Expertel is a company that specializes in wireless expense management services for businesses across North America. With 20 years of industry expertise, Expertel’s primary focus is on developing cost-reduction strategies for their clients’ wireless expenses. The company was established by a team of specialists who previously worked for carriers, and they use their insider knowledge to help businesses save money on mobile expenses. Whether a business has five phone lines or 5,000, Expertel aims to provide end-to-end solutions that are both cost-effective and time-saving.
Expertel offers four core services:
- Expertel iQ: This is a cloud-based savings software that operates 24/7. It uses advanced AI to identify cost reduction and optimization opportunities in wireless bills, flagging them for immediate implementation.
- Carrier Negotiation: Expertel uses its insider knowledge to negotiate significant mobile expense savings on behalf of its clients. To date, they have saved clients more than $100 million through this service.
- Help Desk: A dedicated concierge service that handles all aspects of wireless hardware and service, including repairs, device management, and account changes. This service aims to provide personalized attention and robust mobility security, allowing in-house teams to focus on core business tasks.
- Buyback: This program facilitates the trade-in of used phones, ensuring the security and privacy of data by wiping phones before they are sold or recycled.
Expertel’s values are centred around being impartial, expert, customer-focused, trusted advisors, valuing simplicity, and adopting a uniquely holistic approach. Expertel works for the client, not the carriers, and ensures that recommendations and strategies are always in the client’s best interest. Expertel’s team is composed of ex-carrier employees, which contributes to our expertise and influence in the industry.
Tell us about yourself?
I started working for the local Rogers store as a teenager and then moved to corporate sales while in university. I developed a reputation with clients both at the store and in corporate sales to help my clients save on their expenses. It got to the point where individuals and businesses were being referred to me for the sole purpose of looking for my help to reduce their expenses.
One evening, I had the idea to post an ad on Craigslist that stated, “Will save you money on your Rogers bill for $100.” I had about five people respond to that ad within a day or so, and those five people ended up referring me to large national companies within a very short period of time.
This was the “Aha!” moment when I realized there could be a viable long-term business. Over time, I developed other products and services, all related to saving companies money on their cell phone expenses and the time spent on managing the service.
If you could go back in time a year or two, what piece of advice would you give yourself?
Be more strict with where you spend your time. Minimise time spent on business activities that don’t provide as high of an ROI as other opportunities that you can work on.
What problem does your business solve?
Expertel solves the problem of reducing high corporate cell phone expenses, saves businesses a substantial amount of time in managing the service, and keeps employees of companies connected while maintaining strong data security.
What is the inspiration behind your business?
Canada has the highest cell phone costs in the developed world. This is felt even stronger for businesses that may have hundreds or thousands of cell phone lines. Our goal is to reduce these expenses for businesses.
What is your magic sauce?
Our magic sauce is that the majority of Expertel team members have all worked for the major carriers in Canada, which provides us with strong insider knowledge. When you combine this insider knowledge with the strong relationships with the carriers, along with the fact that we represent thousands upon thousands of cell phone lines, it gives us a massive advantage when negotiating corporate cell phone contracts.
What is the plan for the next 5 years? What do you want to achieve?
The plan is to continue to grow across Canada and expand into the U.S. market. We will also be continuing to develop innovative products and services to help companies reduce their expenses and make managing their services even easier.
What is the biggest challenge you’ve faced so far?
When we guarantee our clients up to 35 per cent in savings, prospective customers think that what we can do for them is “too good to be true”. That is just a testament to how effective we are in negotiating highly discounted rates. Rich incentives and referrals have helped us overcome this.
How can people get involved?
For more information, go to www.expertel.ca. We offer a free trial of our SaaS product Expertel iQ, where companies can take a full test drive of the software and see to the penny how much we can save them on their corporate cell phone expenses. Additionally, for our contract negotiation service, our fee structure is contingency based. So you don’t pay unless you save.