Newsletter | Q3 2018

Ted Schuman
Founder/CEO, PlanetOne

From the CEO’s Desk

Four Seasons for One Reason

As your master agent, it’s our job to manage and help you grow your book of business. It’s a role we take seriously and support throughout the sales cycle. From teaming you with the right providers and securing profitable, no-nonsense contracts, to helping you ready the deal, close it and support it, PlanetOne has your back and your best interests in mind. But we can’t do it without your support and commitment.

With only a few months left in 2018, and two PlanetOne Tech Tours to go, my ask is simple: If you’re not already “all in” with PlanetOne – we’re talking speed dial, joint selling and face-to-face engagement at our events – let’s make it happen. Demand for what you do, and what we can do together is at an all-time industry high. Your revenue stream should not only be recurring – it should be rockin’ never before seen results and throwing off some serious cash.

Business is booming on our end. And our “Four Seasons” approach to the customer and partner experience is paying off for one reason – because we genuinely care about your success. For 26 years we’ve been masterful in preserving, protecting and enhancing your bottom line. It’s what we do better than anyone and it’s what we will continue to do with your support.  

If you’re joining us in Newport Beach on Sept. 6, game on. If not, we’ll look forward to seeing you in November at our final 2018 Tech Tour stop in Scottsdale. Thank you for doing business with PlanetOne and sharing in our #WorkHardPlayHard attitude toward success. 

Cheers,

Ted Schuman, Founder/CEO
PlanetOne

Company Name: Sedexis Consulting
Headquarters: Phoenix, Ariz.
Website: www.sedexis.com 
Year Founded: 2013
Key Markets/Verticals Served: Mid-market and enterprise organizations
Specializations: Voice, data, cloud and mobility

Sedexis Founder: A Good Wingman Helps Build a Great Business

David Paul began his career in the IT industry as a major account manager for XO Communications, quickly moving up the ranks as regional sales manager and then General Manager for the company’s Arizona region. It was during this time that David first met Jonathan Hartman, PlanetOne’s Vice President of Sales. “I hired Jonathan out the gate,” said David. “It was his first job with a carrier in the channel, and he was my first choice for the position. Over the years, we’ve gotten to know each other very well as business colleagues and became friends.”

While at XO Communications, David was also introduced to PlanetOne. “I was immediately impressed by the way Ted and his team interacted with our company,” said David. “The level of intensity in which they supported their channel partners and held us accountable as a carrier made me think a lot about what it would be like to be on that side of the fence. I knew that the way Ted treated his partners was exactly the way I would want to be treated.”

David left XO Communications in 2010 after accepting a leadership position at CenturyLink. He continued to work closely with PlanetOne, and in 2013 set out on his own when he founded Sedexis Consulting. “I am grateful to Ted and his team for giving me the inspiration I needed to forge out on my own,” said David. “Starting my own business was a little lonely at first, but PlanetOne filled in the gaps. The camaraderie, sense of community, and feeling like a big fish in a small pond were essential to keeping me engaged in growing my business. With PlanetOne, I never, ever feel like I’m doing this alone, and that’s been an important part of our success here at Sedexis Consulting – having a wingman that always has our back.”

Word of Mouth and Referrals Drive Business Growth

When David left CenturyLink to start Sedexis Consulting, he was already well-connected due to his experience in the industry. It was not too long before Sedexis Consulting’s business began to take off, and over the years it has grown tremendously due to repeat business and referrals. “It was a very humbling experience at first to see so many referrals from respected colleagues across the industry,” said David. “It made me realize the importance of stewardship and helping our customers make prudent and practical choices when selecting voice, data, cloud and mobility solutions and services. Today we have a solid book of clients and I am proud to say that we’ve never lost a logo.”

Within the last two years, one referral in particular has really paid off for Sedexis Consulting. “The customer was looking for broadband coax for its temporary job sites,” said David. “When they first engaged us, they asked if we would be interested in working on their smaller job sites because their headquarters and larger locations were already handled by larger carriers. We said that of course we were interested with the hope that eventually we could take on more of their business.”

Sedexis Consulting worked with PlanetOne to design two different options for the customer, and ended up building out a solution for these smaller sites that was outside of what they had originally requested, but offered better timing and a more favorable usage consumption model. “We also worked the customer post-sale to ensure that all of the circuits they needed were procured in a timely manner and installed properly,” said David.

As David and his team had hoped, the success of this initial project with the customer did in fact lead to the expansion of the business. “Shortly after the initial engagement, the IT manager we were working with introduced us to his peers at the company’s locations across the U.S. and within a year we had unseated the previous provider and were now serving the entire organization and migrating 3,500 of their users to a new UCaaS system,” said David. “What had begun as a small order led to upwards of six figures per month in recurring revenues.”

The founding principle of Sedexis consulting is to “put the customers’ priorities ahead of our own and we will become a priority to our customer.” For David and his team, this win is a shining example of that principle in action.

“We didn’t have to take on this deal, but we believed that by giving the customer what they wanted initially without pushing for more, in the end they saw we had their best interests at heart and chose to entrust us with a much larger piece of their business,” said David. “One of the things we love most about working with PlanetOne, is that they share our same values in this respect and we couldn’t have won this deal without their help. One of the most valuable assets that PlanetOne provides their partners with is their time, and they were with us every step of the way, from vendor selection to project management to ensuring the successful installation of the solution.”

Jonathan Hartman added, “We are thrilled to have been part of helping David and his team successfully close this deal. This project demonstrates how we are here to help our channel partners build solid relationships, both with their customers and with our growing portfolio of leading providers, and ensure that the solutions they are presenting will solve the unique business challenges they face.”

Generate More Cloud Revenue with Mitel

Many small and medium businesses are moving their communications out of the central office and into the cloud. It’s easy to see why: lower costs, less hassle and better features are just some of the benefits of cloud communications. How can your business capitalize on the cloud opportunity and help your customers get more value from the cloud? By partnering with the cloud communications leader, Mitel. Read on to learn how MiCloud can help your business generate more cloud revenue quickly and deliver a cloud experience that delights your customers.

Five Reasons Why Mitel Stands Out in the Cloud

We don’t need to tell you what it means to be a good partner. It’s all about trust. Trust that you’re getting the best solution for your business at the best price, with the best people behind you. At Mitel, we work hard to earn that trust every day with our industry-leading MiCloud solutions and innovative partner programs. We understand that your company has many choices when it comes to a cloud communications partner, and we’re working hard to make that choice easier with better solutions, higher commissions and a richer, more responsive partner support experience.

Here are five ways that Mitel makes it easier to succeed in the cloud:

You Go to Market with a Leader.

Mitel is ranked #1 globally in Unified Communications (UC) and #2 in global UC as a Service (UCaaS) seats. Partners can leverage that leadership to compete more effectively in the market and win more cloud opportunities.

You Earn Higher Commissions, Faster.

MiCloud is simple to install and easy to use, with best-in-class features that deliver real value to your customers. Faster deployment means faster commissions, and great features mean loyal customers for a longer time, resulting in higher commissions.

You Have a World-Class Support Team Behind You.

Mitel puts the power of a global organization behind every sale, with dedicated technical support teams, live assistance from our activation teams, deep partner support services (e.g., live chat, mobile apps) and strong customer communities that foster better experiences.

You Choose from Flexible Solutions that Fit Your Customers.

MiCloud is available in different packages (MiCloud Connect, MiCloud Flex, MiCloud Contact Center, etc.) to help customers migrate to the cloud at their own pace and pay only for the features they use. Partners can easily create tiered service packages around these solutions to provide as much, or as little, help as customers need, giving them more control over their communications.

You (and Your Customers) Get Cloud Communications You Can Trust.

For 45 years, businesses have trusted Mitel for reliable business communications, and we’ve carried that trust into our cloud portfolio. The MiCloud platform delivers 99.995% uptime with built-in redundancy and graceful disaster recovery, so your customers can depend on MiCloud to keep them connected to their clients and colleagues, no matter what.

Being the best cloud communications provider starts with the best cloud communications solution. With Mitel MiCloud, you can connect your business customers to a better cloud experience that is everything the cloud should be: flexible, reliable, scalable, powerful and minimal in cost and effort. If you’re not having that kind of conversation with your customers today, talk to Mitel.

Contact your PlanetOne channel manager today for more details on how you can earn up to 5X with no limits on the following:

•  3X MRR MiCloud Connect +
•  1X MRR MiCloud Connect 50+ Users +
•  1X MRR MiCloud Connect Contact Center

Author Bio:

Mike Conlon has been in the unified communications industry for 20 years and focused on growing, building, and managing all types of partners and distributors. He started his technology career with Cisco Systems in 1998, where he was first exposed to working with the channel. Conlon left Cisco to join TANDBERG in 2004, spending five years there in a channel capacity with the last year focused on helping grow and develop the Federal System Integration practice. He left TANDBERG in 2009 to join Polycom, where he helped re-establish the channel go-to-market strategy and participated in the development of a new channel initiative consistently recognized as a top program by CRN. During his last 18 months at Polycom, Conlon was responsible for Worldwide Channels and Distribution. Following that, he spent three years working at Series A funded startups before accepting the role as Mitel’s Vice President, Global Channels.

At PlanetOne, we value the contributions our employees make each and every day to ensure both our success and to that of our providers and partners. In our newsletter each quarter, we like to shine a light on one of our amazing employees. This quarter, we are featuring Sherry Arledge, Partner Support Specialist.

We recently sat down with Sherry to learn more about her role here at PlanetOne, what she likes most about her job, and how she spends her time away from the office.

Q: How long have you been with PlanetOne? What did you do prior to coming to PlanetOne?

A: I celebrated my five-year anniversary with PlanetOne in March 2018. Prior to coming on board, I worked for a solution provider for just over eight years. There, I started in role that was similar to what I do here – pricing and quoting, before transitioning to other responsibilities. When I came to PlanetOne, I began as a part-time employee since my twin daughters were only about two years old at the time. When my husband received a job transfer to Omaha, Nebraska, Ted let me stay on and work remotely for PlanetOne. I began working full-time again once my daughters were in school.

Q: As Partner Support Specialist, what are your day-to-day responsibilities at PlanetOne?

A: I support the PlanetOne team and our sales partners with placing orders for CenturyLink and ensuring they are progressing through the system. I have years of experience working with CenturyLink and great knowledge of the systems and ordering tools, so you will find me engaged on any CenturyLink Enterprise order our sales partners place through PlanetOne – from initial install to lifecycle maintenance of the account. Recently, PlanetOne added Verizon and AT&T and now I am also supporting our sales partners and the PlanetOne team with the quotes and orders for the two providers. Additionally, I am one of the ‘go to’ contacts in house for the cross-training of our team members on AT&T, CenturyLink and Verizon.

Q: What do you like most about your job? Working with PlanetOne?

A: I love working with PlanetOne because of the teamwork and #WorkHardPlayHard mantra. It really is the best place I’ve ever worked because Ted treats everyone like family. Over the years, I’ve developed close relationships with many of my co-workers here at PlanetOne, including Karen, Renee and Robin. In fact, Renee is the godmother of one of my twin daughters.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t working?

A: I love spending time with my twin daughters, my husband and our extended family and friends here in Omaha. Last winter, we installed a swimming pool in our backyard, so it has been a lot of fun this summer spending time outside with my daughters, their friends and our family swimming in the pool and enjoying the warm weather. I also enjoy traveling, and recently had the opportunity to attend the wedding for the daughter of one of my close friends, which took place in England. After the wedding, she and I traveled to Croatia. It was an amazing and unforgettable trip of a lifetime.

Q: Do you have a ‘bucket list’? What are some of the things you would want to do if time or money were no object?

A: I don’t have a ‘bucket list’ per se, but I would love to continue to travel. One of the next places I would like to visit is Greece. I’m a sandy beach sort of person, so I know I would love it there. Someday, I would even like to have a little house on the beach to call my own.

Q: Do you have a favorite saying, mantra or quote?

A: Yes, it is something my dad used to say – “You get more bees with honey than you do with vinegar.”

The mission of the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance is to end hunger in Arizona, and PlanetOne is pleased to continue to support this wonderful cause through our “From the Heart” program.

Earlier this summer, the PlanetOne team returned for a second visit this year to St. Mary’s Food Bank. The staff at St. Mary’s made this a safe, fun and high energy event for our team. In just one afternoon, 13 members from our Scottsdale office filled 13 pallets with 585 food boxes for low income seniors. Each box contained a month’s supply of sustainable, nutritious foods such as juice, milk, cereal, canned fruit and vegetables, peanut butter, beans and rice.

Each month, the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance distributes 40,000 Emergency Food Boxes to individuals and families in need. A majority of those receiving these free Emergency Food Boxes include the elderly, children, working families and the homeless. At this facility there are just five employees, so the organization relies heavily on volunteer support. In fact, there are many organizations, like PlanetOne, that send volunteers to the food bank on a regular basis.

Our team’s take-away from their afternoon of hard work, “Helping St. Mary’s Food Bank provide nourishment and hope to the needy and homeless is an incredibly rewarding experience. We are proud to be able to spend time assisting this organization in helping those in our community who are less fortunate.”

Thanks you again to our wonderful PlanetOne employees for dedicating your time to serving others!

For more information on the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance visit www.FirstFoodBank.org.

Click here to read more about Team PlanetOne’s “From the Heart” project with St. Mary’s Food Bank.

Please consider joining us for the PlanetOne 2018 Tech Tour, a series of educational and networking events where you can learn about emerging technologies and industry trends, and gain valuable product information.

Each Tech Tour stop features speakers from PlanetOne’s 2018 Preferred Provider portfolio, creating opportunities for valuable engagement with some of highest regarded executives in the industry, along with the chance to win prizes and receive gift packages. Exclusive to PlanetOne agents, prospective channel partners and our Preferred Providers, there is no cost to attend and meals are complimentary.

The following is the schedule of PlanetOne Tech Tour event currently planned for 2018: