Most businesses eventually make the jump from using personal phone plans to using work phone numbers. They use VoIP Phone Plans to gain business-level features like intelligent call routing that can help separate their personal and professional lives.
This easily achievable with any VirtualPBX Plan, which can be set up in minutes and configured exactly to your needs as a business. But before you order, take a quick look at how a business phone plan can accept and route calls in a manner that’s easier for both your company and your customers.
How a Business Phone Plan Manages Calls
There are a number of ways in which business features can improve the way in which your business handles calls. When we say you can “properly” manage calls with a work phone number, we mean that the following staples included in all our phone plans are what help you reach beyond what a personal mobile plan could ever achieve.
Auto Attendant
The first tool that most businesses seek in a company phone system is an Auto Attendant. This powerful feature routes your inbound calls to specific extensions on your phone system. You can route to individuals and groups, and you can present custom greetings to callers to make their interactions with your brand simple.
Auto Attendant works well for businesses of all sizes. An entrepreneur who wants to accept all calls directly can have their VirtualPBX Phone Plan send calls immediately to their phone with no recorded greeting in between.
A company that’s expanding and needs to split calls between several team members (like a CFO or COO) can use its virtual receptionist to greet callers with a custom message like this:
“Thanks for calling XYZ Corp. We’re open weekdays from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. To reach our management team, press 1. For general inquiries, press 2.”
Do Not Disturb
For any users in your system, the Do Not Disturb feature can be used to halt inbound calls temporarily.
Whether you’re in a meeting or working on an important task that shouldn’t be interrupted, Do Not Disturb can keep your device from ringing with the single push of a button. Many desktop VoIP phones have a DND button that, when pushed, will allow your calls to proceed directly to Voicemail. Then when you’re task is complete, you can push the button once more to have your device ready to answer calls again.
Ring Groups
Ring Groups are the logical extension that allows Auto Attendant to reach groups (instead of just individuals). This feature is particularly useful when your team has begun growing enough to create multiple departments with several individuals in each.
Every user on a VirtualPBX Plan can be assigned an extension, like x123. Customers routed through the Auto Attendant to x123 would be connected to that individuals’ phone. A Ring Group extension of x789, on the other hand, can list multiple users on your plan.
For example, it could list both x123 and x456 extensions for individual users. Users connected to the group extension x789 could then have the opportunity to reach either individual extension in the group. Calls sent to groups can ring all the users simultaneously, in sequence, or a combination of ringing patterns. The first person to answer the call stops the ringing sequence for everyone in the group.
One user can also be part of several Ring Groups. A COO could be listed as the first recipient of calls in a “Management” group, for example, and placed last in the ringing sequence for “Development.”
Follow Me Calling
Follow Me Calling lets any user on your plan use multiple devices. Inbound calls to your work phone number can “follow” you from one device to another so you never miss a call.
As another example, think about how you might use our Web Phone when taking calls on your laptop and the VirtualPBX Softphone for taking calls on your smartphone. Follow Me Calling lets you configure your system user to have calls ring both of those devices when your extension is dialed.
The ringing order works similarly to Ring Groups. You could prioritize your Web Phone by having it ring first for 10 seconds and then have your softphone ring next for another 10 seconds. Or you can have their ringing overlap partially or completely, alerting both your devices at the same time.
Create Work-Life Balance
The most important effect these features have on your business is a better connection to customers; you can accept their calls to your work phone number from anywhere and personalize their experience through custom messages and intelligent routing.
The most important side effect of these features is the creation of work-life balance. VirtualPBX Phone Plans let you keep your business separate from your personal life. Sure, you’re always free to use Call Forwarding to take inbound calls on your personal phone, but your options for Web Phone, VirtualPBX Softphone, and all manner of desk phones are available at your convenience.
With minimal configuration of your VirtualPBX Plan, you can create a user that will accept calls on any device you choose. It will be granted its own Voicemail box. You can establish a caller ID that shows the name of your business and not your personal number. You can set office hours to keep your life clear from inbound calls when the work day is done.
All of this helps you keep a clearer mind about where business ends and private life begins. This has shown to be essential to effective remote work and can be a breath of fresh air to businesses that have never had a clean break between the two entities.
Get a Work Phone Number Today
It’s really easy to get started with a new work phone number on a VirtualPBX Phone Plan. Our plans start at less than $10 a month, and every plan includes at least one phone number for you to begin using immediately. Every plan also includes all the features discussed above and many more.
Start a chat with us today. Whether you’re just getting started as an entrepreneur or are in a period of growth and need a more robust phone system, we have something for you.
