DEALERS TAKE NOTE: Nextel Partners is a separate company from the more familiar Nextel Communications. Nextel Partners has the rights to use wireless frequencies in 58 markets in 31 states and, through its affiliation with Nextel Communications, offers the same technology and nationwide digital coverage on the Nextel network. Nextel Partners may or may not operate in the part of the country in which you are located.
So what is the program and how will it make you money? That is exactly what we asked Bill Pape, president of Lincoln Office. According to Nextel Partners, a dealer could realize annual bottom line profits of up to $100,000. Here's how:
The dealer signs an agreement with Nextel Partners to become an authorized sales representative. The program is based on the number of customer contracts - "lines" - sold each month of which the dealer receives a commission. In addition to the contract commission, the dealer also receives a 5 percent residual commission based on the monthly billings for each line sold. The residual income is good for the first 36 months of the contract.
Success with a Nextel Partners' agreement hinges on a number of factors, one of which is your local market. Competition in the cell phone market is extremely tough and the more populated the area, the more competition. Take, for example, Lincoln Office's market in central Illinois. In this area alone there are nearly 30 other Nextel dealerships.
Another factor is the indirect sales support. Nextel Partners has different indirect sales support people - called dealer managers - for different regions of the country. Pape equates dealer managers to manufacturers' representatives. Depending on which manager is assigned to a particular area, the level of support each dealer receives will vary.
For Lincoln Office, the process thus far has been relatively painless. After signing the agreement, Pape and a number of his employees attended a training seminar hosted by Nextel Partners. As part of the agreement, Lincoln Office was also required to hire a dedicated salesperson for its Nextel business (although this requirement may vary depending on your region). Just like that, Lincoln Office has a new offering for its customers.
The service became operational in June. Despite the limited time to establish the new service, Lincoln has already made a handful of sales. But the real question is whether Lincoln Office can realistically expect to see $100,000 in annual profits any time in the near future.
The answer in a nutshell: not yet. Lincoln Office is currently working with an outside telemarketing firm that will be making calls and generating leads. The real money won't start coming in until they can find a qualified salesperson to hit the ground running. To date, this has been a challenge.
"We have not been able to find and keep a qualified salesperson," he said. "This addresses more of a lack of qualified salespeople in our area than it does finding qualified salespeople for Nextel products. We have had difficulty finding salespeople in other parts of our business as well."
Pape is optimistic the new business venture will pay off in the long run. Lincoln Office plans to focus on business-to-business sales and beat the competition by having a more effective outside sales force. A number of its competitors are strictly retail walk-in business.
The jury is still out on the new venture and Pape is not willing to endorse the program just yet. For Pape, however, he sees the potential for great rewards with little risk.
Outside of investing a little time for training and hiring a salesperson, there is no cost to entering the business," he said.
So, if you are looking for low-risk, high-reward service offering, you might want to look into Nextel Partners as a viable solution.
