Soap Warehouse Blog

Today's technology is moving at a break neck speed with every week bringing new ideas and better ways to do things in your life and for your business.

It use to be that a business could not survive without a yellow page ad and some one sitting in an office ready to answer that phone call.

Then we moved on to where you did not have to have an office as long as you paid for someone, sitting who knows where, that would answer your phone (via transferred phone number) at a answering service that you could call into to get your messages.

Now you do not even have to have a person at all to answer any and all of your phone numbers, that will record messages and even get the person that is calling directly to the person or information they need just by following an on line phone tree.

In the past decade over a dozen Virtual Phone companies have started up and some are better than others, by either the services they offer or by their cost for the features offered.

Here is a list of the top 12 contenders that are out right now:

• Grasshopper
• VirtualCallSystem
• RingCentral.com
• InPhonex
• VoiceMeUp
• Callcentric
• Phone Power
• Jive Communications
• VoIP.com
• BroadVoice
• Ringio
• Halloo

Read more: http://virtual-phone-systems.bestreviews.net/grasshopper-reviews/#ixzz3QDgk4SUv

So why is Grasshopper on top? I will go over for you the pro's and any con's I could find of using Grasshopper virtual phone service for your business.

Pro's

•Takes number of phone lines and with the web connects them into one integrated system. Toll  free, landlines, mobile and even other VoIP accounts.
•No hardware is needed.
•Get a toll free or local numbers as needed. Even Vanity numbers.
•Lines can be added or removed immediately from an online dashboard.
•Incoming calls will be answered 24/7 usually at the first ring.
•Recorded greetings can be in your own voice or with their Voice Studio.
•Have more than one business? You can have different welcome messages for each.
•Free on hold music.
•You can pay for only what you actually use, per call and length of the call.
•Unlimited plans are available for high volume users.
•Free activation to start service.
•Free 24/7 live technical support.
•No long term contracts, month to month service.
•First 30 day money back guarantee.
•Can change plan up or down each month as needed,like with the change of seasons.

•A top customer service rating.
•Businesses no longer have to buy and supply phones for employees with dedicated phone  numbers.
•Any employee can use their own device to receive and even make business calls (with an app).
•Calls can be transcribed and e-mailed to a phone as they happen instead of having to be called  up and listened to at a later time by a user.
•Faxes from callers are sent as a PDF in an e-mail.
•Analytics that can tell you where and when each call came from and where it ended up.
•Calls can be set up to go to a call queue to go to and be answered by one person.
•Unlimited amount of call handling, no busy signals for customers.
•Information extensions, like mailing or e-mail address, hours of operation, etc.
•Block robo callers or solicitors numbers at any time.
•Call screening, caller ID by phone number and name.
•Call transfer if after you answer the call you need to send the caller to another person or voice  mail.
•Need to speak to all your crew managers at once but don't want to have them all come in for a  meeting, just make a conference call and talk with them where ever they all are all at once,  saving time and money.
•Employees can use a mobile app to make calls to customers that only shows your businesses  caller ID, NOT the employees phone info.

Con's

•On the entry level plan you are paying a base $12 then a per call per minute fee which can add    up if you or your customer are not mindful of the running clock and you start getting a lot of calls.
•Some customers calling in do not like having to first listen to a message and go through a phone  tree to reach you or leave a message, they want a person from the start.
•You may have to be mindful of an employees phone and plan limitations and make compensation  to an employee that is using their personal phone for your business if they can't use the mobile  app.
•Employee could misuse your paid out going phone number (that is part of an app) for their  personal calls.
•Since this service is 24/7 your phone could be going off at all hours and be hard for an "A" type  personality to turn switch the service off and stop working.

As you can see I could not find many Con's and looked on line for dissatisfied customers without much luck. I did find a few but for the majority of users they have been very happy with the service some for many years.

So if you want to give your business a larger than a single owner/operator appearance or a professional aire, I suggest looking into one of these especially Grasshopper.

Many of you work through the Winter months and therefore you are working outside with water in the cold that can freeze into ice. So at some point you are going to have to face the issue of having ice in and around your work areas even when using hot water machines.

To counter the water freezing you most likely will want to use a deicing product, like ice melt, to keep things safe. 

But there is a right an wrong way to use these products and many different types of ice melts to choose from so let's go over them now. 

Nearly all deicers are made from one, or a blend of, five chemical materials: calcium chloride, sodium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, and urea. What makes these products different will be how quickly they work and at what temperatures. This is determined by whether the deicer releases or absorbs heat upon contact with snow and ice. 

The fastest acting are the exothermic deicers, which release heat via chemical reaction and are effective at the widest range of temperatures. Calcium chloride granules for instance is effective down to -25 degrees Fahrenheit. Faster acting, lower temp products will cost you more as a rule.

The slower acting deicers are the endothermic or those that need the sun's heat to break down ice into brine. These work more slowly and since they depend on the sun may not work when you need them too. These will be less expensive and have an higher effective temperature range, like sodium chloride granules that only get down to about -20 degrees Fahrenheit. 

There is also the consideration of residue. You do not want to leave your customer with a mess to clean up after you have cleaned their property so well. Some ice melt like those containing sodium chloride will leave a white powdery residue that if tracked into a home or business can damage floor finishes and carpet fibers. Calcium chloride and magnesium chloride can leave behind an oily residue that can damage urethane or wax finishes used on wood floors and can be very slippery on hard surfaces and is a dirt attracter in carpets.

Make sure your customers are aware that you have used a deicing product on their property and instruct them to wipe their feet so not to track the residue into their location and to rinse the product off once the temperatures have risen enough for ice to no longer be an issue. If possible you should do the rinsing to remove the product yourself before leaving the job. But do what is safest.

Now let us move back to the correct way to use these products.

Application is key to getting the best result as the lowest possible cost. I know it is hard, but first thing you need to do is read the directions for that specific product. Just because you have used a deicer in the past does not mean the one you are planning on using now is applied in the same way.

Many that you have been use to required you to wear gloves, like with calcium or magnesium chloride but there are some newer "Green" products that are safe to handle. Check to see if the product lists any surface it can not be applied on, like concrete less than a year old or asphalt. There are shaker bottles you can use to keep your hands off the products as well. 

More is not better with deicers. Know what the coverage ratios are for the product, which can vary greatly for instance, 2 lbs per 100 square feet vs. 4 lbs per 500. I think it is best to use a mechanical spreader and not just your hands or a scoop to get the best distribution of the product. I suggest to buy a cheap hand crank seed spreader and store it with the deicer. 

You also do not have to cover the entire work area. Around the edges and a few passes down the middle or in pie cuts will be enough as the product will dissolve with the ice into liquid and spread out treating the entire work area. If you are spreading it out as a preventative place where the water is most likely be, to collect and freeze. 

Check out some of the newer deicers that now can come in colors, making it easier to see where they have been applied and are much safer for us, landscape and pets. There are even liquids that you could apply with a pump up sprayer on top of any areas you get wet to prevent them from freezing over.

But the biggest mistake contractors make with deicers, is not using them at all. Do not set your self up for a law suit or employee injury just because you don't want to spend a few bucks to remove or keep ice out of your work area on a job.

Here is to all of you having a safe Winter.

Many people start each year off with a New Years resolution, but why don't you start your year off with 5 and I promise, if you stick with even 2 or 3 through out the entire year, your business will be up too.

1. Keep a calendar or planner with everything you need to do and all correspondence always with you.

2. In your office or home have just one place all your incoming undone paperwork goes.

3. Never let a week go by that your In box is not caught up and emptied.

4. Set up, use or improve a customer referral program

5. Take time to network with peers; BNI, local group, regional round table, regional industry event, National convention or trade show.

And the reasons why these will work. Most business loose work or opportunities for work because they let little things slip through the cracks. Do you have piles every where of notes, messages, receipts, etc. If everything is in one place and always at hand you are less likely to miss things.

If you keep on top of the little mundane work, like putting way your paper work, you are more likely to have bills paid on time, not run short of inventory, able to see a problem before it becomes one.

Your happy customers are your biggest asset, so use them. Ask them for new work at their own omes, ask them to send their friends to you, use their testimonials to convince potential customers neither of you have even met, on your web site and through social media. You can save 20-50% of the cost it takes to find a new customer when a current client sends one. Treat and pay your referral clients well, like an employee, they are making you money.

Nothing improves your business more than learning from others in your business who have already learned it the hard way or have done it themselves. The cost of taking time off, travel and the other expenses will be well worth it in the long run. Go with a set list of problems or ideas you have to run by others and you will come home with game plan for improvements.

But above all have a positive outlook and a great start to your New Year!