How to Choose the Right Telco for Your Business
Good phone services are an essential part of any business.
Your phone is an important communications channel between you and your customers (and your suppliers). It’s also often the primary way that new customers contact you, so it forms part of their first impressions of your business.
That’s why it’s important to choose the right telco for your business.
And why even though shopping around for the cheapest price can be tempting, it’s even more important to look at what you get for your money. Things like reliability, flexibility and scalability—all backed up by a solid support structure—are what you NEED if you want your business to succeed and grow.
10 Reasons Why Hosted PBX Phone Systems are Ideal for Sole Traders
Many of us think of medium to larger sized businesses when we think of Hosted PBX phone systems—busy offices with lots of people and lots of phones. But the truth is that these systems provide a LOT more than just multiple telephones and extensions.
A Hosted PBX phone system provides a long list of benefits, most of which are ideal for sole traders and small business. They can help you to build your business and make life a little easier along the way.
And for around the same monthly price as you’re probably paying for a single business landline service, you get much, much, much more!
How to Get 79% More Business with an After Hours Answering Service
When your business relies on being available to customers after hours, it’s hard to take time out for the important things in life—like dinner with friends or family, or just recuperating after a busy day’s work.
For tradies, medical professionals, mortgage brokers and real estate agents running a small business, that ringing phone is something you can rarely ignore—it represents concrete leads that are important to your business’ bottom line.
Letting your phone go to voicemail is not an option. According to research by Fortune in 2006, 80% of callers who get your voicemail will hang up without leaving a message. And that means they’re probably calling your competitors.
But being on call 24/7 can wreak havoc on your productivity—to run your business successfully you also need down time to regroup, have a life or focus on getting actual work done.
I’m going to let you in on the one foolproof secret to maintain your sanity while getting more leads and happier repeat customers!
It’s simple. Invest in a professional after hours answering service today.
Seven Effective Ways to Keep Your Customers from Leaving
Businesses are always looking for cost-effective ways to grow and increase profits.
The good news is that even in tough economic times, when marketing budgets are limited, there are still ways you can keep your business moving forward.
The easiest way to grow your customer base (and profits) is to stop losing your existing customers.
And the easiest way to stop losing your customers is to keep them happy.
The average business loses around 20% of its customers each year. Imagine the difference it would make to your bottom line if you were able to slow that loss and retain many of those customers!
My.Alltel: The Next-Generation Alltel Customer Portal
If it’s been a while since you last visited your Alltel Portal, you’re in for a big surprise! We’ve been busy these last few months, and have just finished putting the finishing touches to our new and improved (and much prettier!) portal.
The My.Alltel portal provides you with a single point of access to all of the information about your account. View details about each one of your services; view invoices and pay bills online; request assistance from our Support team and view the progress of any open support requests; and view detailed reports that show information about your services and billing history.
Do 1300 Numbers Give Your Business an Unfair Advantage?
A potential customer is looking for a product or service that you provide.
They’ve found a list of providers by searching the Internet or local paper. These all look pretty good to them, with similar prices and good reviews from customers. The first business they call is going to have the best chance to make the sale.
So, how do you put your business at the top of their list?
Most people’s first call is to the business that looks most trust-worthy and professional. It could be the company with the best web site or the one that uses the friendliest wording in their advertising or the one with the professional-looking phone number.
Yes, having the right phone numbers can make a difference! We’ve heard from many customers that they’ve seen an immediate increase in calls and sales after switching from a mobile phone number to a 1300 Number for their businesses.
So, what can a 1300 Number do for your business?
Virtual Office Services Keep Businesses Moving When Traffic Stops
Were you caught in the gridlock caused by last week’s closure of Melbourne’s CityLink tunnels? Or if you’re based in another city or state, did you have traffic nightmares of your own to deal with?
When experiencing serious congestion on the roads, most of us have the same thought: “There has to be a better way!”
The good news is that modern technology and cloud-based services mean that the better way is available right now (and it’s surprisingly affordable).
Is a Hosted PBX Right for Your Business?
Let’s start by looking at what a Hosted PBX is, and then consider whether it’s right for your business.
A Hosted PBX, like Alltel’s Hosted Phone Solution, provides all of the benefits of an expensive big business phone system for a fraction of the price. It’s the word “hosted” that makes all of the difference.
Instead of YOU having to pay to install and maintain costly PBX equipment at your office, Alltel looks after that side of things for you. You then access the system through your high-speed Internet connection.
You make and receive calls in the same way you always have, except that you now have lots of new features and functions to play with. And Alltel looks after the physical phone system, monitoring things 24/7 to ensure reliable service, and updating the system to ensure you keep up-to-date with the latest advances in technology.
How to Add your 1300 Number to the White and Yellow Pages
Now that you’ve got a 1300 number (or 1800 number), you want to make it as easy as possible for people to find it. After all, the easier it is for potential customers to find your contact details, the more of them you’re likely to hear from!
For sure you’ll include your phone number in places like your website, email signature and business cards. It’s also a good idea to list it in public directories.
Two of the most common directories that people use to search for businesses are the White Pages® and Yellow Pages®. Even though many of us don’t use the paper versions as often as we used to, we still rely on the online and voice versions when we’re searching for a number (especially from our smartphones and tablets).
Six Tips for Home-based Start-up Businesses
For many of us, running our own business is the ultimate dream. We’ll often start following that dream gradually: working in whatever hours we have available and looking forward to the day when we’ve built a business strong enough that we can quit our day jobs!
To increase your opportunities for success, you need to plan your business properly: do your homework and make sure your business idea is actually going to make money. By doing things properly at the start, you’ll reduce the risk of heartache later on.
For those who are ready to take the step and start their own business, here are a few tips and hints to help you along the way.
1800/1300 NUMBER SPECIALISTS
Featured Posts
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10 Reasons Why Hosted PBX Phone Systems are Ideal for Sole Traders
Many of us think of medium to larger sized businesses when we think of Hosted PBX phone systems—busy offices with lots of people and lots of phones. But the truth [...]
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How to Get 79% More Business with an After Hours Answering Service
When your business relies on being available to customers after hours, it’s hard to take time out for the important things in life—like dinner with friends or family, or just [...]
