Home » Archive by category 'blog' (Page 45)

Blog

The blog for Global Call Forwarding has articles on the latest customer service trends, telecommunications technologies, and business news.
lead generation
5th August 2019 blog, Marketing

How To Improve Lead Generation Services with Virtual Numbers

what makes a good customer service agent?
5th August 2019 blog, Customer Service

What Makes a Good Customer Service Agent

Toll Free Number for KaiOS
2nd August 2019 blog, Business Phone Numbers

How to Get a Toll Free Number for KaiOS

Managing and Motivating a Powerful Sale Team-feature.jpg
26th July 2019 blog, Sales Management

Managing and Motivating a Powerful Sales Team

International Leads
18th July 2019 blog, Business Phone Numbers

How ITFS Numbers Can Bring International Leads

star 67 unknown caller feature
15th July 2019 blog, Call Management

*67 Meaning and How it Works

Creative Uses for Virtual Phone Numbers in Marketing
5th July 2019 blog, Marketing

Creative Uses for Virtual Phone Numbers in Marketing

Using Technology to be an Efficient Entrepreneur
2nd July 2019 blog, Business Insights

Using Technology to be an Efficient Entrepreneur

Cold calling is tough - tips
2nd July 2019 blog, Sales Management

Cold Calling is Tough – Here’s some tips that can help!

How To Improve Lead Generation Services with Virtual Numbers

5th August 2019 blog, Marketing

Growing your business is directly linked to the strength of your lead generation services. With no new leads, your company must rely on a well-established customer base. This is something that’s unlikely to be sustainable in today’s fast-paced economy. Whether you outsource your lead generation services to a company or use an in-house sales team, there is a solution: virtual phone numbers. 

Virtual phone numbers can improve the quality and quantity of your leads in a number of ways. This is thanks to the versatility of cloud-based communication technology available through Global Call Forwarding. In this article, we’ll cover a number of methods to improve lead generation services, including

  • Tracking Where Your Leads Are Coming From
  • Better ROI for Marketing Campaigns
  • Testing New Markets
  • Dedicated Phone Lines for Customer Types

Tracking Where Your Leads Are Coming From

Knowing where your leads are coming from is important to determine where your marketing efforts should be focused. After all, if your lead generation is only providing low-volume or poor-quality leads, what’s the point? Conversely, if your lead conversion rates are better through certain methods, delegating more effort can grow your business. 

Virtual phone numbers offer the option of tracking the metrics of inbound call data. This can be done through the virtual phone number provider’s interface/ dashboard. Similarly, using a virtual phone number dedicated to only one type of marketing campaign (ex. social media) can help you pinpoint accurate data.

Better ROI for Marketing Campaigns

The more you market, the greater the reach for your brand. To get a better ROI, 

Global Call Forwarding offers affordable payment plans and services geared towards businesses of all sizes. However, considering there are no unlimited marketing budgets, virtual phone numbers can be a creative marketing tool for your business with low overhead costs. Furthermore, virtual numbers are simple to implement, can be used on nearly any device, and require minimal training. 

In essence, virtual numbers enable your business to gain a wider audience at a lower cost than other advertising methods. 

Testing New Markets

Like it or not, but improving lead generating services requires risk through trial and error. After all, if you knew exactly which methods worked to improve your sales, you can make better organizational decisions. Virtual phone numbers cost little to begin using. Also, they can be ready to use within 24 hours or less. For these reasons, your company can try out new target markets instantly. And if you discover potential in a market, you can scale your efforts. And vice versa, for poor-performing markets, your company gains the knowledge of where its brand presence is weak.  

Lead generation with virtual phone numbers.
Source: Stockphoto.com – O#100080152424 ID#100186088462

Dedicated Phone Lines for Customer Types

Virtual phone numbers are available in a wide variety of types. These include geographic numbers, toll free numbers, ITFS numbers, DID numbers, UIFNs, vanity numbers, and more. Similarly, Global Call Forwarding offers a wide variety of add-ons that enhance how inbound and outbound calls are processed. Let’s look at a couple examples, as each organization is different and can use its creativity to improve lead generation:

  • If you want to dedicate a direct line for your international and domestic sales teams, this is possible with virtual phone numbers.  
  • For directories of your business’ departments and individual staff members, using a PBX is a smart solution. Short for Private Branch Exchange, a PBX can enable customers to self-select through a directory system by phone. This helps customers find the person or info they need to guide themselves down your sales funnel. 
  • Depending on whether a caller is a previous customer or a new one can help improve your sales. Based on the type of callers, you can offer private customer-only lines for troubleshooting and account advice. For new customers, you can assign a virtual number dedicated to nurturing new contacts. To boost the quality of your leads, you can offer a private line of virtual phone numbers for more dedicated service (i.e. B2B, large enterprise contracts). 

What Makes a Good Customer Service Agent

5th August 2019 blog, Customer Service

As you may be aware, competent call center customer service agents are hard to find. And it’s no wonder, as dealing with the needs of customers can be a daunting task. In order to be the best customer service agent, they must have the right personality, skills, and adequate training. Because customer service directly impacts revenue and how your company is perceived, building the best customer support team should be a top priority.

This article will cover the traits you should be looking for when hiring new customer service agents. It will also cover those that you should emphasize when training your team. 

Patience with the Customer

Perhaps the primary trait you should foster with every customer service agent in your company is patience. Being able to handle the pace of each customer’s unique situation can lead to a positive customer service experience. This is especially important when callers may be irate, confused, or unknowledgeable. Those at your inbound call center should know that each customer simply wants their problems solved in the most efficient way possible. Unclear issues should be explained in a level-headed manner without assuming that a customer’s negativity is in any way a personal attack. To develop patience, part of every customer service agent’s call center duties should be focused on resolving problems with empathy. 

Clear Communication

Part of being a good customer service agent is clearly communicating what callers are trying to get across and responding in ways that ultimately make sense to each caller. This includes company protocol, grasping the issue at the heart of the call, and troubleshooting technical aspects beyond their grasp. This is especially important for tech-heavy industries, where simple definitions and explanations can be used without delving into jargon and complexity. However, when the occasion calls for it, your customer service agents should be able to explain more advanced concepts that are understandable for all levels of comprehension. 

what make a good customer service agent?
Source: Stockphoto.com – O# 100062207713 ID#100186088462

A Positive Attitude

Moods are infectious. Therefore, having your customer service agents focus on projecting a positive outlook and looking on the bright side is paramount to success. This can be difficult when customer service agents encounter constant negativity, especially when customers despair at their problem, or maybe at their wit’s end. First, part of call center duties should include the ability to uplift callers and gradually shift their thinking as inquiries are solved. Try to see part of the job description as being a well-spring of positive emotions. For instance, you may want to train your agents to take callers on a journey towards happiness; at first, a caller may be upset, but as the problem nears resolution, a positive outcome can be reached – even better and more efficiently than a caller realizes. In a fast-paced world where callers may feel that it is them vs. the world, encountering a positive, smiling voice on the other end of the phone can be a breath of fresh air. This is something that reflects well on your company’s public image. 

Be Creative with Your Solutions

Customer service agents should be trained and rewarded for using their creativity when it comes to problem-solving. Being able to provide customers with uniquely tailored solutions to their problems and understanding the frame of mind that they present requires the ability to think beyond standard procedures. Encourage your customer service agents to come up with their own ways of troubleshooting problems. For instance, if a customer continually has problems with their billing, a customer service agent can suggest ways that fit how the caller prefers to do business. This, of course, requires that your customer service agents have a deep knowledge of your business, as the more you know, the easier it is to see a wider range of options for any given obstacle. When these dilemmas present themselves, agents can devise solutions that may call for out-of-the-box thinking when particular issues arise. 

How to Get a Toll Free Number for KaiOS

2nd August 2019 blog, Business Phone Numbers

KaiOS is an emerging phone software system. It allows people to use smartphone applications in locations where they would otherwise not be able to. With this emerging software comes the need for various calling features that toll free numbers provide. So, how do people with these types of phone systems get a toll free number for KaiOS? In this article, we determine what KaiOS is and its benefits across the world. We will also cover how people with this phone software can benefit from and use toll free numbers for KaiOS.

What is KaiOS?

KaiOS is a phone software system that is intended to help people across the world get the most from their cellular devices. In many countries, smartphones are still not accessible to every person. For example, in India, most people have cell phones that aren’t touch screen and use a standard keypad. Seeing that these individuals don’t have access to internet applications and search accessibility, Google wanted to provide a new software system with the option of uploading onto these phones. So, with a fund of $22 million, the KaiOS software was developed. Since its beginning, the software system has brought more applications to people who would otherwise not be able to access these types of platforms. And, it continues to grow as a leading software system in India and other countries. In these countries, it has even surpassed Apple IOS systems.

The Benefits of a Toll Free Number for KaiOS

This software can be uploaded to outdated and non-smartphones because it doesn’t take nearly as much memory as other software; only 256MB. This means almost anyone who has a phone can download the software to begin using web-focused applications like WhatsApp, even though they don’t own a smartphone device. Plus, it can connect through various connection options like 4G, LTE, and can even process payments using NFC. Additionally, it can pair devices so they may utilize WIFI. It even has the option of being SIM card compatible. Finally, phones downloaded with the KaiOS system are relatively affordable. So, almost anyone can benefit from using the internet on their phones without having to fork over high monthly fees. For example, one KaiOS option in India called the Reliance’s JioPhone costs only around $20.

The Growth of the KaiOS System

Just like other software systems, KaiOS has an application play store that’s built by HTML5. This allows for the building of various applications that can be utilized on this software system. This allows applications to be created and utilized without a high demand for additional resources. Plus, since KoiOS can work across a number of phones like Nokia, Alcatel, and Reliance, their applications can be universally downloaded. So, app builders only have to make one type of application for it to work on any of the types of phones that KaiOS supports.

Toll Free Number for KaiOS
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100071739333

The Applications Used on KaiOS Systems

(PSo, what types of applications can the KaiOS system support? While the same applications we use on our smartphones may not look or act like the same on KaiOS, the basics of these applications are still there. Some examples of applications you’d recognize on both smartphones and phones with KaiOS software may include:

  • Youtube
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Google Maps
  • Google Assistant
  • WhatsApp
  • And even some games like Danger Dash

In addition to these applications that you’d recognize, there are some applications built specifically for the KaiOS system. Some of these include weather checking applications and even a QR scanner for help with barcode scanning.

Who Does KaiOS Benefit?

Essentially, this phone software system was developed to get people web-based applications in countries where smartphones still aren’t the norm. But, it can also work well for those who don’t like the functionality of a touch screen. Or, those who simply don’t want to hop on the mainstream smartphone wave. With a toll free number for KaiOS, you get all the regular applications you would use on a smartphone. An additional benefit is a functional device that still offers many conveniences.

Additionally, many people like this type of software for their grandparents or kids. This is because it’s easy to use and regulate for older and younger generations. If you’re worried that your children may spend too much time on their smartphone or that your parent/grandparent may be confused by all the options on a smartphone, a KaiOS phone may be your easiest and most effective solution.

Getting a Toll Free Number for KaiOS Phones

If you do business from a phone that runs off of KaiOS, you may want to take advantage of the features of a toll free number. Virtual phone numbers allow you to make calls from an 800 number. They also ensure that the people you call don’t have to pay a thing. Plus, these numbers are customizable, so you can choose one that is easy to remember and that helps to brand your company.

Choosing Global Call Forwarding for Your Toll Free Numbers

Getting a toll free number on your cellular phone with KaiOS is as easy as giving us a call and getting started today! Choose your telephone number and we’ll route it to your cell phone in minutes! Contact us today if you have additional questions about our toll free numbers for KaiOS phones!

Managing and Motivating a Powerful Sales Team

26th July 2019 blog, Sales Management

Your sales team is the engine that drives your business to success. So, if you want to maintain a great business or do more business, you need to start with your sales department. Without a properly managed and motivated sales team, your business will have problems closing sales leads and selling your products or services. And, eventually, this may lead to the collapse of your business.

If you’re a sales manager or a part of a sales management team, you know that managing a sales department, employee expectations, and a sales-driven environment can be a challenge. So, you may be looking for tips or tricks to stimulate sales motivation and keep your team driven towards success. You’re probably also aiming to provide the optimal environment for cultivating more closed sales. Fortunately, there are a few tips for managing a team of salespeople you can take advantage of. This way, you can set your team of selling professionals up for success, and your business too! Read on to learn the process of Managing and Motivating a Powerful Sales Team.

Stay Away From too Many Rules

The more you restrict your sales team, the more they may not perform. Salespeople are generally strong-willed and authoritative. So they may not take well to restricting freedom. Rather than set rules for these individuals to follow, try removing obstacles that may be in their way. For example, instead of demanding that your sales team stick to a script, allow them to develop their own verbiage by providing your team with information on creating their own unique sales pitch.

Don’t be a Dictator; Be a Team Player

Rather than demanding things from your sales team, encourage them to perform tasks. While this may be easy to accomplish for meeting daily objectives, it also means finding creative solutions to common office problems. For example, instead of providing one solution to an issue that your team feels they have no choice about, provide several options and let your team choose between them.

Managing Motivating Powerful Sale Team
Source: Stockphoto.com – O#100077798280 ID#100186088462

Recognize Your Team Success

People do best when their hard work is recognized. In fact, for many people, money isn’t even the best motivator. As a sales manager, it’s your job to find out what motivates every person on your team. This way, you can recognize each person in their own way when they’ve had success. Try to incorporate meetings in which the sole purpose is to recognize your top performers for the day, week, or month. And give respect where it’s due to keep your sales team at peace!

Have Your Team do What They Do Best

Not every person on your team of sales professionals will have the same experience, knowledge, or gift of gab. But, each person plays a role in the department to make things happen. So, find out what each person is best at, and let them do their own part. For example, if some people are better at closing incoming leads than others, let them be in charge of the incoming leads. Or, if some people are better at writing sales contracts and filing paperwork, let them do that. Whatever it is that an employee is best at, make sure they understand their role in your department and are motivated to do their tasks the way they know-how.

 Closing: Thinking of Starting Your Own Sales Department?

If you’re looking to start up your own sales-driven business, you’ll need to understand the process of managing and motivating a powerful sales seam. And while understanding these tips to better managing and motivating your team is helpful, you’ll also need the proper tools that will allow your staff to reach for success. At Global Call Forwarding, we offer a number of communication services that can equip your sales business with the technology needed to close sales efficiently and effectively.

Whether you need virtual phone numbers for each employee line, international phone numbers, number parking, outbound VoIP, or Call Me Click services, we can help set up and manage your sales communication needs. To learn more about how we can prepare your sales business for better success, contact us today.

How ITFS Numbers Can Bring International Leads

18th July 2019 blog, Business Phone Numbers

International toll free service (ITFS) numbers enable callers to make free phone calls to the ITFS subscriber. ITFS numbers are a very effective tool for marketing to international leads because our service makes any business more reachable in other countries.

One of the greatest benefits of ITFS numbers is that customers from abroad can call your business without a charge. Your business can be physically located anywhere because ITFS numbers forward calls internationally. With an ITFS number, your company will be charged for the service, while customers benefit by calling a “toll free” number.

Benefits of Getting ITFS Numbers

Global Call Forwarding offers ITFS numbers in more than 140 countries. This allows businesses all over the world to take advantage of expanding into specific markets and testing others to see the most profitable markets for their companies and services. With an ITFS Number, you can finally gather international leads using your ITFS Number in your current marketing strategy.

ITFS numbers are a critical tool for many international businesses. They enable your business to be more reachable in foreign markets, and this can contribute to increasing your customer base. The service also makes your business available at all hours, with multiple features designed to manage incoming calls. Imagine, having a Facebook or Instagram Ad – targeted in the country of your choice with a phone number to reach your business, which is essentially the main perk of ITFS numbers. It builds a bridge between the customers or marketing leads you want, in any country you want.

ITFS Numbers with Free Business Features

Global Call Forwarding provides ITFS numbers with a wide array of different business features. When you get ITFS numbers, you will have access to a suite of advanced features such as time-of-day forwarding, advanced IVR, call recording, long-term storage of recorded calls, blacklisting, whitelisting, and others.

Account settings are easily manageable from your ITFS provider’s online portal. Global Call Forwarding offers a very user-friendly dashboard that enables you to access all of your account details, and you can manage all aspects of your ITFS numbers using it. You may also configure your ITFS virtual numbers with an interactive voice response system (IVR) that will greet callers and direct them through a series of prompts. IVR can help your business manage incoming calls more effectively and project a more professional brand as a result of having your communications streamlined so efficiently.

Having these numbers can also boost the productivity of employees and virtual call center representatives. When a customer calls your ITFS phone numbers, he can immediately get access to critical information before speaking to an actual representative. This IVR facility directs all callers to the appropriate department, agent or service representative at the onset of the call, and saves valuable time. The IVR is not only easy to set up but makes use of audio prompts for requesting information based on voice input or touch-tone. This, in turn, also makes way for easy input of authentication information and caller identification.

International Leads
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100096292794

Getting the Best International Leads using ITFS Numbers

When you get ITFS numbers, your business is taking the first bold step to enhance customer relationships. Global Call Forwarding offers ITFS numbers in over 140 countries so your company can offer free calls in almost any market. Customer relationships will be improved because their calls are handled more efficiently and routed to the appropriate department without unnecessary hold times. This, along with the calls being free, leads to enhanced customer satisfaction.

ITFS numbers can also enhance customer relationships. The call recording feature helps you maintain productivity standards and agent quality, while also being of great benefit to settle disputes faster from credit card companies or customers. You can not only record all incoming calls for reference and security purposes, but you can also listen to the calls on demand and download recordings for quality assurance and training purposes.

An Affordable Cloud-Based Business Communications Tool

International toll free service numbers from Global Call Forwarding are a cloud-based service, and they do not require any expensive equipment for operations and maintenance. Incoming calls can be answered on your mobile phone or landline, and the number of settings can be managed online. This makes it easy for you to run your sales team almost anywhere. Remote teams are a very popular and affordable solution for international call centers and are used commonly for businesses like Apple call centers or Xfinity call centers.

Your company can also test various markets with minimal risk using ITFS numbers. Global Call Forwarding does not charge activation fees and you will not be asked to sign a contract. Your ITFS numbers can be canceled at any time if you find the service does not fit your needs. Global Call Forwarding can provide you a free consultation to better determine the cloud communications needs of your business. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you get ITFS numbers for your business.

*67 Meaning and How it Works

15th July 2019 blog, Call Management

Since the sixties, we’ve been using caller ID to track who calls us on our phones. Even throughout the ever-advancing phone technology in the last few decades, caller ID has yet to fail us. Or, even change at all, making it still a simple and everyday tool. After all, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. But, even if you’ve been using telephones throughout the ages, you may still be confused about how you can hide caller ID settings to mask your number from showing on outgoing phone calls. Fortunately, there’s a long-standing tool that allows you to block your caller ID, so you show up as calling from an unknown number, fast and easily. This tool is as simple as dialing *67. In this article, we discuss how to block your own number from showing on someone else’s caller ID with the simple use of this tool.

How and Why to Use *67

Basically, the only thing you have to do to use *67 is to dial those three digits before punching in any number you’re about to call. This is a completely free, easy to use method that works for any phone number. Even if the number is an 800 toll number, you can put *67 before the number to hide caller ID information on your outgoing calls. When your call goes through, the receiving end’s caller ID will show your number as “private.” So, if you’re wondering how to call back a number that just called you without them knowing you’re calling, this is the simplest and fastest way.

Block Your Caller ID Permanently

It’s important to note that *67 only works to hide caller ID information on the phone call you use it for. So, if you want your number blocked on every call, you’d have to punch in those three digits before dialing out every time. However, if you want your caller ID information withheld on all your phone calls, you’ll need to block your number permanently. If you have a cell phone, simply call your wireless carrier to ask how to permanently block your phone number from caller IDs. But remember, if you do this, it may be irreversible. And, your phone number will show up as “blocked” or “private” from now on.

Using *67 for Landlines Only

Sure, caller ID hasn’t changed much in the past few decades. However, our mobile phones definitely have. As a result, you may find that *67 doesn’t work on your smartphone devices, only on your landline phones. Fortunately, if you have either an Apple or Android smartphone, there are some simple steps you can take to make sure your phone calls are blocked from showing caller ID information.

67 unknown caller
Source: Stockphoto.com O#100071066545 ID#100200144052

How to Block Your Caller ID on Apple Phones

To make a call displaying “unknown number” with your Apple phone, you’ll need to change some settings. Go to:

  • Settings
  • Click on “Phone”
  • Then, “Show Caller ID”
  • Finally, select the on/off option for showing your number

How to Block Your Caller ID on Android Phones

Just like with Apple devices, to call from an unknown number with an Android Phone, make some setting changes that include:

  • Go to your Phone App
  • Click the menu button
  • Then hit “Settings”
  • Finally, go to “More Settings”
  • Click on “Show My Caller ID” to change the options

Closing: Getting Around Having Your Number Blocked

Are your customers calling you back with *67 to find out who you are? Are you tired of having your business number blocked? It may be time to start using virtual toll free numbers for your business. With toll free numbers, you can call your customers from a number they’ll trust because most consumers know that toll numbers are owned by reputable businesses. Plus, toll numbers are recognizable as they are completely customizable by you! So, instead of blocking your number or never answering, toll numbers will provide your customers with a number they can remember.

If you’d like to learn more about how virtual toll numbers may help your business relations, contact Global Call Forwarding today!

Creative Uses for Virtual Phone Numbers in Marketing

5th July 2019 blog, Marketing

The truth is that creative uses for virtual phone numbers in marketing depend on appealing directly to customers, especially those who are located abroad. There’s nothing more off-putting than being unreachable by listing an out-of-country phone number, where callers will expect long distance fees, service blockages, and the hassle of dialing outside of the country just to reach your business.

There are a number of creative uses for virtual numbers in marketing, including:

  • Vanity Phone Numbers
  • International Appeal
  • Business Cards
  • Social Media

Virtual Numbers in Marketing: Vanity Phone Numbers

Vanity phone numbers are virtual phone numbers that contain a visually appealing set of digits that can be spun into your business’ advertising campaigns. By aligning your brand with a particular word or memorable sequence of digits, customers are more likely to remember what products and services you offer, as well as reinforce your brand’s message each time they are exposed to the vanity phone number.

One place that you’re likely to encounter vanity phone numbers is billboards. Large volumes of drivers can see your creative virtual phone numbers in marketing that other businesses might not be bold enough to attempt. By coupling billboard advertising with other forms of marketing, your brand will appear to be everywhere – which is the goal of every advertising campaign.

Creative Virtual Numbers for Marketing: International Appeal

If you had the choice of comparing two businesses side-by-side with all attributes being similar except for the fact that one had numerous phone numbers geared towards processing international customers, which business would you say has more of an international appeal?

virtual phonhe numbers in marketing
Source: Stockphoto.com O#100009599572 ID#100200144052

Virtual Numbers from Global Call Forwarding

Luckily, Global Call Forwarding offers virtual phone numbers in more than 140+ countries worldwide, with countless cities and regions at your disposal. These virtual phone numbers circumvent typical barriers to open communication globally, which means that your advertising efforts aren’t stymied by challenges of traditional telecommunications.

Furthermore, Global Call Forwarding enables you to choose between a variety of phone number types, including toll-free numbers that work internationally. These include ITFS numbers and UIFNs, both of which project a professional image. Normally, when a domestic toll free number is offered, international callers are out of luck and must pay fees just for the privilege of calling your business. However, with Global Call Forwarding’s vast array of ITFS numbers and UIFNs, your business can fully optimize its marketing efforts worldwide.

Creative Uses for Virtual Phone Numbers in Marketing: Business Cards

When you’re networking with potential clients in-person, every detail must be on-point and allude to the fact that working with your organization is the right choice for mutual success. That’s why one of the most important creative uses for virtual phone numbers in marketing is including them on your business cards. From staff members to your sales team, virtual phone numbers listed on business cards show that your organization is able to tailor its in-person marketing efforts for clients of any country and calling preference.

Because of the cost-effectiveness of virtual phone numbers, it is possible to subscribe to multiple phone numbers that appeal directly to your wide customer base and post them on your business cards as needed.

Creative Uses for Virtual Phone Numbers in Marketing: Social Media

Global Call Forwarding understands how pivotal a social media presence is in your marketing efforts. In addition to obviously listing your phone numbers, Global Call Forwarding offers a popular add-on that bridges the gap between customers scrolling through your posts on their smartphones and actually contacting your business.

The solution? A popular add-on called “CallMe Click.” CallMe Click enables users a one-click option to initialize a phone call on their device, whether that’s a smartphone or any other Internet-enabled audio-equipped device. By placing this add-on via links on your websites and social media presence, your potential customers can immediately seize the opportunity of your efforts and speak to your company instantly. This immediacy can help take advantage of the reach of your social media content and build a customer base quickly.

As you can see, these creative uses for virtual phone numbers in marketing can help aid your business when it wants to reach a wider audience. Of course, with some imaginative thinking in your advertising efforts, you can adapt the power of virtual phone numbers in a myriad of other ways that can expand the appeal of your business.

Using Technology to be an Efficient Entrepreneur

2nd July 2019 blog, Business Insights

Are you looking to find new ways to use technology to make your business and personal life better? Becoming an efficient entrepreneur takes hard work but its possible. We break down how to get yourself organized for a smoother work-life balance.

Empower Customers

One of the key methods of making your business more productive isn’t necessarily tied with doing more. Instead, it is what you don’t do that makes the difference. And one way that businesses continually make this mistake is by assuming that customers need to be guided every step of the way and don’t want to handle their business directly. For instance, the popularity of the self-checkout line at major retailers enables customers to take care of their shopping without any assistance from staff.

Your business can do this, too, with the help of Global Call Forwarding’s IVR and PBX services. In short, these services enable inbound callers to use your directory to find the information and complete their transactions by themselves. By providing basic information through your directory (ex. store hours), you can simultaneously empower customers and lighten the load of your employees. Furthermore, incorporating specific extensions for staff members can also organize the type of calls that staff members regularly receive. It’s through these methods that you can make your business more efficient.

Making Your Business Accessible around the Clock

One hallmark of efficient businesses is that they don’t waste time. And a clear example of wasted time comes when regular business hours come to a close, locking out customers that may have to wait until your business opens on the next business day; this may cause potential customers to look elsewhere for their needs to be met. In either case, this inefficiency can be fatal for your business, especially in competitive industries.

The solution is to make your business accessible around the clock with Global Call Forwarding’s services, particularly its suite of add-ons and features that can increase the power of your virtual phone numbers exponentially.

For starters, consider the popular add-on “time of day routing.” As the name implies, inbound calls made to your virtual phone number can be routed to other destination phone numbers anywhere in the world based on the time of day that callers dial your number. This means that you can use time of day routing during times when your staff isn’t at work, such as during lunch, meetings, vacations, and outside of regular business hours. By having these hours covered by time of day routing, you make your business accessible no matter which time zone or hour that calls may be coming in from.

Last, as an entrepreneur, you may be looking to have some off-time from your business. You can use time of day routing to redirect calls made to your phone or extension to another staff member or voicemail.

Using Technology to be an Efficient Entrepreneur
Source: Stockphoto.com O#23559 ID#100204678242

Simultaneous Ringing

Another add-on that functions in a similar manner is “simultaneous ringing.” Also, like the name implies, all devices connected to your virtual phone number will simultaneously ring when a call is made to your business. This enables any staff member on hand the ability to answer the call, which ensures that customers are retained and not left waiting to be serviced.

Call Recording

Being an entrepreneur can be hectic at times. And while we all wish to remember every single detail discussed over the phone, sometimes things get lost in the mix. The easiest solution is simply to record the interaction and use it for reference in the future. Global Call Forwarding enables entrepreneurs this efficiency with its popular add-on, “call recording.” Call recording enables you to record and store conversations. This is useful for customer service training purposes, as well as for certain industries, such as finance.

Call recording can be used to verify if your employees are handling calls efficiently. For instance, you may notice that some customer service agents get bogged down in minuscule details that can be solved by redirecting customers to online resources (such as blogs, FAQs, videos, and more). With call recording, you can analyze your business from afar or when you’re not in the office. It is often these small, yet detailed changes that ensure your business is running smoothly and reducing waste.

Delegation with Voicemail to Email

Global Call Forwarding offers a very handy feature with its voicemail to email service. When setting up, you can have your voicemail messages forwarded as an mp3 directly to an inbox. For large businesses that need to delegate tasks based on their specialty, having a document that spells out what customers need from your business can make it easier to assign to the right employees.

Interested in learning more about Global Call Forwarding’s telecom services? If so, visit www.globalcallforwarding.com to learn more about how you can make your business more efficient.

Cold Calling is Tough – Here’s some tips that can help!

2nd July 2019 blog, Sales Management

Facing the fact that you may sound exceptionally awkward, be rejected by not-so-nice recipients, and possibly misrepresent your business interests can be enough to make you avoid cold calling altogether. However, the fact of the matter is that cold calling is a misunderstood process for businesses. In fact, those who are able to master the art of the unsolicited call may come to enjoy the power that comes with cold calling. In this article, we’ll cover a number of items that can make these cold calling tips as easy as can be, including

  • Practice Makes Perfect
  • Faking It ‘Til You Make It
  • Always Be Personable
  • Understand the Other Party’s Needs

Practice Makes Perfect

Understanding the unknown is the easiest way to eliminate fear. And the only way to understand the unknown is to encounter it time and time again to learn the parameters of it, ultimately accounting for all of the possible variables that may occur. In other words, practice makes perfect.

If this comes as a disappointment, you should realize that it is paradoxical to choose another path towards mastering cold calling. After all, how do you become better at something that you never do?

Basics of Making Those Cold Calls

However, there’s hope. Because you already have experience with making phone calls, conversing with individuals that you don’t know, and closing a sales meeting, you’ve already covered the rudiments of cold calling. The only difference is that when you’re talking to a person over the phone, establishing rapport takes a different type of approach. The tricky thing is, this approach occurs without body language, situational context, and other aspects of in-person communication. Instead, your voice and its intonation must align with your goals – something that takes practice. 

For those that have perfected a skill, such as learning a musical instrument, the process is similar. First, you’ll want to keep the stakes low. Don’t be too ambitious starting out. Even if you only make a few phone calls with mixed results, focus on areas that need improving and celebrate your successes. Next, you’ll want to gradually up the stakes beyond your current abilities. Try different approaches in pitching callers and take note of any feedback. Remember, any attempt is success and “failures“ will further hone your abilities – either way, it’s win-win.

Embracing the Thrill of the Unexpected

As you proceed, you’ll begin to gain a sense of what cold calling really is and how exciting it really is. After all, just by using your voice and knowledge, you’re able to persuade callers to align with your business objectives; a valuable skill no matter which industry you choose to work in. Even in a matter of days, you’ll consider yourself a cold calling expert!

Faking It ‘Til You Make It

Tips for cold calling is tough
Source: Stockphoto.com O#100204681926- ID#100067081677

The truth is that even the most practiced individuals still feel some sort of anxiety when calling an individual they don’t know. In order to increase your success rate, you must demonstrate confidence, even if you feel the opposite. However, there’s a simple psychological hack: Faking confidence turns into real confidence. In fact, there’s relatively no difference between believing that you are a competent cold caller than actually being a competent cold caller. When the truth of this sets in, you’ll see that “faking it” is actually just stretching your abilities beyond your current perception of yourself. 

Always Be Personable

If there’s one tip that you take away from cold calling, it is that maintaining a personable and enthusiastic demeanor over the phone is paramount to ensuring success. Under no circumstances should you ever be mean or forceful, as negative emotions instantly turn off most callers that will take their business elsewhere. Having a cheery voice and even smiling during the conversation will boost your success rate. It also helps to give the other party the benefit of the doubt – as long as they’re on the phone, you can help brighten the day of even the grouchiest of customers, just by empathizing with their stress and struggles. Powerful cold calling tips!

 Understand the Other Party’s Needs

Similar to always being personable, accommodating what the party your calling actually needs is pivotal to your success in cold calling. No matter how much you may try, selling something that someone doesn’t want or need are fruitless endeavors. Instead, you want to align what your company is selling with the needs of the caller. For instance, you may be dealing with a stressed out mother that doesn’t have time to hear the endless features of your product; instead, you want to show how it solves her problems and makes her life easier. Keeping this in mind will raise your success rate and provide real satisfaction when it comes to cold calling.