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  It would be nice if your business only received one call at a time, but that of course isn’t always the case. At times, you will inevitably get multiple calls coming in at the same time, meaning you’re going to need provisions in place to manage all of them so that no one hangs up before you can take care of them. The focus of this post is to give you a few ways to professionally handle all of those simultaneous calls.   Automated Reception Especially when you are working with minimal phone support staff, it’s important to have an automated system set up to field simultaneous calls as they come in. The best way to do this is to use a call menu, or auto attendant, that allows callers to press a number corresponding to the information they need, or to press a certain number to speak to …

  There are now more virtual phone service providers than there have ever been before, which presents an interesting problem overall, as well as a huge advantage for a business owner. The problem is that it takes business owners much more time and research to find the right phone service for their business because there are now dozens of providers to choose from, rather than just a few big traditional phone carriers. This explosion of virtual providers, unfortunately, comes with quite a few really cheap providers with terrible service who just want to grab a piece of the profit. The low cost for their services is tempting, but this is why you want to steer as clear as possible.   1. Unreliable Connection This is one of the most common complaints people have when using a phone service app or cheap virtual provider. One of the ways these providers keep …

Live call transfer is a feature that is essential for many businesses, which makes it pretty scary for a business owner when it doesn’t seem to be working. Before you start to panic, consider these possible reasons that you aren’t able to transfer calls. 1. Incorrect Dialing Sequence Failure to transfer a call to another extension or employee within your business because you didn’t perform the correct dialing sequence doesn’t mean you’re stupid; it just means that you were either instructed to use the wrong sequence, or possibly that you didn’t even realize that you’ve been pressing the wrong buttons. Consult with your phone service provider, and make sure that they tell you explicitly what you need to do to initiate a call transfer. 2. DTMF Issue This is probably the most common reason that a transfer function fails, and it has nothing to do with user error. If you …

Not long ago, it would’ve sounded strange to associate a mobile app with your business’ phone system, but today’s virtual phone systems use a mobile app to make call management a lot easier for your company. Here are a few of the useful functions of a mobile app to help you manage calls. Stay on Top of Messages Traditionally, you could only check your customers’ voicemail messages by calling into a certain number, but now you can just open your phone system app and tap the voicemail section to view all of your messages and even call those customers back from the same page of the app. Text messaging can also be done through an app, though not all virtual phone systems provide that ability. Check out Talkroute’s text messaging features here: https://talkroute.com/business-text-messaging/ Decide Which Voice Mailboxes You Want to See You may have a lot of employees or departments …

Phone service is still very important to small businesses as it is still one of the preferred methods of customers to reach out to a business. All kinds of companies are now reevaluating their phone systems to see how it can be improved with current technology and hopefully find more economical options at the same time. Virtual phone service can offer a lot to a business on this front, and in most cases, it is a lot more efficient than traditional systems. Cost-Effectiveness The big phone carriers who have been around for a long time, like AT&T or Comcast, had a pretty strong grip on the small business market until recently; however, small businesses now are starting to wake up to the idea of using a virtual phone service that completely satisfies their needs at a fraction of the cost they were paying with one of the big carriers. A …

  The first step in any kind of communication is the definition of terms. Not only is it invaluable to effective communication, but in the same way, understanding industry terms such as phone system jargon and even just the names of the hardware, functions, and other elements is essential to choosing the right virtual phone system, as well as setting it up and using it. All of the terms you’ll find in this post will clarify what it all means, once and for all.   1. Port You probably have an idea in your mind of what this word means, and what you think is very likely completely wrong. This word marks one of the most pervasive misunderstandings among telecom users. Once more from the cheap seats… Port: A full and complete transfer of phone service for a phone number from one carrier, to a different carrier. After the porting …

When you start your search for a new virtual phone system, you’ll quickly discover that there are numerous options to choose from. What you have to carefully consider is what type of virtual phone system you want because there are a few categories, and the needs of your particular business will determine which type will work best for you. Some of these services are based entirely in an app you install on your smartphone; but others like Talkroute are not tied down to an app. Here’s a bit of a deeper explanation. Types of Phone Services Many people, when they begin to do some research to find out what kinds of phone service providers are out there, they might go in thinking that there are simply regular phone services and virtual services. They come away realizing that there are many iterations of virtual providers. Here are three basic types of …

  The phones that you use to answer business calls are the most essential element and most valuable point-of-contact you have with your customers. Most of the time, you can pretty much set it and forget it, but then there are also those times when changes need to be made. That’s when you need a system that makes it easy to change up the configuration while keeping the calls coming in without interruption. These steps will give you a simple roadmap for managing your forwarding phones as part of a virtual phone system.   1. Make sure your phones are in excellent working order. Find out every person, or every phone that will be taking calls, and then do some testing. Go through each phone that will be on the forwarding list with your virtual system; then, do a series of tests to make sure there will be no conflicts …

The criteria you use to judge virtual phone systems may not include the user interface, or control panel—but it should. Your control panel, otherwise known as your “dashboard”, is how you interact with your business’ phone system and needs to be effective and easy to use. A Component that is Usually Overlooked When shopping around for a new phone system, you’re paying close attention to things like cost vs. value; included features; compatibility with your existing phones, which points are all important, but how easy will the whole thing actually be to setup, adjust as needed, and maintain? You can seek support from the company staff if you need it, but it’s far more painless if you can make changes to your system with a couple of quick clicks. That’s why the user interface has to be accessible to make immediate changes anytime, from an easy-to-use online dashboard. Managing Your …

  Connection quality and excellent phone reception is always a top concern for businesses of any size. Unfortunately, if you choose the wrong phone service provider, you may not enjoy the consistent quality that you need because not all providers can offer that. If you choose the right provider, though, this is not only possible but readily available.   How Do You Get Good Connection Quality? When choosing a phone system to manage your business calls, it’s important to know how your calls are being connected. There are 2 basic methods that providers use to connect calls. The first type of provider routes calls over the Internet, namely a VoIP system. The second kind of provider is a cloud-based PBX system that connects calls using the traditional phone network, and some service providers also use a mix of both.   Internet-Based Call Routing This type has been in use for …