The ultimate small business telecom checklist

Every new business deserves a dedicated business phone system. Financial backers and potential clients need a way to reach you, right? When making a small business plan, be sure to add a telecom system with business phone features to your checklist. After all, you'll want to make sure your business sounds just as professional as it looks on your company vision board.

The number and types of phones to purchase depend on your business and office setup. You may be surprised to learn that you can start out with softphones-software that lets you make and take phone calls through an app on your computer. If this sounds appealing, you can scratch traditional desk phones off your list of office equipment and add wireless VoIP headsets instead. To learn more about your phone options, check out our blog post: Which type of phone is right for your business?

For businesses where physical desk phones are essential, determine if you need a multi-line phone system. If so, does each employee need a multi-line desk phone or will some be in the field all day and prefer a mobile app on their cell phone?

Select a provider of phone systems for offices that makes it easy to add lines as your business grows. VoIP, also known as internet phone service makes that easy and affordable. A big advantage of VoIP is that you probably can add features and lines yourself. Skip the hassle of scheduling and waiting around for a technician visit.

Phone systems for offices are not all built alike. Many boast of having lots of enhanced features, but if they aren't easy to setup and use, you won't get the full value out of your telecom dollars. Ask any phone service providers you are considering if they can give a tutorial of their most popular features to help your team get up and running quickly. Take the time to browse their support pages. See if their instructions are clear. Do they offer a support phone number 24/7?

As an entrepreneur, you probably already blur the lines between your business and personal life. It may sound counter-intuitive, but an easy way of setting boundaries is with your smartphone. Seriously, with the right apps, that device that keeps you connected day and night can help you focus on business during work hours and dial back on business during your leisure time. For example, the Ooma Office mobile app has a Do Not Disturb feature so your business calls won't come through during your "home" hours.

If that's too extreme for your comfort level, the Ooma Office app is also handy because you won't have to share your personal smartphone number with customers and business partners. You can easily distinguish which incoming calls are from your business line so you can answer in your professional voice. Outgoing calls will show your work number in the caller ID.

Learn more about how to separate work and personal phones.

Don't assume that all of your employees have professional phone skills. And of those who do, many will appreciate a little guidance in this era of relaxed communications. Look into offering phone etiquette classes (yes, they do exist) or prepare sample scripts for how to:

• politely answer the phone
• place a caller on hold
• smoothly transfer a call
• manage a difficult caller

To get started, check out our post: Mastering business communications: the ultimate guide to business phone etiquette. It has tips to keep your calls flowing along to reduce frustrations and build customer satisfaction.

Unless you're a solopreneur, you might find it helpful to create a list of your company's go-to people, known in the business world as subject matter experts or SMEs, and their phone extensions. Share that list with anyone who answers the phone, so they'll know to route all the financial calls to Suze, media inquiries to Clark and tech support issues to Bill.

If you have more than one SME in a particular area, like accounting or sales, you can set up a Ring Group so callers can connect directly with the department they need with the press of a button. The Ring Group will call all the members of that group at the same time, or ring them sequentially, until someone picks up.

If you're leaning toward a VoIP phone system, you probably already have a small business internet service with all the speed you need to run a multi-line phone system because it frankly doesn't require a lot of bandwidth. Even so, it's prudent to prepare for those hopefully rare occasions when a storm knocks out your power or internet source. Look for a phone service provider that offers a backup battery or cellular internet service, like Ooma Connect.

Now that you have a telecommunications check list in hand, it's time to pick the right service provider that fills your communications needs. Give Ooma a call today at (877) 345-8847 for a free consultation.

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