New Expanets CEO Hones In On Selling Solutions

Charters is gearing up Expanets to abandon its old strategy of leading with product sales and start selling solutions.

Going forward, Expanets will private-label, install and sell a variety of IP-based applications developed by third parties. Smart Connect, for example, the company's IP-based contact center application, is developed by Zeacom, Newport Beach, Calif. And so is Smart Messaging, Expanets' integrated voice mail, e-mail and contact management application.

Zeacom started out developing CTI applications for NEC voice platforms. At the request of Expanets, Zeacom extended its development work to products from Avaya and, more recently, Cisco Systems. Today, Zeacom develops IP-based Smart Connect and Smart Messaging solutions for Avaya, NEC and Cisco products.

Zeacom is already reaping the benefits of Expanets' training push, having landed a half-dozen new Cisco customers via its relationship with the company, said Miles Valentine, CEO of Zeacom.

"We went with [Expanets because they have decided to lead with the applications vs. the telephony platform," said Valentine. "In turn, we have some unique features that help them differentiate their sales and create sustainable margins."

One such feature reduces caller abandon rates by having a lot of different announcements in the queue vs. feeding the same information over and over again to a caller on hold. "It seems [like a small thing, but it does keep people from hanging up sooner," said Valentine.

Although interest in IP-based solutions is on the rise, customers have been slow to adopt IP-based telephony applications. Charters believes the major vendors need to push such solutions more aggressively.

"IP-based solutions are scalable and affordable, and that's really where our opportunity to grow is, but we can't get the message out alone," Charters said. "We need help from the major suppliers in the market."

Solution providers in the voice space will have difficulty surviving unless they venture into application development and sell solutions, not just boxes, said Joe Gagan, a senior analyst at The Yankee Group.

And companies such as Expanets that do take the plunge will face challenges,bringing their technical and sales teams up to speed, for one, he said.

"IP telephony requires a considerable amount of heavy skill sets," Gagan said. "The technicians need to prepare the network to deliver quality voice, and the salespeople need to be shown how to sell a solution that is different from what customers are used to."

Expanets appears to be heading in the right direction. The company is training its sales force extensively on how to sell a broader set of integrated solutions. On the technical side, too, Expanets is getting itself up to speed. In August, Expanets earned the Gold Certification Partner designation from Cisco, along with the vendor's stamp of approval for implementing its communications and data solutions.

Expanets also broadened its IP-based application set to include unified messaging, mobile or remote access, call logging and recording, CRM, interactive voice response, video and audio conferencing, and bundled vertical market solutions via relationships with third-party vendors.

"We've been a little too focused on Avaya sales, with 80 percent coming from [those products," said Charters. "We're investing in transitioning the company from a small entrepreneurial one to a national converged communications service provider for the midmarket that offers a range of applications, professional services and integrated Cisco, NEC and Avaya solutions."

In 2000, Expanets bought Lucent Technologies' Growing and Emerging Markets Division, which included Avaya's IP Office PBX system for the SMB market. Expanets is also working as a master agent by providing connectivity solutions from Qwest Communications International, BellSouth and other communications service providers.