Finding the right supplier (Authorised reseller, Partner, Company, Dealer, Supplier - there are so many names!)

 

How to Select and Purchase a Telephone System, and things to do before contacting a dealer.

 

Your new phone system will only be effective if it enhances the operation of your business. This can involve:

  • Making it easier for customers to contact you;
  • Increasing staff productivity;
  • Reducing other costs of doing business.

 

You need to do your homework before you start to talk to any prospective phone system vendor:

Familarise yourself with the technology of phone systems and the features they can provide, this Buyers Guide is a good start.

Meet with your management team and key users of your existing phone system (eg receptionist, sales support, accounts receivable.) to identify problems with the current system, features of the current system that are essential to be maintained and features in new phone systems that will assist.

From the meeting establish a small team that will be involved in selecting and implementing the phone system. Not only will this reduce the workload it will assist in the acceptance of the change associated with the new phone system.

This team should produce an overview specification of your requirements for a phone system and should also look at the call patterns within the business and between other branch offices if relevant. The latter may require a manual survey for a week if your system doesnt have SMDR facilities.

You should also look at your current phone bill as changing your system which may involve incorporating ISDN or VoIP, is an ideal time to rationalize your overall call costs.

Once you have a draft specification and a good idea of your call flows, then you start contacting phone system vendors. The easiest way to do that is to use our Free Phone Quote service and we can arrange up to 3 phone system dealers to contact you.

 

My key message here is that you know your business best and need to take full responsibility for the implementation of the phone system to deliver the best outcome for your business.

 

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