What Phone Service Do Home Office Users Use?

by 31 replies
36
Hi,

I'm new to the forum and just starting out in offline working from home.

I need to get a business phone number so I have a number for customers to call.

Question:

What do you use? Why? And what does it cost?


I'm aware of magic jack, kall8, skype, and others but not sure how to go.

Thanks,

Craig
#offline marketing #home #office #phone #service #users
  • What country are you in?

    This is an international forum so more info would be appreciated.

    Neil
    • [1] reply
  • I use my1voice.com. Makes a small company look big and 30 days free never hurts either.
    • [1] reply
    • Cell phone for local clients. Recorded message for them to listen to if it is in a niche.

      Tim
      • [1] reply
  • Grasshopper is one of the best services.

    You can get $100 off by using Mac Month: Bundle 1 of 4: Supercharge OS X for $14 ($60 value)
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Banned
    [DELETED]
  • I use Vonage (since 2004) for the phone lines and Google Voice because I have multiple businesses and can get the forwarding Google voice numbers for free. That saves on getting a line for every phone number. Between the two, there are some powerful features and its as reliable as your Internet connection. If you only need one incoming phone number, you can just get a Google voice number and forward it to your cell.
  • Try to take a look at Ringcentral I worked for them few years back and they are getting better and better.

    Chris
  • I use PBNext for the phone tree and 1-800 number. I also use Google voice to get a different local number because I'm running 3 businesses in completely separate industries and I am using different phone numbers for them.
  • I have a magic jack and it's awesome. Your computer has to be on. But you can forward the phone to your cell. If your computer is off it will still go to your voice mail for magic jack which you can check from your cell. I love it and it's crazy cheap.
  • I would not recommend MagicJack. I have been having reception problems with them for months and their customer service sucks.
    • [1] reply
    • Reception problems are only due to internet connection. If your connection is slow, the magicjack will be scratchy. Otherwise, the sound quality is clearer than cell service I find.
  • i use Line2. its an iphone app 9.99 per month unlimited. has a voice box set up and it gives you a completely new number.

    this is perfect for me cause i'm not always at a desk or computer. and i hate carrying loads of stuff. so i have my iphone. and my iphone has two numbers. one with at&t(personal) and one for the line2 app(business). you should look into it there is a free trial if you want to check try it out.
  • If you're looking for an inbound number, Kall8 is good, very professional, and cheap. Lots of features, and you can add and subtract numbers as you need. (For example, maybe you want to set up a demo marketing campaign for a client, to track forwarded call results without giving the client's main phone number, and have proof that your ad worked.)

    I'm not keen on Skype inbound.

    Depending on your budget, in the US there are more and more offers now from mobile carriers for extremely cheap monthly "unlimited minutes" plans. I'm planning to have a friendly little chat with my current contract carrier in a couple months about that very topic... :-)
    • [1] reply
    • You mentioned you wanted to have control over your calls. I use magic Jack in my business. Actually, I don't even use the phone, just the voice mail. When a customer calls, they get my voice mail. It then sends a voice mail to my email and I retrieve it on my iphone and listen to the email attachment and then either call them on my unlimited iphone or call them on Skype if I need my number cloaked. I know you already decided on Skype, but a incoming voice mail coming to your smart phone would be a great ad on. Al
  • I just signed up with VOIPo last night. They were started by the guys from HostGator. If you use promo code GATORVIP you can get one year for $8.25 a month. The year must be prepaid in advance. Taxes were $36. So, for a grand total of $135, I am getting a year of unlimited calling US and Canada, the voip adapter box, and 2 lines, one for phone and one dedicated to fax. I thought it was a pretty good deal. Regular price is $15 a month.
    • [1] reply
    • There are lots of office phone systems produced by internationally renowned brands. If anyone has started a business recently, it would be suggested to install phone systems; the manufactures are providing phone systems that are sufficient for small firms. Having a phone system is worthy decision.
  • I use google voice - free and gives me lots of options. Granted, you have to have a home line or mobile phone to really use it, but who doesn't have a cell phone these days?
  • I use Skype

    Love it

    Especially the Skype Video and my clients and prospects love the video aspect of it. They can see and hear at the same time, and I can share my screen as well.
  • I tried Magicjack, Google Voice and now have been using Ringcentral for over 2 years. there are plenty of tricks to make you look like a big company. In addition, plenty of ways to save money on international calls as well. We just made a several calls to Singapore for example for 5 cents per minute. But, the key is to use the service and its extension capabilities to create say: sales, customer support, shipping. Nobody needs to know that you're a one man/woman shop
  • Skype for me.. the only drawback is if the Net is down, so is your phone service.
    • [1] reply
    • Check out the link on my sigfile. Its a voip phone service that is $149 for 2 years of service. Ends up being $6.21/m and comes with free linksys phone adapter. Hope that helps.
  • I will never use skype to depend on getting calls... same with magic jack, same with ANY VOIP.

    I have an internet bundle phone, cable, internet. The phone is through the cable line, not through the modem, much higher quality calls, never drops calls.
  • Kall8.com works great, used it for years.
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