If I get an email to my iPhone and I am too busy (ie. don’t have enough hands) to type a response, I will simply click (touch) on the phone number in the signature and the handset dials the sender for me. Love it! I can deal with the enquiry or issue on the fly.

However recently I have noticed that businesses are getting fancy with their signatures and doing a beautiful graphic at the foot of each email. These look great but guess what? The footsoldiers that are roaming around the country side conducting their business from their smart phone are denied an easy way to call these people back.

It’s hard to ascertain whether or not this is a bad thing for the company producing the graphic or not, but I would think that any strategy you employ that reduces the ease with which someone can call you is not the best move.

Anyway, I’m only one person. Would be interested in some other opinions…feel free to coment.

Till next time

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Many small businesses have a landline and then the obligatory fax line to the side. They do this to ensure that they never miss a fax by showing an engaged tone and this costs them $30 – odd per month in line rental. With the growth in email dependancy, the fax line is getting quieter and all it really is to many is just a spare line.

Fax to email is a great solution to this. For a much smaller monthly fee (depending on volume), you can have your faxes received into your email inbox. Benefits include:

• Fax line is never engaged
• Fax can be received when away
• Fax can be received at different locations (eg. small home based partnerships or staff working from home)
• No need for a dedicated phone line

Fax to email can be setup reasonably easily. You can retain your fax number and Telcotalk can take care of all the details. For more information, give us a call.

Til next time

Related posts:

1. The Small Office Fax Setup

All our ADSL plans can be seen here

The nuts and bolts of the product and some differentiators  include:

• Super fast download and upload speeds
• Business grade service with 99.3% guaranteed up time
• Static IP address included free with all  ADSL 2+ plans with Telcotalk
• Shaped and unshaped plans available

What’s the difference between ADSL1 and ADSL2+

One word – SPEED!

Without getting too technical, ADSL1 is a technology that allows faster data transmission over copper telephone lines by making use of frequecies not used in voice telephone calls. ADSL2+ has the potential to double this frequency, therefore making it possible to achieve theoretical maximum speeds of up to 24 Mbps as opposed to 12 Mbps on ADSL2 and 1.5 Mbps on ADSL1

These advertised speeds are subject to speed drops the further you are away from the exchange, that is why they are called ‘theoretical maximums’.

This is a great product and with availability in 1760 exchanges across Australia, Telcotalk can get you set up on your ADSL2+ plan in no time!

Till next time.

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Every organisation has a network. Telcotalk wants to engage this network and in return provide funds back to the organisation on a monthly basis.

What Type of Organisation?

Any group that provides for the support or development of a group of children is eligible for this initiative. Examples can include:

• Schools – P&F groups
• Kids Sporting Groups
• Scouts/Girl Guide Groups
• Dance Schools
• Church Groups
• Any other children’s activity organisation

How does it work?

Any member of the organisation that is a customer of Telcotalk locks in a donation of 5% of whatever they spend on their phone services each month with Telcotalk. Telcotalk guarantees that their rates will be the same or cheaper than what they are currently paying so the individual will not be disadvantaged at all. However they will be contributing financially to the organisation without having to think about it.

For more information visit Telcotalk for Kids

We are really excited by this. If you would like to speak with someone from Telcotalk about this program, please call 1300 720 591 or email enquiries@telcotalk.com.au

Till next time

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Flip Camera’s are small video cameras that fit in your pocket, similar in size to a mobile phone, but as powerful as a full on camcorder. In fact thats what they are. The video quality is great – HD is available in their range, and they can store up to an hours footage (2GB) on their inbuilt flash drive.

When it’s time to access the video on your computer, at the push of a button a USB plug flips out from the side of the camera and it can plug straight in to your PC or mac. Here’s the best part though. The editing software is in the camera. This means that it doesn’t matter what computer you are on, you have access to an editing suite that you are familiar with and can get your video off the camera and edited as you like, ready for your presentation, for a client or even to directly send to Youtube.

We love them, and can’t rave enough. So much so we’ve decided to give a Flip Mino away to every new customer or every existing customer that wants to agree to a 24 month term on their land line. Full details of the offer and full flip camera specs can be seen here.

If you simply want to buy one outright you can get them from the crew at www.itmadesimple.com

Any questions, please call 1300 720 591 or email flip@telcotalk.com.au

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A couple of simple things to keep in mind:

1. Always request the new rates in writing, preferably by email so you have a direct contact with the sales person. Another good idea is to ask the salesperson for their direct line so you can go through your first bill with them. Their response will show you whether they are genuine or not.

2. Don’t be led on by complicated credits. They rarely work and often have large line rentals.

3. All line rentals and plan charges are charged ‘in advance’. This means, depending on what time of the month you start the plan you will most probably see a prorate charge on the first bill. ie. if your line rental is $34.50 and you came on in the middle of the month then your next bill will have a ‘in advance’ charge of $34.50 and a prorate charge of $17.25 (34.50 / 2) for the current month’s usage.

Telcotalk has a free ‘no obligation’ annalysis service where we can advise you and suggest any changes that can benefit your usage. Of course we will always suggest our services but you will not be pressured into using them. Simply fax a copy of a recent bill to 1300 720 561 and we will pull it apart and come up with a better strategy for you. If you are on a good deal already, we’ll confirm it for you and you can move on confidant that you aren’t caught in the fog of the many ’smoke and mirror’ offers that dominate the Australian telco market.

If you would like to discuss this offer, please call 1300 720 591, or email enquiries@telcotalk.com.au and we’ll call you!

Till next time

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Inbound 1300/1800 numbers show your customers how serious you are about your business – its your way of opening the door as they enter…virtually of course! Inbound numbers also provide your business with a vast amount of flexibility and an inbound routing package will ensure you never miss a call.

Inbound numbers are an ideal way of gaining that competitive edge when advertising in local or interstate markets. Imagine if you are looking for a plumber. You might go to the local yellow pages and look up plumbers where you will get a list of plumber’s advertisements. Some contact numbers will be landlines, some will be mobiles , and perhaps an inbound number will be there. As a consumer, who needs a plumber and knows nothing about the plumbers on offer, which number would you pick to call first? My guess would be the inbound number as the business looks bigger and the prospect knows that this call will likely be the cheapest one to make.

Inbound numbers operate as virtual services. Incoming calls are redirected to an existing business land line, fax line or mobile phone anywhere in Australia. The answer point can (but doesn’t have to) vary dependent upon location of originating caller, the time of day the call was made or upon rotation.

Inbound numbers are completely transferable. Your inbound number can last the life of your business, great for future expansion or relocation.

If you would like some more information on Inbound numbers and how they can benefit your business, call Telcotalk on 1300 720 591

Till later

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Depending on what plan you are on, a mobile plan rate can vary between 19c and 47c per 30 seconds and billed in 30 second blocks. Its very important when you are looking for a mobile plan to pay attention to this.

This means that if you are on a mid-range plan paying say 24c per 30 seconds, Every time you go over a 30 second block, another 24c is added to the charge. Example: If you make a 29 second call, you will be charged 24c plus the connection charge. If your call lasts a further 2 seconds and you hang up at 32 seconds, your charge will now be 48c plus your connection charge. That’s a very costly 2 seconds.

Look around, there are companies that bill per second. Telcotalk is one of these companies. If you are wondering what difference 30 second billing makes to the cost of an average mobile plan, we calculate that billing per second offers our customers a saving of between 7 – 15% on what they would have paid if they were paying in per 30 second blocks.

If you would like Telcotalk to analyse your usage and calculate how this would effect your spend, fax a copy of you recent phone bill to 1300 720 561 and we’ll break it down for you and let you know. This is an obligation free service. If you have any questions about this service you can call 1300 720 591

Till Later

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Business’ dependance on fax communication has been huge since the 80’s (hard to imagine doing business without it) and as time went by more and more people were adding a second line to the small office to eliminate the issue of having the fax line engaged. But this is at a cost – that of an extra line rental – around $30 – $35 per month.

But then came email! And the faxing world began to change. We now have fax to email.

Fax to email is a service where you can receive your fax direct to an email account. This means that there is never an engaged tone on your fax line. The sender dials a ‘virtual’ number and the faxed message goes through a providers fax server and is forwarded to a designated email address such as fax@yourdomain.com.au

Plans and pricing for this service vary across the board but start from less than $10 per month with a small charge per page so for a business with low fax usage (receiving) this is a considerable saving on the cost of a monthly line rental.

Benefits of this service include:

• obvious cost saving
• fax can be received at multiple locations
• fax can be forwarded on without compromising quality
• fax can be saved
• fax does not necessarily need to be printed -saving paper
• you can receive a fax when you are out of the office, even to your mobile device
• you can keep your existing fax number, it can easily be converted to a virtual number

You still need a line to send a fax with but this can be the voice line. You have removed the bother of people being able to send a fax while you are on the phone and it is easier to coordinate sending faxes from your end while the phone line is not in use. Some services have an online platform where you can send faxes much like an email so if it suits you, you can bin the fax machine.

If you would like more detailed information, call 1300 720 591 and we can help you out.

Till next time

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While preparing for a month long stint out of the office from next week I’m just reflecting on how easy it has becoming to undo the shackles that tie us to our desk. With the communication options available today the excuses for not getting out and about are becoming less justifiable.

Everything I need to take with me from the office now fits into a small computer bag (laptop and wireless stick) and my pocket (iPhone). The endless manila folders, etc are really not necessary to my being able to function. The iPhone alone has meant my compulsion to have the laptop setup has gone, I am in touch with the business, my customers and the world through this marvelous device.

Here’s a great example. A couple of weeks ago I was at a restaurant celebrating my daughter’s 5th birthday on a Friday evening. During a lull in the festivities I had a quick look at my email on my phone. Here I find a distressed email from a customer that had gone to South America without his service being configured for roaming and was trying to get a call out. In the good old days, this would not have been able to be sorted until the next day because the customer had emailed me directly. I was able to enable the customers service for roaming before the candles were blown out and nobody at the party even noticed that I was working.

I guess the downside to the mobile phone is that it is hard to get completely away for a break. I prefer to look at it a different way. The upside for me is that if you are set up correctly, the mobile phone and a well prepared communications suite of products will help you stay away longer!

Some great ideas I like to use include:

• the trusty iPhone/Blackberry
• fax to email
• VPN – links me to the office from laptop or PDA
• MobileMe (Apple Product) which can be used on PC’s
• autoresponders on email automatically communicates that I am out of the office and gives the customer another option. I can also see the email and follow up if necessary.

While not all these products are provided by Telcotalk, we can provide the advice to direct our customers to the right solution for them. Yell out if you need us.

Till next time

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