You already know — or are about to discover — that running a home-based business is so rewarding on every level, that the only regret that most people have is not launching one sooner.
Indeed, instead of a miserable commute, a toxic work environment, and working long hours to make other people wealthy, you can finally reap the rewards of your “labor of love” — and have plenty of time remaining to spend time with your kids, walk the dog, take a hot yoga class, and do everything else that boosts your quality of life, and helps you achieve work-life balance.
However, while the list of advantages, benefits and rewards of running a home-based business are inspiring, the fact remains that whether you provide consulting advice to corporations, sell nutritional supplements to health-conscious consumers, or offer any other products or services online or offline (or both), you can’t afford to look like a home-based business. And that’s where a business VoIP phone system might be the ideal telecommunications solution you need.
Here are the three key reasons why business VoIP should be on your radar screen:
1. You can professionally greet and direct callers.
Instead of manually answer the phone or having calls immediately go to voicemail, a VoIP phone system automatically picks up calls on the first ring, greets customers with a professional message that you can customize in seconds, and invites them to direct their call accordingly (e.g. sales support, technical support, vendor support, etc.).
Of course, customers will have no idea that you may be the only person who works in your home-based office, or that you have a skeletal staff that may be part of a distributed/remote team. As far as they’re concerned, you’ll sound and seem just like a large enterprise — which is exactly what you want.
2. You can use voicemail-to-email to be more responsive.
One of the best features of VoIP phone systems — and probably the most popular — is the glorious voicemail-to-email setting, which as the term suggests, allows you to pick up voicemails as audio files through any internet-connected device (e.g. smartphone, tablet, laptop or computer).
As a result, you’ll be able to grab voicemails on-the-go and be more responsive. Plus, you’ll have a recording of the voicemail that you can refer to later on if necessary, which can help keep things efficient for everyone — you and your customers alike.
3. You can use phone numbers to extend your marketplace.
With a VoIP phone system, you can have phone numbers for different areas of your state or the country, so that you appear as a local business in those areas. You can even create a vanity number (e.g. 555-HELP) or get a toll-free number for a fraction of the cost vs. a conventional phone system.
The Bottom Line
This can’t be emphasized enough: there’s nothing wrong or inferior about running a home-based business. In fact, the only inexplicable thing about the whole concept is why more people don’t quit the soul-crushing, health-destroying, financially-unrewarding corporate grind, and launch a home-based businesses ASAP.
However, just as big enterprises go out of their way to show customers that they deliver “personalized care,” home-based business owners like you need to head in the opposite direction: demonstrate that you have the capacity to provide enterprise-level support and service. A VoIP phone system definitely fits with this critical — and profitable — business objective.
