1. Inside Bulloch Business with DeWayne Grice - Savings deal too good to be true, but it is true
July13, 2015
Many of youreadingmycolumnon a weeklybasiscanrememberlife withouttechnology,
especiallycell phones.
Forour children,itisdifficultforthemtoimagine aworldwithoutcell phones,smartphones,the
internetandsocial media.Youalsocan rememberwhenyourtelephone bill wasnotthe largestutility
bill yourbusinesspays.Intoday'sworldwe are more connectedthanever,butitcomeswitha price
bothmonetarilyandintime.Youcan neverseemtogetaway fromthe office now whenyouhave a
computerinyour pocketdisguisedasa cell phone.
Nearlyadecade ago,local entrepreneurDanHostlaunchedWirelessConsultantsabusiness
designedtohelpotherbusinessesmake smarttechnologycommunicationdecisions.Danhadworkedin
the wirelessindustryforoveradecade as an employeeandownerof a storefrontasa wirelessretailer
for Alltel.He alsoworkedeightyearswithGeorgiaPowersellingtheirwirelessserviceSouthernLinc.
"The cellularsalesmodelisacommissionincentivizedmodel,"Hostsaid."There isconstantupward
pressure tosell more.Ihave alwaysbeenarelationshipbasedsalespersonsomyclientswere alsomy
friends.Ineededtomake alivingsellingthemproducts,butIalsowantedtohelpthemgetthe best
deal.Icouldsee howtweaksto theirplansor providerscouldsave themsignificantmoney.
"Withthisinmind,I decidedtoputa businessplantogetherandcreate amodel thatallowedme to
getpaid basedonhowmuch I savedmyclients,insteadof how muchI soldthem.Itwas a radically
differentideaandfora lot of my clientsitseemedalittle toogoodtobe true."
The firstclientDanpitchedthe ideatoowas EmmettDaniel,Jr.,presidentof Daniel Brickandhe
signedupimmediatelyandcontinuestobe a clientof WirelessConsultants.
"Dan is a supernice guy,"Daniel said."He hadalwaysbeenveryhelpful andresponsive tomyneeds.
Whenhe toldme aboutthisideaI jumpedatthe opportunity.Ifeltthatthere hadto be more affordable
options.Dancontinuestosave our companysignificantmoneyeachmonth,while insuringthatwe have
selectedthe bestcellular,phoneandinternetproviders.The more moneyhe savesme,the more he
makes.How can you go wrongwiththat model?"
Host'scompanyhas grown exponentially.He hasstumbledontoaunique marketniche that
specializesinsolvingareal painpointinmost businesses.Businessesmusthave aminimumof $2,000
permonth incommunicationexpenditurestoqualifyfortheirservices.Manyof theirclientshave
monthlybillsexceeding$10,000. Theirclientlistrangesfromtruckingcompanies,distributorstocityand
countygovernments.

2. Onaverage theysave clientsupto55 percentof theircurrentexpendituresonwirelessand
telephoneservicealone.Some of the mostdramaticsavingshave exceeded85percent.One small city
saw theirbill reducedfrom$6,000 per monthto $800.
Hosthas assembledateamof expertswhoknow the communicationsindustryandare verydetail
oriented.Theyauditeverysinglebillandreview everycell phoneusage andeverysingle phoneuse,
everymonth.Forsome clientsthatishundredsof callspermonth.Part of theirsecrethingesonthe
relationshipstheyhave withthe providersandalgorithmstheyhave createdintheirsoftwarethatallow
themto pickup on discrepancies.BrantLowe,leadsthe auditteamforthe company.
Whenclientsrealizedhowdramaticthe savingswere fortheirwirelessplans,theywantedDanto
evaluate theirlandlinephonesandbroadbandplans.Hostrecruited,RickHutchisonwhowasalongtime
regional managerforNorthlandCommunicationstohelpinthisarea.
"Rickunderstandsbroadbandaswell asanyone inthe market,"Hostsaid."He has reallyhelpedour
customersdiscoveraffordable optionsfortheirtelephone anddataneeds."
WirelessConsultantsmodel mayseemalittle toogoodtobe true,but overand overtheirclients
sharedincrediblestoriesof theirpartnership.There are notmanybusinessrelationshipsbasedonthe
value of savings.Iwonderedif there were caseswheretheycouldnothelpabusinesssave anymoney.
Dan explainedthatthose are veryrare.
It has happenedincaseswhere there are auditorsinplace inthe companiesthathave in-depth
knowledge of howthese systemswork.
"Inthose cases,itcost themnothingforour evaluation,"Hostsaid."We onlycharge clientsa
percentage of theirsavings.Ourincentive istofindthemthe bestdeal possible withoutcompromising
the qualityof theirservice."
Withthe explosionof optionsandnew providersconstantlyenteringthe market,retentionhas
become important,especiallyforwirelesscompanies.Cell phonecompanieshadmuchrathermove you
to a more affordable planthantolose youas a customer.However,theywill notautomaticallyswitch
your planor even letyouknowthere are betterplansavailable.Hostandhisteammonitorplanoptions
dailyforeverymarkettheyserve andwill adjusttheirclientsplansmonthlyif necessary.
Thisisa problemthatonlywill becomemore complexformostbusinessesastechnologyimproves
and clientsdemandmore accessibilityandoptions.WirelessConsultantshasa teaminplace that can
helpnavigate throughthistechnology.
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