Did you know that 52% of small businesses in the United States are home based? That is more than 14 million home based businesses in the U.S. alone. No to mention that there are nearly 300k new home businesses registered every month.
That means there is a really good chance that you have purchased a product or service from a home business in the past and simply never knew it. Just like other home businesses, you too can run your business from the comfort of your home without compromising professionalism.
With 1000’s of our customers using Talkroute to run their businesses from home, here are a few of the ways we can help you:
Common Problems:
Your need the flexibility of multiple phones
So you are running your business from home and it’s wonderful! You start the day with a cup of coffee and your laptop at the kitchen table, with your cordless phone nearby. That first business call comes in and you close your first deal. Congratulations!
As the day comes to a close, you realize it’s already 5:00pm and you are still sitting in the same place where you began your day. Imagine if you could take business calls on your landline line and cellular phone, you could go anywhere!
The Talkroute Solution: Talkroute is essentially a call manager for all of your devices. Whether you have a cellular phone, home phone, office phone or combination of phones, Talkroute will bring them into a simple to use and easy to organize phone system. You can even add a menu that routes specific call to each device (press #1 for… press #2 for…). Now you can use any combination of phones to run your business and have the freedom to go anywhere!
Family doesn’t believe in business hours
Almost every home business owners has been there. There is a business call coming in and the kids are running through the house screaming, while chasing the family dog. Whether it is your children or significant other, family never stops for business and that’s OK. Unfortunately, during the time it takes to quiet your surroundings, you may miss an important call and ultimately lose business.
The Talkroute Solution: Talkroute introduces Smart Hold. Like a traditional phone system, callers will stay on hold for however long you determine. While they are on hold, callers may listen to music or a custom message you recorded for them. Talkroute will stack callers in the order in which the calls were received. In the meantime, you have time to stop your dog from barking and quiet the kids down before answering the call.
“Ringing” says you are small…
Have you ever dialed a business’ phone number only to hear the familiar “ringing” tone? A recent study shows that callers that hear a “ringing” tone instead of hold music or a recorded message are 10x more likely to hangup the phone in order to avoid your voicemail. This means a potential loss of profit for your business. Not to mention, that annoying “ringing” noise just makes you look small.
The Talkroute Solution: Music and custom messages can be a very effective tool for keeping your callers on hold and provide them with the most current information on your business. Talkroute allows you to choose from our library of music or upload your own. Your callers will also be updated with their place in line and average hold time. Now you sound like one of the BIG companies, all from your cellular phone!
Traditional phones never close
It’s 5:30PM and you have just closed for the day, but your customers don’t know it. Instead, you are receiving business related calls until the late evening hours. By not establishing times for when your home business phone is available to receive calls, you are telling your callers that you are a 24/7 business and those missed calls after hours are customers assuming that they are being ignored!
The Talkroute Solution: Talkroute gives you the ability to set specific date and time conditions for when your phones are available to receive calls. You can even play a special message for callers after hours and route them to your voicemail. By giving your phone time parameters, you let your customers know when you are open for business and it gives you a much needed break from your business.
Giving out your home phone number
If there is one major disadvantage to running your business from home, this has to be it. Nobody wants to give their home phone number out as a primary contact for their business.
The Talkroute Solution: Talkroute provides you with a free phone number when you sign up. We encourage you to use this as your primary business number but we can also transfer your existing number to Talkroute. When your clients call your Talkroute number, they will still be forwarded to your devices without having to dial your phones directly. Talkroute also offers our “call announce” feature, so you can know exactly where the call is coming from before you answer it.
Today, operating a home based business has never been easier and more attractive. Having the ability and freedom to go wherever, whenever is truly priceless. Talkroute strives to bring that freedom to our users in a manner that also portrays a professional image to your clients.
To Learn more about Talkroute, check out the video below:
“Our Coffee Shop switched from Google Voice to Talkroute. We couldn’t be happier.” -Lauren K.
Stephanie
Stephanie is the Marketing Director at Talkroute and has been featured in Forbes, Inc, and Entrepreneur as a leading authority on business and telecommunications.
Stephanie is also the chief editor and contributing author for the Talkroute blog helping more than 100k entrepreneurs to start, run, and grow their businesses.