Don’t do these 5 things, if you’re deploying a cloud phone system for a medium or large size business

You’re tasked with replacing your medium or large size company’s phone system (hundreds or thousands of employees), you may have noticed it is NOT the same as installing the same thing for a small company.

In this video, I review 5 things you shouldn’t do if you’re deploying a cloud phone system for a medium or large size business

Want my recommendations on the best cloud phone system vendors to quote, for your company? Click the button below and ask me today.

About Mike

Mike Smith has been helping companies select the best telecom, WAN, security, and cloud services since 1999. He founded AeroCom in 2003, and has been the recipient of numerous business telecommunications industry awards, including being recognized as one of the top 40 business people in tech-heavy Orange County, CA. Follow Mike on YouTube, LinkedIn, Reddit and SpiceWorks.

Transcript

if you’re tasked with heading up the project for replacing your medium or large size companies phone system, and by medium or large size, I’m talking like hundreds or thousands of phone system users. There are definitely some things you do and don’t want to do. It is definitely different to install a medium to large sized phone system for a company than a small company. So I’m going to cover five things you definitely don’t want to do. If you’re implementing a phone cloud phone system for a large or medium sized organization. In this video.

My recommendations

But first, if you’re working for a medium or large size company and you like my recommendation on the best cloud phone system vendors that your company should be quoting. Reach out, send me an email or give me a call (714.593.0011). I will help you make a lot better decision in a fraction of the time. More information on that at the end of the video.

Also, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel. I put out at least one video every week and that’ll make sure that you don’t miss any of my videos. Make sure you like and in Ring the Bell and all that good stuff on this video too. If you found it was useful.

Don’t do these 5 things

Okay, so what are five things you definitely do not want to do If you are in charge of implementing a new cloud phone system for medium or large sized company.

1. Don’t forget to check your contract status

Well, number one, you don’t want to forget to research your contract status for all the different sites, phone service and phone system stuff. So, for instance, what I’m talking about is if you’re if you were for medium to large sized company, you want to have at least a general feel for, Hey, are we stuck in some major contracts out there that’s going to prevent us from implementing this phone system at certain sites. It’s better to know that upfront because if you find out that 75% of your sites are in a long term phone system contract like they have another two more years, it’s going to affect the way you quote the service and the way you talk to the service provider about the plan for implementing that solution. So go and check that out.

Check for auto renewal clauses

Also, watch out for auto renewal clauses. So a lot of companies say, hey, we haven’t know, that service has been there for ten years. I’m sure we’re out of contract. Not necessarily. Some of my other videos talk about this, too, but there’s a little nasty thing called an auto renewal clause and a lot of service providers agreement, which says at the end of the agreement, it auto renews and some of them will auto renew for the initial term, which sometimes is three years. A lot of times it’s three years. So it’s auto renewing every three years for another three years. So you could be, you know, have a PRI here and there that have another two years left on them that you’ve had there for ten years. That’s just really normal. I see it all the time. So that’s the first one. Don’t forget to check the contract status like maintenance contracts, licensing on current on prem systems. All that good stuff. Check it out. Make sure you know, upfront.

2. Don’t pay $15/user

Number two, do not pay $15 per month per user if you are a medium or large sized company. There is a lot better pricing that is specifically structured for medium to large sized companies. And if you’re getting offered $15 per month per user, that’s pricing for micro sized businesses, not for you. That’s a sales rep trying to make a fortune off one customer off you. They’re trying to rip you off. So don’t pay that.

3. Don’t forget to ask to remove auto-renewal clause

Number three, which I alluded to and number one, don’t forget to ask for the auto renewal clause to be removed before you sign. So some providers will remove that for you if you ask. Some won’t, but some will. So it’s worth asking.

4. Don’t forget to ask for a downturn clause

Number four, don’t forget to ask for a downturn clause in your contract. What that means is that certain service providers will allow you to reduce your committed monthly expenditure by 5%, 10%, 20%, depending on the service provider, depending on the size of your company throughout the contract. So, for instance, if you if you signed up for, you know, that you’re going to spend $5,000 per month with that service provider, they’ll allow you to reduce that $5,000 by up to five or ten or 20%. So, you know, so that you’re not getting early termination penalties if one of your locations closes or one of your locations. You know, let’s go of 20 employees and then maybe you add another 20 employees down the road anyway. So at least you’re not getting dinged right away all the time. So that’s something you can ask for. Not all providers will allow it, but some providers will. So it’s worth asking for. It’s called a downturn clause.

5. Don’t do a phased installation without a coterminous agreement

And number five, do not do a phased installation or implementation without a coterminous agreement with your service provider. What that means is that, hey, if you’re going to, like I mentioned, a number one, so some of your sites might be stuck in a contract that’s going to take them a while to install, or it just takes you a while to get to that location. Well, you’re installing different locations at different times. You know, maybe you’re adding a location down the road. Down the road you’re acquiring your company acquires another company, and you add that in to your contract. Well, what you don’t want is multiple contract start dates and end dates. You want it all to be starting and ending on the same same date. And that’s called a coterminous agreement. Small companies aren’t going to be able to get away with that. They don’t have the leverage to ask for that with a service provider. But medium and large size companies do. You do have that leverage before signing your agreement. So that’s definitely something you want to ask for and try to negotiate for.

Still confused? Reach out and contact me

So I hope that was helpful to all of you, medium and large sized companies out there. And as always, if you are a medium or large size company with hundreds or thousands of employees and you like my recommendation on the best cloud phone systems, service providers to quote for your organization, reach out, send me an email or give me a call (714.593.0011).

I’d love to help you make a lot better decision in a fraction of the time. This is what I do. I’ve been doing this for over 20 years. I know the entire industry inside and out. I know based on your companies requirements, I can tell you the best service providers to quote with the best reputations. Don’t start googling it.

You’re probably and end up with the wrong providers to to quote and just contact me. It’s easy. And the nice thing is, on top of everything, I won’t charge you a dime for my services. The service providers pay my company the broker fee so I don’t have to charge your company anything. So I will introduce you to the right providers, introduce you to the right sales reps, oversee the coding process, making sure you get the best pricing and just overall help you with the terms and conditions, all that good stuff and it doesn’t cost you anything. So no excuse not to at least reach out and see what I have to say. And as always, don’t forget to subscribe to the channel so that you don’t miss any of the videos that I put out weekly