Michelle Wasielewski knows a thing or two about Telecommunications, having been in the business for 30 years—17 of those years spent at telecom management firm Morgan Birgé.

“We’ve worked on very complex enterprise phone systems across sectors varying from The Fortune 500 to the US military and even Intelligence services,” said Wasielewski.

In Wasielewski’s nearly two decades with the company, she’s had the opportunity (and often the necessity) to wear multiple hats. As the current Director of Sales, Wasielewski leans on a modest staff dedicated to different parts of the customer process—but she pivots on the daily, shifting from assisting with solution design and programming to end user training and support.

This extensive insight has helped her hone a sharp eye for the best solutions across a diverse customer base that spans manufacturing, K-12, higher education, hospitals, SMBs, and more.

Communication Makes The Difference

“We are vendor-neutral and that means focusing on assessing each customer’s needs and finding what’s right for that specific customer. But we provide a high level of communication and a 1:1 relationship that sets us apart,” Wasielewski explained.

“Our customers know they’re going to get that communication as part of their service with us. So, we need to work with vendors capable of replicating that service level and helping us maintain continuity across the solution and service.” With this can-do, hands-on attitude and customer service focus, Morgan Birgé represented the ideal kind of partnership 8x8 was seeking.

Ramping Up When the World Shut Down

In early 2016, Morgan Birgé was busy identifying the right solution for a new customer. But, midway through performing a battery of assessments across 10 different cloud providers—including 10 separate demos—things began to change.

“8x8 came out against nine other solutions. And then…Covid hit.” She and her team were busy getting the customer onboarded and implementing the 8x8 solution when things, as they say, “hit the fan.” In the course of just days, handfuls of Wasielewski’s customers and prospects began making the hurried shift to working from home. That was when she saw what Morgan Birgé and 8x8 would be able to accomplish together during an evolving situation that could have easily turned into a crisis.

“Customers were calling us freaking out because they needed to shut office operations down and move their teams to work remotely, almost overnight,” Wasielewski said. “At that point, 8x8 swept into action alongside us and made us look like rock stars.” In the space of 24 hours or so, Wasielewski says, she had multiple customers up and running on the 8x8 solution.

With renewed focus, Wasielewski began selling 8x8 to customers immediately. And within mere hours, things had shifted yet again.

“We had these customers home, up, and running with zero training in—seriously—a day,” she recalls. “I went back to our owners and had an entire conversation.” The short version, Wasielewski says:

“This Product Freakin’ Rocks”

With customers quickly shifted to remote environments and safely operating from home offices all over the country, Wasielewski knew they’d found a user-friendly solution they could lead with for many customers.

“We continue to sell 8x8 because of the confidence we have in the solution, and the features and functionality it offers,” she said. “Every seat is so packed with features, so our customers end up feeling like there is far more benefit for the buck than with many other platforms. And they love it—the solution, but also the communication from 8x8 that mirrors the values that drive Morgan Birgé.”

“It’s a No Brainer”

The partner experience Wasielewski and her team at Morgan Birgé had with 8x8, she says, was another major difference-maker that stayed with them. In their initial onboarding, despite the frenzy of activity taking place with customers and the pandemic effects already being felt, Wasielewski was impressed with the simplicity, follow-up, and ease of the process.

“It was easy, a no-brainer, with no hoops to jump through,” she said. “We came in on the reseller side initially and that took 2 weeks flat. When we moved to the VAR side, again, it was as simple as signing off on some changes and fast-tracking certifications and training.”

And in their close relationship with distribution partner ScanSource, Wasielewski says that Morgan Birgé again felt like 8x8 had created consistency throughout the channel partner experience that kept them feeling confident and unstressed. “It’s kind of uncommon in this industry to have it just work, but we felt like ScanSource and 8x8 had this well-oiled machine in place and knew how to support us on everything from completing certifications to arranging demos. It was just such a great fit, no fire drills and no stress.”

Service Paves the Way, Innovation Hits the Gas

Morgan Birgé’s experience as a partner, coupled with the unique features of the product, stuck with the team—becoming all the more compelling as new features have been rolled out.

“The analytics we get through the 8x8 system are stronger than other cloud providers we’ve looked at across Unified Communications (UC) and Contact Center (CC). Plus, the fact that the CC is integrated in and not a third-party, connected service makes a huge difference for us,” she said. “There’s never any finger-pointing. 8x8 owns this entire platform and makes troubleshooting and support so simple for us.”

The partner experience working with a distributor has made the 8x8 Elevate Partner Program streamlined and clear for everyone on her team.

“There’s a clear line of cooperation between these teams,” she said. “I feel confident I’ll get answers and responses on any issue—whether that’s my go-to 8x8 Account Manager, pre-sales engineers, our distribution team, or even 8x8 Channel leadership.” And pre-sales engineering, Wasielewski says, is an area where she feels 8x8 consistently goes above and beyond.

“The pre-sales engineering team is always game to jump on a call, help with a demo, or do Q&A, and they just make winning and onboarding new customers so smooth,” she said.

“I always assume we’re a smaller partner, but you’d never know by the way they treat us. It feels like we really matter at 8x8.”

Moving the Needle for Customers

One especially “cuddly” customer experience for Morgan Birgé and 8x8? Working with top toy manufacturer Ty. The company behind the classic Beanie Baby needed to implement a cost-effective, cloud-based communications solution that would keep their teams connected and offer added data and insights for hybrid workers.

“Working with 8x8 helped us decrease hold times for Ty and optimize their staffing during busy periods,” she recalls. “Switching them to 8x8 Work and 8x8 Contact Center allowed us to get them up and running in four weeks—while delivering annual savings of around $75,000 versus their own solutions.”

Morgan Birgé Looks Ahead with 8x8

Wasielewski anticipates moving more customers off of existing on-prem systems and onto cloud-delivered solutions that build efficiency. It’s an action she said is made simpler and easier through her relationship with 8x8.

“We’re in a mode now that our 8x8 customers are so happy and so on board with all of the new features and functionality continuously rolling out,” she said. And with comprehensive marketing and operational support as an 8x8 Elevate partner, Wasielewski says her team has access to everything from sales blitzes and demos to proof of concept exercises. “I’m happy to say that the teams we work with at 8x8, like the pre-sales engineers, have helped me close opportunities we might have otherwise lost.”

While uniquely their own, Wasielewski believes Morgan Birgé’s experience with 8x8 will be replicated for other channel partners who need a solid cloud provider. “I would tell other resellers considering a change: just try the product, you know? Throw it on your phone and make some calls, cause you have nothing to lose,” she said. “It’s truly such a simple process.” And as she recounts, the result of the 8x8 partnership has been sustained growth and success.

“Every customer who made the switch to 8x8 with us has renewed their contracts,” she said. “Change is scary, but 8x8 makes it so easy and your customers will be thrilled to be completely mobile.”

Successful partnerships with 8x8

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