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Posts Tagged ‘business telephone’

Virtual Phone Services – Taking Communication To A New Level

June 5th, 2011

A virtual phone service uses a virtual phone number that isn’t connected to an associated landline phone. Calls placed to virtual numbers go through a computer, a mobile phone or another landline network. They are sometimes called VOIP phones.

Some businesses have a virtual office as well as a virtual phone number; there is no actual address, or phone connected at it, or it is in a different location than the one suggested by the number. You can choose a virtual number with any area code to make it seem as though you are located in that area, even though you may be in another state or country.

Toll-free numbers have been around for some time to allow people to make inquiries from non-local businesses without incurring long distances call rates. Many of these are now virtual numbers, and when placing a call, you have no idea what area the call will be answered in. With virtual phone numbers, customers don’t know they aren’t talking to a local business.

A virtual phone number looks just like a normal local phone number, can be used just like a normal land line phone number and anyone calling from a conventional telephone can place a call to it just as they normally would to traditional phone numbers. No matter where the call originates, or where you currently are, the remote call forwarding portion of the service directs calls to the proper location. People calling a virtual phone number do not know that they have not called a conventional landline number.

No matter where you are, business contacts, friends and family can reach you by dialing your virtual number. The call costs the local rate for them, regardless of your location at the time. You can attach your virtual phone number to a conventional phone or your cell phone.

In the US, a virtual phone number costs just pennies a day with any US area code. International virtual numbers are more expensive and may have an additional start-up fee, and are available in 40 countries.

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What To Include In A Business Telephone System

August 9th, 2010

Are you starting up a small business or a home-based business? Your business telephone system will be of the utmost importance. You want a telephone system for your business that meets the needs and demands of today’s fast-paced and high-tech business environment, from the perspective of customers, prospects, and your own staff. Let’s look at some of these all-important business telephone system features of today. (These will be listed numerically just for organization’s sake; they’re in no particular order of importance, as these are all features that you should consider.)

1) VoIP compatibility. This is a very important feature today, as it saves your business tons of money. A VoIP compatible system enables you to simply pay a low, up-front monthly fee in exchange for unlimited calling. You use your ground-line telephones and, typically, your signal is even clearer than it would otherwise be. Some common VoIP features include automatic e-mails about messages received, automatic call logging on an Internet database, and automated cell phone forwarding.

2) Voicemail. Where would the modern business world be without voicemail? You essentially never miss a call again, plus you are more able to screen out calls from people who are pests rather than prospects, cons rather than customers–and all without any need for an answering machine. Get a voicemail set-up that has as many useful features as possible.

3) Automated greetings and call forwarding. You’ll never miss another opportunity, never let down another customer in need of help, or seem anything less than professional again with this feature. Although some people do get a little impatient and frustrated with it when they call, by and large they are sent to the right person or the right department without much effort on their part.

4) On-hold messages. What’s so great about this for a business telephone system? The messages are customizable–so you can “talk to” customers and prospects even while they’re on hold. Tell them about your company’s latest initiatives or special sales, tell them about features and products that they may really want to know about, all while they wait. This also makes the wait time more personable for the caller.

These are just a few of the most important of the features available for a business telephone system today. Consider using them all.

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