When the project is awarded, the service is delivered on-site, over the phone or over the Internet. Billing is direct or through ePeople, which receives a commission from support providers based on the scale of the contract. The company claims more than 120,000 clients and 11,000 support providers. Reverse auctions enable the sales cycle to move quickly, given the 24-7 availability of the Internet. For the buyer, the service offers an opportunity to choose from a variety of support providers while controlling costs and specifying qualifications through the bidding process.
All end users have to do is post a question and wait for providers to reply.
Such simplification can make end users more willing to try new products, and converts to increased sales for manufacturers and support providers. In turn, support providers can reduce their cost of sales and gain access to new markets. For their part, customers need to do some homework to ensure that the contractors are of the caliber they claim to be. In ePeople's case, the company has a service-rating system and other customer satisfaction mechanisms designed to minimize this concern. Nevertheless, verification is crucial.