Should I use a Cell Phone as My Main Business Phone?
The short answer is “probably not”! However, many successful businesses have started out this way so it may be the path forward for you as well. Here are some pro’s and con’s:
PRO’s
- Low cost – essentially $0 if you use a personal cell phone you already have
- Responsiveness – potential customers can reach you any time, anywhere
- Simplicity – you already know how to use & shop for a cell phone
CON’s
- Always on – you might receive calls or texts from clients at any time, day or night
- Not very scalable – if you grow to the point where you have reception etc. there is no way to transfer calls to co-workers
- No after hours auto attendant – you lack the professional image of an auto attendant when calls are missed
When is the Right Time to Switch from Cell Phone to a Phone System?
The moment you realize it would be best to stop handing out your cell phone number to all clients is probably the cue to switch. This might be because calls are too much of a distraction while you are accomplishing paid work. Maybe there is information a recorded auto attendant could give your callers and free up your time. It could be that you are receiving SMS text messages at inappropriate times. We’ve seen a variety of similar reasons again and again as businesses outgrow cell phones for their primary contact number.
How to Switch from Cell Phone to VoIP Service
If your cell number is published in places that can’t be easily changed (such as business cards you’ve handed out) the best path forward is likely to port your existing cellular number to a landline or VoIP service. However, if the only place your business phone number appears is on your website then it’s easy to use a new number. Either way, it’s relatively simple to move forward.
The good news is that you can continue to provide a way for customers to reach you on your cell phone – they just won’t call it directly. For example, your main number greeting would say: “Thanks for calling Widget Co! Please press 1 for sales, 2 for service, or 3 for accounting.” Options 1 & 2 forward to your cell number, while option 3 asks callers to leave a message which is then emailed to your bookkeeper.
We usually recommend AtcomCloud for businesses with 4 or more users, but have other services we can recommend for 1-3 users too. In general you can expect to pay around $30/month for each extension on your cloud based VoIP system. Most even have the ability to receive SMS messages on the business number! Drop us a line to get free advice on your path forward today.