MasterStream Blog

Telecom availability is one of the most important aspects of connecting customers to telecom service at their specific address. Sales professionals need to quickly and efficiently gather this data to inform their configure, price, quote (CPQ) process.

Despite serving as one of the first adopters of application programming interface (API) technology as a tool for building collaborative, communicative business solutions, the telecom industry has failed to leverage the opportunities and efficiencies that come with this innovative software tool.

5G isn’t the only factor driving the buildout of telecom infrastructure. The COVID-19 pandemic, and the rapid increase in demand for high-speed telecom spectrum, has accelerated the construction of this infrastructure by an entire decade, bringing swift and transformative change to the telecom industry.

From service infrastructure to the way brokers quote prices to their customers, digital transformation is touching every part of the telecom industry. As the calendar year changes, the disruption taking place on multiple fronts is going to affect both day-to-day telecom business operations, and the services and performance your customers expect.

As 2021 unfolds, here’s a look at the most significant changes taking place in telecom—and how it might affect carriers, solutions providers, and telecom brokers.

Telecom customers and prospects have high expectations when they solicit the services of a telecom broker. They want the best price possible, and they want a fast quote that can help them make their decision.

Because telecom brokers provide CPQ services across a range of carriers, they need CPQ software that can provide this speed and accuracy for all of their customers—especially as they scale, and especially as other telecom brokers embrace similar tech upgrades.

Adopting new CPQ software gives your brokerage the ability to deliver better services that improve your close rates and your sales revenue. Here are the specific benefits you can expect from this software.

Geographic market areas are always in flux. Customers are moving in and out, and the needs of those customers continue to evolve based on their telecom usage and needs.

Location-based intelligence offers one of the most accurate, up-to-date sources of information related to the telecom behaviors of your target audience. As you plan an entry into a new market, this information should be a key component of your efforts to build a go-to-market strategy and market your brand to these prospects.

Here are some of the biggest contributions location-based intelligence can make to your go-to-market strategy.

As telecom quoting processes embrace more software-driven solutions, telecom businesses face greater pressure to transform their operations and keep pace with the industry’s evolution.

Automation and algorithm-based CPQ (configure, price, quote) processes are key to creating the efficiencies needed to accelerate these services. If you aren’t automating the aggregation of your suppliers, then you’re creating a manual process—which increases your quote intervals and causes you to miss out on more opportunities.

When businesses delay digital transformation, they end up creating more challenges in the future. Don’t let this happen to your telecom business—invest in solutions that keep pace with your competition.

Most telecom businesses view an effective partner portal as a tool to streamline the configure-price-quote (CPQ) process. But the connectivity of this portal also plays a significant role in determining how efficiently your sales teams can generate leads, deliver fast quotes, and close deals to grow your business.

Here’s a look at the benefits that come with adopting a connected telecom partner portal for your business.

When prospects are looking for a new telecom provider, availability matters. Poor availability will lead to service disruptions and dysfunction that increase downtime for the customer, grind workflows to a halt, and quickly turn your customers against your business.

Resellers must keep availability in mind when choosing the best services to provide their customers, but telecom network availability can be complex, and it may vary even in different floors of the same building. Effective CPQ (configure, price, quote) processes leverage analytics and a solutions-based approach to connect customers to the right telecom provider. 

Here are some of the factors that need to be considered in this process.

Most telecom businesses understand the value of implementing a quoting tool that streamlines or eliminates time-consuming manual processes, while also offering features that improve both the speed and quality of configured quotes being delivered to current and prospective customers.

If you’re in the market for a quoting tool that can modernize your quoting process, your business might be considering in-house development of a proprietary solution. While this may offer some attractive advantages on the service, it can also create limitations that you aren’t as likely to face with an outsourced quoting tool.

Here are some of the ways an outsourced telecom quoting tool can out-perform any potential in-house alternative.