Posted by Richard Schissler on Fri, Jul 08, 2011 @ 02:40 PM
What is VoIP? The nation’s small businesses are always looking for cost-effective ways to manage their operations. Many of these organizations are abandoning traditional office phone systems in favor of small business VoIP networks.
What Is VoIP?
Most people have heard of small business VoIP but may not know exactly what it is. They know it’s some kind of digital phone system but don’t understand the mechanics.
A small business VoIP uses an organization’s existing internet connection to transmit voice the same way the network transmits data. The call is routed through VoIP service providers to get to the destination just like traditional telephone calls are routed through the phone company central offices.
VoIP is often less expensive than standard office phone systems, especially for long distance calls, and has a lot more flexibility. The VoIP handset carries the same telephone number regardless of location, so users can plug into the system from any location to make or receive phone calls. This portability is not just limited to the office building. An employee on travel can plug the handset into the hotel’s internet connection and automatically have calls routed to that phone.
How Hard Is It To Convert to VoIP?
To the average small business, VoIP may seem like a confusing technology that will be difficult to adopt. In fact, nothing could be further from the truth.
Company telephone equipment doesn’t become obsolete. Although there are dedicated VoIP telephones, the system can be used with traditional telephones. The operation of the phone system is the same as a traditional system. Customers, vendors and other incoming callers dial the number just like they did before. They won’t even realize the telephone system is changed. Outgoing calls also operate the same way and your staff won’t need to learn new technology just to make a phone call.
The only thing you need to learn is how to take advantage of the new found freedom and flexibility the business VoIP phone system offers. The One Number Follow Me feature that you can specify who and when people could reach you at which phone number; The Voice Mail that sent to your cell phone so you can see it and listen to it at the right time; The Auto Attendant that directs the calls to the right person at different hour of the day; Employees working from home, even at different state, etc.
WesTec Services, A Houston IT provider that offers a wide range of services including: Network Installation/Service, Telephone Systems/Service, Video Surveillance/Access Control and Office Equipment
CALL TODAY at (713) 682-4000
Posted by Richard Schissler on Thu, May 19, 2011 @ 08:39 AM
Shel Israel CEO, SI Associates May 17, 2011
You’re at a professional networking event. Adult beverage in hand, you are chatting with a few colleagues, you know pretty well. You are conversing in a public venue—just like you do in social media. At some point a stranger joins you.
One of two things happens next:
Option A: The stranger intrudes on your conversation with people you know. He puts a business card in front of your eyes. He starts talking about what he sells and why you should buy from him. He keeps talking, as one at a time, you and your friends retreat from your small social circle and regroup elsewhere in the room
Option B: The stranger joins your circle, with a smile and nod, but doesn’t speak. She listens to what the three of you say for a while. When she finally joins the conversation, she adds an interesting or useful tidbit to the topic the three of you had been discussing.
So many companies, new to social media, come in not listening but talking—talking about themselves and talking about why you should buy from this intruder. Everyone knows that the conversational intruder will do poorly in real life? So why do so many companies behave precisely this way online?
Want to read more about social media in small business? Check these out:
In real life we are rarely successful at being strictly business. We walk into an important meeting and start by asking about family or friends or how the team you both root for could have possibly lost that game.
Why so many business people try to mask their humanity online is beyond me. Why they intrude into existing conversations rather than join them is puzzlement. Why they try to qualify you as a prospect or get you to register somewhere seems to me less effective than starting the conversation about how pleasant it is outside now that winter is gone.
Both these stories are designed to make a point. The best way to win in social media is to behave there in precisely the same way you have succeeded in your business.
If you are a small business professional, chances are you have acquired the skills you need in social media, over the counter in a retail establishment or in professional gathering you have attended. You need to be a good listener. You need to read a situation before joining in. You should show a little of your human side. You should also use a professional but informal style.
I would vastly prefer to see your face than your business logo. I would rather talk to an individual referring to herself as I, then a faceless, nameless we.
This becomes particularly important in small business. Chances are strong that whatever you sell, there is a franchise, big box or chain offering similar goods or services at a lower price.
WesTec Services, A Houston IT provider that offers a wide range of services including: Network Installation/Service, Telephone Systems/Service, Video Surveillance/Access Control and Office Equipment
CALL TODAY at (713) 682-4000
