“Growing and succeeding are not always going in the same direction, particularly in tough economic times.”

Ben Sayers is the President/CEO of VoIP Supply LLC. VoIP Supply is North America’s leading VoIP solutions provider. Since 2004, VoIP Supply has delivered valuable solutions for some 100,000 customers worldwide. They take care of these clients with passionate employees, over 6,500 products and an unlimited number of VoIP solutions.

VoIP is not just a website. They are people; a team of talented, dedicated people who are passionate about IP technologies. They work together to deliver products and services that allow you to implement and deploy VoIP in your home, business or for your clients. They have remarkable customer service and maintain a call center of trained sales engineering experts to assist you with your product selection and implementation.

MO:
Congrats on being the leading VoIP solutions provider in North America! What do you believe makes you different from other suppliers?

Ben:
Our core values and our people. We focus our business on a value first offering leading not with price, rather with expertise, guidance and our customer experience. Our comprehensive suite of services and solutions are also unmatched in the industry, including our buyback (Reclaim™) and refurbishment (Refresh™) programs, our VoIP Service Provider team offering provisioning and fulfillment services and our nationwide installation services (Deploy™).

MO:
You launched VoIP Supply LLC in 2004, and the economy started a downturn just three years later. How have you continued to grow and succeed in a bad economy?

Ben:
Growing and succeeding are not always going in the same direction, particularly in tough economic times. While we have continued to grow by more than 50 new customers each day, our revenue was more or less flat during the recession with an upturn in 2010 and a significant upturn in 2011. Succeeding is another matter altogether. During the recession we succeeded in many ways by increasing our efficiency and subsequently our profitability through automation, focus, budget controls and process/procedure improvements. As an example of this success, we were able to purchase a new building at the end of 2010 and reduce our facilities expense dramatically.

MO:
You were named #1 Best Place to Work in WNY. What employee practices do you have that makes you stand out as such a remarkable place to work?

Ben:
Our core values define what makes us a great business and a great place to work. We work hard, work smart and most of all work for the enjoyment of what we do in our service to the customer and overall VoIP industry. Our office environment is different, bright, airy and relatively casual. Our staff is expected to be professional and efficient and as such they do not require micromanagement or a high pressure workplace. Our benefits are standard in some ways and extraordinary in others, including healthcare, dental and vision along with up to five weeks of vacation, company outings and flexible schedules.

MO:
You have a unique model where you sell directly to consumers as well as to businesses, and provide exceptional customer service all around. How do you manage to maintain such a high standard of customer service and still remain reasonably priced?

Ben:
With our core values again coming into play and our goal of selling value-first, not price first, we are able to maintain margins on products, coupled with the services that complement. While we do have a buyers club program for volume purchases, even service providers and integrators need more than just a low price most of the time. We pride ourselves on our service, accuracy, promptness, flexibility and accommodation to customer needs. Our reputation speaks of this.

MO:
As technology changes, the VoIP solutions change quickly. How do you stay on the fore-front of the changes in VoIP technology?

Ben:
Our pulse on the marketplace, reputation in the industry and relationships with manufacturers provides us with a vision of the industry trends and anticipated direction as technology changes. By remaining a fairly small business (35 employees) with our focus on our core competencies, we are able to work efficiently and in a timely manner to adjust as needed. However, more often than not, we are the trendsetter in the industry as far as niche market VoIP retailers goes.

MO:
What does the future look like for VoIP Supply LLC?

Ben:
The future looks fantastic for VoIP Supply as we continue to grow by double digit numbers and exceeding our projections. Our plans for the future address the changing needs of business and consumers with their telecom needs based on changes and trends in related connectivity markets. We continue to improve the way we do things, the expertise of our people, the education and content that we provide our customers and the general public and strength of our company overall. The future looks bright.