While there's a long list of reasons, there's an even longer list of systems and features addressing these common challenges. However, we find most small businesses require one or more of these core phone system capabilities:
Have you ever stopped to hear the following, ‘’Hi, this is [your name] of [your business]. I’m currently unable to take your call. Please leave your name, phone number, and a brief message, and I will contact you as soon as possible. Thanks.
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Though the specific features you need will depend on the nature of your business, you should look for a small business phone system that offers:
The one-time investment on handsets is fairly easy to estimate. If you are purchasing more than 20 or so handsets, you'll want to inquire about bulk discounts. The more popular models of handsets fall in the following price ranges.
Example: 'Thank you for calling [insert name here]. We're sorry we couldn't take your call this time. However, if you'd like to leave us a voicemail we will get back to you within [for example] 30 minutes of receiving this message. Alternatively, if you'd like to reach out by email you can do so at [insert email address]. Again, thank you for calling [insert company name]. We look forward to your message.'
14. “Hello, you’ve reached [company]. If you’re looking for information on [X], please check out our [Facebook page, company website, etc.] If you want to know more about [Y], take a look at [Z page on our site, our YouTube channel, etc.] Still have more questions, or just want to hear our lovely voices? Leave your name and number, and we’ll return your call straight away.”
Not having a dedicated business line with 411 directory assistance tends to be a red flag to lenders. It tells lenders you may not be as serious about your business as they'd like for you to be.
The last thing you want your potential clients to hear is stuttering simply because you weren’t able to prepare well enough for your message.
Grasshopper's Small Business plan is recommended for established small businesses. It offers the same features as the lower plans but increases capabilities to:
Ooma Office is a cloud-based VoIP solution that caters to small-medium sized businesses across various industry verticals that helps them to manage their business operations. For businesses of all sizes, Ooma provides advanced voi... Read more
Users in need of a virtual phone number provider that provides incoming fax capability may want to give eVoice a try. Customers can try out any of the plans the company offers for 30 days free of charge.
If you have a main business phone number that’s shared with the customers or publicly listed, you’ll want to make sure it has a professional voicemail message to greet callers. Here are sample greetings you can use to help you craft your own.
By offering an alternative to call center fragmentation and cumbersome hardware, Talkroute aims to transform your smartphone into an all-round business communication system. You won’t have to purchase and maintain any additional equipment to manage your incoming and outgoing calls with Talkroute’s software. To make the most of its useful features such as call forwarding, menu prompts, and call transfers, all you have to do is download Talkroute’s virtual number app to your computer and/or smartphone.
As your business grows, you’ll appreciate access to numerous extensions and call forwarding to the right employee. Caller ID control, call screening, call logs, notifications of missed calls and received faxes are also among RingCentral’s functionalities. This industry-leading provider even allows clients to reach you via video voicemail. And you can reply to them in the same format, building unique relationships.
With services like voicemail-to-email and voicemail transcription, today’s business professionals no longer need to waste time listening to every voicemail message. Being able to quickly read a message means faster response times and better organization. And as speech recognition technology grows more advanced, you can expect to see more of these services in the future.
05You have reached the offices of [your company/business]. Unfortunately, we are currently closed. We are usually open between [hours] [days] and closed on [days]. Please leave us a message with your details and we will get back to you when the office opens. You may hang up after leaving your message or press the [key] for other options. Thank you for your call. This after-hours voicemail greeting lets callers know how to do business or communicate with you outside normal business hours. You may also like 6 How to Ask for a Raise Email Templates to Get Your Point Across