An increasing number of companies use Skype to communicate for free with their customers. You can place a "call me" Skype button on your site.
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digitalhotzone.com - The place for online business owners.

If you're with the Utility Warehouse I believe you can add an 0800 line to your package for just £2 line rental per month. I'm not sure what it costs per call so it may be worth visiting their website.

David
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You've got a couple of different options - it's about what will suit you best.

1) If you already have a BT line and want to simply know when it's a business call you can ask to have the line "split" and to issue you with a new number (about £5/quarter extra). When the new number is called, the line will ring with a different ring tone and you can pick it up and answer accordingly. It's called "Call Sign". But relies on you always being on that landline number.

2) Skype is not suitable for business quality calls. It's all about the kind of impression you want your customers to get about your business. Do you want them to think you didn't invest even the cost of a phone line in setting it up? How much confidence does it give your client in the longevity of your business? However it is possible to set up business-quality VOIP lines, but will depend on your own internet connection strength. The advantage of using this is you can either route the calls to a different landline/mobile without the tell-tale diversion message BT gives out or simply plug in a VOIP phone wherever you happen to be.

3) There's another thread somewhere on here about 0800/non-geographical numbers too. From experience, people prefer to call a local number and know who they are dealing with.

Let me know if you need a hand with setting these up, it's very simple and can be done in as little as 20 mins.

Caroline
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Caroline Wylie

www.virtuallysorted.com

www.SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk

Hi

We can supply a UK number (local rate) or 0845 number which can be diverted to your mobile with no contract or requirement for a fixed landline. Details can be found at http://www.yoo3.co.uk
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Ronnie, CEO






---
Yooneeq Limited..
the leader in virtual telecom solutions and
business support

We do: 24/7 Live call answering | mail forwarding
addresses | virtual UK Numbers | VoIP (single lines and a virtual business
exchange for businesses) | 0845 and NGN numbers | e-commerce development | web
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***

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So, dear members have already replied to your question. Now, here are some tips, how to use business phone effectively:
Know the purpose of your call in advance.
Prepare a list of questions which need answers.
Take advantage of the corporate hierarchy.
Ask for permission to speak.
Set up a telephone appointment.
Use the optional choice methodology.
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thankyou for all the very useful information!

084 numbers are an effective way to offer customers a low cost calling option. calling an 084 number is approximately 40% cheaper than calling a national rate number from a residential BT landline. If you are still looking for business numbers visit www.switchboardfree.co.uk. They offer 2 084 numbers for free with no line rental or setup costs and you can redirect to up to 5 uk landline locations completely free of charge. You don't even get charged for the divert! They have also integrated with google analytics allowing you to effectively analyse your marketing ROI and even show which areas of the UK your customers are calling you from!

Neil

Actually, I always advise against using an 0845 number on a website unless you have multiple locations. People like knowing where they are calling and you get more calls to geographic numbers.

(And before anyone points out we have an 0845 number, we have multiple locations so putting a geographic number might put off clients from outwith the head office area - there are other geographic numbers peppered throughout the site!)
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Caroline Wylie

www.virtuallysorted.com

www.SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk

If I put myself as a customer, I'd say skype would be really o'k for me.I mean, that's such a triffle, the main thing is what service a company can offer to me
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Skype is not a business quality phone line - what does that say about your business to your customers? VOIP has moved beyond cheapskate, crackling lines - but in order to get decent quality you actually need to pay for it.

We use VOIP in the office and I occasionally use Skype for transatlantic calls - frankly I often hang up the Skype connection and call using our VOIP phones because the connection is so bad. Our VOIP connection is crystal clear so it's not a problem with broadband quality.
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Caroline Wylie

www.virtuallysorted.com

www.SocietyOfVirtualAssistants.co.uk

What business are you in? I ask as sometimes you may find you don't really need a phone, it can sometimes be an unnecessary expense but when starting a new business you may feel obliged to have one.

You may wish to consider email communication with your customers, it's even advantageous if you look at it. It frees up your time, and your customers can get in touch with you at a time convinient to them. It keeps good records of enquiry in a organised manner. Above all if you use an email managent company like aweber, you can manage your emails superbly with automated follow up system.

You can find out about the following company on http://aweber.com/?301008 just copy the link into you browser.

Phone can be a huge distraction when doing business, if you notice, a lot of companies are using email communications nowdays in order to cut costs.

Hope this helps!

Best regards,
Eddington.
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