Does Your Small or Online Business Have a Toll Free Number?

Posted by Denise Griffitts in Internet Mastery, Web Development on 02 20th, 2010 | no responses

One thing we always recommend during a web development project is that the client consider obtaining a toll free number. Having a toll free number on your website while offering credibility, also offers the opportunity to not publish to the world your home or cell phone number. In this day of work-from-home entrepreneurs, this is an important consideration.

My office uses Grasshopper which used to be called GotVMail. Grasshopper is very easy to set up. Just pick a toll free number for your business, or transfer your current number. Then record your main greeting. You will also have the opportunity to have it professionally recorded if that is your preference. Add departments and employees, choose what phone number you want your calls to terminate to and you are done. I actually don’t have my toll free number ring to my office as it can be terribly disruptive. What we have done is to create mailboxes and departments and have the voice messages emailed to the proper department as an .MP3.

There is also a “Read Your Voicemail” function available for an additional $10 a month. If you are on the run a good bit, the voicemail transcription will be emailed to you as readable text. You’ll be able to stay connected when you can’t listen to the .MP3 file of your voicemail. You can also listen to your messages on your Blackberry or iPhone. Just click the “Play It On Mobile link in the notification email and you’ll be listening to your voice mails without dialing or logging in to your account. For those of us on the run, this is a great tool.

Another really great feature is that you have unlimited extensions for your small business. Each extension has its own call forwarding, voicemail and message delivery settings. Even if you’re the only employee, by utilizing unlimited extensions you are giving your small business the big business sound that it needs.

Truthfully, there are too many features for me to list here. What I can tell you is that we use it, and love it. It is also very affordable to have a toll free number these days. Plans start at $9.95 a month and there is a $25 activation fee. My monthly bill seems to hover around $25 a month which given all that the system offers is remarkably affordable. Be warned though, if you make a habit of answering the calls that come through on your toll free number you will run your bill right up through the roof. I strongly recommend that you treat this strictly as a voice mail system and return the calls at your first opportunity.

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Your Partner In Success Radio Show Will Not Broadcast This Week

Posted by Denise Griffitts in Your Partner In Success on 02 18th, 2010 | no responses

We have cancelled this weeks Your Partner In Success Radio Show as I have a miserable case of the flu. We kept waiting to see if broadcasting would be possible… but it won’t be this week. We will be back next Friday, January 26, 2010 with online business manager and virtual assistant Rebecca Quinn as our guest.

We had a wonderful follow up interview last week with Deborah Dubree who has a fascinating story to tell. Deborah went from answering the telephones as an inexperienced receptionist to owning and running a $20 million commercial construction company, all with only a high school diploma.

I urge you to listen to both of my interviews with this dynamic and very interesting lady and then take advantage of the offer she made my audience for a free consultation with her. I gladly accepted that offer and just as soon as I can speak without coughing will be on the phone with her, notepad and pen to the ready!

You can listen and download both of my interviews with Deborah here and here.

Have a great week!

Denise

Does Your Business Phone Accept All Callers?

Posted by Denise Griffitts in Internet Mastery, Virtual Assistance Industry on 02 11th, 2010 | no responses

Quick question. Does your small or home-based business lose potential business or miss connections with a potential client by refusing to answers callers with a blocked number?

This post is going to explore how accessible your business phone should be.

Recently I was given a couple of recommendations for (insert service here) by somebody whose judgment I trust. I called both people and had no problems at all connecting with the first person on that very short list.

However, the second recommended business person would not allow my blocked number call to go through. Now understand that my phone number is blocked for some very legitimate reasons, one being that if my direct phone number became widely known, I would never get anything done. That number is given to my clients and team members. Period. My toll free number is published on all my websites/blogs and is embedded into my business emails. We are easy to get in touch with!

Now, I really did want to speak with this person about a project for a client and just kept going down the numbers given me until I reached a toll free number where I was relieved to be able to leave a message. That was three days ago.

This is where the accessibility question comes in.

Today my call was finally returned and when I mildly expressed my concern with not being able to reach this person’s business phone I was treated to fairly huffy explanation of their reasons. When I explained why my number is blocked (remember now, I have several reasons, all of them legitimate) the response was, “Well that’s weird.” Not a great start to a working relationship.

So my question is, why would a business, whether brick and mortar, or home-based block callers who may not want to show their phone number right away? Isn’t this where voice mail become a wonderful business tool? I have to wonder just how much potential business this person is actively turning away by refusing to accept calls.

Your thoughts?

Your Partner In Success Welcomes Back Deborah Dubree

Posted by Denise Griffitts in Internet Mastery, Your Partner In Success on 02 10th, 2010 | no responses

Table of contents for Your Partner In Success Radio Show 2010

Your Partner In Success Radio Show

From answering phones to owning and running a $20 million business…

Considered one of the most dynamic business and personal acceleration specialists around, Deborah Dubree has earned a reputation for training serious achievers worldwide to stop wasting time, energy and money and reach their goals.

Bold, clear and practical in her approach, Deborah delights in inspiring clients to build their mental agility, communicate for results and walk like a winner … as they become #1 in their field of expertise.

Tenacious and gutsy, she gained a unique perspective on business during her climb up the ladder of success from answering the phones as an inexperienced receptionist to owning and running a $20 million commercial construction company, all with only a high school diploma.

Eventually, Deborah stepped away from her CEO position to create ClearEdge which is for serious achievers who willingly dig deep and strip away their self-limiting beliefs.

In this interview we will be discussing Clear Edge – what it is and why it is important. Deborah will show you how to “Get Clear – Get Structure and Get Results”.

In this second interview with Deborah we will discuss:

What does Deborah mean when she says “Monetize You?”
Everybody these days wants to get more of something, whether it’s money, time, energy, romance or a number of other things. What are the steps that you can and should take to achieve your goals?
What is the biggest trap that most people fall into when trying to reach their goal?
What is the missing ingredient that people MUST reclaim in order to be the most productive in business and in life?
Lots of people struggle in their relationships, whether they are work-related or personal. What’s the first thing that people need to understand about achieving high levels of communication effectiveness?
What’s the second thing people can do to have more effective communication?