All posts tagged phone answering

Virtual Office: What are the benefits?

A virtual office offers all the advantages of an office address and office communications and technology without requiring the business owner to set up a physical office. A virtual office can provide phone, email and other amenities needed to run a successful business.

Here are some of the advantages of A Virtual Office:
• Professional business address – Organizations can have addresses at professional buildings without actually having to rent office space there. The service provider forwards all mail sent to this address to the client or handles it per the client’s instructions. Compared to simply having a PO Box address, the business address at prestigious buildings allows the company to maintain a professional image at relatively low prices
• Reception services – A reception service greets any visitors to the business and then manages that contact per the client’s instructions. Additionally they can receive and sign for any parcels or overnights received on behalf of the client.
• Communication services – The virtual office service can provide live phone receptionists, fax services, answering services, voice mail and other communications options.
• Meeting rooms – A virtual office service providers offer rental meeting rooms and conference rooms to clients that are available on-demand. This meeting space is available at the same building as their professional business address.
• Office space – The virtual office service can offer temporary office or work space to clients.
• Amenities – The virtual office service may also offer amenities like video conferencing, lounges, kitchens, break rooms, broadband Internet connectivity, wireless Internet connectivity and parking facilities.
• Low start-up costs – The virtual office space offers savings as compared to starting up an actual office since customers share costs for most of the services and infrastructure.
• Immediacy – Most (if not all) virtual office services can be set up on the same day that they are needed.

In conclusion a virtual office creates an opportunity for clients to conduct business in a professional manner with their clients and prospects and develop a great impression while networking.

Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch offers a complete line of virtual office services. Our standard service products can be tailored to meet your unique preferences and needs. Contact us today to learn more and be in business tomorrow!

The Exciting Benefits of VOIP Technology

Today many small businesses and organizations are making the switch from their current analog phone service to VoIP business phone systems. There are numerous advantages to using such a service, including standard services such as voicemail (really enhanced via VOIP technology), call waiting, toll free numbers, call forwarding, and remote operation, and there are a host of other features that really makes this technology shine and really increases the productivity of the user.

More than two persons

On a standard phone line, only two persons can speak at a time. With VoIP, you can setup a conference with a whole team communicating in real time.

Abundant, Interesting and Useful Features

Using VoIP also means benefitting from its abundant feature sets which can make your VoIP experience very rich and sophisticated. One can, for example, make calls anywhere in the world to any destination in the world with a VoIP account. Domestic long distance calls are free and International calls are made at greatly reduced rates. Other features include Caller ID, Contact Lists, Voicemail, extra-virtual numbers etc. Here are some enhanced features of this technology:

Find me/follow me call routing

Mobile workers appreciate this feature. Find me/follow me call routing allows you to create a list of numbers where you can be found before the call gets pushed to voicemail. So, for example, you might have your office phone ring twice, but on the third ring, your cell phone starts to ring, and then on the fifth, your home phone. If the list is exhausted, the caller gets sent to voicemail.

Voicemail to email carbon and transcription

Voicemail to email carbon means that an email is sent to you with a wav file attachment containing the voicemail message. Voicemail to email transcription transcribes your voicemail messages to text and sends them to your email address. Read them in your email at your leisure. This also allows you to file, organize, delete, and search all your voicemails in a way that would otherwise be impossible.

Music and/or video on hold

If your company often has to put callers on hold, this feature is a necessity. You can customize your music or on-hold message.

Call screening

Call screening is a handy feature of this technology. It allows you to look at a number on the caller ID and choose how to treat it. For example, if your spouse is calling, you can choose to pick it up whereas if it’s an annoying sales person you wish to avoid you can disregard the call.

Auto attendant

An auto attendant is one of the hidden gems of premium VoIP services. This feature allows callers to interact with a menu to choose an appropriate extension or phone, even after-hours. It’s like having an electronic receptionist!

Do not disturb
This feature does exactly what its name implies: leaves you undisturbed. You can turn it on to temporarily stop incoming calls to your phone. This becomes especially useful during conferences, lunches, and meetings. Best of all, you can program it so that it does not just ignore callers, but directs them toward voicemail or another destination of your choice.

All of these services, and more, are available with the VOIP technology phone service offered by Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch. We even include live answer before transfer, call logs if you want them and more! Contact us at 941-373-1400 to learn more about how this exciting technology can enhance your business and operations.

You Can Never Have Too Many Amenities

One of the many advantages that come with an executive office suite are all of the amenities that are included in your lease that make your business life easier and more productive. Many, if not all, of these services are included at no extra charge.
They include:

On-site Office Manager. The Office Manager is on-site Monday-Friday to manage the facility and insure that the services you count on are always available to you. They are also there to help you set up the plan that’s right for you or to answer any questions you may have.

Upscale Décor. The modern decor is upscale and professional which greatly aids in the perception your visitors and guests have of you and your business.

Convenient Location. You don’t want your clients, prospects and visitors to have to spend an inordinate amount of time searching for your place of business. Quick, convenient access with plenty of available (hopefully free) and well-lit is a must.

A plus is if the center is located in close proximity to hotels, restaurants and shops.

Security. The user-friendly security system allows for 24/7 access to your office plus a safe working environment.

State-of-the-art Conference Facilities. Available by reservation and equipped with appointment and offers all of the assets you need to conduct a successful meeting. Such assets include Wi-Fi access, 3-way conference speaker phones, white boards, liquid refreshments and presentation equipment.

Concierge Services. The concierge attendant is available to assist you with meeting and catering planning, dinner reservations and any other professional needs that may arise.

State-of-the-art Answering System. The phone system provides a personalized telephone answering service plus 24-hour voice mail and message retrieval. Added value is obtained if the voice mail message is carbon copied as a wav file and emailed to you.

High Speed Internet. High-speed access provides always-on Internet.

Copy/ Facsimile. For your convenience, a copier and facsimile machine are available for your use. This saves you from having to commit to a long-term rental and/or service agreement.

Mail Service. Along with a prestigious business address, you should receive a private mailbox for your incoming mail.

Utilities, Janitorial, Maintenance Services. Your lease should include all of these which ensure a professional, functional working environment.

A La Carte Services. You should be able to access a wide variety of professional business services to support you in running your business. This saves you from having to employ an executive assistant or or administrative staff. Typical services include:
• Research/respond to RFP’s
• Production jobs
• Evening meeting services
• Information Management
• Website services
• Creative services
• Invoicing
• Professional administrative services
• Witness services
• Scanning service
• Printing services (color, black and white)
• Facsimile service
• Express shipping, postage and private courier services

You will find all of these amenities, and more, at Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch. To learn more call us at 941.373.1400.

Is A Virtual Office Space Right For You?

Many working individuals do not need to be in a professional office space every single working day of the week. They may prefer to work from home or are immersed in the wheels/smart phone/hot desk world of the nomadic worker. Yet even these individuals may find that Virtual Office service has many benefits to offer them.

For anyone who wants to protect a home address, provide the appearance of professionalism over a home-office or a wireless hot spot or wish to have someone answer their phone for them (while not having to pay for a full-time staff member to do so), then a virtual office is the perfect solution.

For some, increasing lease rates and maintenance costs, coupled with lengthy lease terms, make physical offices less affordable. Virtual office space is a great alternative for maintaining a professional appearance with the flexibility of working from a remote location. Here are a few reasons that virtual offices may work for you:

Virtual office space provides you with a physical address where you can receive mail and have packages delivered without worrying about delivery to a PO Box or sacrificing the privacy of releasing your home address. And you don’t waste your valuable time waiting around for a delivery that requires a signature.

Conference room booking means no more meetings at public locations such as the library or Starbucks. Work from anywhere and still have the option of meeting your clients and prospects in a  professional executive conference room. Many Virtual Office services include video conference capability as well. This lets you meet anyone, anywhere in the world, with no travel time and at immensely reduced expense.

Get the appearance of an additional physical location anywhere in the U.S. for a fraction of the cost of a full service physical location. Create branch office opportunities with ease and minimal cost.

Virtual offices provide small businesses with all of the above, and more, at low monthly rates. Service plans can often be tailored to meet your unique needs providing you with total flexibility. Varying term lengths are available as well.

Executive Suites at Lakewood Ranch is your one-stop destination for virtual office services. We also provide executive suites and support services should you need them. We support you and the growth of your organization, both literally and virtually. Contact us to find out more.