Newsletter | Q3 2020

From the CEO’s Desk

Now’s the Time to Grow Faster and Stronger Together

We’re coming into the home stretch of 2020, and for those following us on LinkedIn, you know that business at PlanetOne continues to be red hot!

We put the pedal to the metal out the gate – making growth happen for our partners and providers, month after month – and rest assured we are not about to let up on the gas now!

With an unstoppable attitude for service excellence, our team found new and different ways for us to listen, learn and take action including our PlanetOne Virtual Tech Tours, which focused not on products or solutions, but on leadership and learning what it takes to make smarter business decisions. This series was wildly successful and remains available on demand through the PlanetOne Partner Portal.

Another one you’ll want to check out: “The Other Ted Talk” playing now on PlanetOne’s LinkedIn page. If you haven’t watched either of these, make the time. You won’t be disappointed.

And speaking of wildly successful, did you hear the news? Industry leader Chris Werpy has joined the PlanetOne team as COO. That’s right – Werpy is wearing a PlanetOne jersey! It’s awesome to see and I’m personally so excited about what the future holds for all of us with Werpy in play. It’s only been a matter of weeks, and Werpy’s influence is being felt throughout our organization – bringing an undeniable energy to the team, our partners and providers, and setting us up for a strong close and an incredible 2021!

There’s really NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME to align with PlanetOne. Our phone lines are open, and our team is ready to grow your business and show you the PlanetOne difference.

Let’s do this! Now’s the time.

Ted Schuman, Founder/CEO
PlanetOne

Company Name: ChaseTek Partners, LLC

Headquarters: Columbus, OH

Website: http://www.chasetek.com

Year Founded: 2004

Focus/Services:

ChaseTek is a business infrastructure procurement and management company, providing inventory management and Tier 1 help desk support to over 3,000 businesses and over 12,000 service addresses.

Specializations: Voice, data, cloud, call center, help desk, managed services, wireless, network security and inventory management

ChaseTek Wins Back Former Client with Help from Wireless Watchdogs

When Andy Bussard joined ChaseTek 14 years ago, after having spent nearly a decade in sales working for several top telecom providers, he brought with him the relationships he had established with his key customers during that time. Over the years, there has been one relationship in particular that Bussard has been working to nurture but was never able to make any inroads until Wireless Watchdogs came along.

“For years, I have been trying to find a way to earn back this particular customer’s business, but it has been difficult because they continue to be relatively happy with their current WAN connectivity solutions and not really interested in making a change,” said Bussard.

Wireless Optimization Opens New Doors for Technology Provider

ChaseTek, is always focused on exploring new technologies and suppliers that can help deliver progressive solutions to the ever-changing challenges that its clients face. “We have an outstanding relationship with PlanetOne, and one day I received a call from James Green,” said Bussard. “He was checking in to see how we are doing and mentioned that wireless optimization from Wireless Watchdogs could be a great conversation starter for customers who are growing increasingly concerned about their spend and wireless investments.”

It was this conversation that ultimately opened the door for ChaseTek with the customer Bussard has been trying to win back for more than a decade. “Following my conversation with PlanetOne, I reached out to the customer, and it was amazing how quickly they engaged with us,” said Bussard. “It didn’t take much to sell them on the benefits and tremendous savings they would experience with the Wireless Watchdogs solution.”

Solution Provider Quickly Changes Perceptions with New Offering

Bussard credits Wireless Watchdogs with helping him to change the customer’s perception regarding ChaseTek’s offerings. “In their mind, the customer thought we could only offer them one type of solution, but by bringing in Wireless Watchdogs, we were able to show them that we could provide so much more,” said Bussard.

With Wireless Watchdogs, the company quickly found it could optimize and better manage its wireless spend. Based on projections, the company expects to save $12K a month on their mobility spend, which equates to more than $100K annually.

Bussard added, “This is a significant cost savings that they can invest elsewhere. And let’s not forget the time savings. With the reports from Wireless Watchdogs, the customer will have a clear picture of their spend through the reporting and dashboards, and won’t have to devote as much time to tracking down bills and invoices.”

PlanetOne and Wireless Watchdogs – A Winning Combination

ChaseTek couldn’t be happier with the opportunity to engage with Wireless Watchdogs and currently has nine customers leveraging the solution across more that 3,500 devices for a combined annual savings opportunity of over $270,000. “We are always confident when PlanetOne recommends a vendor or a solution that it has been thoroughly vetted and is well worth exploring,” said Chris Wolfe, ChaseTek’s Founder and President. “That is certainly true in the case of Wireless Watchdogs, and we look forward to leveraging this relationship to close more business for ChaseTek. Wireless Watchdogs makes the decision an easy one for our customers with its no-lose guarantee. If they are charged more than they save with Wireless Watchdogs, they will be refunded the difference. That is huge for our customers.”

Bussard added, “One of the other key selling points for Wireless Watchdogs is that there are no disruptions in service because customers are not required to switch carriers to use the wireless optimization solution.”

At PlanetOne “We Never Feel Like a Number”

ChaseTek’s relationship with Wireless Watchdogs is just one of many things they like about working with PlanetOne. “I’ve had the pleasure of working with their team for many years now, and one of the things we love most about PlanetOne is that we never feel like a number,” said Bussard. “I always know they have my back, and working with Ross Thompson and James Green has been an amazing experience. For us, the relationship is personal, not transactional, and that is why PlanetOne stands out.”

For more information on the PlanetOne Partner Program, visit https://www.planetone.net/partner-program/.

CommandLink understands Partners are bombarded with challenges that impede their ability to scale.  This includes all the normal aspects of running a business PLUS time spent managing painful Carrier deployments, frequent support escalations, billing issues, commission challenges, and problems associated with point-solution vendor stacking.

Enter CommandLink as a Network and Communications Service Provider with a Leadership team who understands the Channel and is focused on enabling PlanetOne PARTNERS to increase their EBITDA while delivering the exceptional business outcome their Customers are searching for.

CommandLink helps Partners design, deploy, and support simple or complex Cloud Communications and Network solutions with 100% uptime SLAs that maximize bandwidth and App performance, drive application cloud strategies with complete unification of advanced security.  CommandLink also differentiates by integrating all services into a proprietary IT Service Management Platform providing dynamic automated support workflows which are fed to dedicated 100% Tier-3 engineer support PODs.

Why partner with CommandLink?

• Access to cloud communications (UCaaS/CCaaS/SIP), networking, SD-WAN, security, network, Internet Aggregation, and managed services products from one-Supplier
• Software-driven workflow processes with escalation-free deployments and dedicated Tier-3 Engineer support

• Command|Link ITSM SaaS Platform is the industry’s first complete ITSM platform to manage all services in one place and provide complete visibility, automated support and ease of communications
• 100% uptime SLAs for voice and SD-WAN network

By partnering with CommandLink, PlanetOne partners can drive profitability, while enhancing their Customers’ user experience.  See the CommandLink DEMO for more information.

At PlanetOne, we value the contributions our employees make to ensure both our success and that of our providers and partners. In our newsletter each quarter, we shine a light on one of our amazing employees. This quarter, we are featuring Jennifer Veres, Director of Finance.

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

A: I joined PlanetOne in June 2017.  Prior to that, I worked mostly as a tax accountant.  I have a CPA and an MBA. I also previously held an Arizona residential real estate license.

Q: Tell us about your day-to-day role at PlanetOne.

A: I work mostly independently, so many of our partners and providers may not know me. I handle the financials and make sure everyone gets paid, from partners to employees! 

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

A: I love the relaxed atmosphere, perks like company-catered meals, and my commute, which is only 3 miles! Mostly, though, I love the people I work with. We are like a big family. There is no better person to work for than Ted Schuman, he truly makes it enjoyable to come to work each day.

Q: What are some of your favorite things to do when you aren’t working?

A: I enjoy working out (fitness is my passion), spending time with my family, watching football (NFL), and traveling – especially anywhere with a beach. I also enjoy a nice glass of wine!

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: Travel, travel, travel. Go on a safari. I want to see as much of the world as possible. I would also love to learn to surf, and I have always wanted to run a full marathon – I have run 5Ks, 10Ks, half marathons and Ragnar Relay, but never a full marathon. Change someone’s life for the better. And last but not least, see my children get married and have children of their own.

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

A: Probably, but who can remember?!

Q: Is there anything else you would like to add that our partners and providers should know about you?

A: I will be celebrating my 50^th birthday this December! Hopefully, I don’t look a day over 49 😊 I’m looking forward to continuing to challenge myself and trying new things – age is just a number!

For this quarter’s From the Heart initiative the team headed to Arizona Helping Hands, an organization that focuses on bringing hope to children in the foster care system.  Every child deserves to be remembered on their birthday. However, unfortunately children in foster care do not always experience this celebration. Each year, Arizona Helping Hands is committed to fulfilling birthday wishes for nearly 3,600 children in foster care so they know how special and loved they are. Sadly, oftentimes the birthday package provided by Arizona Helping Hands is the first birthday present a child in foster care has received and the first time their birthday is acknowledged.

The From the Heart squad of Shawna Hayes, Derek Solorzano, Suzanne Toncar and Kyle Wood contributed their time and matched up with a birthday request form of a child in foster care with the child’s name, gender, birthdate, age, and interests. They personalized and decorated a white bag for each child and then “shopped” in the warehouse for three perfect gifts and a new book. Finally, they wrapped each gift, placed them in the decorated bag with tissue paper and ribbon creating unique and festive birthday gifts for five children in all.

The PlanetOne family is grateful for our many blessings and wish all in our collective community continued safe surroundings and good health as we continue to navigate through these uncertain times.

For more information on Arizona Helping Hands please visit https://azhelpinghands.org/

For more information on PlanetOne’s From the Heart initiatives visit https://www.planetone.net/company/fromtheheart/

The PlanetOne Tech Tour consists of educational and networking events focused on emerging technologies, industry trends and valuable product information. In hosting these events, it is our mission is to enable agents with the knowledge and tools to succeed in the ever-changing world of telecom & IT services. Each Tech Tour stop features executive speakers from our 2020 Preferred Providers, creating valuable engagement with some of highest regarded executives in the industry.

We recently completed a very successful Virtual Tech Tour 2.0: Executive Leadership Series and are looking forward to bringing more exciting content to our partner community via virtual PlanetOne Tech Tour in the near future.