3 Steps to Becoming a VoIP Reseller

If you run a business or work as an independent contractor in IT or telecom, it is only natural that you’ll want to update your offers occasionally. Getting more competitive in this industry means providing innovative ways for your customers to communicate smarter and more efficiently. This guide will show you that you can become a successful VoIP reseller by offering white-labeled Unified Communications, so you stand out above your competitors.

Step 1: Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan

The first step is recognizing there is no progress without proper planning. Business planning is applicable in the IT world, and it is often the difference between success and failure. A good plan is ideally divided into short-term and long-term goals.

When establishing a VoIP business to sell the latest in telecommunications or any other industry, you want to start with short-term goals. These are the few vital immediate goals you can complete in order to add value to your VoIP business:

• Choosing how VoIP and Unified Communications fits into your business model
• Designing your infrastructure
• Finding your telecom provider
• Obtaining new customers or discussing this new service with your current ones

Once your telecom offer is up and running, you can focus on your long-term goals, such as finding a way to scale and grow, managing risk, and automating processes. 

Step 2: Understand Technology Basics

In simple terms, VoIP is the abbreviation for Voice over Internet Protocol. With this technology, users can call each other using the Internet. Signals are converted from analog to digital and then transmitted over the Internet like regular data. Learning the basics and other concepts is pivotal to becoming a VoIP reseller and starting to generate revenue.

PBX

Private Branch Exchange (PBX) is a telephone switching system that serves a private organization and allows internal phone systems to share trunks between themselves and enable them to communicate with one another.

Softswitch

Softswitches manage voice traffic based on VoIP. A Class 5 switch routes calls between telephone providers, while a Class 5 switch connects call providers with real end-users (or customers) who make and receive calls. Software switches receive ratings according to how many simultaneous calls they can process, measured as the number of calls they can handle at the same time.

DID

You can dial a number directly using Direct Inward Dialing (DID). It will ring to a particular phone in the business instead of going through a menu or queue and dialing an extension.

SIP

Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) was developed to allow multimedia messages to transmit and receive. It is now a standard protocol that works along with VoIP.

Related: How to Choose the Best White-Label VoIP Provider

PSTN

The Public Switched Telephone Network, or PSTN, is a legacy phone system, which relies on copper cables for voice transmission.

CDR

The Call Detail Record (CDR) is a summary of the details of a phone call or other telecommunications transaction that takes place in that device or facility. Records contain information about the call, including the time, duration, completion status, source number, and destination number.

QoS 

Quality of Service, also known as QoS, refers to any method of managing data traffic to minimize packet loss, jitter, and latency.

IVR

With interactive voice response (IVR), you can interact with a computer via voice and dual-tone multi-frequency (DTMF) while you are using a keyboard.

NOC

Network Operations Centers (NOCs) are the facilities that monitor and control the flow of network data. A NOC’s responsibility is to monitor power outages, communication line alarms, and other performance issues that can affect the network. NOCs also monitor call-flow statistics in the telecommunications industry.

Jitter

When information travels over the Internet, it is separated into packets and then reassembled at the final destination. The wrong order of reassembling such information is what the IT world knows as jitter.

Packet Loss

In some cases, data packets are lost during transport, causing gaps in audio streams.

Latency

Describes the amount of time it takes for the listener to hear the speaker’s words after an initial audio delay. A delay may occur between the speaker and the listener as the audio messages travel over the Internet.

ASR / ACD

Answer-Catch Ratio, ASR, measures the percentage of successful calls to the total number of calls attempted. ACD is the most commonly used metric to determine the quality of the VoIP route.

Related: BCM One and SkySwitch Reseller Q & A

Step 3: Partnering with a VoIP Wholesale Provider

A wholesale VoIP provider offers VoIP services to other VoIP business partners. Finding the ideal one is the third step in becoming a VoIP reseller. 

As a VoIP reseller, you will include VoIP in your services list for users with an affordable initial investment. You won’t have to own any servers or secure bandwidth because your chosen provider will be the primary source of the network, providing you with call origination and termination. Resellers generally take little to no risk when they partner with the best wholesale provider and benefit from reselling VoIP products and services in a short time.

Your chosen telecom partner will take care of equipment maintenance, failure contingency plans and damage prevention. These companies have significant responsibilities, and your offer and reputation depend on their quality. When using a low-quality provider, you may face technical issues such as dropped connections, bad routes, errors, and capacity challenges.

This is why choosing the right supplier is essential when you’re starting your business. Therefore, you might want to ask the following questions before you make your decision: 

• How long have they been in business?
• Do you offer automated tools for quoting and billing?
• Can they provide commercial references?
• Can you enable mobile and desktop softphones for my clients?
• What is their supported capacity?
• What are their QoS policies?
• What are their billing increments?
• Do they also offer Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS)?
• How many providers do they keep in routing groups?
• How many providers have to fail before sending an error to the end-user?

You can provide your own VoIP service to existing and potential customers by using SkySwitch, the leading white-label VoIP provider. As a result, you will be able to increase your revenue by offering VoIP solutions with your brand name. Partnering with SkySwitch gives you attractive commissions and direct control over your customer relationships. Get started today.