Purchasing the right telephone system for your company involves some important decisions as that telephone system will be used to forge the close links between your business and your clients. Should you make a poor decision and purchase the wrong phone system, it could harm your business by impeding your communications with your clients. To purchase the right system you need to spend a little time understanding what it is you need in a telephone to find the one that best suits your needs. Here are some points to consider before buying:
- What kind of call volume does your telephone system support now and are you expecting call volume to increase in the future?
- Does the system that you buy need to be compatible with any existing equipment or software that you use?
- Are you looking for a phone system that offers some specific functions?
You also need to have a good handle on how many trunks and how many extensions you are going to need to fulfill your current needs as well as your future telephone needs. Trunks are outside lines and extensions are the lines used by modems, fax machines, and, of course, individual handsets. There will always be more trunks than extensions as many extensions can feed through a trunk. However, if you have too many extensions for the trunks to handle, your telephones will constantly be "busy." This will frustrate clients who will need to constantly call back to get their call through.
You may very well be uncertain as to what system you need and that means that you should speak with a representative from a telephone company that supplies services to businesses. The number of suppliers has grown dramatically since the liberalization of the market, making the number of telephone system suppliers very large. There are things to remember before you make the call to your chosen supplier...
- What are credentials of the company and do they have reputation of providing a good service?
- Will the package that your supplier provides include all of the cables and hardware you will need?
- How much will the new system cost you in support and maintenance?
- Is training available and, if so, for how long and at what cost?
Do not be afraid to speak to a number of suppliers. It is quite common for telephone service companies to offer demonstrations of their systems and features that the systems offer as well as offering to negotiate on the costs. You will get a better idea of the level of support the company offers if you take the time to sit down and talk with them and they, in turn, will be able to suggest options and features that you may not even be aware that you need.
The Communication Blog
- What kind of call volume does your telephone system support now and are you expecting call volume to increase in the future?
- Does the system that you buy need to be compatible with any existing equipment or software that you use?
- Are you looking for a phone system that offers some specific functions?
You also need to have a good handle on how many trunks and how many extensions you are going to need to fulfill your current needs as well as your future telephone needs. Trunks are outside lines and extensions are the lines used by modems, fax machines, and, of course, individual handsets. There will always be more trunks than extensions as many extensions can feed through a trunk. However, if you have too many extensions for the trunks to handle, your telephones will constantly be "busy." This will frustrate clients who will need to constantly call back to get their call through.
You may very well be uncertain as to what system you need and that means that you should speak with a representative from a telephone company that supplies services to businesses. The number of suppliers has grown dramatically since the liberalization of the market, making the number of telephone system suppliers very large. There are things to remember before you make the call to your chosen supplier...
- What are credentials of the company and do they have reputation of providing a good service?
- Will the package that your supplier provides include all of the cables and hardware you will need?
- How much will the new system cost you in support and maintenance?
- Is training available and, if so, for how long and at what cost?
Do not be afraid to speak to a number of suppliers. It is quite common for telephone service companies to offer demonstrations of their systems and features that the systems offer as well as offering to negotiate on the costs. You will get a better idea of the level of support the company offers if you take the time to sit down and talk with them and they, in turn, will be able to suggest options and features that you may not even be aware that you need.
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