SOHO Phone System

A SOHO phone system (Small Office/ Home Office) gives the small business owner some telephone advantages, that have been found only in large business offices, at an affordable price. These small office phone systems provide a greeting by an auto-attendant that reflects professionalism without hiring a receptionist. When there are just two or three persons running a business, this could be an important advantage. A dial-by-name directory can be included, and/or automatic queuing. Some businessmen like having music to entertain callers while on hold, while others like to have announcements concerning the products or services the company offers. Whether entertaining or informing customers or clients, the time is better spent than it would be in complete silence where the customer is ticking off the seconds until he's answered.

Now it is possible to set up a SOHO phone system at a cost considerably lower than the old systems used to cost, and for any small business that is an important feature. Most of these new systems can use existing telephones and lines. For the business traveler working alone, a "virtual office" can be set up using home phones or cell phones with no central office space, saving on rent and utilities. All of these small office phone systems can be upgraded as the business grows without changing the everything out--again, a money saver.

The newest of the small office phone systems include some features formerly seen only in larger offices, like being able to pick up a call to any extension from any other extension, and changing the announcements for different times of the day, as well as changing routing according to time of day. The rings for different extensions can be varied so that it's easy to distinguish whose phone is ringing. Call forwarding to a cell phone when someone is away from his desk for longer than a few minutes is possible with these virtual PBX systems too. Call screening is a useful feature because it allows the recording of a caller's name and number and plays it back so the receiver can decide whether to accept or reject the call. Blocking outbound calls to places such as 900 numbers is another option these systems provide.

A helpful feature of at least one SOHO phone system is mode switching. At night there might be a completely different message for callers, and the daytime announcements can reflect different operating hours by the day, if needed. For instance, messages at night could be routed to a general mailbox or to the business owner's cell phone or pager. Since it is set up to be completely automatic, no one has to remember to switch the mode before leaving the office in the evening. Remote workers are part of the phone group, and they can check their voice mail, forward to other mailboxes, and even leave messages for other workers without disturbing them at night.

Another use for those multiple ring patterns mentioned above is for the businessman who has multiple businesses. Different rings for each will keep the answerer from giving the wrong response to a call. Small office phone systems used in this way can include the same menus for their phones for each business, thus avoiding trying to remember which features are in place for a particular business. The companies providing this multi-task service have obviously been listening to their customers. All of the complications we have invented to communicate our thoughts to one another sometimes make us forget the most important communication we should be concerned with. The Bible reminds us quite simply and beautifully. "Make me to understand the way of thy precepts: so shall I talk of thy wondrous works." (Psalm 119:27)

For the international traveler it can sometimes be very expensive to call back to the States. This problem can be overcome by using the call back and call bridge features of the SOHO phone system. The home office can call the traveler wherever he is, either by using auto callback, where he dials the home office, hangs up, and the system calls him back or, a promoted call back where he dials in and tells the home office to call back, meaning a one minute call. The traveler can record a message that tells the person answering the phone to transfer the call to his hotel room. When he gets the call, it's just like he was in the office and outgoing calls can commence. This is a real cost cutter for travelers. The small business owner now has some communication advantages that formerly were only available for larger firms. The increased professionalism of small office phone systems, and the helpful services provided can only help increase business for anyone who takes this step up in phone communications. It's worth the time to check out the possibilities for anyone who is looking for improvement in business relations with customers.

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