Networking Now

Do you have a landline number for your Clients to call? Is it answered by a real person or a machine? Do you get lots of missed calls?

When I look at how small businesses advertise themselves in areas such as online listings and printed directories such as Yellow Pages I sometimes find myself muttering away.

There are so many missed opportunities.

If someone reads your advert and only sees a mobile number with no landline what does that say to them? Small one man band. Yet your competitor is a one man band as well but has a traditional land line number and someone to answer his calls. Who do you think will get the most business from their advert now?

I personally use a VOIP number, you don't have to, but it saves me line rental.

What's VOIP - its voice over internet protocol. In other words it doesnt work over the telephone line but over the internet.

There are several providers out there and I would be happy to help you choose the one that is right for your particular needs. You can choose a phone number with any UK geographic code and yet answer that phone anywhere in the world. It's ideal if you want to be seen to be in a particular area i.e. you work outside of London but want a London dialling code. You can get 0844, 0845 numbers etc that are non geographic but let me explain why I think you shouldn't.

Do you have a mobile phone contract? With inclusive minutes? Let me guess, you can call your spouse or mother on their mobile at no cost, you can call the takeaway or the dentist at no cost, but as soon as you dial any number beginning with 08 you are charged. That's right, even if it is a freephone number.

There are a growing number of people who are disillusioned with 08 numbers. There is even a website dedicated to finding alternative numbers Saynoto0845. Because my phone number is a geographic number my Clients can call it from their mobiles at no cost, I can call it to check messages from my mobile at no cost. It just makes sense to me.

Now I use my own call answering service. I do this because when I am with a Client I believe they deserve my undivided attention, not me answering calls every five minutes. It is a matter of courtesy. I don't want to be trying to concentrate on business calls whilst driving, I can't give the Client my full attention. I would prefer that they spoke to a real person, explained their needs or requirements, and that my call answer service send me an email with that information.

My call answering service fulfills another function, unknowingly, they give my business the illusion of size. I don't answer all my own calls, it looks like I have a receptionist to do that for me, implying that I am not the one man band that I actually am. Good isn't it.

It also helps prevent the lost contacts. I don't know about you but if I want something and the first person I ring is engaged or doesn't answer I hang up and dial the next one. I know I am not alone in that. Because they have spoken to a person and left their details I have that second chance. Yes they may still ring someone else but at least I know who they are and what they wanted.

Feel free to ask me any questions you like on this topic as it is quite hard to cover everything in one post and everyone has different needs.

Great post Helen.

I work from home and have 5 different numbers. Mostly answered by myself, the others forwarded to other people.

With working from home, and wanting the personal touch I decided to take my own calls rather than hire a VA. Nor did I want to invest in a server just for my telecoms.

I now use my ISDN line and I connect this to Skype using a PBX Exchange. I have an IVR, Voicemail on all numbers, Call Queing, Auto Attendants and more. All done through my own PC with no added hardware.

I have one 0800 number for 'Special Clients' and the others are all 0845 numbers. I bought 12 of these, so I have the scope to add more Virtual phones if needed in addition to a few VoIP Dedicated numbers.

The Answer-phone part of the software is clever, as it can ask the caller questions, or provide pre-recorded info as well as a step-by-step process for support calls. Everything is logged for me to pick up later or I can take the call if its urgent.

Like Helen said, It gives the impression that you are professional and bigger then you are. When I go to see new clients, they always ask how many staff I have. When I reply, there's only me, they are shocked. If you get that reaction, then you know you your clients are impressed.

I would Urge all SME Business to have some form of call control, telecoms system or a Virtual Assistant. It doesn't have to cost the earth and will help your business grow as well as keep it under control.

Again Helen, Great post.

Thanks Mike, good to see someone else of the same opinion. I actually use my call answering service when I am out with Clients, it's great, it also means I can give Clients my undivided attention. I can check my emails when I come out and return any urgent calls and ignore the ones that are sales calls.

I think you are lucky you are in a position to answer your own calls, there are lots of services and jobs that don't allow this. However, can I ask do you ever find that jobs take longer to accomplish than they should because you are answering calls and being distracted.

Having previously done the 9-5 job, I always found that working after the office closed was so much more productive as you weren't being distracted by ringing phones and answering calls.

Interested to hear what others think about that.

Thanks Helen

Actually I always get things competed. I multi-task like a woman (not meaning that in a sexist way) and can get much done even with distraction. I always give the caller the time needed, but try if possible to make the call short, unless its a scheduled call.

As I work from home, I rarely have clients come to visit me, though it does happen if they are local. But I mostly go to them, so they get 100% of my time.

If I do get swamped, I have a cueing system, and other people connected to my VoIP Network can grab the call.