Most entrepreneurs and small business owners will agree: one of the biggest challenges they face is the one of mobility. The advanced technology of smart phones helps with this matter as business owners can now receive e-mail on their phone and deal with them accordingly.
The last obstacle to true mobility really comes down to something to effect of: "how do I deal with what happens back at the office?" Or, more specifically, how to manage faxes, voicemail, and important calls coming in from the toll-free number while out in the field.
The first paragraph mentioned how the smart phone's technology has helped with mobility. Given the technological advances in the past few years, companies can now manage virtually any application digitally and inexpensively. By taking advantage of inexpensive technologies, small business can now project a Fortune 500 image while allowing mobility and, often, reducing expenses.
The way this technology works is that your clients call the equivalent of a computer. This computer answers the calls or accepts faxes, and redirects them to a phone, mobile phone, voicemail box, or e-mail inbox of your choosing. So, you could literally work from the golf course; accept faxes, phone calls, access voicemail, etc., from your existing cell phone (or home phone, computer, etc.).
The market leader in this segment and the company we recommend is RingCentral. This single company alone can propel a small business's image to the big time. And since image is so important these days with company failures and consumer apprehension about dealing with new "players," image must take precedent when setting up your back-end. At any rate, through RingCentral you can project a better image through the following:
Toll Free Number. While this feature is more important for companies whose reach crosses area codes (e.g. consultants, sales & support businesses, etc.), a toll-free number immediately gives the impression of a "large" company. Toll-Free numbers can be arranged through RingCentral, including vanity numbers at a marginally higher cost.
Virtual Receptionist with music while callers are on "hold" and voicemail. Call any large company and you will probably hear music before your call gets patched through to the right party. Now you can offer this same feature even if you area one-person business. While features like this might incur additional charges with some providers, they are free with RingCentral.
Call Queues. If you are on the phone and don't want to lose your next client, they can go into a call queue rather than find your voicemail. Since you sell your product or service best, you want to make sure you don't miss another prospect call. Again, this is a Free feature.
Internet Fax. This all-important feature allows you to send and receive faxes by e-mail or online. Yes, this means you can manage faxes with most web-enabled smart phones. What a great way to win back your freedom, and it's free!
The feature list has a surreal quality in that items you might expect to be "optional" are actually standard. Still, there is one disappointment with RingCentral. Their DigitalLine VoIP function is optional when they offer so much else for free... what gives? In reality, however, this option has little importance to most small business owners. And, for subscribers who absolutely need VoIP capabilities, the extra $7.99 is more than justified.
Whether you sign up with RingCentral or someone else, the most common reason for using a service like this comes back to the issue of mobility. A secondary justification would be the cost-effectiveness of the system; at $24.99, you can't get this type of service through your phone company, let alone purchase the necessary hardware and software to do it yourself. - 15431
The last obstacle to true mobility really comes down to something to effect of: "how do I deal with what happens back at the office?" Or, more specifically, how to manage faxes, voicemail, and important calls coming in from the toll-free number while out in the field.
The first paragraph mentioned how the smart phone's technology has helped with mobility. Given the technological advances in the past few years, companies can now manage virtually any application digitally and inexpensively. By taking advantage of inexpensive technologies, small business can now project a Fortune 500 image while allowing mobility and, often, reducing expenses.
The way this technology works is that your clients call the equivalent of a computer. This computer answers the calls or accepts faxes, and redirects them to a phone, mobile phone, voicemail box, or e-mail inbox of your choosing. So, you could literally work from the golf course; accept faxes, phone calls, access voicemail, etc., from your existing cell phone (or home phone, computer, etc.).
The market leader in this segment and the company we recommend is RingCentral. This single company alone can propel a small business's image to the big time. And since image is so important these days with company failures and consumer apprehension about dealing with new "players," image must take precedent when setting up your back-end. At any rate, through RingCentral you can project a better image through the following:
Toll Free Number. While this feature is more important for companies whose reach crosses area codes (e.g. consultants, sales & support businesses, etc.), a toll-free number immediately gives the impression of a "large" company. Toll-Free numbers can be arranged through RingCentral, including vanity numbers at a marginally higher cost.
Virtual Receptionist with music while callers are on "hold" and voicemail. Call any large company and you will probably hear music before your call gets patched through to the right party. Now you can offer this same feature even if you area one-person business. While features like this might incur additional charges with some providers, they are free with RingCentral.
Call Queues. If you are on the phone and don't want to lose your next client, they can go into a call queue rather than find your voicemail. Since you sell your product or service best, you want to make sure you don't miss another prospect call. Again, this is a Free feature.
Internet Fax. This all-important feature allows you to send and receive faxes by e-mail or online. Yes, this means you can manage faxes with most web-enabled smart phones. What a great way to win back your freedom, and it's free!
The feature list has a surreal quality in that items you might expect to be "optional" are actually standard. Still, there is one disappointment with RingCentral. Their DigitalLine VoIP function is optional when they offer so much else for free... what gives? In reality, however, this option has little importance to most small business owners. And, for subscribers who absolutely need VoIP capabilities, the extra $7.99 is more than justified.
Whether you sign up with RingCentral or someone else, the most common reason for using a service like this comes back to the issue of mobility. A secondary justification would be the cost-effectiveness of the system; at $24.99, you can't get this type of service through your phone company, let alone purchase the necessary hardware and software to do it yourself. - 15431
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