How To Buy A Business Phone System
Outside of the few that are in the phone industry, most people don’t think about their phone until something breaks. However, upgrading and existing multi-line system or buying a new multi-site feature rich PBX should still give you reason to pause and look at the options and the market, even if you’re in a rush. Often, before you start asking for quotes, you should take a moment and request a free system assessment from a reputable company like NRM. A reputable company will take the time to sit down with you and talk about your communication needs. They will not have just one solution that they modify to fit your needs.
Part One – Understanding
Part one of what NRM does for you is helping you understand what you actually need.
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The Telecommunication Sales person’s perspective:
From my perspective, the first thing I need to do is spend some time getting to know you. What kind of calls do you get, are they long or short, do you transfer calls frequently, are your staff generally at their desks, these are the kinds of questions I would ask.
As an example.
I might start by talking about how many phone extensions you need. The average response would be to add up the number of staff and use that number, x number of people work here so we need x number of phones. However, let’s say Bob, is almost never at his desk. Why don’t we setup an extension number with no physical phone and have all calls for Bob forward to his cell phone. The Mitel MiVoice system will not just forward the call in a traditional sence, it will bring Bob’s cell phone on the line and allow Bob the option of putting the call on hold and maintaining the continuity of your business branded auto attendant, or transferring the call to another employee or voice mail. All by using a readily available Mitel app available for Android, iPhone, and Blackberry.
Knowing the MiVoice Office system can integrate you’re cell phones into the system may allow you to save on the install and equipment.
Basically, it’s my job to know the current market so I can advise you on the best product for your telecommunication needs. If I don’t know the answer, I find it for you.
The Customers Perspective:
Keeping in mind, this is a blog so i can write informally. I’ve asked several friends and family what they would do if tasked with upgrading or purchasing a phone system. These are the responses ordered from most frequent to least frequent.
1. Blank stare
2. Umm
3. I’d Google it.
My wife was the first person to actually Google “how to buy a phone system” rather than just key words like “Business Phones” or “PBX”. There is actually a lot of high quality information available and I encourage you to investigate it.
Regardless, the customers job for step one is to start acquiring a cursory understanding of PBX systems VS Hosted PBX systems and VoIP business phone service. Through an onsite meeting with me or going to Google, getting the right system for you will take a little home work.
For information on these topic, I’d encourage you to check out the blog post “A Little Clarification” by clicking here and by searching google.ca.
If you have any questions or would like to request an onsite consultation, please feel free to fill out the form at the bottom of the page.
Part Two – Laying out the system
Although the heavy lifting is left the to NRM network engineer, part of the system layout is simply deciding what goes where.
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Are there going to be desks that only require a data connection?
Fax lines?
paging systems?
Voice or video conferencing?
Teleworkers?
These facets of the install need to be thoroughly explored in order to get an accurate quote for the system and install. Nothing is worse than realizing after the install is done that something was forgotten.
I and everyone on the NRM team do our best to ensure we’ve touched on every issue.