ADVERTORIAL Totally sold on mobile
One of the biggest issues telecom resellers face when entering the mobile market right now is choice, according to Stuart Baikie, Managing Director of Total Ltd.
Stuart Baikie M
any fixed providers realise that they need to add a mobile
aspect to their portfolio or risk losing their customers to a competitor who does. But with an unprecedented rise in the number of options available to these businesses, making the right choice of mobile partner is critical to success, believes Baikie. “My advice is to do your research,” he urged. “Speak to people and ensure you complete all due diligence to be able to make an informed choice. Otherwise, it could be to the detriment of your own business and your existing base, so you need to get it right.”
Established in 1998 Total Ltd is an independent business to business service provider that has positioned itself as the mobile provider of choice. The company ethos, ‘Communicate, care, deliver, grow’, sits at the heart of its operation and offering. The company’s product portfolio
covers the full gamut of telecoms products, from mobile and fixed to data connectivity and systems. “We have sold mobile since our inception and became a full service provider in 2002,” said Baikie. “We have strong experience in championing mobile data and provisioned our first BlackBerry installation back in 2002. We have gained industry awards for customer service and hold both BlackBerry Alliance and O2 Data Centre of Excellence status.”
Mobile vision While Total offers a full product range to its direct customers within a specific target market and industry sector, its Focus Partner Program, launched in line with O2’s Joined Up Communications Channel Partner Programme (JUC), concentrates specifically on mobile (although the company recently added a wholesale BE broadband proposition to its solution set).
“We are lucky in that we enjoy strong and close relationships with all of our suppliers,” enthused Baikie. “However our relationship with O2 is extremely close and unique. As a result, in 2009 we signed a solus agreement with O2, and last year became one of the first three O2 JUC partners. I strongly believe that our relationship, market knowledge and close involvement went somewhere to helping shape the JUC programme.”
Total’s Focus Partner Programme through O2 has been running since July 2010. Even though initial targets have been achieved ongoing levels of interest have prompted Total to extend its programme. As such, genuine opportunities exist for a limited number of additional partners to work with the company. Baikie said: “Our current partners range in size and background, however their common bond is that they recognise the importance of a mobile offering to their own portfolio. The one thing I have found most encouraging is the success already enjoyed by existing members of our programme who joined us with little or no mobile experience.”
As well as additional products such as the BE wholesale broadband offering, Total has expanded the capability of its CDR platform and will shortly deliver fixed billing too. Both of these were launched to a full house at the first of Total’s annual
partner conferences held at the Cabinet War Rooms in February this year.
Unrivalled expertise It goes without saying that there is a vast amount of mobile experience in the Total business, with certain directors having 20 year- plus stints under their belts. This expertise is echoed throughout management level and the wider team, with many staff having worked at Total for between five and ten years. Experience is not the only aspect that Total brings to the table. “Over a number of years we have invested substantially in technology and the creation of bespoke tools to enable us to provide award winning service and value to our own customer base,” added Baikie. “These tools are also available to our own channel as well as enabling us to offer them an equal level of service and value.”
Total has also developed a partner portal with associated tools. This provides its channel with one location where partners can access the latest commercial information, collateral and an online helpdesk to place and monitor service requests. In anticipation of the launch of the JUC programme, Total also added the capability to download daily CDRs and tools for monitoring EU data hourly and general high spend alerts.
According to Baikie, accessibility is key throughout the business. “I consider us to be very hands on,” he stated.
If you would like to speak to Stuart Baikie or one of Total’s existing partners and find out exactly what the company can offer you, please contact Emma Beavis in the first instance on 0845 070 5460.
“Initial meetings always take place at Director level as these are serious conversations for both parties. We want to give our partners the same tools and benefit of our experience that have shaped our own success. Once on board, partners are supported by a dedicated account manager. We also provide training and are available to offer operational, billing and marketing support but our partners know they can still pick up the phone and speak to myself or our Sales and Operations Directors too. Across the team, we are unanimously committed to helping them to succeed and achieve their goals.”
For many businesses with a fixed background, there is a shared view that mobile is complicated. As such, in addition to training and support, Total provides clear and transparent commercials and never dictates pre-set tariffs. “By offering a true wholesale provision across both pay as you use and bundled propositions, our partners can build their own proposed solutions to best fit the individual needs and requirements of their own prospects and customers,” confirmed Baikie. “All our partners are given the same access to the same portfolio, enabling them to determine their own margins and giving them complete control over their businesses. This flexible approach empowers partners to support their customers in the way they want as they sign up each contract.” n
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