It took me a while to understand this, and it sounds rather odd coming from the "phoneman", but North Florida Communications doesn’t specialize in selling telephones. We specialize in selling communications solutions. See, I told you it sounded odd.

In today’s high-tech world of online shopping, you can easily find the cheapest price for most any product within seconds by using Google. Is this true with the products or services you sell? It certainly is with telephones. Quite frankly, you’ll often find a cheaper supplier of a particular phone than us. There are many suppliers on the internet that sell with single digit margins that we simply cannot touch. But what about support?

While we may charge a bit more for a phone, you’re getting more bang for your buck. What happens when the telephone you bought off the internet has a problem? Will your internet supplier come to your office to fix it? Will you be able to call them and speak to a knowledgeable tech? Will they be able to program your system? Will you have to send the bad unit it for repair and wait two or more weeks without a phone? None of this would be a worry if you bought a phone from North Florida Communications.

Am I making sense? If so, consider this...my job as the owner of this company is not to sell you a telephone, but to sell you a solution that will help you communicate better with your clients and to make sure that solution runs trouble-free. Anybody can sell you a telephone, but it takes someone with considerable experience to interface that telephone with a system that allows callers to be routed smoothly and professionally.

We want to look at the communication system as a whole, not as parts. We want to assist you in setting up a system that works for your employees and, most importantly, your clients! The question in the back of my mind is, how can we make this system work better?

Granted, we’re not the only company that can provide this service. We have several local competitors that are top-notch. What we do cannot be compared to someone who sells telephones at the lowest price.

As always, please contact me if I can be of assistance to you.

Larry Nazworth

Have you ever called someone only to be told that, "Mr. Busyman is not available, would you like his voice mail?" Of course you have. In fact, Jeffery Mayer, in his informative book Time Management for Dummies, tells us that almost 80 percent of all business calls are not completed on the first attempt. If the vast majority of business calls require leaving a message, doesn’t it behoove us to know the best way to leave a voice mail message? Even more importantly shouldn’t we know the best way for us, and our staffs, to take messages?

In today’s competitive business environment we cannot afford to offend any customers by failing to return calls. We must be able to communicate with our clients and our vendors in the most efficient manner possible. Here are a few tips to use with voice mail:

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When leaving a message, or recording a greeting, always take a deep breath. This will give your voice more volume and will help slow down your speed of conversation. It is very important that you speak slowly, with a clear, strong voice.

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When leaving a message, always say your name and phone number at the beginning and at the end of your message. You should also spell your last name and any other words that may have an unfamiliar spelling, such as cities, streets, or company names.

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Always smile while talking on the phone. Believe it or not it really comes through the telephone.

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Tell the callee when you will be available for a return call. This helps eliminate telephone-tag.

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Leave as much detail as possible. For example, "This is Joe Prospect at Wannabuy Company, (352)378-7730. I am calling in reference to your proposal #780. We would like to know how much it would cost to add two more telephones to this quote. I will be in until 5:00 P.M. today. Joe Prospect, P-r-o-s-p-e-c-t at Wannabuy Company, (352)378-7730." This message would allow the callee to have the pertinent information at hand when the call is returned, saving both parties time.

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If at all possible, when setting up a voice mail system, leave the caller an easy way to speak to a person. "At any time you may press ‘0' to speak to an operator." This will avoid customers being trapped in your system, otherwise known as Voice Mail Jail. If customers get trapped in Voice Mail Jail too often, they tend to escape by going to your competitor.

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Use announcement boxes on your system. Always let the caller be able to choose an announcement box that has routine information such as mailing address, fax number, business hours, etc. . . . This saves the caller and your company time.

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Change your message often. If you are going to be out of the office until Thursday of next week, put that on your message. Let the caller know when he or she can best reach you. If possible, tell the caller to talk to your assistant if the message is urgent.

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Always call into your voice mail system to see how it sounds. Is the voice good and strong? Is the voice speaking at a good speed? Are the menu options logical?

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Most importantly--return your calls. Check your mailbox regularly and return the calls promptly. After all, how many times will you leave a voice mail message to someone who fails to return your call?)

Larry Nazworth

Many companies occasionally have a need to do a multi-party conference call. Most modern telephone systems will easily accommodate a three party conference, and some systems will even handle five parties. But what happens when you need to talk with ten or twenty people at a time? You can buy some fancy (i.e., expensive) conferencing equipment, or you can utilize a third-party conference system.

North Florida Communications is now providing a conference solution for small to medium businesses. For less than $10 a month, we will provide you with your own conference telephone number. This number can be local or toll-free. You’ll then be able to set up a conference at any time and simply pay a few cents per minute, per caller.

Want to go a little further? We can provide you with a VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) conference phone that will allow you to connect your entire conference room to a phone call, while allowing everyone to hear and be heard.

Please contact me if you would like more information.

Larry Nazworth

What happens to your computer when the power goes out? Hopefully, you have a battery backup device known as an Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) that keeps your PC in operation for at least a few minutes. There are three basic types of UPSs and not all are adequate for mission critical communications devices.

Standby UPSs are also referred to as an off-line UPS. This type of unit powers the load directly from the AC source and will only go on-line when the incoming power goes below a preset threshold. After the power sags, or fails all together, a battery-powered inverter kicks in to provide clean power to the load. This causes a momentary interruption of power to the load referred to as "transfer time," which can cause problems with sensitive equipment.

Standby units do not provide conditioning to the incoming power and should only be used on non-mission critical equipment. We do not recommend standby units for our advanced telephone systems.

Line-Interactive UPSs are essentially standby UPSs with line conditioning added. The line conditioning allows the UPS to provide a voltage boost to the load without accessing the batteries. This allows continuous line conditioning, lengthens battery life, and helps to eliminate electronic "noise" that can cause minor application errors and loss of data.

This type of UPS is an improvement over the standby models and works well in most environments, but there are a few drawbacks. There is no frequency regulation. Battery reserve time and recharge time may not be adequate for critical loads. Some units may not be suitable for use with generators.

Online UPSs are double-conversion uninterruptible power supplies. These high-end units completely rectify the AC line to DC, and use this DC to charge the batteries and power a DC to AC convertor to power the load. Since power is constantly going through the inverter, there is no transfer time needed to switch to the battery in the event of a voltage sag or outage.

Under normal circumstances the Online UPS is always "online" providing isolation, filtering, regulation and frequency control. This is the top of the line UPS, which also means they cost more. However, they provide much better power and should be considered for mission critical communication equipment such as telephone systems and servers.

Remember that all UPS units require batteries for reserve power. These batteries should be tested annually and replaced when necessary. The best UPS is only as good as the batteries it runs off of.

North Florida Communications is an authorized Minuteman UPS reseller. If you need help sizing an UPS for your equipment, please go to this web page. If I can assist you in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Larry Nazworth

Telephone etiquette doesn't just lead to more pleasant telephone conversations, it can also lead to more business for companies that realize courtesy sells.

Many people form an opinion of a company during the first four to six seconds on the phone with a company representative. In fact, more than 82 percent of business people say the way a phone is answered influences their opinion of a company significantly. That impression could be based on something as simple as a receptionist answering the phone with, "Good morning, North Florida Communications. This is Leslie. How may I help you?

Some specific guidelines can be followed to sharpen telephone skills:

1) Answer the phone promptly. Seems pretty basic, but when you are juggling several pressing tasks it can be tempting to let the phone ring too many times before picking it up.

2) Put your best manner forward. How the phone is answered is even more important than how quickly it's answered. Generally, start with a pleasant opener, such as "Good morning" or Thank you for calling." These few words of greeting "warm" the call. Always use the company's name; this sets a professional tone and wastes less time for everyone if it's a wrong number. State your name, to give the call a personal touch. When appropriate, add a "How can I help you?" offer. There's no need to ask "May I help you?" That's a given. Asking how you can help reinforces the "ready-and-waiting-to-assist" image you want to convey.

3) Be prepared to get and give information. Always have easy access to information callers may want from you. Think about the questions your callers might ask. If the answers aren't in your head, make sure they are written down near the phone. Also keep a staff directory handy so the call can be transferred to another employee at a moment's notice.

4) Make the most of messages. Always keep message forms and pens next to every phone. Everyone should treat message-taking as an opportunity to provide customer service. If you say "May I take a message?" and get "No" for an answer, you have lost the call. Instead, try saying, "Let me have your name and number and I'll see that Ms. Jones gets your message." After taking the caller's number, go the extra mile and ask: 1) the best time to return the call; 2) how the person who'll be getting the message can help the caller; and, 3) whether there is anything you can do to help in the meanwhile.

5) Use "Hold" sparingly. No one likes being put on hold. It is an option that should be used sparingly and with courtesy. Always ask callers for permission to put them on hold and wait for a response. If you must ask someone to wait while you get information, be honest about the amount of time it will take and ask if they would rather get a call back. Consider a Message-On-Hold player for your telephone system to inform callers about your products and services.

6) Say "goodbye" gracefully. It's always best to let the caller bring the conversation to a close. But sometimes you get hooked up with a chatterbox. When this happens, try bringing the caller back to the original point of the conversation to make sure you haven't missed something important before you gently wrap up.

Larry Nazworth