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Phone Systems - Your Lifeline To Clients

• The Basics
• The Next Level
• The Top Tier
• Celebrating Contribution

Phone systems 101 include the following:

• A separate line for your business
• Voicemail (not an answering machine)
• A good headset with a mute function
• A computer headset and microphone
• An excellent long distance plan
• While a business line can be expensive a second residential line works just fine. The only real advantage to having a business line is a listing in the yellow page.

Voice mail is more reliable, has better quality sound and allows you to utilize tools such as an extended absence greeting for when you are away. This forces callers to listen to your message before leaving you one so they know you are out of the office.

A good headset is really an investment in your business. Again it is about quality, of sound, noise reduction, battery power, dialing features and compactibility. I recommend Plantronics brand headsets.

With the increase of webinars, online meetings and voice over IP such as Skype a computer headset and microphone is quickly becoming part of the standard operating equipment. These are easily purchased and inexpensive.

Whether on a cell phone or regular line your long distance/ minutes plan needs to be inexpensive and available. Stay away from plans that restrict discounts during the times and the locations you need them. I use Wintel for my long distance at 50 cents a call no matter how long the call is. Most of my calls are at least an hour.

Once you find your business is growing or your need to stay in touch increases you may find yourself considering or implementing the following:

• A toll free number
• A cell phone
• A blackberry

Toll free numbers add a level of professionalism to your business. It says to clients/potential clients you want to make it easy for them to contact you and you can afford to pay for their call. Some association membership benefits provide discounted toll free number to members.

While you may already have a cell phone not everyone uses it with their business. As long as you are prepared to take calls while grocery shopping or out having coffee these are a great way to stay connected.

As your business continues to grow you may find all of this technology you have implemented is getting overwhelming and expensive to manage and not always meeting all your needs. This is when you can look at services that will not only combine what you have but increase your bang for your buck.

Options available can include:

• Toll free or local services for electronic faxes
• Auto attendants
• Extension numbers
• Voice mail to email services
• Voice mail via your PC
• Voice mail alerts to your cell phone
• Call routing
• Click to call from your web site
• Dial by name directory
• Company directory menus

Since I'm certainly not an expert in all these services and what's available, I recommend you contact Victoria Santiago, owner of Your Telecom Advisor for her expert advice on what the best system is for you. Victoria can be found at
http://www.yourtelecomadvisor.com/home

Michelle Jamison has not only been a pioneer in the VA profession in Canada since 1998, and the founder of the Canadian Virtual Assistant Network (CVAN), she has also paved the way for the Multi-VA business model, coining the term back in 2001.

Michelle, who was my first VA back in 1998, is also the author of The Virtual Assistant's Guide to Marketing, now in it's second edition, along with her latest ebook The Virtual Assistant's Guide to the Multi- VA business. And this from the VA who told me back in '98 she couldn't write.

Michelle has also written curriculum for both the Virtual Assistant Training Program and Red Deer College's Virtual Assistant Certificate and is a faculty member at both training institutes teaching her Multi- VA program for the VATP and marketing for Red Deer. She recently presented at the Forum on Virtual Assistance, has done webinars for both CVAN and VANA (Virtual Assistant Networking Association), created CVAN's Success Circles and Success Partners program, is involved in VANA's VA Virtuoso program and has her own blog called The VA Voice.

With all Michelle's accomplishments and contributions to the profession I'm sure I've missed a few. I personally want to thank you for being my "partner in crime" over the past 10 years and to celebrate the contributions you have made to the Virtual Assistant profession! We celebrate you!

You can visit Michelle at http://www.mjva.ca