PlanetOne Expands Channel Team in Southern California

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PlanetOne Expands Channel Team in Southern California
Record-breaking Growth Underscores Partner Support Expansion

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.–July 18, 2014–Nationwide master agency PlanetOne Communications has added to its channel team, to continue to support rapid growth and the expanding needs of its channel partners. Eric Cooke is joining as senior technology advisor, while Jake Schuman will fill the role of partner development manager. Both report to Jonathan Hartman, vice president of sales, and will soon be based in a newly-opened PlanetOne office in the Irvine, Calif. area of Orange County.

“As we continue to experience record-breaking growth in 2014, we are adding these two new positions to support our growing partner community,” said PlanetOne president Lauren Shapiro. “And, our expansion into Southern California with a new office is enormously exciting and indicative of our ongoing investment in supporting our channel partners.”

In the newly created role of senior technology advisor, Cooke, a Certified Telecom Professional (CTP), will focus on up-selling new solutions and innovations to the PlanetOne embedded customer base, while supporting customer retention efforts in conjunction with sales partners.

He brings 16 years of telecom experience to PlanetOne, most recently from Windstream, where he spent six and a half years in channel-specific roles supporting multiple partners.

“I’m going to be working directly with PlanetOne sales partners to identify new revenue opportunities within existing customers for new technology services and products, such as cloud services and unified communications,” he said. “We’ll tackle expiring contracts, re-engage those customers and find the next generation of services that we can move them to. I feel that it’s going to be an important resource for our partners, who are looking to maintain their current revenue and accounts while transitioning customers to the right mix of network services and modernized technology while extending customer lifecycle.”

His role at PlanetOne adds tremendous value for partners who are looking to expand their business into fresh revenue streams while minimizing churn, according to Hartman.

“We are seeing our partners focused on broader, more comprehensive solutions for their customers, increasing the overall revenue associated with each sale,” said Hartman. “PlanetOne provides a platform for strategic interaction, along with tools and education such as the Toolbox, equipping our partners to have the business discussions with executives needed to capture more than just traditional telecom services.”

Schuman meanwhile will be responsible for existing partners in Southern California with a primary focus on bringing on new VARs, MSPs and agents. Also a Certified Telecom Professional, he comes to PlanetOne after holding positions at Cbeyond and Windstream, where he was solely dedicated to channel management.

“I’m very excited to give our partners a local representative in Southern California, and look forward to developing new strategic relationships for PlanetOne, which already has an excellent reputation and an tremendous group of employees,” Schuman noted. “The opening of our Orange County office is an important step in the ongoing, phenomenal growth of this company and our partners’ business as we continue to move up market with the convergence of telecom and IT.”

The Orange County office is set to open this fall and several local events are planned for the grand opening. Until then, both Cooke and Schuman will be based out of the company’s Scottsdale headquarters.

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 About PlanetOne:
PlanetOne (www.planetone.net) is a full service telecommunications marketing firm with headquarters in Scottsdale, Ariz. Now celebrating 22 years in operation, PlanetOne exclusively supports agents nationally and is one of the largest master agents in the country for multiple carriers. PlanetOne has been recognized by Channel Partners Magazine as being one of the Top 50 Channel Programs in the industry for the past five consecutive years. For the past four years, PlanetOne has been named as one of Inc. Magazine’s Fastest Growing Private Companies in America. To reach the company’s headquarters, call (877) 487.8353 or e-mail sales@planetone.net.