Thursday, May 05, 2005

Effect of Mergers on Sales Agents

from Phone+: " Some sales reps say the megamergers would result in fewer independent representatives supporting the biggest phone companies, limiting agents’ options. “I figure a lot of these agencies are going to get wiped [out],” says Peter Radizeski, president of RAD-INFO Inc., a telecom consultancy representing about 20 carriers. The agent programs at the phone companies planning to combine “are probably so different they are not going to be integrated well, so some people will go,” he adds." " But they also are much stronger than hundreds of smaller rivals, many of whom are struggling to grow sales and reverse years of losses. Radizeski anticipates competitive telecom providers and national fiber-optic carriers will continue facing problems following the mergers, and he would not be surprised to see more bankruptcies. That could further limit options for agents who were burned a few years ago when a slew of carriers reorganized under massive bankruptcies. “I think other carriers are going to be hurting so bad, the ripple [effect] will just keep going for a while,” Radizeski says. Radizeski says agents and the regional Bells don’t have the easiest relationship. “The Bells don’t exactly want an agent channel because they can’t control an agent channel,” he says. “Almost every quarter, they [reevaluate] what the focus is going to be and, if you’re an agent, it’s very hard for you to change your focus every quarter.”

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