How to choose the right Business Phone System?

If you could increase your sales and profits by a using a better phone, how quickly would you make the switch?

Business phone systems are trivial, right? Just pick up a phone and make a call which leads to a sale. Except a faulty system could cost you a paying customer – or several hundreds of them. Or a choke between major transactional call? Your client wouldn’t be too amused by it, that’s certain.

Now, the main reasons we are tinkering with a How-to guide of buying a phone system are –

• Business owners having absolutely no idea about phones (believe me, it’s more common than it seems!)
• Inadequate or improper use of Technology (there is so much that could be done)
• Inability to shake off the inertia of old phone systems (it could be a matter of trust)
• No major improvements in Customer service (we blame some of it on below par phone systems)

These reasons are the major trigger that lead us to create a fairly simple and yet comprehensive guide of how you could go on about choosing a business phone system.

Think of it as a shopping guideline, the basics of what to purchase and how to choose – except, of course you are purchasing something for your business and the purchase is all the more vital. No pressure!

Now let’s look at some basic facets on how to purchase a business phone system –

Communication Requirements

When we talk about communication requirements, we consider the quality, the numbers and a rather macro view of the business phone system. Before you fixate on a phone system, you must ascertain your business requirements. It’s quite simple, really. Just prepare a list of things that you must have. You can start with the basics:

1. The Platform of your phone system – Where do you want your system to run
2. Related equipment – to gauge the space and expenditure
3. Level of quality – the clarity that you expect or need in your phone system
4. Staff compatibility – you might have to train your staff to get them
5. Staffing requirements – how many people would use the phone system

Communication requirements also entail the features that you want in your system, unless of course if you are happy with a landline phone. 

Cost Estimation

The Costs. The one word that will serve as a deciding factor in your purchase. We’ve taken up this point early so as to draw your attention to the other points as well.

When judging the costs, factor the profits that you tend to gain from a decent phone system. Once you do that, you will have a pretty good perspective on your purchase. Also, after having factored the profits you’ll feel less stingy while making the purchase.

Create a 5 year business plan to assess any business requirements which require an investment. Aim for flexibility, scalability and a technologically sound system. Do not make a decision without weighing future growth.

Once again, you need to analyze the features that you want and the cost it has. Eliminate the frivolous and the unnecessary and you’ll have yourself a pretty solid business phone system.

Operations and Maintenance

These are 2 separate quotients to choose a business phone system. While one relates to the functionality of the system, the other relates to dealing with the problems in the system. Both, are equally crucial.

As a business owner, you would want to identify a prosperous balance between usability and features. Choose a system that enhances the customer service and not hinder it. With this in mind, you need to ask these few questions  –

• Are the major functionalities apparent to the user?
• Is the dashboard too flooded?
• Is making a call simple?
• Does the system occupy too much space?
• Is the system hassle-free in terms of equipment and handling?

After you answer these questions, you would be able to choose a system that helps your customer care executives in improving their efficiency and channel better results.

As for Maintenance – Go for a system that requires minimal management and maintenance. Your system should be able to boot quickly after a breakdown. Also, your system must be reliable for long term uses even in adverse effects.

Apart from that, confirm a continuous service/maintenance clause with your service provider. You might need to get your system fixed at an odd hour. Plan for it and place some contingencies to counter any possible damage.

Test your business phone system

Ask for a demonstration from your phone system provider. Once you test the phone system, you’d find any shortcomings in the immediate use (of course you can’t gauge the usage spectrum in a single demo.)

Here are a few key indicators of good phone system in a test-run:

• Quick response time
• User friendly
• High flexibility
• Good Call quality

A little tip: Ask for references from companies that are using the phone system in question and see how they like the system. Also, once you gauge the perspective of other users, you’ll be better able to define your requirements and expectations.