ELEVEN WAYS TO ENSURE GOOD WIRELESS DECISION MAKING
First, before any meeting is set up on site, make sure the carrier provides the proper coverage for your needs. Most service providers offer coverage maps on their websites. However, if you see areas in which you need coverage that are not on these maps, it is worth making a call to see if the maps in these area are out of date or if there are any immediate plans for expansion to accommodate your additional needs. Bottom line: if the coverage is not a good fit, there is no purpose for an on-site meeting. If you are seeking cellular services, ask for a map that will show local dead spots as well. As good as all the cellular providers have become over the last several years, there are known dead spots around every major city. Make sure these dead spots do not interfere with critical operations. In addition, have everyone who is required to carry a cell phone take a demo home to ensure they have the best possible coverage at their house or apartment. You may find your purchasing decision split between multiple carriers because of this test. Make sure you test their coverage prior to making your decision.
Second, (when possible) avoid focusing on price. The concept here is that if price is not the dominant driving factor in the sales process (even if it really is internally), you will place more pressure on the wireless service provider or third party vendor to communicate the benefits of their services and the reasons why they should be considered as a vendor for your business. However, be aware of the new fees on fees model the industry is headed in. Activation, Insurance, cell time, direct connect time, GPS fees, third party fees for mapping, software and associated maintenance, etc. One could quickly spend over $100.00/month in recurring fees in some cases. However, do the math, if a solution is capable of saving more lives, enabling you to respond faster, track assets, be more productive, cut down on staff or overtime, etc., it may pay for itself ten fold. If the carrier representative is untrained in how to calculate this value for you (most are not), find a “return on investment” calculator on the Internet and do the math yourself.