Hosted IP Telephony

What is Hosted IP Telephony?

Hosted IP Telephony or Hosted VoIP is best suited for companies that need a new phone system. The phone system is taken off the premises and hosted in a secure facility. Users access the administrative calling system via an online portal. Hosted IP Telephony offers businesses the advantages without the large initial investment needed to purchase own network equipment.

Selling Hosted IP Telephony

When it comes to selling Hosted IP Telephony, there are a number of fundamental principles that if followed, can make the difference between merely having an easy entry into the hosted market and making it a sustainable, successful addition to a business.

Small businesses will always be focused on cost containment and, of course, price is very important. But with hosted telephony, it is possible to capture interest with other elements that are equally as important to SMBs, such as efficiency, productivity, image and customer responsiveness.

Working with Gamma

When Gamma starts working with a new channel partner, we ensure that the company has access to comprehensive training on the products to be sure they are aware of the capabilities and limits. We’re aware that it is equally important to help channel partners to market this new service. The first thing any of us at Gamma will work on with our partners is mapping out how a hosted solution can provide benefits in the above-mentioned areas. This could include the use of calling groups, explaining that forwarding options can increase the availability of staff - improving response times to customer queries. More simple options such as having an audio track for customers to listen to if they get placed on-hold, helps to give the impression that calls are being handled as professionally as possible.

The second step is to help channel partners identify the right customers for Hosted IP Telephony. We will help them create a target profile, taking into consideration the ideal size customer, what the customer’s existing telephone system would look like and what their key drivers might be (such as productivity, responsiveness, business management, moving premises and so on). We will then help to describe the type of mind-set that would make a customer appropriate to target with Hosted IP Telephony, for example, they might be technology focused and keen on flexible working, or perhaps they want to appear bigger than they are and punch above their weight.

Once channel partners have an interested customer, it is essential that they thoroughly qualify leads and understand what features are a “must have” for each individual company, as they can vary enormously. One customer might feel that call transfers and call forwarding are vital to their business, whilst another might only care about voicemail. How these elements are built in to the Hosted IP telephony service is up to each reseller. They might opt to charge for voicemail services, but offer call forwarding as part of the package, or they might offer all the ‘add-ons’ as part of a premium priced service. The reseller will also need to work out its pricing plans for different types of businesses and circumstances and ensure that they know how to sell all of the additional elements – the ‘value adds’ – that come with hosted IP telephony.

Benefits of Hosted IP Telephony

Probably the biggest benefit that is used to sell Hosted IP Telephony is the flexibility surrounding numbering and we encourage partners to feature this benefit heavily in their sales and marketing efforts.

Until they speak to a Hosted IP Telephony reseller, most SMBs will not realise it is possible to have different dialling codes (i.e. 01603, 0208, 0161 etc) for a single office, no matter where the office is based. It is also worth remembering that many small businesses will, at some point, relocate in line with growth. The ability to retain their numbers, wherever they relocate to, is an extremely powerful proposition. As long as the carrier is experienced in number porting, neither the end-customer nor the channel partner need ever get involved in the intricacies of the actual porting – it should happen quickly and smoothly. This is worth checking though, because if the carrier used does not have the know-how, what should be a simple transition can become a telecoms nightmare and end with some very unhappy customers.

We have seen a marked increase in channel partners selling Hosted IP Telephony as part of a disaster recovery solution. It’s not something a small business would ordinarily expect to hear about when purchasing a telephone service but as the UK’s weather becomes increasingly unpredictable, there is a growing market to provide a service to enable businesses in flood-risk areas to maintain their customer services even if the worst happens and their premises are put out of action.

The telecoms market has changed dramatically in the last few years, it is now overlapping with the world of IT, and with the right solutions included, Hosted IP Telephony can be another way for businesses to differentiate the service they provide. For businesses looking to take advantage of this cross over, whether they are traditional voice resellers, ISPs, data resellers or IT consultancies or from any other office solutions background, the key is to work with a supplier who can take the headache and jargon out of providing hosted solutions, leaving them to focus on the business of selling solutions and supporting customers.