My Story – Your opportunity
Scott McKinney
President/Shareholder
I had a huge blow up with my employer. He told me after 10 months of killing myself with 10-hour days, six days a week, I was not getting paid the commission he owed me.
My deal was I had a base salary & benefits but would not get paid any commissions until I could “pay for myself”. Prior to that discussion, my thoughts were finally, this month was the month I started to get paid a healthy commission. I had been telling my wife to be patient, this is all going to pay off. I just landed a big deal, and I was about to get a commission of approximately $10K. Instead, I was told, “I can’t honor our deal. My compensation plan needed to be renegotiated, and I would not get a dime until that was completed”. I have never been more crushed than at that very moment. How could someone do that to me, my family, and my career. I would never have taken this job in the first place without the employment agreement I negotiated.
At my previous job, I was making twice as much as my current salary. I came for the opportunity to build something and launch a long-term career helping a small local business grow and thrive. To build a sales team and be a part of something bigger than myself. Why all this happened is a story for another day. Let’s just say I don’t think after many years of reflection that any of this was planned. It was a reaction caused by a series of bad business decisions and fear. The reason is of less importance than the opportunity that it created. I was so frustrated with working for others, they simply saw me as a disposable part of their company, not a valued member of the team. I hated constantly having my compensation plan changed year after year. They never do that to pay people more. Corporate America had completely lost its appeal to me and my stint at a small company did not go well either.
At that moment, I received a call from Joe Bonino to buy into connecTel. The problem was, I had no money, and I was losing my job. One of my favorite phrases was uttered. We can do this deal on sweat equity. You are an owner from day one, but you have time to pay off the investment. It was as if the almighty was throwing me a lifeline. We had money in the bank to help us get started, and an exclusive Bell Atlantic (Verizon) contract. I had the partner community I’d amassed that would follow me. Not just a new job but an opportunity for a career where I would be able to control more aspects of my own destiny. Failure was not an option, so success was a matter of time, effort, and determination.
That was 23 years ago. We have two companies (connecTel & connecTel wireless), 4 owners, 33 total employees, 80 plus partner relationships, 1300 customers, and a thriving business that can sustain the many ups and downs of this industry. We have a great staff that are loyal employees and great friends. I wake up each day truly living the dream I envisioned. I trust the people I work with and know we will not always agree, but we all want the same thing. connecTel to grow and do so with the utmost integrity.
How do you pay these blessings forward, I have thought about that many times over the years. There must be more people in this industry that feel the same way I did 20+ years ago. Someone that has the drive, the customers, the partner contacts, and the sales track record that will lead to their success. They just need a mentor and some financial security to take the leap of faith.
If this describes you, connecTel is prepared to be that mentor, back office, engineering team, project management team, repair department, commission tracking, and sales support. We have access to over 300 technology telecom suppliers. We get paid the highest commissions because of our $2,000,000.00 in monthly billing under management. We will provide all of this for you. While this is happening, you have your own company to run manage. You own it! You just do it with and through connecTel. You keep 50% of every dollar earned, do so at accelerated commission levels, and connecTel gives you access to all our resources and our multi-million-dollar payroll.
You are part of the team and completely independent, so stability is already present. The second consideration is, how do you earn enough in the beginning to survive. That is where our combination of a ramp and accelerated upfront compensation comes into play. You also get the option to keep this relationship indefinitely or even choose to leave the nest (5-year initial term) and go out on your own, what we do together stays under connecTel management, and we keep paying you the 50% or you can agree to buy out connecTel and keep the entire book of business.
What you do moving forward is 100% yours. You must support that business yourself but after a period of time, you might be ready to fly solo. Let connecTel use our knowledge, contacts, and access to providers to launch you on the career you have been dreaming about!
The last thing my former employer said to me as I dropped off my key to the building 20+ years ago was, “If you think you can do this better, then go do it yourself.” So, I did! And, so can you!
