Direct Sales Reps vs. Consultants/Agents

Datavo knows there are a few different ways that telecom companies sell their services and products to consumers. Mostly all service providers employ at least one type of sales program. The two main channels are Direct Sales Reps and telecom Consultants/Agents.

Direct Sales Representatives are usually employed by the respective telecom company and receive a salary, commission and benefits. They a direct representation of the company. They are usually assigned to specific footprints and once an order is submitted to be processed is expected to move on to their next prospective sale.

Telecom Consultants or Agents are paid only commissions as they are independent contractors. They usually have some type of agreement for residual income as well, so they are more invested in their customer's long time satisfaction with the services they sold them. They may only receive compensation if the service they supplied remains active and the consumer pays their bill.

You may think that going through a Direct Rep will automatically save you more money than if you went with a Consultant/Agent but this is not necessarily the truth. Direct Sales reps sell one companies products and may have direct access to get a lower price, where a Consultant can sell any companies products and will most likely put the customer's needs first due to their residual income their receive.

When both team up together with each other to complete a sale it is called channel integration. This does not happen often as the agents do agree to take less commissions when this happens, but the thought is that is better to receive a small compensation working together instead of getting nothing working alone.