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Happy Holidays and Best Wishes for a Great 2016! In this newsletter, we share information on recent enhancements to our AirePBX Cloud Phone System and announce the addition of a great new desk phone option, the GrandStream GXP2140, available FREE to customers with a 3 year contract. In our Partner Spotlight, we are thrilled to profile Susan Penevolpe, Vice President of Sales at World Telecom Group, a Connectivity Services Distributor and one of the top Master Agents in the US. And finally, we are profiling long term National Channel Director, Joe Brondon, in our Meet the AireSpring Team article.
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AirePBX: White Glove Service at
No Extra Charge
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Last month, AireSpring announced a number of exciting enhancements to our flagship AirePBX Cloud Business Phone System. This month, we take a deeper dive into what makes this phone system such an incredible value for your customers.
While there are many Cloud PBX vendors in the marketplace, few companies are positioned to offer the kind of premium service that AireSpring delivers. AirePBX is virtually the only solution offering on-site installation and testing along with enterprise level functionality, unprecedented voice quality and superior customer service without a premium price tag. From initial implementation to service delivery over our end-to-end fully managed network, AirePBX is characterized by the kind of meticulous care and attention to detail that can only be described as “white glove.”
With the AireSpring AdvantageTM AirePBX customers enjoy:
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Free Professional Installation of Phones at Every Desk
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Guaranteed QoS with SLA
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Free Professionally Managed and Installed Enterprise-Grade Router/Gateway
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Fully Managed VLAN Switch for Voice Quality Assurance
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Free Advanced IP phones including the option for a free Accession license, enabling any smart mobile device to act as a PBX seat
Your customers need a reliable, high quality business phone solution, and AirePBX is a premium product at a competitive price. Now, through the end of the year, you can be paid just for scheduling a demo of AirePBX with our Dollar$ for Demo$ promotion. Contact your Channel Manager today for more information.
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New Free Phone Option: Grandstream GXP2140
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 Noted businessman Robert Half once said that, “It is easy to make good decisions when there are no bad options.” In this light, AireSpring is pleased to announce an additional option for AirePBX desk phone users, the Grandstream GXP2140. This versatile enterprise IP phone supports 4 lines and includes Gigabit ports making it ideal for high call volume users. With the GXP2140’s HD audio, a 4.3 inch color screen, 5-way voice conferencing, and built-in Bluetooth support, it is perfect for enterprise and small business customers who need quality and versatility in their desktop communications.
The Grandstream GXP2140 Features:
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4.3 inch (480×272) color-screen LCD
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Supports 4 lines and 5-way voice conferencing
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HD audio on speakerphone and handset, 5 programmable context-sensitive soft keys
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Dual Gigabit ports
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Integrated Bluetooth for use with Bluetooth headsets and Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices
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Power over Ethernet (POE) Enabled
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Ability to display company logo or other images on the color screen
Contact your AireSpring Channel Manager for more information or send an email to sales@airespring.com.
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December Promo: The Sales Force Awakens
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 Awaken the sales force, you must. Earn an additional 50% bonus, you will!
This month, AireSpring is celebrating the end of a great year with an intergalactic deal for our sales partners. Through December 31st, you will earn an additional 50% bonus on the port for an MPLS network of 5 nodes or more with a 3 year term. That is right—50%! No Jedi Mind tricks here, just a great deal to end a great year.
As exciting as this incentive is, don’t forget about all the other ways you can earn more this holiday season. For new AT&T circuit orders placed with AireSpring by Dec. 31, 2015, we will be handing out gift cards! Bringing in a renewal? We will treat it like new business and reward you with full SPIFF opportunities. In addition, we are continuing to offer a 150% SPIFF on connectivity services, 600% SPIFF on Voice/Cloud services, and a whopping $800 cash bonus on LD services.
We are also continuing our Dollar$ for Demo$ promotion. For each qualified demo for AireContact or AirePBX, you can earn up to $250!
Many paths to awesome incentives, there are!
For the holidays, give yourself the gift of commissions and fatten your wallets with these amazing opportunities. For more details, contact your Channel Manager or view our December Promo to see the full terms and conditions.
May the sales force be with you.
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AireSpring Welcomes Small Customers
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 AireSpring is welcoming all under $1500 customers with open arms! If your provider is rejecting your smaller customers, keep them happy and bring them to a provider that cares. Start the New Year right by continuing to provide ALL of your customers, large and small, with award-winning communications services from AireSpring!
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Epic Star Wars Fan Photo Contest: Deadline Extended
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“Sir, the possibility of successfully navigating an asteroid field is approximately 3,720 to 1.” – C-3PO
Your chances of winning a $500 Amazon gift card in our Epic Star Wars Fan Photo Contest card are much better, and now, we have extended the deadline to midnight, December 31, 2015. Star Wars enthusiasts are invited to send in photos/videos of you, your kids, your grandkids, copilots, pets…anyone rocking their favorite Star Wars gear.
For a chance to win: Send photos/videos to contest@airespring.com. These will be posted on AireSpring’s Facebook page. The photo/video with the most likes wins. Contest ends December 31, 2015 at midnight.* Click here for more details.
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See Us at IT Expo East 2016, Booth 605
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 Join AireSpring at IT Expo East, 2016 in beautiful Fort Lauderdale, FL from January 25-28. This event, dedicated to communications solutions for the enterprise mid-market, resellers and service providers, offers strategic networking opportunities, an extensive exhibition floor and informative keynote and conference sessions. Stop by booth 605 – we are proud to be a raffle sponsor this year. We are also offering a chance to win a $500 Amazon gift card!
For discounted passes, visit:
https://www.tmcnet.com/scripts/events/spring16/registration.aspx?theplan=IT0116-A&sc=AIRESPRING16 and use discount code: AIRESPRING16
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 Welcome to the latest edition in our series of profiles where we shine the spotlight on AireSpring’s amazing partners. This time we are speaking with Susan Penevolpe, VP of Sales at WTG.
Hello, Susan. Thank you for agreeing to speak with us today. To begin, please tell us a little about yourself and your background and the history of WTG.
I have been in telecommunications and technology sales for over twenty years, and have seen a great deal of evolution in the industry. I majored in finance at Drexel University. When I graduated, I parlayed that background into a sales position at GBC Technologies, a major computer distributor. Soon after that, I started selling telecom solutions at Centex. I then spent about 5 years at Qwest, which eventually became Century Link, in various sales and management positions. I then went to work for GoBeam and then Covad where I held a variety of roles. Before leaving Covad, I held the position of Channel Manager where I had a great deal of responsibility – at one point I managed all ten master agency relationships. Eventually, I moved to West IP Communications as their Channel Development Manager where I helped them expand their presence in the West.
About three years ago, WTG reached out to me, and I assumed the role of Vice President of Sales where I was able to leverage relationships I had built supporting WTG for over 10 years. I’m giving the short version, of course. I witnessed a series of mergers and acquisitions during my time in telecom, but I have always been fortunate to have a job in a field I love.
My extensive background working for carriers gave me great insights into ways I can effectively help my channel partners – providers and agents. For example, I knew from providing support to the channel that there were opportunities to improve the way sales are tracked and reported. In many ways, my experience on both sides of the table has informed my practices and perspectives throughout my telecom career.
 How long have you been partnering with AireSpring?
I have had the opportunity to work with AireSpring since 2012, when I joined WTG. I was thrilled to find that there was a long standing relationship with a leading provider like AireSpring. In fact, as I understand it, AireSpring and WTG have been partnering since AireSpring was formed.
What do you like about working with AireSpring?
WTG has had great responses and great success with AireSpring over the years. Quoting and commissions can be complex, and AireSpring’s QuoteSpring interface is easy to manage. My team loves working with you.
Specifically, our contact, Lanny Eule, is a gem. My people know that they can reach out to Lanny whenever they have a particular situation. Lanny is able to work across our very diverse base of agents. He is always helpful, and incredibly knowledgeable.
What would you say is the secret to success in this industry and being a successful agent/VAR?
99% of success is responsiveness – giving your channel agents the information that they need in a timely fashion so that they can be successful and close deals. At WTG, our business model is based on supporting our agents and providers – we sell exclusively through the channel.
Maintaining a diverse portfolio of products and services is also essential. Technology is a tool. To be successful, you must understand what the end user’s needs are and then provide the best solution to meet those needs and fit their business model.
Another key to success in telecom sales is having intelligent conversations with business owners about the challenges they face and how their particular business needs are changing. I think that, instead of trying to sell technology, agents need to start asking questions and discovering what is impacting the end user’s business.
A big part of helping the end user is consistent follow up and remembering a personal touch. Even today, with all the technology we have to stay connected to everything and everyone – it is the genuine personal relationships that make people want to do business with you.
What is the “next big thing” you think agents and VARs should be aware of in 2016?
Convergence. It’s not a thing of the future – it is now, and understanding it is not optional. The service provider and equipment provider roles are colliding. The environment where you bought your equipment from one person and your service from somebody else doesn’t exist anymore.
Mobility, security, and compliance are driving a great number of business decisions.
Compliance has always been important in telecom. But now, it means more than PCI, Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPPA compliance. Each industry has its own set of rules. As businesses become increasingly global, there are different compliance challenges. For example, in Canada, the norm is a 5 year contract and there are no converged services. How people do business is just different. If you want the edge, you cannot assume that everyone does business the same way we do.
Security, DR (disaster recovery) and business continuity have become huge issues. These are no longer “wish list items” – they have become mandatory. At WTG, for example, we have security solutions through our cloud and network providers and, additionally, some of our VARs have their own services. There will still have to be on premise security in some situations, but there is a great deal of cloud security these days.
There has also been a shift from MPLS to IP VPN because the security in an IP VPN has improved dramatically. When MPLS first came out, it was sold as a technology, and that approach did not always properly leverage the power of the network. There are still times when MPLS is the required solution for network situations. However, the public internet has become more secure, making it possible to move from physical VPNs to IP VPNs.
The need for mobility is easy to see as it has become so prevalent. However, the need for mobility solutions adds complexity to the challenges of both compliance and security, especially with BYOD (bring your own device). WTG has a dedicated wireless group to work with our clients specifically on mobility options from point of sales devices, cell phones, tablets and end point devices. It’s everywhere. Now, you order food on a tablet or your waiter places your order on an iPad. Sales reps on the floor of retail businesses will walk around with tablets and mobile devices to conduct sales. Keeping up with mobility standards will be important for any telecom provider that wants to stay relevant.
What are some of your hobbies and interests outside of telecom?
My family and I are big on experiences more than we are into stuff. I have a teenage son and we do a lot together as a family. We really enjoy outdoor activities: we hike, camp, and travel a lot. We like experiences that involve the arts and sciences. We love to go to museums, concerts and the theater – anything we can do to keep moving.
Of course, we are happy to spend our Sundays at the house, cooking together as a family. We go to the farmer’s market in the morning, turn on the game, and cook for the week. It is something the whole family enjoys!
Thank you, Susan, for sharing your insights with us!
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Customer Focus: Veridian Credit Union
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 Veridian Credit Union, founded in 1934 in Waterloo, Iowa, is the largest credit union in Iowa, with assets of over $1.4 billion and a base of over 145,000 members. This not-for-profit financial cooperative owned by its members offers a full range of consumer financial services and employs more than 600 people throughout 26 branches.
Veridian has been a customer of AireSpring since 2010. AireSpring provides Veridian with a comprehensive suite of communication services including Dedicated Business Internet Access, a multi-node MPLS network with speeds ranging from DS1 through FE 100 in multiple states across the Midwest and Enterprise Voice SIP Trunking services.
Since their network routinely handles mission critical information, in addition to the confidential financial data of its members, they didn’t want to use a public network for their voice and internet services. They needed a service that was trustworthy, reliable, and most of all, secure.
Here is what Cory Stull, Technology Services Manager at Veridian had to say about AireSpring: “We have been very pleased with AireSpring’s MPLS service. The circuits have been very reliable. Anytime we’ve had a rare service issue, AireSpring support was on top of it and took care of it quickly. They even followed up with us to make sure all was good. The project coordinator, who assisted with the installations, was also very helpful and made sure the project went smoothly. Overall, I have been very pleased with AireSpring as our service provider.”
The primary drivers for Veridian were security and reliability if anything went wrong. AireSpring was able to provide both, in addition to excellent customer service. Perhaps that is why they have remained a loyal customer for half a decade.
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 At AireSpring, we know that it is our dedication to customer service that sets us apart and customer service begins with great employees. Here is your chance to get to know the AireSpring team that oversees your orders and delivers great service every day. This time, we are speaking with Joe Brondon, one of our many great Channel Managers.
Hello, Joe. To begin, please tell us about your professional background and your role at AireSpring.
I have worked in the telecommunications industry for about 25 years, and I have been with AireSpring for a little over three. I am the National Channel Director for the East Coast. In that role, I support the Master Agents directly and have Channel Managers that report up to me.
I majored in Business Economics in college, but I was always inclined towards telecommunications. In fact, my senior thesis was on toll rate disparities in the telecommunications industry – specifically, why a call within a state was more expensive than a call between states. The telephone companies would say that people calling intra-state use more local telephone facilities, but I discovered that it was nonsense. It was just a way to make more money. Of course, the move to IP-based connections has made this less prevalent, but even today in a TDM environment, an intra-state LD call will cost more than an inter-state LD call.
After college, I was recruited by Sprint United Telephone and spent about 20 years working there in various capacities: sales, agent sales, selling LD services, selling high end network services, pricing LD services and then managing the sales team for the whole state of Florida. Eventually, I was transferred to Las Vegas – I ran the team there for three years, then moved to XO Communications, also in Las Vegas.
Working in Vegas gave me an extensive background in the gaming industry… and a lot of really interesting experiences! There are huge, huge sales opportunities out there. Some of the hotels had more lines than some of the exchange areas in Kansas, so servicing a single deal could be bigger than serving a whole town. At the same time, working on such large accounts was time consuming. I was constantly in contact with C-Level Managers and even several owners at the hotel and casino properties. I was on call 24/7. It absolutely required excellence in account management and service.
I remember negotiating a really big deal with the owner of the Venetian in his office – we had exhausted probably 20 different proposals. After 2 hours, we finally negotiated the arrangement. But there wasn’t any time to celebrate—I got a call at 3:00 o’clock in the morning from the owner about call issues he was having in Israel. I guess the city truly doesn’t sleep!
Of course, it was not all work. Several times, I was invited to the grand opening parties for major casinos like Planet Hollywood, the Bellagio and the Venetian. During my time there, I was fortunate enough to meet celebrities like Sugar Ray Leonard, Bruce Willis and Roger Clemens. In a way, I was the telecom guy who kept all the stars connected. In fact, I once sold Jerry Lewis a personal headset. We did not have any residential retail shops, so he walked straight into my sales office and I sold him a single, personal headset for his home phone.
Working in a city like Vegas also came with some difficulties. I saw the entire 911 network in Las Vegas go down for about a day and a half. The routers for the 911 system failed, and the back-up system that the vendors provided us with also failed. You can imagine the panic. I ended up deploying 300 technicians to install 600 lines to go into the 911 feed within an hour. We utilized every technician on the payroll – residential, commercial and complex. On top of that, we had backup routers flown in from Ontario that very day. Thankfully, nobody died under my watch, but it was certainly scary.
What do you enjoy most about working with AireSpring?
I came to AireSpring for a lot of reasons. I love the fact that we have built a national footprint by working with multiple underlying carriers. And I really like the product set – the fact that we are 100% IP based means there is no retrofit going from a TDM to an IP-based network. We truly have a vision of the future with the cloud services that we offer – AirePBX, our hosted PBX, our AireContact Could Contact Center Solution and our MPLS Mesh. Those are visionary products and they leave AireSpring geared up for future success.
Watching cloud services become so popular is interesting to me, because it is actually not an entirely new idea. Back in the old days, we used to sell Centrex, which was basically business telecommunications in the cloud. The local CO’s provided the dial tone and the feature functionality. The customer did not have to buy any equipment, they did not have to buy a switch – they could get all their feature functionality from their local CO.
But I have been in the channel business for a long time and, really the best thing about AireSpring for me is the family atmosphere. We work for a family-owned company and you can truly feel it. We have got a great team backed by fantastic executives. Everybody that I have worked with personally has a can-do attitude. The people are what matter to me. And we have good people.
What are some of your hobbies or interests outside of the office?
I live on the Florida coast, so I spend a lot of time on the water. If there is a water toy out there – chances are I have it. I kayak. I own a boat. I jet ski, I do some fishing.
I am also a HUGE college football fan! Well, I’m a huge Gators fan. Go Gators!
Thanks, Joe, for sharing a bit about yourself and especially for everything you do to help AireSpring deliver excellent service on our new orders!
“I am not alone in saying that Joe has been doing an OUTSTANDING job for the team and contributing to our success!!!! He has been awesome in responsiveness starting with providing pricing, ensuring implementations are handled appropriately and expeditiously.“
-Connie Becker, Director Ops, MicroCorp
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AireSpring is an award-winning provider of Managed Connectivity and Cloud Communications solutions providing fully managed and connected end-to-end, next-generation solutions for multi-location enterprise customers, including:
AireSpring’s services are delivered over its revolutionary nationwide MPLS Mesh Network, providing customers a fully integrated, end-to-end solution from a single vendor.
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AireSpring
General Inquiries
888.389.2899
Wholesale
888.389.2899 ext. 352
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