One of the biggest problems facing entrepreneurs and small business owners is that of mobility. With recent popularity and advancement of the smart phone, folks have been able to enjoy more in terms of how mobile they can be — e-mail can get forwarded to their smart phone and of course, mobile telephone capabilities allow a lot more freedom now than ever before.

But what about true freedom? True mobility. What happens with the direct calls that the receptionist or assistant answers, or the faxes, or the direct calls that go to voicemail?

Just about anything these days seems capable of being handled digitally by technology that has become rather inexpensive. This is where small business owners and entrepreneurs will gain the most. Using such technology advantageously, astute business owners and entrepreneurs can not only achieve true mobility, but can project an image that matches that of the Fortune 500. And how about the added bonus of saving on overall operating expenses?

The way this technology works is that your clients call the equivalent of a computer. This computer answers the calls or accepts faxes, and redirects them to a phone, mobile phone, voicemail box, or e-mail inbox of your choosing. So, you could literally work from the golf course; accept faxes, phone calls, access voicemail, etc., from your existing cell phone (or home phone, computer, etc.).

The best provider in this arena and the one Quote Stork Solutions recommends is RingCentral. The nice thing about RingCentral aside from its reputation and quality is that this single company can propel your small business image to the big-time. And since image these days has an elevated importance in the marketplace, RingCentral is a name you will want to remember. Here is how they accomplish this:

Toll-free business number. As small businesses expand their reach across area codes, having a toll-free number has greater importance now than ever before. A toll-free number not only projects a large image to the new client, but it allows your clients to reach you wherever they might be at a specific time… and with this service, their calls can be redirected to your cell phone so you can assist them from where you are!

Virtual Receptions, on-hold “music”, and voicemail. When you call a large corporation, you will hear some fancy music while you wait for your call to get redirected to your intended party. This fancy feature is a standard with RingCentral, just as is the virtual receptionist who will ask your callers to say a name or enter an extension. As an added bonus, you can also set up voicemail boxes where messages will get forwarded to you via e-mail.

Call Queues. Suppose you are on the phone at the country club when another call arrives. With a call queue, your new caller waits on hold while you finish your existing call. This helps you reduce lost sale calls that might have historically gone straight to voicemail or, worse, the competition! Again, another free feature.

Internet Fax. Send and receive faxes online or by e-mail. This feature alone allows a tremendous amount of freedom from the office, and it also eliminates courier costs. Another Free feature.

The list continues almost indefinitely. The largest disappointment with RingCentral is that some of its features (not mentioned here, such as DigitalLine which provides Voice Over Internet or VOIP) cost extra. Now, for many small businesses and entrepreneurs, most of these extras are unnecessary, and for the more established entrepreneur these costs are likely irrelevant given their tangible benefits.

Whether you sign up with RingCentral or someone else, the most common reason for using a service like this comes back to the issue of mobility. A secondary justification would be the cost-effectiveness of the system; at $24.99, you can’t get this type of service through your phone company, let alone purchase the necessary hardware and software to do it yourself.

Source: Voip

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