Phone Systems Brisbane - Here how you can increase productivity with unified communications

Here’s How
You Can

Increase
Productivity
With Unified
Communications
“Learn The Unfair Advantage”

By Greg Eicke

© Greg Eicke 2012. All Rights reserved | www.phonesystemsbrisbane.net.au | 1300 851 411 | page 1

LEGAL NOTICE

The Publisher has strived to be as accurate and complete as possible in the creation
of this report, notwithstanding the fact that he does not warrant or represent at any
time that the contents within are accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the
Industry.

While all attempts have been made to verify information provided in this publication,
the Publisher assumes no responsibility for errors, omissions, or contrary
interpretation of the subject matter herein. Any perceived slights of specific persons,
peoples, or organisations are unintentional.

In practical advice books, like anything else in life, there are no guarantees of
savings made. Readers are cautioned to reply on their own judgment about their
individual circumstances to act accordingly.

This book is not intended for use as a source of legal, business, accounting or
financial advice. All readers are advised to seek services of competent professionals
in legal, business, accounting and finance fields.


Contents

Introducing Greg Eicke .................................................................................................... 4

Part 1............................................................................................................................... 5

Unified Communications .............................................................................................. 5

VoIP ............................................................................................................................. 5

Mobility and Smart Phones .......................................................................................... 6

Part 2............................................................................................................................... 7

Readymade solutions .................................................................................................. 7

Add value and re-harvest a vintage investment ........................................................... 7

The unfair advantage – Maximum productivity no matter where workers are. ............. 8

Part 3............................................................................................................................... 9

Briefly, what is Web Conferencing? ............................................................................. 9

In-House vs. Hosted Web Conferencing...................................................................... 9

Once off Cost means a fast ROI. ............................................................................... 10

Security ...................................................................................................................... 10

Universal Attendance?............................................................................................... 10

Have you ever seen a grown man cry? ..................................................................... 10

Part 4............................................................................................................................. 12

High Volume Incoming Customer Calls ..................................................................... 12

The cost of Poor Service ........................................................................................... 12

The Wallboard – Just plain good business practice for high call volume companies . 13

Part 5............................................................................................................................. 14


Introduc
cing Gre Eicke
eg
My nam is Greg Eicke and I’ve been working at the leading edge o voice
me g d n a of
commu unications for the pas 29 years In that tim I’ve fou that mo compa
st s. me und ost anies
are inte
erested in five things when it co
omes to their phone technology Firstly, th
t y. he
most commonly a asked question is “Do I really need a VoIP phone sy
o n P ystem?” closely
followe by, “How to reduce the phon bill?” We I bring great news for the bu
ed w e ne ell g s usiness
owner who is looking for im mpressive pproductivity increases and equa enjoyable
y s ally
cost sa
avings.

Anothe key frust
er tration for businesses is the she comple
b s eer exity of ma phone and
any
data soolutions. Th good ne is that communications complexity e nds with Greg
he ews t G
Eicke! As do all o its painfu implicatio
of ul ons. Almos three de
st ecades in th industr has
his ry
enable me to de
ed evelop wha I call ‘briilliantly sim
at mple’ phone solutions These so
e s. olutions
will ma commu
ake unications and collab
boration second natur for your workforce And
re r e.
of cour they sa you big dollars in ongoing phone cost
rse ave g n p ts… anothe reason why
er w
they ar brilliant!
re

Now on the ’Ho You Ca Increase Productiv With Unified Com
nto ow an e vity mmunicatio ons’…’ I
put this documen together to help pe
s nt eople better understand the eno
ormous potential
of Unifi Communications so you ca make a quick infor
ied an rmed decission on whether
to purc
chase a tra
aditional Digital Key T
Telephone system or explore fuurther the options
o
IP Teleephony and Unified Communica
d C ations wou bring to their busin
uld o ness.

I’ve been able to piece all of this toge
o ether becau for the better par of my career
use rt
I’ve ins
stalled, maintained an sold Te
nd elephone Systems. This has als allowed me to
S so
provide sound ad
e dvice from ‘Feet on th Street and Hands on Techniical Experi
he a ience’
so that my clients get the best solutio n and valu for mone
t s ue ey.

Here’s what a few people have said a
w h about the way I have helped the to easily
w em
solve c
common co ommunicat tion proble
ems in their businesses…
r

“A a large m
As medical cli
inic, we are used to s
e spending a lot on
te
elephone a
accounts, however we are savin between 50 to
h e ng n
60 percent o our mon
0 off nthly bills… It is good to know that the
… d t
sy
ystem shou pay for itself within two-and
uld r d-a-half yea
ars”.

Cathy Sawy yers, Prac
ctice Mana
ager.
Wellers Hill Medical Centre.
W l

… Gre went on to ensure that the op
eg ptions that he
t
provide were de
ed esigned to actively ennhance ou ur
busine without excessive stretchiing our bud
ess t ely dget.
Greg aalso freely advised without favo
w our, on solu
utions
which were outsi of his commercia realm.
ide c al
Tim Is
ssacs, Gen neral Manaager. FITE EC

© Greg Eicke 2012. All R
e Rights reserve | www.p honesystemsbrisbane.ne
ed et.au | 1300 851 411 | page 4
0

Part 1
This is the first in a five part series on Unified Communications. In this first article I’m going
to cover important issues such as the financial advantages of remote working and the depth
of influence Tablets and Smart Phones have on UC.

The world over, Unified Communications (UC) is linked to the upswing in productivity. The
trend has not gone unnoticed by CEO’s and senior management. In essence, UC is the
streamlining of all types of communications in order to escalate the efficiency of information-
sharing.

Unified Communications is a business and technology trend that has been on the upsurge
for a few years now. Any business craving productivity improvements ought to weigh up
acquiring more knowledge about the tools that are available to unify communications.

What is Unified Communications? Unified communications bridges the gap between IP
Telephony and other computer related communication technologies.

Unified Communications is not a single product, but a set of products that provides a
consistent unified user interface and user experience across multiple devices and media
types.

Unified Communications
As the name implies, UC connects all forms of communications so that you can easily
integrate them. An example would be voice calls and email together so that you may receive
a message in one form (voice mail) but answer in another form (email) or perhaps
collaborating on a web conference using instant message, video and voice all from your PC
or Mac.

Now there is variety of different paraphernalia and software applications which are available
to create unified communications. Here are some examples:

VoIP
The VoIP service was one of the first tools to begin unifying communications. This is a
phone service channeled through data networks and the Internet. It allows for effortless
integration of online information with voice interaction.

An excellent example of this would be where a VoIP user is on a call with a client and with
one mouse click converts the conversation into a collaborative web conference with video
and voice, a second click to easily include additional members.


Mobility and Smart Phones
It takes considerably more than a laptop and mobile phone to keep remote workers
connected. Yes they are two important devices, however when operating as individual silos,
remote staff are no more effective.

Nowadays, smart mobile phones are capable of holding a strong position in the unified
communications mix. The smart phone has revoultionised our world. Here are some ideas
for you to consider.

Empower smart phone and tablet users with VoIP phone system applications so users can
be productive no matter where they are.

‘Real time presence’ is often referred to as a gimmick, however consider the following
scenario. Before you call, instantly know if a person is busy or unavailable no matter where
you are. Better still here’s a great example of eliminating telephone tag, imagine instantly
knowing when a person becomes available in your office, when you are out of the office.
That’s powerful!

Single number contact features for key employees like “Find Me”, “Follow Me” and “Mobile
Twinning”. This is where your mobile phone rings when your office phone rings or perhaps
converting your smart phone into your very own unified communications mobile office.

So far we’ve covered how unified communications positively impacts on our most fertile
resource, time. Previously UC was more likely used by businesses at bigger end of town,
now a small nimble micro business with the right tools has the ticket to compete on equal
footing with their larger compatriots.

In part two of this series I’m going to examine a readymade UC solution, how to re-harvest
existing technology investments and the ultimate unfair advantage.


Part 2
In part one I examined mobility as just one component of UC and how the business
community profited, showcasing that Unified Communications is a vital tool in any modern
business no matter the size. In part two I’ll be discussing the Zultys phone system and how
UC can effectively re-harvest existing technology assets in your business.

Readymade solutions
We’ve just skated across the surface with these few examples. The Zultys VoIP phone
system is a robust and comprehensive Unified Communications Solution in one neat and
tidy box. You’ll enjoy the traditional time honoured telephone features in an impressive rich
collaborative landscape. Don’t get lost in a mind-boggling feature set, simply focus on where
you’d like improvements in your business. Note down some key points to discuss with a
telco expert so you can see where the right phone system will take your business.

Here are just some of the things available to you with Unified Communications.

• Instant Messaging
• Real time presence information
• Video Conferencing and Collaboration
• Complex call control
• Speech recognition
• Unified messaging
• Voice mail
• Email Integration
• Desktop Fax Integration
• Mobility
• Remote Workers
• Multi-Site organisations
• 3rd Party Software Integration

Add value and re-harvest a vintage investment
Unified communications positions business owners to increase the efficiency of their
business processes. Integration can yield a 2nd harvest on previously spent business
investments. Information that can be received in various forms can now be responded to
with more immediacy than information passed through only one form.

Several communication methods with more than one person, communications while traveling
or working remotely. Additionally, the easy archiving and searching of all types of messages
are just some of the ways that efficiency and productivity improvements can be realised with
unified communications.


A perfect example is adding unified communications software to computers and
smartphones in your business. Unlike most telecom sales folks today, a trusted advisor
willingly offers you ways to improve your business processes. Phone Systems Brisbane has
an envious track record of providing outstanding value with Zultys VoIP phone systems.
Their brilliant business building ideas will astound you.

The unfair advantage – Maximum productivity no matter where workers are.
When workers are able to use their time efficiently, they are able to maximise their
productivity. This enhances the business owners’ bottom line. Being able to communicate
easily in numerous forms is the goal. Nowadays the demands on faster communications
serve to strengthen the compelling argument for unified communications. Delays in our
instant world are generally not tolerated by consumers and business alike.

Just as micro businesses (5 to 15 staff) using the Zultys Unified Communications phone
system enjoy significant growth factors in customer satisfaction and staff morale. Which are
two vital elements for continual business growth and a stronger bottom line?

In part 3 we’ll be exhibiting web conferencing and collaboration. This is where you’ll see the
tremendous financial advantages of a truly unified and collaborative phone system.


Part 3
We’ve appraised the financial advantages of mobility and demonstrated practical productivity
improvements. Point out to you that never before could one technology business investment
yield so many harvests. In part 3 I’ll examine the desirable benefits of amalgamating the
award winning Zultys VoIP phone system with their own in house Web Conferencing and
collaboration module.

Briefly, what is Web Conferencing?
In essence, web based conferencing is a software application with collaborative facilities. But
more than that, web based conferencing is a new communications medium unlike any other.

Web based conferencing technology may share qualities with other means of
communication, such as teleconferencing and live video presentations. No silo’s here, we
have a plethora of tools all blended into one easy to use application. Never has the power of
the Internet been more emphasised than it has now by web based conferencing technology.
The Internet allows people to prevail over the constraints of geography and connect with
other people from the other side of the globe.

In-House vs. Hosted Web Conferencing
Hosted web conferencing has always been the trend ever since the technology emerged in
the market. All in all, in a hosted web conferencing system, you approach your conferencing
service over the Internet through a server hosted by your vendor.

Hosted web conferencing offers two pricing models – pay per use and pay per seat. In a pay
per use basis, you’ll be billed for the amount of minutes used. Pay per seat on the other
hand refers to a software user-license basis.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each model and they tend to make the
selection task quite confusing. Add to that a whole gamut of other considerations which you’ll
need to take into account and you have a nightmare in front of you. Price is not the only
thing you need to pay attention to. You’ll also need to consider the features offered, usability
and the reputation of the vendor.

But besides hosted servers, there is also a completely different side to web conferencing –
one that doesn’t use an external server to conduct your online meetings. Such system is
called in-house web conferencing.

The main difference between in-house web conferencing and hosted systems is that with in-
house systems, you own it and you control it. Advancements in Unified Communications in
the last 18 months have strengthened the financial reasons to migrate to in house units.
Comparatively in house units enjoy fixed monthly costs opposed to its online contenders like


WebEx, LogMeIn and GotoMeeting. The most prevalent reason business owners consider
the in-house option is cost and tight integration into Unified Communications platforms.

Once off Cost means a fast ROI.
MX Meeting is the Zultys Unified Communications in-house web conferencing solution.
Purchase price depends on the number of users and conference rooms. The MX Meeting
provides capacity for up to 100 users sharing 20 individual conference rooms. You can also
brand your own conference rooms and integrate it with your web sites by placing a “host
Meeting” and “Join Meeting” buttons on any web page. Furthermore these buttons can be
added to Windows based software or CRM applications.

Security
Here are several reasons why MX Meeting adds so much hidden value to Zultys Unified
Communications. No firewall, antivirus products, locked down computers or unsupported
platforms will keep your key meeting participants from joining.

Universal Attendance?
Windows, Mac, Linux, Unix, Windows Mobile– Not all web conferencing is built equal

The amazing universal attendance technology enables anyone with a modern browser on
any platform to join an MX Meeting. Windows, Mac and Linux are rarely all supported by MX
meeting challengers.

Have you ever seen a grown man cry?
Well I nearly did the other day! Let me explain. I was speaking with a client recently who was
complaining about having to constantly travel between Brisbane and Sydney for business
meetings. Sometimes these meetings would last for only half an hour but he would waste a
whole day traveling back and forth because the meetings involved several people all
traveling from different locations.

I then casually suggested that he might consider web conferencing instead. He gave me the
usual laundry list of objections including:

- too difficult to use;
- unreliable;
- too expensive;


- poor interaction with participants.

That’s when I introduced him to web conferencing.

After a quick demo he was speechless, but after using it for his next meeting he couldn’t say
enough about it. He was convinced that my off-the-cuff suggestion had:

- Saved him over $11,000 a year in travel costs;
- Massively reduced his carbon footprint, helping the environment;
- Saved him a minimum of 200 hours a year of productive work time.


Part 4
We’d be delighted if you’ve raised an eyebrow somewhere in the first 3 parts. We’ve
reviewed and examined some excellent strategies where you can win the productivity
challenge. Here’s where we’ll show you the potent leverage call centre features offers single
and multi-site enterprises alike. Terminology aside, it supercharges contact centre
productivity.

High Volume Incoming Customer Calls
Let’s look at a very common yet frustrating situation experienced by almost every business.
That is ‘Meeting the demands of incoming customer calls while retaining respectable
customer satisfaction levels’. This is impossible to pick, and usually ends up with either poor
customer service or excessive staffing for actual call demands. Sound familiar?

I’ll explain….

Whether you’re a busy single site business or a multisite enterprise the staff resources in
your business will never running a peak capacity all of the time. Let’s say you’re
experiencing a flood of customer calls outstripping the allocated staffing. There may be
several staff available to receive additional calls however most are idle or occupied with non-
critical duties. Typically this results in delays and lower customer satisfaction.

Bolt on the supercharger we mentioned earlier, instantly predefined idle or administration
staff are presented with incoming call traffic no matter where they are. This is where you see
an enormous reward from a smart well guided effort. Let’s face it, how frustrating is it when
you are rolling around in a call queue waiting to be answered?

It’s worth noting here, the over flow calls can be directed to any worker no matter where they
are located. This includes local remote workers or perhaps interstate or overseas.

The cost of Poor Service
Customers vote with their feet, bad service invariably means a lost sale and potentially the
loss of a lifelong customer. Consider the potential value of this loss opposed to the elegant
and simple fix.


The Wallboard – Just plain good business practice for high call volume
companies
The wallboard simply displays real time information about the operation and status of contact
centre to the workers on a computer screen. In some cases multiple large televisions
broadcast these vital statistics. This is just like the screens you see in airports, large volumes
of real time data constantly changing. Let’s not get bogged down in analysis paralysis here,
focus on some key fundamental data that provides you with the tools to take your customer
service levels to dizzy heights. Having world class customer service is not expensive and nor
is it hard.

Let me explain…

Here’s an example in practice. A small enterprise company has their head office in Brisbane
Queensland with two additional smaller offices in Melbourne and Perth. Brisbane has three
sales staff manning the phones whereas Melbourne and Perth have two.

Sales calls into main office in Brisbane are in the order of 580 – 640 per day, with the
secondary offices taking 370 – 430 per day. Customers too often experienced delays or
simply abandoned the exercise. The frustrated general manager was prepared to hire one
more sales person to expand the Brisbane office along with the addition of a third person in
the busy Melbourne office. Disappointed with the additional cost of two more workers but
believed there was no other option that was until she met Greg Eicke from Phone Systems
Brisbane.

After a short discussion, Greg explained to the general manager that spending more money
on more workers was not the answer, in fact there was only a tiny investment required to see
all customer sales calls answered quickly. Surprised, the general manager was astonished
to realise it didn’t matter which office was called. An annual investment of around $120 000
was reduced to a tiny once off injection of $8 000. That’s a tiny 6% of the total anticipated
annual expense the company was willing to pay. Needless to say the business owners were
delighted to witness a huge increase in customer service coupled with massive savings.

Now customer calls are automatically directed to available staff members in all three offices.
98% of customer sales calls are now answered within 30 seconds which is a distant memory
from the previous delays and desertions.

A handy thing I hear you say. We think so too, just imagine appreciating exactly how many
of your customers are waiting and indeed how long they’ve waited. Furthermore understand
which of your staff are currently serving customers and the availability of others to assist, all
in a quick glance? Imagine the heights you can take customer service levels to with that sort
of information at your fingertips?


Part 5
In part 4 we touched on the productivity enhancements you can easily yield with the right
unified communications system. In the next section we’ll show you how to catapult your
sales using missed opportunities. Second place in sales means no sale and no profit. What if
we showed you how you can win and profit from second place?

Let’s take sales one step further. Imagine for a minute having a second attempt at winning
the business from a discarded customer phone call? I hear you say, ‘how can I do that when
I’ve missed the call’? You see it’s quite easy when you are armed with Unified
Communications.

In this section we’ll explore the incredible power of using basic call records so you can have
another opportunity at success. In the world of sales, it’s a rare occasion where you’ll have
this opening, let me explain how easily you can do this…

You are flat out busy running your business, making sure you have adequate staff to cope
with demands whilst balancing the financial aspects to be sure that you remain viable.
You’ve spent a lot of money on a campaign to win new business and the phones are ringing
off the hook. However you’ve simply underestimated the response and you don’t have the
staff to cope with the incoming call volume. Customers are now abandoning your offer
because they can’t get through to sales staff or give up after a long wait. You are making
good sales, but you become deeply concerned about the desertion rate statistics illustrated
on your Unified Communications System. You’ve realised the true potential your offer has. A
missed sale is a lost opportunity…. Well we believe that’s not true.

Let me explain why…

Ok you’ve had a great response from the campaign and things are going really well. You
quickly run a simple report from your unified communications system on the abandoned
calls. To your surprise you discover not only do you have their caller ID, but also the time
they called as well as how long they waited. How easy is it for your sales team to make an
apologetic call to the potential customer, perhaps offering a bonus because of their not so
good experience?

Just how many additional sales do you suppose a good customer service person would
achieve on that basis?

In this series we’ve covered productivity improvements, staff efficiency, improvements in
business processes, intelligent call distribution and snatching sales from lost opportunities.
Never before have we witnessed such a diverse and comprehensive arsenal of business
building tools all in one neat package. We believe the true advantages of UC have barely
been realised, its adopters have incredibly powerful tools on hand to propel their business to
the dizzy heights of success.

Is your telecom supplier merely presenting you with a fancy phone system with all the new
buzz words and acronyms to make him appear knowledgeable? We’ve found that most UC
vendors stretch the truth when it comes to UC. We put this series together so you can


appreciate the true potential of working with the right UC vendor. Phone Systems Brisbane
will expose practical ideas and concepts that will massively improve your business and its
bottom line. Together we’ll explore individual parts of your business where you can realise
substantial financial and productivity advances. These advantages barely scratch the
surface of the unimaginable capability UC extends to business owners today.

In conclusion, Unified Communications allows the innovative business to be well organised,
with efficient communication and most importantly be easily contactable. UC positions
organisations with tools to achieve a market leading position in their chosen niche.

“Four things stood out to me the most…

… Greg listened
… he provided tremendous savings
… he delivered on time and on budget
… and, he gave us great backup and support

David Young, CEO.
Australian Recruiting Group.

If you are buying a complex solution like we were, you
need to understand what you’re getting. Greg was the one
who made sure we understood which gave us the
confidence to move ahead.

Marcie Richards, CEO.
Lincoln Brokerage Services.


Phone Systems Brisbane - Here how you can increase productivity with unified communications

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (10)

Similar to Phone Systems Brisbane - Here how you can increase productivity with unified communications

Similar to Phone Systems Brisbane - Here how you can increase productivity with unified communications (20)

More from Greg Eicke

More from Greg Eicke (10)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Phone Systems Brisbane - Here how you can increase productivity with unified communications