WIIFM

By Wayne Scaggs

June 2009

As entrepreneurs, we are constantly listening to our own personal station, WIIFM.  This station is always on, and we are usually fine-tuning our channels to get the clearest possible reception.  We are trying to find the next deal.  If you don't know it yet, WIIFM is in our DNA, so let's face it - that is who we are.

WIIFM has a strong signal being broadcasted, and it takes a well-tuned antenna to pick up the many signals that are beamed your way.  As usual, not everyone is quite tuned in, and some are stuck on their old favorite stations that they are very comfortable with.  Tuning in to the same signal day after day and year after year only provides the same opportunities over and over.

For example, let's say you are used to dialing into stations broadcasting "Software as a Service" (SaaS) or hosted applications.  On the tuner, these are located just past the "High-Cost Equipment with High Expenses" and near "Running Your Call Center."  Instead, try dialing into "Providing the Same Services You Currently Offer at a Greatly Reduced Cost."  The cost of running your call center includes the time you are working on equipment or interacting with the phone company instead of doing what you really want to do.  Wouldn't it be great to take an extra day off every week, or just pass the headache of everything that is not running your call center to professionals?  Dial in a little more, and you will find that you can hold the hosting operation accountable for software updates, which means that this is no longer your cost.

Let's list a few fine-tuned stations on your WIIFM:

• At "Benefits," you'll enjoy all the revenue-generating features of other systems without the high cost, which means more money in your pocket.

• At "Lowest Cost per Seat," you will find extra savings and the flexibility to change the number of seats to match your current business level.

• At "The Phone Company," you will no longer pay line charges (including the last mile fee) or endure the headache of dealing with the constant change in personnel and policies.

• At "Office Expenses," you will listen to the sounds of money dropping into your bank accounts.  In some cases, your office can be little more than what you need for a local presence and administrative functions.  Jet Blue did it, and so can you.

• At "Taxes and Revenue," your low monthly fee for SAAS may be 100 percent tax deductible every year, whereas only a portion of system depreciation is deductible, and the depreciation stops after three or five years.  At "Taxes and Revenue," you will also find that you don't have any debt on your balance sheet, or any interest to pay.

• At "Maintenance and Support," you should find that it is all included in your low monthly fee, which includes 99 percent or more uptime on the system's ability to handle your calls.

• At "Flexibility," your agents can perform their job anywhere in the world.

 Are you a true entrepreneur?  Are you committed to making your business the most rewarding venture to date?  Do you want to hug your servers in the back room, or hug your bankbook in the newfound life of your design?  Is your WIIFM antenna tuned to the stations that offer you the best opportunities ever?  We all can see the writing on the wall about SAAC, and we all know what to do - that's not the issue.  The issue is whether your WIIFM is tuned properly to receive the very best signal for you.

PS. --  WIIFM means "What's In It For Me."

Wayne Scaggs is president of Alston Tascom, Inc., which offers an end-to-end contact center solution using digital telephony.  For further information, contact Alston Tascom at 909-548-7300, info@alstontascom.com.