Once looked upon as a measure of a business’ reputation and size, utilizing cellular phones to conduct direct business with clients is no longer a practice that draws negative criticism. In fact, direct customer contact with cellular devices has increased to unprecedented levels in the past five years. It is no longer regarded as the shady business practice of fly-by-night companies, but is now respected as a legitimate means to communicate with clients in an efficient and effective manner.
However, it is easy to get carried away and forget that a level of decorum is expected and sometimes forgotten with business cell phone usage. Running your business from a cellular phone does not have to be obvious. Many small business owners and entrepreneurs are choosing to take their cellular phones to the next level by adding Talkroute to their service.
Common Problems:
Multiple Phones
So you are running your business from a cellular phone and it’s wonderful! You can enjoy conducting business from the local park or attend your daughter’s soccer game without missing any calls. You have shed the confines of your office and you are on your way to life without restrictions on your physical location. As the novelty of being able to go anywhere fades away, you realize that it is much more comfortable to use a desk phone in your home office and it is no fun to share your cell phone with that part-time employee you just hired. These minor annoyances begin to add up and you begin to wonder if running your business from a cellular phone was such a great idea.
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 have multiple employees and an assortment of phones without losing the convenience of your cellular device!
Loud and obnoxious surroundings
While your new found freedom may allow you to hit the town on a Tuesday at 2:00pm, your clients should not be subjected to music and other distractions in the background. Before answering that call, find a nice quiet place to conduct your business. You don’t need your clients thinking you run your business from inside a night club (even if you do). But what if there is not enough time to relocate to a quiet place and you have missed the call?
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 or leave a crowded shopping mall 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!
Your Cell Phone never closes
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 cell 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 phone number
If there is one major disadvantage to running your business from your cellular phone, this has to be it. Nobody wants to give their cellular 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 cell phone 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 small business from a cellular phone 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.