What Is a Master Agent and Should You Work With One?
Scott Swearingen / Telecom / June 28, 2022
The telecom industry is complex and comparing all the different service options from a variety of telecom providers is quite the challenge. It’s difficult to find the most cost-friendly rates and also very time-consuming to figure out which products and services will best suit your business needs.
Furthermore, as telecom technology continues to evolve at a rapid pace, businesses need the right expertise in order to keep up with the times and support their long-term growth. Oftentimes, businesses simply don’t have the knowledge or resources available to secure the best services and technology for their business.
Master agents exist in the telecom industry to serve as a single point of contact for all of a business’s telecom contracting service needs.
In this article, we will explore what a master agent is, what it isn’t, and why businesses may or may not consider working with one in order to optimize their telecom services while reducing costs in this expense category.
A master agent works as a middleman between telecom service providers and customers to deliver cost-effective, personalized telecom service plans. Because they don’t work for any specific provider, they have no incentive to promote one over the other which makes them a trustworthy source for telecom service contract procurement.
Typically, a master agent will manage a team of sub-agents who handle a large portion of customer communication and support. Though these sub-agents function under the master agent, they have access to the same resources, contracts, pricing data, and expertise that the master agent has.
The main benefit of working with a master agent is their access to various carriers and the best pricing available. Since master agents offer telecom services to many different clients, providers have an incentive to give master agents access to the best pricing and contractual terms.
Master agents know what fair prices are for telecom services and won’t accept overpriced deals from providers. If you were to try and negotiate with a provider yourself, you’ll likely only have access to the standard or above standard rates which you would have no way of verifying.
Providers know master agents can work with a variety of different providers and will do what they can to gain more business with a master agent.
Whether your master agent sets you up with one provider or a combination of providers for telecom services, the master agent typically serves as a single point of contact.
As a single point of contact for all telecom needs, you don’t have to worry about setting up multiple appointments with a variety of different providers to assess which services are right for your business. You simply let your master agent compare providers for you and then exclusively meet with your agent to hash out the details. This saves you a great deal of time and effort, which also translates to cost savings.
Master agents also have incentives to retain customers for the long term, whereas direct agents are mostly concerned with making a sale and sending you on your way. There’s simply not much motivation for direct agents to support you after you’ve entered a contract.
Furthermore, there’s no guarantee that the direct agent you work with today will be there tomorrow. Turnover could happen in the middle of you securing a contract which will likely cause delays and frustration.
If issues do arise with a telecom product or service, you can typically reach out to your master agent for help instead of going through the hassle of contacting a provider’s customer support team or having an in-house technician.
Seeking support through your master agent will likely bring you quicker and higher quality results than working with a support team directly.
Deciding which master agent to work with is an important decision that should take some deep consideration.
When starting your search, you’ll want to explore the different offerings and services that the master agents provide. Some master agents will simply help you get the telecom services you need for the right price, while others will offer additional consulting services that could benefit your business.
In some cases, businesses will work with one master agent for contract procurement and also work with a separate cost consulting agency for services such as invoice monitoring and auditing.
It’s also essential to find a master agent that understands your specific industry and has helped other businesses like yours. There are many nuances to choosing the right telecom services, and having relevant experience in regard to your type of business is invaluable.
As you’ll see in the remainder of the article we feel the best approach for businesses is to combine both master agent capabilities along with our deep telecom consulting and auditing expertise.
Master Agents’ background typically comes from the sales side of the telecom industry. They have deep expertise in bringing on high volumes of clients to help grow the telecom providers’ sales. This volume and experience allows the master agent to offer the best in class pricing to their clients as well as service and support.
While this is a major benefit, most master agents simply ‘price’ services for their clients. They are not always providing in-depth audit analysis and looking at best practices.
The audit and analysis piece is absolutely crucial for your business.
At P3 we have access to both master agents and deep in-house expertise in the telecom industry. This hybrid model allows our clients the best of both worlds: access to best-in-class pricing, and telecom experts with decades of industry expertise in network management, enterprise technology design, telecom auditing, disaster recovery, and telecom security.
By engaging with P3, you gain access to our years of experience and knowledge of the complex telecom industry. We have expert knowledge concerning how each provider functions, what each provider offers, and how well these providers deliver their services and products.
Since we work independently, we can give you an honest assessment of the providers. Whereas, if you work directly with a provider, you have no insight into their services outside of the perfect image they’ll try to portray to you.
We use our decades of industry experience to help audit our client’s telecom expenses. With an audit, our clients are able to quickly see what services they are currently using, what they need, any contract errors and overcharges, and what available savings we can generate quickly for their bottom line. We conduct our all audits on a risk-free, shared savings basis.
We have delivered customized telecom solutions to many other customers, they know which solutions and products are the most effective. Instead of doing your own research and hoping for the best, you can feel confident that we will only recommend services that bring about the best results for the best price.
At P3 we combine our telecom expertise and our audit capabilities with our master agent relationships. This unique approach helps our clients get exactly the services they need with best-in-class pricing.
Furthermore, since we don’t have quotas to meet as is the case with direct provider agents, we won’t push you into a service or product you don’t need. Whereas, direct agents will try to sell what is most profitable for the provider they work for and try to reap the associated commission.
Our experts understand emerging telecom technologies and how they can optimize your business. Since we’re familiar with many different telecom providers, we have access to any technology instead of being locked into a single provider’s technology.
Furthermore, a provider’s direct agent may know a lot about their specific technology offerings, but they rarely understand the larger impact of how those technologies will affect a business.
It’s important to note that in competitive industries, the implementation of new technologies can significantly improve a business’s bottom line and give them an edge over its competitors. This can manifest in the form of better security, marketing, recruitment efforts, and more.
On the other hand, if a business tries to implement a new technology that isn’t right for their business, it can cost them big time. With the help of P3, you can feel confident in any recommendations they make in regard to emerging technologies.
Master agents provide a great value in the telecom marketplace — and while their service can help businesses obtain great pricing, it falls short of providing a full solution.
In order to secure the best telecom pricing and services for your business, working with P3 is the right choice. We combine our industry relationships with master agents and deep in-house telecom expertise to bring you the best possible results.
To learn more about how P3 Cost Analysts can support your business through telecom contract and invoice auditing, schedule your free expense audit today.
