Companies We Love
GH in the news- @Grasshopper
- Interested in getting an 855 number? We're taking reservations now - http://bit.ly/ailETt
- RT @chrisgeyer: excited i get to talk with more of our @grasshopper customers today as well
- RT @melilitts: I use @grasshopper as the main means of communication within my business, since our team is spread all over the US!
tips Archive
Creating a Dedicated Support Line for Your Business
One of the great things about our phone system is that it can be used in different (and creative) ways. While yes, it’s intended to be used as a full-featured, make your company sound big phone system, our customers have made it their own. Some people use it strictly as a voicemail service, some use it as a call forwarding service and one customer uses it to provide clients with personalized extensions.
A new use we came across recently was a customer using their Grasshopper number as a dedicated support line. What a great idea! We certainly have customers who use extensions for support/sales/departments/etc, but I’d never really thought about using an account just for Support.
As it turns out, there are actually quite a few benefits to this:
Professionalism
One of our main priorities here is to “Help entrepreneurs stay connected and sound professional”. Why? Because to customers, perception is reality.
A dedicated support line certainly shows customers that you are professional, successful enough to have a support team & you are there to help them when they need it. Whether this line forwards to a 100-person support team or your home office doesn’t really matter.
Using Grasshopper for Your Real Estate Company
In today’s society, people are working less in the office and therefore the need for a virtual phone system is growing. One industry where this is especially true is Real Estate. Based on feedback from customers in the real estate business, here are a few ways Grasshopper can help:
1) Informational Extensions
You can give your clients information they need without even talking to them! When a client calls an 800 number listed outside a property they’re interested in, they can hear specific information about the property, including housing details, address, and contact information.
2) Call Routing Extensions
In any industry involving sales, it’s important that customers never hear a busy signal or wait on hold too long. It’s also important in Real Estate that your employees get an equal number of incoming sales calls. Call Routing Extensions make this happen. Call routing extensions can help ensure that all of the agents in the office get an equal number of calls and your customers don’t become frustrated by your phone service.
May Edition: 11 Entrepreneur Posts from Around the Web
There are so many great places for entrepreneurs to get information; blogs, forums, Twitter, conferences, meet-ups, co-working spaces, etc, etc. Sometimes it’s hard to sort through them all!
To at least make one part simpler for you, and give you something to read this holiday weekend, I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite blog posts about entrepreneurship and business from the past month. I’m sure there are a hundred more out there but here are my favorites. Enjoy!
1. Which Excuses are Keeping You from Starting or Growing Your Business?
Overview: Matthew from Blogtrepreneur.com offers tips for those “wanna-be” entrepreneurs that are hesitant about starting a business. If you are on the fence about starting a business, this should inspire you to take a leap of faith and just do it! (or at least stop making excuses about why)
2. Entrepreneurs Test Before Starting Your Business
Overview: Kevin from dorm-room-biz.com gears this post towards internet entrepreneurs. It provides step-by-step instructions on how to set up an online marketing campaign for your business. Read more »
A Virtual Phone System for Non-Profits
One of the great things about Grasshopper is that it can be used by just about any company, in any industry. We have customers who work in construction, law, accounting, transportation, real estate, marketing and many other industries.
One industry that’s really started to pop up on our radar here as of late is the non-profit sector. Several customers have reached out to us and let us know not only how valuable the Grasshopper virtual phone system has been to their non-profit organization but also how they actually use it.
Here are 3 ways Grasshopper can help non-profits:
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Phone # for Volunteers
Volunteers are an integral part of many non-profit organizations. They help man the phones, run events, organize fundraisers and much more. With tight budgets, not all non-profits can afford to provide phones or even walkie talkies to every volunteer and trying to keep track of everyone’s cell phone number can be next to impossible. Read more »
Why You Should Pick a Virtual Office
Opening and maintaining an office is one of the costliest moves a new business can make. The obvious expense is the monthly rent, but the financial investment in running an office far exceeds the rent. At minimum, you will need desks and chairs. Most companies eventually want filing cabinets and a water cooler (plus scheduled delivery.) Of course, an office also needs its own Internet connection.
All these costs (and others) are why veteran entrepreneurs advise going without an office early on. That said, some businesses objectively need things like a professional mailing address, a business phone system and meeting areas.
Virtual Receptionists & Assistants
Entrepreneurs frequently take on loaded schedules and find themselves shoving repetitive tasks to the back burner. Traditionally, the solution has been hiring assistants whose sole jobs are to complete those tasks. However, it is actually not necessary for an assistant to physically work beside you in an office. A growing number of entrepreneurs are hiring virtual assistants instead.
Great 8: Top Entrepreneur Forums on the Web
One of the great things about the entrepreneur community is the willingness and desire to share the trials and tribulations of starting and running a business. From blogs to forums to podcasts and books, there is a lot of really great knowledge out there. We have chosen eight of the best entrepreneur forums where you can ask questions, find info and share your own stories.
Entrepreneur.com – Industry Groups
Link: http://econnect.entrepreneur.com/browse_groups.php
What is it: Entrepreneur.com is a great forum that covers everything around entrepreneurship and business. The forums are even split up into industry-based groups ranging from construction professionals, to franchising, to sales and marketing to online business and young entrepreneurs.
Why you should read it: Entrepreneur.com has long been a trusted source for all kinds of entrepreneurs. Their forum allows people to connect with each other and share their experiences and knowledge. The starting a business section has nearly 1000 discussion topics!
14 Twitter Feeds Startups/Founders Should Follow
We’ll admit it – the typical Twitter page is more likely to hinder startup success than it is to help. A Google search for “Twitter distraction” generates over 1.8 million results, including in-depth blog posts on how to prevent Twitter from breaking your focus. So we’ll understand if Twitter isn’t currently a big part of your work day. However, it would be unwise for startup founders to unplug completely from Twitter.
In fact, the Twitter accounts of other startups and founders are often treasure troves of relevant, applicable insight. After all, these are folks who have overcome the obstacles you are facing and achieved the goals you are striving for. Who better to learn from? The key to using Twitter productively, of course, is avoiding idle banter and following only those offering concrete, actionable advice. To that end, Grasshopper scoured Twitter for fourteen accounts that any startup founder would be well-served to follow.
Startup Digest
Startup Digest is an awesome service for getting plugged in with your local startup community. They also have a great Twitter list setup for you to follow to filter out some of the noise in your Twitter stream once in awhile and focus on valuable insights from leading tech blogs and entrepreneurs.
Stay Up to Date on March Madness with Grasshopper
As the tournament kicks off today, productivity all over the U.S decreases dramatically. For those of us in the office, we can check the scores online and for some brave souls, watch the games at CBS.com with the “Boss Button“.
But what about those who are in meetings or on sales calls and can’t check the score? What if your favorite team is on?
With Grasshopper, this tragedy can be averted.
While you may not be able to break out your phone to check the score, you can take an important call right?
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Using your Grasshopper 800 or local number, set up a March Madness extension.
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Tell your friends who are not working to call this extension to provide updates (lets just stick with half-time, 12 minutes and final).
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When the call is forwarded to your cell phone, you will see the extension and immediately know it’s a score update.
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Politely excuse yourself, stating you have to take this call, and immediately get the latest news.
Colleagues and associates will be none the wiser and you won’t have to worry about missing any news about your team.
*We don’t actually recommend doing this but hey, do what you have to do.
Save $$$ with a Virtual Office
A virtual office can be a great asset for any small business. It can be even more valuable for an entrepreneur just getting a company up and running. With the economy still struggling and everyone working hard to stay profitable, cost-cutting measures are vital.
A virtual office can help you save money in three main areas:
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Office Space
Whether you are working from home, a coffee shop or a co-working space, you can save a lot of money by not leasing out a big office. There are no costs for rent, furniture, office equipment or utilities.
Even more importantly, if you find yourself traveling a lot, working from home or just not spending much time in the office, you are not locked into a lease.
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Travel Expenses
With the average cost of commuting ranging from $110-$648 a month, traveling to work can be expensive. You have gas, maintenance and for some, tolls.
3 Ways to Not Suck at Chat Support
I don’t think online chat is the best way to communicate. In fact, it’s probably the worst. So it may surprise you to hear that we’ve been considering adding chat support to our lineup of support options at Grasshopper.
Why do I think chat sucks?
For one thing, you never really know if the other person is still there, if they’re AFK (that’s chatspeak for away from keyboard) or if they’ve fallen off the face of the planet (that’d be FOTFOTP).
Still, I’m convinced that there are great uses for it. For example, asking quick pre-sales questions when you’ve got laryngitis. That’s why I go out of my way to try other company’s chat support. I’m looking for the company that’s finally found a way to make it work.
I’m told that chat is great because it’s instantaneous and convenient. Well, if that’s true, why do I always feel like I’m waiting for the service rep on the other end to finish their 15 other chats before they finally get back to me? Read more »
