If you want to lower your telecom expenses, start by talking to your carrier and account rep. They have some control over your bill and have the power to change how you’re billed. Although this may not be a phone call you’re looking forward to, it’s one worth making.
Ask Your Account Rep For “Off The Record” Advice
This trick is similar to one we wrote about before, but the approach is a little more personal. It only works if you have a long-lasting, almost friend-to-friend relationship with your representative. This tactic involves asking your rep to take off his or her “representative” hat and put on their “friend” hat for a moment.
Start by giving your rep your recent telecom bills and bring up your history together. Next, say, “Off the record, I need you to help me. I’m getting a lot of heat on these telecom costs and I need to know what you can do.”
If your representative is willing to help, they can point out the add-ons, subscriptions, and services that have become null over the years and trim them down.
This is a win-win situation as it provides you with the savings you’re looking for and strengthens the trust between you and your representative for when it comes time to renegotiate your contract.
Negotiate Giveaways
There are times when a representative’s hands are tied and they’re unable to do anything to help lower the cost of your monthly bill. However, there is usually more than one way to get the job done.
Many carriers offer free equipment, months of service, or signing bonuses for new contracts. If your provider can’t cut your costs, it’s possible they can offer some of these benefits.
We recently worked with a company who received an acquisition offer from a competitor of their current telecom provider. The acquisition offer would have resulted in a 10% telecom cost reduction.
By negotiating with their provider and using that percentage as leverage, they were able to get a $100,000 signing bonus applied to their next year of service. Another similar situation resulted in free phones and equipment for over 600 employees.
Sometimes you can get better pricing from your provider, and sometimes you can’t. When you are contractually locked into pricing and your carrier knows it, you can still reap the benefits of competing offers by thinking outside the box. This strategy is very smart telecom expense management and should be practiced as much as possible. Need expert guidance on implementing strategies to help you save on telecom costs? Contact PAG today.
This blog was initially posted on April 8, 2015 and was last updated on July 31, 2020.
[author_bio username=”Ken” name=”yes”]
