Tollring Increases Reseller Margins
Fully integrated call management reaches exciting new levels when non-telecoms data is added to the mix. Embracing the evolution is proven to deliver significant results to the channel, doubling system sales for one Tollring reseller.
Far from the call loggers of yesterday, call management now provides in-depth analyses of call data enabling managers to find trends in activity and improve productivity across the business. Now accessible to companies of all types and size, call management drives improvements to the business, refines processes and resolves business challenges.
This year celebrating its 20th anniversary, Tollring is well placed to comment on the evolution of call management. In the last 18 months Tollring has doubled in size, doubling profits and increasing headcount by 25%, and has been recognised in the European arena for IT and software excellence. The growth of Tollring reflects the opportunity available to the channel to increase profits and phone system sales by adding real business value and most importantly delivering a quantifiable return on any telecoms investment. Tollring encourages the channel to lead with the business solution, which is a proven way to increase margins and double system sales volume. Simon Whatley from Tollring comments “All our fully integrated products; call logging, call recording, contact centre analysis, CTI and automated dialling share the same common business reporting tool. The real value of icall suite and indeed our differentiator over competitive products, lies in the central ‘holistic’ view of the individual elements working together, providing the insight required to increase productivity and ultimately profitability.”
Tollring estimates that historically a 14% attachment rate would have been an average figure. Simon Whatley explains “Today, amongst our most successful channel partners, 100% of systems are now sold integrated with call management, CTI and call recording products.” The MD of one of Tollring’s larger resellers recently said “Over the last 2 years our new system sales have doubled and our software sales to existing customers have too. With a customer base that is already recording and statistically aware, there is a real demand for better functionality and reliability.” On the contrary, Tollring estimates that at least 50% of their resellers opt to sell phone systems rather than solutions. Reasons may include fear of over-complicating the sale or the risk of increasing the price in the quotation and losing to a competitor on price. The question is whether such products should be considered as options or necessities. Simon Whatley strongly believes that as managers become increasingly accountable for company expenditure, selling using the cost-justification model gives solution partners the advantage, differentiating them from those strictly meeting a list of telecoms requirements within a specific budget.
Every company is looking to win new and retain existing business by using business intelligence, which is exactly what call management delivers. Call management provides relevant and valuable business knowledge to managers across the business, tailored to their role and specific requirements.
Where call management gets really interesting is when external data widgets are used to pull data from other sources, to blend relevant telecoms and non-telecoms data. Tollring recently installed icall suite for an estate agency, which perfectly demonstrates the value of call management working alongside their business systems. An industry such as this relies on the phone for day-to-day business to operate. It is critical that information on the database is up to date at all times and integrating call management with their CRM delivers significant business efficiencies. Calls are matched against the database, calls are routed to the right people and agents are able to view, monitor and report on their sales and lettings calls.
Understanding and consulting on the ‘bigger picture’ and the business significance of call management is where channel partners can gain a real competitive edge and add longevity to relationships by becoming a trusted partner, not just a reseller. Adding value and providing fast ROI helps them to achieve increased profitability through a wise investment.
Links to articles published in Comms Dealer and Comms Business.