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.
But what about true freedom? True mobility. What happens with the direct calls that the receptionist or assistant answers, or the faxes, or the direct calls that go to voicemail?
Now that virtually any application can be handled digitally and the technology is quite inexpensive, small businesses and entrepreneurs stand to gain tremendously. By using technology to their advantage, savvy business owners can project a Fortune 500 image without increasing overhead. In fact, many can even reduce some of their overall expenses!
The solution works rather cleverly. Your clients call or fax a computer, which translates the data into a digital format and essentially redirects the call or data to any mobile phone, hard-line phone, voicemail, or e-mail inbox (you pick which one). This simplistic description truly affords you the opportunity to work from any corner of the globe using your existing web-enabled smart phone or computer!
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 choose RingCentral or another provider, the key motivators for using such a service include mobility for you and your employees, true cost-effectivness, and instant image enhancement (your customers won't know whether you work out of your basement or out of the 40th floor of a Wall Street Tower. Most plans cost roughly $30/month with RingCentral's most popular plan (which includes a lot more standard features than their competitors) starts at $24.99 per month with a Free Trial period.
But what about true freedom? True mobility. What happens with the direct calls that the receptionist or assistant answers, or the faxes, or the direct calls that go to voicemail?
Now that virtually any application can be handled digitally and the technology is quite inexpensive, small businesses and entrepreneurs stand to gain tremendously. By using technology to their advantage, savvy business owners can project a Fortune 500 image without increasing overhead. In fact, many can even reduce some of their overall expenses!
The solution works rather cleverly. Your clients call or fax a computer, which translates the data into a digital format and essentially redirects the call or data to any mobile phone, hard-line phone, voicemail, or e-mail inbox (you pick which one). This simplistic description truly affords you the opportunity to work from any corner of the globe using your existing web-enabled smart phone or computer!
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 choose RingCentral or another provider, the key motivators for using such a service include mobility for you and your employees, true cost-effectivness, and instant image enhancement (your customers won't know whether you work out of your basement or out of the 40th floor of a Wall Street Tower. Most plans cost roughly $30/month with RingCentral's most popular plan (which includes a lot more standard features than their competitors) starts at $24.99 per month with a Free Trial period.
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