing with the carrier reps because they feel they are dealing with a well trained representative looking out for their best interest. What they don't realize is the carrier agents have access to the same level of training and are often required to gain carrier certification.

Direct carrier reps are concerned with meeting their short term monthly sales quota to ensure continued employment. They achieve this by maximizing the customer's monthly dollar commitment and contract term. The carrier rep may not be able to offer the correct product or service to fill the customers' needs because many carriers do not have a complete suite of services. The rep ends up selling services that may create inefficiencies within the customers' core business. The carrier rep doesn't generally offer the latest sales promotion until the sale looks like it may not close. Once the sale is closed, the direct rep gets no compensation for support and directs the customer to the carrier 800 number.

Conversely, agents are concerned about their long term viability as an independent company. They build a strong foundation of customers by offering honest evaluations and the best solutions to meet their client's needs.' The agent maintains a satisfied client base through continued support and efficient solutions. In turn, the customer looks to the agent for recommendations each time the carrier contract expires.

Many carriers recognize the importance of their agent sales force and allow 'channel neutral' sales where an agent and direct rep work together to meet customers needs. This works to the added benefit of the customer in that they receive honest evaluations and get the reassurance of working directly with the carrier.

The customer signs a standard contract directly with the carrier of their choice. Billing comes directly from the carrier, as do provisioning, support, and trouble tickets.

The agent helps the customer find the best carrier to meet their needs then works with the carrier to generate the appropriate contracts. Agents add a conduit for the customer to reach the right carrier representatives to quickly resolve any issues that may arise. Agents provide an additional layer of customer support when needed.

The customer benefits from an agent initiated sale in that they gain an additional layer of free customer support. Customers can call the carriers directly to rectify problems in the same manor if they used carrier personnel for the sale. They can also leverage the agent to gain access to additional carrier support personnel in the event their efforts with the carrier toll free support staff do not rectify problems.

In many cases, the carrier agent channel has dedicated customer support personnel. TBI is on a first name bases with many of the carriers support staff and brings this level of service to our agent base and their clients.

• Local services through R-BOC's, C-LEC's, and UNE-P resellers.
• Long distance service from major carriers and resellers.
• Internet access from Tier 1 carriers and their resellers. Access is delivered through dedicated lines (T1 to OC-x), DSL, wireless, or dial-up.
• IP Telephony.
• Dedicated hosting.
• Voice and Web based Conference Calling.

• Major IX's: Qwest, ATT, Verizon, and Level 3.
• R-BOC's: Qwest, ATT, and Verizon.
• C-LEC's: Access One, ACC , McLeod, Paetec, TelePacific, XO, and many others.
• IP Telephony: Geckotech, Netlogic, and others.
• Conference Calling: Intercall.
• Wireless: Sprint PCS, XO, Covad.
• Internet Access/Hosting: Eyezon, XO, New Edge Networks, Savvis, and Level 3.

TBI does not have direct agreements with CPE providers. We want to avoid competing with our sub-agents, many of whom design, supply and manage CPE installations. If you need CPE to complete an opportunity, TBI can engage one of our many agents.

In addition, some carriers do offer CPE with their services. This ranges from managed or unmanaged routers for Internet access to servers hosted in highly secure data centers.

This may be surprising, but there is no sales quota in the TBI Agent Agreement. Many master agents impose sales quotas as part of their contracts and talk about how the quotas aren't enforced. Later, after the agent has generated revenue producing sales, the relationship is terminated because of missed quota. TBI feels this is wrong – the biggest decision an agent makes is where to put his or her book of business. With no sales quota, there is no risk of cancellation due to one bad sales month.

Further, TBI is the first Master Agent to include an Evergreen Clause to ensure the sub-agent gets paid throughout the life of the carrier service agreement.

As any product or service market matures, alternate sales channels develop to maximize margins. It is generally more cost effective to pay a contractor only for results than pay sales force with limited results. The carriers recognize this and their agent channels are becoming a bigger and bigger part of their sales efforts.

When choosing a master agent, the most important issues to consider are commissions and support. Support is essential but, if you are not getting paid, the level of support becomes a moot point. To an agent, nothing is more important than his or her commission check. In its 10-year history, TBI has never failed to pay an agent a commission.

The key to consistent commissions is to partner with a master agent who offers an "agent-friendly contract" that requires the master agent to meet performance commitments. Such a contract, includes:

• No revenue commitments – Some master agents use revenue minimums as an opportunity to cancel Agents. TBI has no revenue commitments
• An Evergreen Clause – As long as the master agent is receiving commissions from the carrier for the agent's accounts, the agent should be paid. TBI is the first national master agent to include this clause.
• No non-compete clause – The customer should belong to the agent, not to the master agent. With TBI, the agent owns the customer relationship.
• Majority of the commissions paid to the agent – A master agent should pay out 60 to 70 percent to the agent.

The second most important criterion in selecting a master agent is support. A good master agent will enable the sub-agent to concentrate on selling, rather than following up on billing tickets. TBI has staff experts called 'vendor specialists' who: help agents prior to the sale by shortening the learning curve when dealing with a new vendor (carrier); suggest products and promotions; and assist with sales calls and proposals.

Once the sale is closed, the account is passed to the TBI provisioning team to implement the order and insure proper service installation. In recognition of its high support levels, TBI was given an award for "Best master agent" for 2006 and 2007 from the Telecom association.

With so many carriers to choose from, it's difficult for anyone to fully understand all of the many carriers' offerings. TBI understands this challenge and has vendor specialists to assist in the pre and post sales process. Vendors specialists know the people, products, pricing, paperwork, and provisioning. TBI agents have access to this knowledge base and can schedule one-on-one training with carrier personnel via web based distance learning.

Carriers have different policies regarding use of their Trademarks, but one thing is consistent – get prior approvals from the carrier marketing staff before using Trademarks in any public manor.

Simply contact us at agents@TBIcom.com and request and agent agreement. After reviewing it, sign two copies and return it for counter signature. One original will be returned to you in a Welcome Packet, which will also include your TBI agent ID.

For pricing requests, send an e-mail to quotes@tbicom.com with the pertinent customer needs information and each of the TBI vendor specialists will respond with their carriers offerings.