As we bring our two great companies together, its important to us to communicate openly with our partner community. We want to set clear expectations and provide guidance so that our partners know where to go for support. Below we have compiled a set of questions that have been asked by other Telarus and CarrierSales partners along with our responses to each.
1. Is this a merger or acquisition?
This transaction is an all-stock deal in which Telarus and CarrierSales combine into one company, with the surviving name being ‘Telarus.’ Richard Murray, president, and CEO of CarrierSales will own approximately one-third of the combined entity, with Patrick Oborn and Adam Edwards also owning one-third.
2. How large will the combined company be?
3. Why are the two companies coming together?
- To improve the partner experience (increased support, increased tools)
- To add new areas of specialty (contact center, mobility, cloud computing)
- To add direct agreements with key ILECs (AT&T, Verizon)
- To increase the diversity of supplier offerings (security, UCaaS, network)
- To help us become #1 with each of our suppliers through consolidated sales volume.
4. When will the carriers introduced by CarrierSales be added to the Telarus agent back office, GeoQuote, etc.?
We are working hard to have all of the new providers introduced to the Telarus tools, back office, and app as fast as we can. New providers will appear in the Telarus back office by January 1, 2018, however integrating into Geoquote and other Telarus tools will take more time.
5. What about CenturyLink?
For the time being, CenturyLink sales from Telarus and CarrierSales will be separate. Once the agreements are assigned we will operate as one CenturyLink support team. Please continue to use the support team you have used in the past for CenturyLink sales.
6. What are each sides’ carriers and strengths?
7. Will the territory lines change based on the location of agents?
Telarus regions will not change as a result of the transaction Our goal is to preserve the great relationships partners have with their support and field teams from Telarus and from CarrierSales. CarrierSales personnel will be aligned into the Telarus regions but it will be done in such a manner that we preserve the great relationships that currently exist and that all adjustments are additive.
Here is how Telarus regional boundaries are drawn, along with the field resources we have in place today:
8. When will commissions be consolidated?
If you work with both CarrierSales and Telarus, expect your commissions to come separately for the balance of 2018. Our top priority is to make sure everyone is paid on-time and accurately, even if it means two payments for another year as we bring the two commission systems together.
9. Will CarrierSales partners need to sign a Telarus partner agreement?
No. We will honor CarrierSales partner agreements and there won’t be a need to sign a new agreement. If you have both a Telarus and a CarrierSales agreement we’ll need to merge the agreements just to reduce confusion, but this won’t be done without a discussion with you to make sure it meets your needs. If, for some reason you feel you need a new agreement, please reach out to your RVP (on the map above) to initiate the conversation.
10. When will CarrierSales partners be able to access the Telarus back office, GeoQuote, etc.?
We don’t yet have a date for CarrierSales partners being in the Telarus back office, however if you’d like early access, please reach out to your RVP or support manager who can validate your CarrierSales agreement and assign a Telarus ID.
13. Do we now have access to AT&T wireless, Verizon wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint at the best discount level?
Yes! Through CarrierSales, we now have access to AT&T wireless, Verizon wireless, T-Mobile, and Sprint at the best discount levels.
14. When can we see updated commission schedules with new providers?
This information will be provided upon request until we get it loaded into the Telarus agent back office.
15. Can someone in sales engineering from both sides sit down and make a cheat sheet with all the different cloud phone and cloud contact center options?
Our current list can be viewed in our UCaaS matrix located here: http://agent.telarus.com/closer/hosted_voice_matrix.cfm The new UCaaS providers that CarrierSales brings to the table include Broadvoice, CallTower, Fonality, Fuze, and Star2Star. The new contact center providers that CarrierSales brings to Telarus include Connect First, Five-9, Interactive Intelligence, Serenova, TCN, and TalkDesk.
16. Will I get credit for Telarus President’s Club if I turn in an order that is sourced through CarrierSales?
Yes, just make sure you submit your signed orders through your regular Telarus support resource so that we can tag you properly and ensure you receive Telarus president’s club credit. All sales submitted after Jan 1, 2018 will count for the next year’s consolidated president’s club reward trip.
17. Will CarrierSales be honoring their President’s Club contest, or will it be one with Telarus?
For 2017, each program will remain in tact, which mean we’ll be having two different trips this Spring. All sales submitted after Jan 1, 2018 will count for the 2019 consolidated President’s Club reward trip.
18. Is the CarrierSales name going away?
The combined company will be ‘Telarus,’ so the legacy CarrierSales name and logo will be going away.
19. Will CarrierSales and Telarus combine their offices and operations?
Yes, but the timing on this consolidation is still to be determined.
20. Will Telarus take CarrierSales’ spot in the Agent Alliance?
Yes, Telarus will be taking CarrierSales spot in the Agent Alliance. This means we’ll have greater access to more suppliers for full commission payout.
21. When will CarrierSales partners have access to the Telarus mobile app?
To access the Telarus app, go to the iTunes (or Google Play) store and search for ‘Telarus’ to download the app. To open it you’ll need a Telarus agentID and password, which we can provide you if you don’t already have one. Please contact your Telarus PSM to get a Telarus agentID
For a complete rundown on the reasons behind the merger and to hear from the owners directly, we’ve uploaded a recording of the October 31 All-Partner Conference Call for you:
