Busy Executive
IP Telephony can make a big difference in the every day lives of busy executives. The ability to have calls Follow and Find them, for example, can greatly reduce the number of call backs required and the risk of missed opportunities. Being able to check all messages (voice mail, e-mail, and fax) from any phone or PC gives back otherwise wasted time during travel and the daily commute. All of this capability is integrated with Microsoft® Outlook, so all your information remains in one place.
Some of the key features of value to busy executives are:
- Phone based message management
- PC based message management
- Softphone
- Follow-me/Find-me
- Auto attendant
- Caller ID and send to voice mail
- Conference calling
- Call recording
- CRM integration
Messaging and productivity—Before you get to the office
You're on the way to the office. You dial in to the system on your mobile phone to check for messages. You respond to one message confirming a meeting, save a few for later, and forward another to a co-worker. Because email and faxes are in the same mailbox, you process them as well. Even though it is early, you change your status so that any new calls will be forwarded to you during your commute.
Make and take calls from the desktop
Once at the office you start up your PC and now at your desktop you can handle inbound and outbound calls plus Web contacts. You modify your status to ‘Available’ so that calls will no longer be forwarded but will instead be routed to your extension.
No more ‘phone system maze’
You can feel confident that people trying to reach you will succeed, because you have an automated attendant. Callers can dial by name or extension. You have recorded several greetings and the system has standard menus, on-hold and after-hours messages that all work together to keep customers out of a phone system maze.
Hold, Transfer, (send to) Voice mail? Just point & click
When a call is routed to your extension, you know immediately who’s calling. Someone you can call back later? Click on the Voice mail button and an automated greeting invites them to leave a message. Transfer to another extension? Click on the Transfer button, select the user name or extension in the screen that pops up, click again and the call is transferred.
Of course, you can always opt to take the call. Whether you use the receiver from the phone on your desk or a phone headset, your call comes through loud and clear.
Conferencing
You are on a call and need to ask a co-worker a question. Put the caller on hold using the Hold button, highlight the co-worker’s name in the Company Directory and check her status. Since she’s ‘Available’, click on her extension. Elapsed time? About 12 seconds.
You decide you should add the customer to the conversation. Click on the Conference button and simply drag & drop the two calls into a pop-up window. Highlight your customer’s call, click off the Hold button, and let the conference begin. No fiddling with a standard phone. No lost time locating the co-worker. No chance of losing either caller. Better yet, your 3-person conference call could easily have included dozens of callers.
Recording
Here’s a nice touch to kick off the conference call. Ask your customer if they’d like you to record this call and send them a file for their records. You can record calls on demand, then receive the recording in your inbox automatically. All you do is click the Record button and then forward the e-mail and its attached recording file to your customer.
Customer data at your fingertips
You hold a conference call to go over your customer’s updated account data. Easy. The customer record is displayed on your PC screen thanks to integration with the business application. Your co-workers are equally prepared, since they get the same screen pop and customer account record you do. Your customer is amazed at the efficiency.