how to improve sales over the phone - right away & long term - business phone service · 2018....
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The feature rich, all in one cloud based phonesolution built to exceed the expectations of business.
How To Improve Sales Over The Phone - Right Away & Long Term
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 2
IntroductionWhether you are growing your business or starting a new one, you have a lot to gain from choosing the right phone system.
Sure, you could stick with the same phone system that you now have, or you could go with the phone system that is built into your office location, but what if these systems don’t quite meet your needs? Or worse yet, what if these systems are inflexible to the future growth or changing nature of your business.
Fortunately, there are many options to choose from and carefully selecting the right one can help you avoid these common, inflexible-phone-system problems. What’s more is that the right phone system can have all of the features you need today, along with the ability to bend to any of your new-needs tomorrow.
This guide will walk you through all of the essential information you need to proper-ly understand your options, and ultimately, select the ideal phone system for your business.
Define your business needs
Identify your phone system requirements
Understand your options
Evaluating vendors and costs
Implementation considerations
Choosing the right system
Business Requirements Worksheet
Vendor Comparison Tool
Cost Analysis Worksheet
Other Resources
About Callture
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 3
Define your business needsBefore we dive into all of the different phone system options, let us first determine your phone system needs.
Growing 1-19 employees
You need to quickly establish your business's contact information
Scaling 20 to 99 employees
You need support as your business grows
Optimizing 100+
You need a phone system that manages costs while generating
enormous value
Build your business's professional image by quickly implementing an office phone number
Easily access and manage your system without technical abilities
Use your system at work, home, or anywhere in between
Keep the costs of doing business to a minimum
Quickly add new employees and departments
Easily set access rules for adminis-trators and regular users
Effortlessly modify the system to meet the varying needs of employ-ees and departments
Save time and money while acceler-ating the growth of your business
Painlessly scale to new locations
Communicate excellence across the whole of your business
Customize call workflows, routing, and more
Smoothly integrate other business systems and services
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 4
Identify your phone system requirementsUnderstanding your business phone system needs is very important, but without a firm grasp on how to look past enticing demos and false claims you may end up with a system that doesn’t quite meet your needs. Let us explore all of the non-negotiable features of a proper phone system.
Growing 1-19 employees
Scaling 20 to 99 employees
Optimizing 100+
Simple and quick activation with phones that are ready right out of the box
Online access for users and admins
User-friendly call management features
Cost-appropriate subscription pricing
Customizable settings and call-flow priorities
Straightforward admin and user interfaces
Accessible phone and desktop applications
Feature-rich integrations with Business SMS, Video Conferencing, and more
Simple and quick processes for adding locations, departments, and users
A lean and agile system for all users across your organization's entire footprint
Modernized call management, call flow, integration, and cloud services
In-depth communication analytics and reliable recordings
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 5
Understand your optionsGenerally speaking, there are two different types of phone systems, either traditional, on-premise PBX or hosted / cloud. Understanding the benefits and drawbacks of both systems is one of the most important steps of picking the right phone solution for your business.
Traditional, on premise PBX systems Hosted / Cloud systems
No need for an internet connection
These systems are feature rich
Since each PBX is its own system there can only ever be failures at one location at a time
BENEFITS:No hardware, maintenance, or management needed
Since these system are constantly being run on many redundant servers, they are fast to setup and easy to scale
Upgrades are easily rolled out to all customers with a flick of a switch
Modifications and upgrades are mostly free and they can be imple-mented to all of your sites at once
Systems are managed through user-friendly interfaces on both desktops or mobile devices
BENEFITS:
DRAWBACKS: DRAWBACKS:• It can be costly and complex since it requires hardware and a PBX at every location• It takes a full IT staff to set up, manage, and repair• It is extremely complicated to upgrade or modify this system
• You need an internet connection
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 6
Evaluating vendors and costsNow that you have a good sense of your phone system needs and the wide-array of phone options that are available to you, it is time to begin searching for your future vendor. Here is a step-by-step guide to help you with your selection.
• Visit the websites of top-per-forming vendors
• Read through their white papers, reviews, and etcetera
• Note the ones that have the features, prices, and services that fit your needs
• Ask the vendors you noted for a personal demo
• If the vendor cannot provide you with a demo, move on to the next vendor
•Push the demo to its limits! Is there anything that it can’t do?
• Ask a lot of questions. You need to be absolutely sure that the vendor’s phone system is flexible to the ever changing nature of your business.
• Fill out all of the worksheets that come with this guide (next couple pages)
• Select a vendor and sign them up
• Now start planning for your phone system implementation
Step 1:
RESEARCH
Step 2:
DIG DEEPER
Step 3:
TEST DRIVE YOUR DEMOS
Step 4:
CHOOSE A WINNER
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 7
Implementation considerationsYou want your rollout to both satisfy and excite your stakeholdersHere is our recommendation.
Emphasize Training
It is important to keep in mind that it will take a good amount of time for employees to master the new system. We strongly recommend
that training is reinforced with repeated sessions, e-learning, and a general encouragement for employ-
ees to ask questions and test the system for themselves. Further-more, you should leverage any of
your vendor’s training resources to help guide you through your
organization's mastery process.
Actively Manage Your System
It is of the utmost importance that you keep your system updated, and
that you take advantage of your updates. Phone system improve-
ments and innovations are constantly being rolled out and they should be seen as an opportunity to improve your organizations perfor-
mance.
Rollout in Stages
If your business has multiple depart-ments or locations, you should start implementing your new system in the area that is most likely to succeed. Success early on in the process will be extremely rewarding and it will get your whole team excited about the upgrade.
Start with a win Train with mastery in mind Take advantage of system updates
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 8
Choosing the right system
Key Ideas: The Fun Part:
BEFORE WE GET TO THE FUN PART, YOU SHOULD HAVE A DEEP UNDERSTANDING OF:
• Your phone system needs
• The different phone system options
• How to choose a vendor
• Implementing your phone system
NOW IT IS TIME TO UTILIZE THE WORKSHEETS AND TOOLS LISTED BELOW TO GUIDE YOU AS YOU SELECT YOUR OPTIMAL PHONE SYSTEM.
• Business Requirements Worksheet
• Vendor Comparison Tool
• Cost Analysis Worksheet
• Links to insightful blogs
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 9
Business Requirements WorksheetThis sheet runs through the basic information needed for vendors to provide you with a quote. As your business changes so too will these num-bers, and because of this, it is important to ensure that your vendor has flexible incremental pricing.
Questions You best approximation
Number of locations
Number of office employees
Number of remote employees
Average toll-free minutes used per month
Number of calls per month
Average call length per month
Specific features you will / may need
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 10
Vendor Comparison ToolHere are the top-ten questions to ask vendors before you make your phone system choice.
Questions Vendor A Vendor B Vendor C
1. Does your phone system run on a traditional, on-site PBX or a hosted/cloud network?
2. What are the costs of installing, upgrading, and maintaining your system?
3. How long does it take to get your phone system up and running?
4. How long does it take to add new users or locations?
5. When there is a disruption in service, who do you call and how long does it usually take to fix?
6. Can I try a demo?
7. How often do you upgrade your products?
8. How many customers do you have?
9. Can you provide some reference clients?
10. What is your experience in the industry?
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 11
Cost Analysis Worksheet
On-Premise PBXOne-Time Costs
Monthly Costs
Input Description Estimated Cost*
Phone Hardware
PBX Hardware
Professional Services
Desk Phones
PBX servers, expansion cards
Installation, configurations, training, number transferring
Professional Services
$4650
$3500
$2850
Phone System Provider Fees
Carrier Fees
Software, upgrades, support and maintenance
Unlimited calling and fax, toll free minutes, support
$250
$650
Costs for One Year of Ownership: $21800
Hosted/CloudOne-Time Costs
Monthly Costs
Input Description Estimated Cost*
Phone Hardware
PBX Hardware
Professional Services
Desk Phones
PBX servers, expansion cards
Installation, configurations, training, number transferring
Professional Services
$2000
$0
$0
Phone System Provider Fees
Carrier Fees
Software, upgrades, support and maintenance
Unlimited calling and fax, toll free minutes, support
$450
$0
Costs for One Year of Ownership: $7400
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 12
Other Resources
Cisco - Top 6 Considerations When Buying a Phone System thebalance.com - How to Buy a Business Telephone System
416-477-8182 www.callture.com
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved How-To Guide 13
About Callture
Callture runs two business units: the Retail Services Unit and the Platform Outsourcing Solutions Unit. The Retail Unit provides value-added voice services to businesses and consumers. Business services include its signature Cloud based business phone service with its business-class features. Other business services include enhanced toll free service, virtual international phone numbers, prepaid long distance and click-to-talk service. Consumer services include unlimited long distance, calling cards and pc2phone service. All Callture services include a user friendly online portal with automated order processing. Callture´s Retail Unit has also developed an online affiliate program with instant sign up and reoccurring commissions for life. The Platform Outsourcing Unit offers end-to-end Telecom outsourcing solutions for entrepreneurs around the world. Callture´s web-based platform contains proprietary software 10 years in the making. Callture offers a wholesale model, where clients concentrate on pricing, distributing and selling their own private label products and services; and leave all the technical and provisioning aspects to us. Callture´s on-demand model makes it a necessity to help clients grow their volume and succeed in minimum time.
To find out more, please visit
http://www.callture.com or call 888-683-5226
Copyright © 1997-2017 Callture™ Communications Inc., All rights reserved