The telecommunication sector has been evolving at an extremely high pace. Operators have had to constantly work on upgrades and evolutions on their network infrastructure, while developing new services in parallel. As a result, they have been even forced to establish partnerships with many telecom vendors. Long gone are the days where operators had exclusive partnerships with vendors. Operators are now looking for reduced expenditures, good products, and follow-up and support. On the other end, vendors are building the best strategy to ace their telecom sales.
The current market is dominated by vendors that have been in the market for a long time and with a good reputation of delivering high-quality products such as Nokia and Ericsson. From another side, new entrants are emerging, looking to obtain a share in a booming market, such as Huawei, ZTE, Dell Technologies and many others. To make things even more competitive, technology companies (techcos) and notably hyperscalers such Amazon AWS, Google GCP, IBM, and Oracle have even entered the fore to invest their extensive knowledge in edge and cloud computing, in 5G services and notably private networks.
Capturing a share of the increasingly competitive telecom market is not trivial and require a cunning plan in product promotion, bargaining strategy, and expertise in closing the deal. Another key element is to know the competitor to be able to develop a proper sales strategy and pricing plan.
How Do Telecom Companies Increase Market Share?
Market share is normally an indicator of the strength of a telecom vendor in the industry and a factor which heavily contributes to beating the competition in closing important deals. To distinguish itself from competition, a telecom company can focus on one or many of the following:
- Innovation: This is undoubtedly the leading selling factor in a sector which is in constant evolution. Operators and communication service providers are looking for the killing feature that will provide them with a competitive edge over the rest and help them build an increasingly large customer base. Mavenir’s diversified Open RAN solutions has allowed it to establish partnerships with top players in the telecom industry.
- Pricing: When Huawei first entered the telco market, it left existing players scratching their heads with its aggressive pricing schemes. The big difference in pricing in comparison to its competitors has allowed it to have a steep increase in market share, as well as in this smartphone department. A report by the Dell’Oro Group estimates Huawei’s telecom equipment revenue share to around 24 percent although it peaked at 31 percent in 2020. In comparison, Ericsson and Nokia’s shares stand at 16 percent.
- Acquisitions: The telco circles have been witnessing an increasing number of acquisitions, especially with the increasing adoption of private 5G networks. The acquisitions serve two purposes. The first is to strengthen the company’s position in a given sector. For instance, Japanese company Rakuten Symphony acquired US cloud technology company Robin.io earlier this year to strengthen its mobile telecom solution. Another reason for acquisitions is for a company to demonstrate its leadership and basically get its competitor out of the market. Ericsson multibillion acquisition of renown US-company Vonage has allowed it to gain a significant customer share, and very large number of developers that will help it develop new features.
What Is an Efficient Vendor’s Sales Strategy in the Telecom Industry?
Sales strategies in the telecom industry have never been as important as they are today. The strategy should answer an important question: How can I promote my product in telecom? And the task is harder than one ever thinks about. It is essentially saying how can I prove to the customer that the package I am offering is better than my competitor’s. Although sale strategies can be wildly different, several core concepts are essential in making them successful:
- Prospecting: Identifying potential customers is a key element in any sales strategy. Preying for the best fit would effectively improve the closing ratio. Normally the closing ratio hovers around 30 percent, that is, for each 100 formal quotes, 30 are closed. Having proper prospecting is therefore essential in saving time, money, and improving efficiency.
- Know what your customer wants: Essentially, forecasting what customers actually want affects the way one will pitch its offer. Is the customer looking to increase profitability? Revenues? Or just looking to introduce a new service or roll-out the latest wireless technology. Doing some market analysis and determining what works best for the potential customer is essential in striking the deal.
- Know your product and your competitor’s product: To be able to work with a client and sell him your product, you need to have a deep knowledge of all details of your offering, notably what is different from your competitor’s. The knowledge should extend to provide an overview where the product has been used and integrated successfully with other communication service providers.
- Deal with objections: The client would normally have all sorts of objections, especially things related to budget constraints, competitor’s solutions, unwillingness to commit at the moment, etc. Selling the product requires the person to prepare himself for any scenario in that regard.
- Provide clear path for after-sale support: Emphasizing the after-sale support is key in gaining the confidence of the customer. The traditional story in telecom revolves around expensive maintenance, support, and upgrades. The incumbent deal has higher chances of being sealed if the sales agent can provide the customer with a cost-efficient after sale plan.
Summary
With the increased competition in the telecom market and the high stakes involved in striking a good deal, a good sales strategy is essential to make significant profits. Telecom companies are therefore looking for efficient strategies to increase their market share and consequently drive up their profits. In a nutshell, the strategy revolves around the four know’s: know yourself, know your competitor, know your client, and know the environment. Choosing a proper strategy will further complete the portfolio needed to achieve the intended tasks.
“Inside Telecom provides you with an extensive list of content covering all aspects of the tech industry. Keep an eye on our Telecoms space to stay informed and up-to-date with our daily articles.”