A while back We had a customer call and stated that they had 15 phones , and a paging system and yet every day or so different problems , some devices worked , static on the phones etc. , So We quickly realised that the old system was on its way out , although we COULD repair it , economically it was just not worth it by today's standards . By the time we got done putting together an RFP and a cost to repair , it came out to resolving the current issues at around 30 % of the cost of a new system , although it was less than we had expected ! The Customer did NOT want to get into a huge new phone system bill either as He mentioned He would keep what He had due to the cost and expenses etc. So instead of quoting a system right away , We struck up conversations and We talked about the cons of what was happening presently and the pros of what a new system would do to alleviate those issues ! Feeling his pain, we actually explained to him that We have seen a LOT of small businesses in the same situation and what they went thru , and how upgrading would give him multiple technical solutions from hosted services to non hosted services , Own , Lease , Rent and a few creative discounts on options to buy etc. so that He could choose something akin to his budget ! We discussed how each system would benefit his business plan and goals by making it easier for tracking calls in bound or outbound , utilizing voicemail to emails , Extension Client apps on their phones to take their own phones with them all the time , and the list goes on ! He shelled out a LOT of money for Christmas inventory and was a bit cash strapped until He sold his product . Like most small businesses today , They do NOT have the resources of larger Companies to outright purchase capital expenses as Network Components and Computers are usually enough to do the job considering their cost and effectiveness along with the cost of Point Of Sales systems necessary as well ! So We put together a proposal that installed 14 new IP Phones , along with one analog phone , Tuned that old paging system using his old amplifier and old speakers too ( I think we blew the budget fixing the squeaks and squeals of bad wiring and attempting to balance the whole system outright ) , Utilized the existing telco services , and gave him numerous payment options from cash savings to a loan to leasing options and also to rent ! It was a hard choice because He did not wish to spend money on something that He would not gain ownership or serious value on ( Money back on investment right away ) ! After much investigation and a LOT of calls going back and forth , We were able to give him a deal ! We installed the equipment , gave him paging , music on hold , voicemail to email , Iphone apps for his telephones 
 , access an office telephone from home so they could work anywhere , cleaned up his Data network ( Voice Traffic always finds issues on data networks LOL - As well as setting up new firewall rules and reprogrammed the Router / addressed System Security issues ) installed a new switch and a new router too ! The price made it so acceptable that He decided to accept one of our options of paying half cash and low monthly payments from us to own the rest ! We took it as a win because He has been a faithful Customer for a few years and this allowed him to make 6 each affordable no interest monthly affordable payments versus coming up with a LOT of cash up front . Some businesses even tho they have the resources cannot make large cash purchases or choose to lease for a few years or longer ! Small businesses are the key to our successes due to working with each other !! His shoppers can now get someone quickly to assist a customer on the floor where before it was a hit or miss that paging would work . An answer to a question took over 20 minutes some time and we now have this at less than 5 minutes ! Calls to certain key Employee telephones would now be able to forward voicemails with customers calling in a Sales Order making it a quick decision to Transfer Ownership of the caller and order to a key Employee for completion , Listen to the Voicemail and then build an order , After they built the order , A call to the customer for verification and ship ! And all in less than 2 weeks for Us to get in contact , numerous conversations , put a deal together and install ! The list goes on in terms of what they now use as features etc. I get calls asking me if it is worthwhile on administering features sets like conferencing and forwarding capabilities as they LOVE setting up conference calls with their suppliers and business people and utilize the feature quite a bit ! Not everyone loves getting calls after 5 but they have external call forwarding working on some phones , they love voicemail to email as they get their voicemails at home or on days off saving tons of time having to call in etc. I think we have changed the Auto Attendant greeting and menus about 10 times as well for them ! They can now do that themselves too ! A great win for Us and more importantly the Customer ! A lot of small business owners are far from getting rich as they are very frugal but they have to watch every penny in order to make sure they are not spending too much on technology or other certain expenses necessary for them to accomplish their goals in today's day and age ! Wish I had more customers like this as they were fantastic to work with and a pleasure doing business with as well !! Sadly we only see them when they need something but we try to reach out every so often and have great conversations with them ! Rich O'Connor rpoctelecom 617 480-7894
