Global Call Forwarding – The Perfect Solution for Businesses and the Pros that Power Them

While you could skip the international call forwarding number and simply inform all of your contacts of your temporary phone numbers, doing so requires you to inform everyone who may possibly have a need to reach you.

Global call forwarding is a versatile telecommunications method that helps businesses and business professionals stay in touch around the globe. From a business perspective, setting up an international call forwarding number makes it possible to appear local in various countries while also allowing for affordable international calls. From a business professional’s perspective, global call forwarding ensures that calls continue to come through despite frequent international travel.

How Global Call Forwarding Connects International Customers to Businesses in Faraway Countries

Businesses often establish local phone numbers in external countries and then use call forwarding to route those calls to their main office or call center.

For example, if you operate a business in the United States and would like consumers in Brazil to be able to call your US office, you have two choices:

Give them the direct line to your US office (because a North American toll free number won’t work in South America)
Establish a local number in Brazil and call forward it to your US office.

Think about perceptions for a moment. If you give a Brazilian customer a US number to dial, the customer may worry about costs or be concerned about dealing with an international company. There may also be concerns about language or time zones.

In contrast, if you give a Brazilian customer a Brazilian phone number to call (either local or toll free), the customer will see a familiar number and costs won’t even be considered. From the customer’s perspective, it’s a local phone number; thus, language and time zone differences are not a concern either.

In addition to overcoming concerns about costs, time zones, and language, a global call forwarding number can also be used in lieu of establishing a local office. Imagine the costs of renting office space and staffing local offices in just three countries compared to ordering three international call forwarding numbers.

Now multiply that by the number of countries you want to serve. The savings are significant, and you would be able to handle all of those calls in a central office.

How Global Call Forwarding Allows Business Professionals to Be Found Around the Globe

Global call forwarding is also beneficial to business professionals who travel frequently. By setting up an international call forwarding number, you can be found wherever in the world you may be. Not only can you be reached internationally, your callers can do not need to do anything special in order to reach you. Below are a few of the many benefits of global call forwarding:

One number can reach you anywhere in the world – Once you establish a global call forwarding number, you can set it up to ring at the number of your choice at any time. For example, you might start by setting its ring-to number to your main office phone number. When you head to Hong Kong for a few months, you can set your ring-to number to your office phone in Hong Kong. When you go on vacation in France, you can change your ring-to number to your hotel room in Paris. No matter where you are, your callers can reach you.
Easy for callers – While you could skip the international call forwarding number and simply inform all of your contacts of your temporary phone numbers, doing so requires you to inform everyone who may possibly have a need to reach you. Not only that, your callers may be hesitant to dial an international phone number due to unfamiliarity with the process as well as concerns about international calling costs. By forwarding your calls as needed, you no longer need to inform others about how to reach you and your callers no longer need to be concerned about the technicalities or costs involved in reaching you when you’re out of the country.
Complete control over access to you – Setting up an international call forwarding number also gives you complete control over when and where you can be reached. Using advanced features such as time of day routing ensures that if a call comes through in the middle of the night, it will be sent to voicemail. Likewise, if you’d prefer not to give out your cell phone number but need to take calls on your cell phone when out of the office, you could simply forward your calls to your cell phone when needed. This allows you to take the calls at your convenience when out and about without having to reveal your personal cell phone number to customers, colleagues, and business partners.

Whether you would like to extend your business’s reach to other countries or need a convenient way to receive phone calls when traveling outside of the country, global call forwarding is the perfect solution.

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Types of Virtual Numbers

Virtual numbers with simultaneous call processing also ensure that callers do not hear a busy signal.

Virtual numbers come in two basic flavors

Local and Toll Free. With a local virtual number, you are not restricted to numbers available to your locally. In other words, if you live in San Diego, California, you are not restricted to San Diego numbers. You can get local numbers for cities all over the world and have them ring to any phone you choose.

Toll free numbers are toll free versions such as 800 and 888 numbers. Like local virtual numbers, you can get toll free virtual numbers for various countries including the United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, Australia, and dozens of other countries.

Both local and toll free virtual numbers involve routing calls to the phone number that you designate. As the virtual number account holder, you would be responsible for paying the costs associated with forwarding those calls to your ring-to number.

You can choose a plan that includes monthly minutes or begin with a buy-the-minute plan and can decide to change the plan later after you know your typical usage pattern. The plans are month-to-month so there are no long term contracts.

How Virtual Numbers Make You Look More Professional

Having a toll free number for your business immediately makes your business look larger and more professional. It shows that you are serious, and it eliminates any concerns callers may have about dialing long distance.

If you’d like your business to appear more professional, consider setting up your virtual number with an auto attendant. This is an affordable alternative to a traditional PBX. You could assign separate mailboxes for individuals or departments and have the auto attendant route calls based on the caller’s choices. For example, your auto attendant could prompt users to “press 1 for sales, 2 for accounting, and 3 for shipping.” This is an efficient way to route calls to the appropriate person, and it can also give the illusion of a larger operation.

In addition to routing calls based on caller input, you could also take advantage of a lesser known feature called time of day routing to route calls. For example, if a call comes in after 5:00 PM, you could have it automatically sent to voicemail. You could do the same at lunch time.

Virtual numbers with simultaneous call processing also ensure that callers do not hear a busy signal. When several callers dial the virtual number at once, the extra calls will be sent to the next available extension or voicemail.

In addition, virtual numbers can also double as fax numbers. Whenever someone needs to send you a fax, they can fax documents directly to your virtual number and you’ll receive it as an email attachment. You’ll never miss a fax again due to a lack of paper, toner, or ink. Plus, you’ll no longer need to maintain a separate fax line and fax machine.

Virtual numbers can also make you look local which in turn can increase your credibility.

For example, if you run a small mom-and-pop graphic design firm in a rural community, you may have difficulty competing with firms from New York City simply because of your rural location. By ordering a virtual number with a New York area code, your business can overcome this perceptional problem.

Overseas example

You offer a service on the Web and are located in London. Since your customers are located worldwide, you want to make it easy for a customer in Argentina or Costa Rica to reach you. You have the option to own an Argentina local number in Buenos Aires or an Argentina toll-free number. For Costa Rica, choose from Costa Rica toll-free or a national Costa Rica number. The possibilities include your ability to acquire a local number in a country of your choice spanning most of the civilized world.

From setting up a toll free number to creating a virtual PBX system and beyond, virtual numbers can help small businesses and solo professionals look more professional. Even better, virtual numbers are an inexpensive alternative to traditional phone systems and fax machines.

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10 Ways to Use Global Call Forwarding

Use global call forwarding numbers to appear larger and more capable.

Global call forwarding using virtual phone numbers can be used in a variety of ways, allowing you to connect with international friends, family, colleagues, partners, and customers using a single virtual phone number. Below are 10 ways to use global call forwarding to connect with others around the globe.

1. Use a global call forwarding number to keep in touch with family members living abroad. If you have family members living in another country with high international calling costs, consider ordering a global call forwarding number that’s local to that country. Once established, your family members would dial a local phone number that forwards to the destination number in your country. You would pay a fixed per minute price that’s typically much lower than the host country’s rates.

2. Using a virtual number to stay connected when traveling the world. If you travel around the world, you could order a global call forwarding number that’s local to your home country and give that number to your family, friends, and colleagues to call.

As you move from one country to the next, simply change your ring-to number to your new local phone. Your contacts back home would dial a local or toll free number and you’d pay a low per minute rate.

3. Set up shop in another country. Want to start offering products and services overseas? Instead of setting up a physical location in another country, consider setting up a virtual location with an international call forwarding number. Your customers would dial a local phone number to reach you no matter where in the world you actually are.

4. Use a global call forwarding phone number to receive international faxes. Instead of maintaining separate international phone and fax lines, sign up for a global call forwarding number with a fax-to-email feature. Whenever someone needs to send you a fax from that country, they’d simply fax the document to you using the call forwarding number. You’d then receive an email containing a PDF of the faxed document. Not only does this eliminate the need for a separate phone line, it also means that you can get rid of your fax machine and its ongoing expenses.

5. Use global call forwarding numbers to appear larger and more capable. If you would like your business to appear larger, ordering several virtual phone numbers can instantly give your business an international boost.

6. Use virtual numbers to establish yourself in a given country. Are you headed to an international conference where you have the potential to close business deals with partners around the world? Consider establishing global call forwarding numbers in your target countries and then print up business cards with your new phone numbers. Your prospects will likely feel confident calling you from their home countries thanks to your local presence.

7. Use global call forwarding to avoid costly international roaming rates. When traveling internationally, your mobile phone may or may not work at your destination. Even if it does work, you could be faced with sky-high international roaming rates. A better option is to order a global call forwarding number and then buy a disposable cell phone at your destination. You can then designate your new mobile phone as the ring-to number and receive your calls no matter where you go.

8. Use global call forwarding to control when and where you receive international phone calls. International call forwarding plans typically allow you to change the destination phone number on the fly. In addition, many plans have a “time of day” routing feature where you can preprogram how calls are handled based on the time of day they are made. For example, if you do not want to be disturbed between 6:00PM and 5:00AM local time, you can configure your phone number to route any calls between those hours to voicemail.

9. Use global call forwarding in an international call center. Global call forwarding numbers can be routed to an international call center where you can have customer service agents available to handle incoming calls. If you have multiple call forwarding numbers, you may want to route calls to specific agents based on country codes. Similarly, you can route calls to different call centers based on time of day.

10. Use global call forwarding to reduce international calling costs. With low international calling rates and the ability to switch ring-to numbers on the fly, many people have found that global call forwarding is a cost-effective way to make international long distance calls. Rather than dialing directly, you can change your ring-to number to the number you’d like to call and then dial your global call forwarding number. This bypasses the traditional system, puts you on your call forwarding provider’s network, and gives you access to low per minute international calling rates for dozens of countries around the world.

Global call forwarding is a versatile solution to a number of international calling scenarios.

How will you use your global call forwarding number?

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Virtual Numbers for Startups and Small Businesses

After all, some callers won’t think twice about calling you at all hours. By giving callers your virtual number, they can call you 24/7 yet you won’t necessarily have to hear the phone ring while you’re trying to sleep or spend quality time with your family.

Startups and small businesses need to be accessible, yet they often run on a tight budget. Virtual numbers allow entrepreneurs, startups, and small business owners to receive phone calls professionally without the expense of a PBX system. Not only that, virtual numbers are highly portable.

Whether you need to work out of a temporary location at first before moving into your office, your virtual numbers can follow you wherever you may go – and your callers will never be aware of your movements.

How Virtual Numbers Work

Virtual phone numbers are essentially call forwarding numbers that are not associated with any given phone line or device. You can order virtual numbers with specific country and area codes so that they are “local” to a given region. For instance, you could order a virtual phone number for Los Angeles and another for Ireland and then set both of those numbers to ring to your New York apartment.

People in LA would see a familiar area code and think that they’re calling your Los Angeles office. At the same time, your contacts in Ireland would see a familiar local number and feel confident dialing your Ireland office without any concerns about paying international long distance charges.

As the account holder of those numbers, you would pay your virtual call forwarding service provider for each minute of service. Depending on the plan, you’d likely pay different rates based on the country of origin. Virtual numbers are quite similar to toll free numbers both in terms of how they work and how they are billed.

With a virtual number, you have complete control over the destination phone number. You can change this number at any time online. If you plan on working at the local coffee house for a few hours, you could change the ring-to number to your cell phone.

When you return to your home office, you could then change the ring-to number to your home office phone. Similarly, if you need to leave the country, you could change the ring-to number to your hotel room or temporary office space. Meanwhile, your callers will not notice any disruptions because they can reach you as they normally do.

Virtual numbers are available for locations around the world. In addition to domestic and international virtual phone numbers, you can also get toll free virtual phone numbers if desired.

Benefits of Using Virtual Numbers for Your Startup or Small Business

Using virtual numbers can deliver several important benefits for startups and small businesses. Below are just a few to spark your imagination:

They can help you compete with “local” bidders. If you’re bidding on a project in another city or country, decision makers may have a preference for doing business with local companies. Getting a local call forwarding number, even if it’s just for short-term use as part of the bidding process, can give your business a local credibility boost.
Easy split testing. Use different virtual numbers to split test your advertisements and landing pages. Which phone number receives the most calls? Which phone number generates the most sales?
Look bigger. While your startup may be excelling despite the fact that you’re running it out of your garage, you may not want to appear as though you’re working out of your garage. By establishing a toll free number and a few virtual numbers in major cities, you can instantly appear to be a larger company. Many virtual number service plans include auto attendant, music on hold, and multiple mailbox features that can also help your company to look bigger than it currently is.
Protect your privacy. As an entrepreneur, you need to be readily accessible, but you may not want to give out your personal mobile phone number or home phone number. After all, some callers won’t think twice about calling you at all hours. By giving callers your virtual number, they can call you 24/7 yet you won’t necessarily have to hear the phone ring while you’re trying to sleep or spend quality time with your family. You decide when to accept calls from your virtual number and when to send them to voicemail or to an assistant.

Virtual numbers are ideal for startups and small businesses alike. With one or more virtual numbers, you can immediately establish your business in a given community as well as appear bigger than you are.

You can also move from one location to another, control where those calls go, compete with local bidders, test your ads, and maintain your privacy. Best of all, you can get virtual numbers on a pay-as-you-go basis with no contract or minimum usage requirements.

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Become More Flexible with Global Call Forwarding

At the same time, you could establish several international forwarding numbers in countries around the world and have them ring to your call center.

Whether you run a small business or an enterprise organization, global call forwarding can help you become more flexible and agile.

With global call forwarding, you have several options. For example, you could establish a virtual number that follows you no matter where in the world you may happen to be.

At the same time, you could establish several international forwarding numbers in countries around the world and have them ring to your call center.

Imagine the possibilities! Below are just a few examples of how your company can take advantage of global call forwarding.

Using Global Call Forwarding to Stay in Touch Globally

As an individual who travels frequently, you may want to check into using global call forwarding as a means of staying in touch with employees, clients, and family members back home when you travel overseas. As you know, your cell phone doesn’t always work in other countries, and when it does, international roaming rates make accepting calls from people back home an expensive proposition.

Many business travels find it cheaper to buy a disposable mobile phone once they arrive in a country but that brings problems of its own. For example, you need to inform everyone that you have a new number for them to call if they need to reach you when you’re in that country. Since the phone number is local to the country you’re in, your contacts will face international long distance charges should they need to call you. Plus, once you dispose of that phone, you’ll need to tell your contacts that that phone number is no longer valid.

With global call forwarding, you establish a local phone number within your own country (or a toll free one depending on your preferences). You can keep this virtual number indefinitely. The beauty of global call forwarding is that you can change the “ring to” number on the fly. When you purchase a disposable mobile phone in a new country, you simply switch the global call forwarding number’s ring to number to your new mobile phone. You do not need to inform your contacts. They simply dial the same number they always dial. Since the virtual number is local to your own country, your in-country employees, clients, and family members do not need to worry about international dialing costs.

Meanwhile, if you use a reliable, low-cost global call forwarding service, the rates that you are charged will be far more affordable than international roaming rates. In fact, you can view per minute rates for each country you frequently visit before you sign up for a plan.

Using Global Call Forwarding to Establish an International Presence

Another way to use global call forwarding for your business is to establish local phone numbers in the countries that you serve and then have those calls diverted to your call center or main office. To customers in various countries, the phone numbers are completely local. They may even feel as though they’re dialing a business across town thanks to the way the number appears and even the sound of the ringtone. However, the phone will ring to your designated number whether it’s in the same country or not. This provides your business with a flexible alternative to setting up physical locations around the world.

Using Global Call Forwarding to Route Calls by Time of Day

Having a global call forwarding number in a different country does bring with it one challenge: global time differences. However, those differences can be dealt with using time of day routing. For example, if a caller calls you during local business hours, how do you want the call handled if it’s the middle of the night your time?

With time of day routing, you can send calls to a live answering service, call center, or voicemail based on the time of day calls take place. Since callers don’t expect to be helped after business hours, you could send those after hours calls to voicemail as expected or, if those calls occur during your normal business hours, you could exceed expectations by handling those calls in real time.

Time of day routing is a flexible feature that allows you greater control over how incoming calls are routed based on the time of day they occur.

Global call forwarding is a convenient, low-cost choice for businesses of all sizes. Whether you’re a globetrotting executive who needs to stay in touch at all times, a mid-sized business owner who wants to make it easy for international customers to reach your office without investing in a physical location, or a call center manager who needs to staff a call center to handle incoming calls around the clock, global call forwarding can help you become more flexible.

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Time to Get a Virtual Number

This virtual number is not tied to a given phone jack or device; it is completely virtual.

Whether you run a small business or perhaps operate out of your home, your customers, suppliers, partners, and others need to be able to reach you.

While you may have an office phone number and a mobile phone, you may want to add a virtual number.

Some customers add or several virtual phone numbers to the mix to create a phone presence in other countries where they do business now or would like to do business.

Virtual numbers are the most portable numbers you can get, and you can change where they ring on the fly. This allows you greater control over when and where you can be reached. Not only can a virtual number make you more accessible, it can also pay for itself. Here’s a quick look at what a virtual number is and how it can pay for itself.

How a Virtual Number Works

If you’re familiar with how a toll free phone number works, you’re already familiar with how a virtual number works. After all, a toll free number rings to whichever local phone number you assign it to.

When your business moves to a new location, your toll free number moves with you. You simply change the “ring to” number to your new office’s phone number. There’s no need to change your marketing materials and business cards when you move your office. The same is true of a virtual number. However, virtual numbers may or may not be toll free, and you can get international virtual numbers.

With a virtual number, you are assigned a local, toll free, or international phone number (depending on your preferences). This number is not tied to a given phone jack or device; it is completely virtual. When you first order your virtual number, you are prompted to designate a ring to number which can be any number you want such as your main office number, your mobile phone number, or your home phone number.

You can change this ring to number at any time and as often as you want. For example, if you want your virtual number to ring to your hotel room when you’re on vacation, you could do temporarily switch the ring to number to your hotel room’s phone.

The Benefits of Getting a Virtual Number

Having a virtual number is beneficial in many ways including, but not limited to, the following:

You can control when and where you can be reached – While you could give callers your mobile phone number, do you really want to be accessible 24/7? With a virtual number, you can be as accessible as you want without having to give up your personal phone numbers. For example, if you need to be accessible while at a conference, you could have your virtual number ring to your mobile phone. Those callers will never know your mobile phone number. Thus, when you’re at your son’s soccer game over the weekend, you won’t necessarily be bombarded with business calls on your cell phone.
You can create a business presence virtually anywhere – Whether you serve several cities within your own country or have customers located around the world, you can get a virtual number that’s local to each of your markets and have all of those calls routed to your main office or call center. Your callers will dial a local number, yet the phone will ring wherever you designate the ring to number.
Your number is portable – There’s no need to change phone numbers when you move your office.
You can use your virtual number to create a virtual PBX system – Several advanced features common with virtual numbers combine to form a virtual PBX system with features that rival costly systems. Start by creating a custom greeting and configuring the auto attendant to route calls in a manner that makes the most sense for your business.

How a Virtual Number Can Pay for Itself

When you order a virtual number on a no-contract, pay-as-you-go basis, you will incur charges based on usage on a per minute basis. If you have a domestic virtual number, your rates will be flat whereas they will be variable for international virtual numbers. In both cases, you’ll pay for your calls by the minute according to your service provider’s rates. While adding another bill to your business might give you reason to pause, many business owners find that a virtual number quickly pays for itself.

For example, if you travel internationally, receiving phone calls on your mobile phone can result in international roaming rates as high as $1.99 per minute. With a virtual number, you can route your incoming calls to a disposable cell phone purchased at your destination country. Instead of paying nearly $2 a minute, you’ll pay your plan’s rates for the countries involved.

You can also use your virtual number to receive faxes, allowing you to save the cost of a fax machine, separate phone line, and fax supplies such as toner or thermal paper.

Finally, you can use your virtual number to bypass your local long distance carrier and make cheap international phone calls. Simply change the ring to number to whatever number you need to call and dial your virtual number. This allows you to take advantage of your international call forwarding service provider’s low per minute rates for the countries you need to call.

Getting a virtual number can make sense on many levels, and it can pay for itself by slashing your costs in other areas. Is it time to get a virtual number?

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International Call Forwarding for Non-Profits

Using call divert, calls can be routed virtually anywhere the organization needs them to ring at any given time. For example, if a small non-profit organization usually operates in the United States, it could have its international forwarding number ring to its main office in the United States most of the time.

Non-profit organizations, like their for profit counterparts, must increasingly do more with less. Pressure from stakeholders and donors often prompt non-profit organizations to take a harder look at how to shave administrative costs so that more of their resources can go toward providing much-needed services or emergency help.

Non-profits can both cut costs and become more accessible internationally by using international call forwarding.

International call forwarding involves establishing an international forwarding number and routing calls to that number to a different phone number known as the “ring to” number.

However, when the entire team is mobilized to provide aid in another nation after a catastrophe, it could use call divert to route those calls to its temporary office in the affected nation, a mobile or satellite phone, or to an alternate call center located elsewhere in the world.

Non-profits can use international call forwarding in a variety of ways to cut costs or become more agile – or both. Below are a few ideas for using an international forwarding number.

Create an International Presence with International Call Forwarding

Imagine that you run a small non-profit based in the United States that provides food, clothing, and financial assistance to people in Haiti. While most of your donors are likely located in the United States, some may also be located in Haiti, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico, France, Canada, and the Bahamas.

In fact, each of these countries have a large population of Haitians, many of whom may share your commitment to helping the impoverished nation.

As you develop marketing materials targeted to these nations, you realize that your US toll free number won’t work internationally with the exception of Canada. With international call forwarding, you could create local toll free numbers for Haiti, Cuba, Mexico, Dominican Republic, France, and the Bahamas and use your main number as the “ring to” number.

To your international donors, your international call forwarding number looks as if it rings to a local office when in reality it rings to a phone in another country. The localization effect can inspire confidence, add a local feel to your non-profit, and overcome potential concerns about making an international long distance phone call.

Create a Virtual PBX with International Call Forwarding

Many international call forwarding service plans come with auto-attendant and call routing features commonly found in more expensive PBX systems. For non-profits that would like the advanced features of a PBX but can’t justify the expense, international call forwarding may be the answer. You can create a customized greeting and divert calls to the appropriate voicemail box or live attendant based on time of day or country of origin.

Receive Incoming Faxes

Fax machines require separate phone lines, plain or thermal paper, and/or ink and toner cartridges. Instead of maintaining a standalone fax machine and regularly spending money on fax supplies, your international forwarding numbers can double as incoming fax numbers. Rather than receiving a paper printout, your incoming faxes are routed to your email address as an image attachment. Since you can check your email from virtually any computer or mobile device connected to the Internet, you can receive faxes even when away from your office.

Make Low Cost International Phone Calls

Since you can change your international call forwarding number to ring to virtually any number in the world, you can also use it to make cheaper international phone calls. You’ll need to double check your per minute calling rates for the countries involved and compare them to the rates of your carrier. If they’re cheaper, and they very well could be dramatically cheaper, then temporarily change your ring to number to the number that you would like to call. Instead of dialing that international number directly, dial your virtual number which will then ring to your designated phone number. This bypasses your local carrier and gives you access to your international call forwarding service provider’s network and rates.

From ensuring that your team can be reached wherever it happens to be deployed and enabling low cost calls from international donors around the world to creating a local presence, gaining access to advanced PBX features, receiving incoming faxes, and making cheap international calls, international call forwarding is a terrific choice for any non-profit organization with a global mission.

Create a global presence and cut your costs at the same time with international call forwarding.

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Advanced International Call Forwarding Tips

Once you have a global call forwarding number, your international customers can dial a local number without concerns about international calling costs or conventions.

International call forwarding provides companies of all sizes with a convenient way to communicate with an international customer base.

Once you have a global call forwarding number (or dozens of them as the case may be), your international customers can dial a local number without concerns about international calling costs or conventions.

Meanwhile, call divert allows a single call center to handle calls from around the world at affordable per minute rates. If you’re familiar with local and global call forwarding, you likely have the basics of this communications method down. Get more out of your virtual number by following these advanced international call forwarding tips.

1. Set up local ring tones

Did you know that the ringing sound you hear when you dial a phone number is sounds different in various countries? After a lifetime of making calls within your own country, wouldn’t you be distracted if suddenly the ringing sound sounded different? Though it’s not overly alarming, a foreign sounding ring tone could cause your callers to pause. It draws attention to itself. If you’d prefer not to distract your global callers in any way or draw attention to the fact that your international forwarding number is unlike other numbers your customers dial, use an international call forwarding plan that has a local ring tone feature. This ensures that your international callers hear the same ring tone that they always hear when calling companies within their countries.

2. Use time-of-day routing

Perhaps the biggest challenge associated with international call forwarding is time differences. Business hours for your main office will not always align with your customers’ business hours. With time of day routing and creative staff scheduling, you can overcome this problem. For each country that you serve, you will need to determine which hours to answer calls live and which to route to voicemail based on local time in the targeted country. With time of day routing, you can designate how calls will be handled based on when those calls take place. For example, you’ll likely want to have agents answer calls during normal business hours for the countries that you serve even if that means you need to bring staff into your call center in the middle of the night. Since call volume is likely to drop after five local time, you can then route those calls to voicemail which frees your staff to handle calls in other time zones.

3. Set up a customized greeting

When your international callers call your virtual number, you can either answer the call in person, send it to voicemail, or let an auto attendant greet the caller and then route the call to the appropriate extension or mailbox. A short, customized greeting in the caller’s language is a friendly, professional option. Each virtual phone number that you have can have its own unique auto attendant greeting.

4. Use Caller ID to route calls to the best agent

Another challenge with global call forwarding involves language differences. If your US-based business serves customers in Italy, Spain, and Brazil, you will have callers that speak Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese. Obviously, you will want to staff your call center with agents who speak these languages. While you could set each virtual number to ring to your main call center number and then have your agents transfer callers to someone who speaks their language as needed, it’s smarter to use Caller ID to route calls to the right agent in the first place. For example, you could set up routing so that anytime a call comes in using your Italian virtual number, those calls will be routed to the desks of your Italian-speaking agents. The same is true of calls originating from Spain and Brazil. When using Caller ID to route calls, you have two options. You can either have the virtual number displayed or the caller’s own caller ID number. Many companies find it easier to route calls based on the virtual numbers that they have while others prefer to see the caller’s actual phone number.

5. Adjust maximum wait times as needed

Virtual numbers can forwarded through a sequence of numbers, ensuring that should a call go unanswered at one location, the call will be diverted to an alternate number or voicemail. For example, if you have three work-from-home Italian-speaking agents, you could set up your global call forwarding number to ring to agent 1 first. If that call is not answered within a given time period, the call would then be diverted to agent 2, followed by agent 3. One of the problems with such a sequence is that the wait time may be too long; your customer could hang up before the call is finally answered. Fortunately, maximum wait times can be adjusted. You may need to experiment with wait times to find the right balance.

6. Set up simultaneous ringing

If you’d rather have calls answered as quickly as possible, use simultaneous ringing. In the example above, instead of going through a sequence with wait times, all three agents’ phones would ring at the same time.

International call forwarding is an effective tool with a variety of features. Fine-tune your global call forwarding numbers by using advanced features and ensure that your callers receive prompt service from a friendly agent who speaks their language.

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International Call Forwarding for mid-sized Businesses

You can start localizing your business in countries outside of your own through international call divert. You can do so without having to invest in physical locations, local staff, and infrastructure.

International Call Forwarding for mid-sized Businesses

Is it time for your mid-sized business to establish an international presence? Entering new markets with an international forwarding number is a great way to start the process. Not only can you start localizing your business in countries outside of your own through call divert, you can do so without having to invest in physical locations, local staff, and infrastructure. Here’s how an international forwarding number can help you communicate with customers, suppliers, vendors, partners, or employees overseas.

Understanding Call Divert Technology

Call divert technology involves signing up with an international call forwarding service provider. These providers are not necessarily associated with your local phone utility company. In fact, they often use their own networks or contract with major telecommunications carriers to divert your calls. This is especially beneficial in countries where local phone service is substandard and/or expensive.

Once you’ve found a high quality, low cost international call forwarding service provider, you then set up an international forwarding number for the country that you want to establish a business presence in. For example, if your business is located inside the United States and you want to establish a local presence in Chile, you would order a phone number for Chile. To Chileans, this number is just like any other in-country phone number with the correct country code and local area codes. However, since you’re using call divert, whenever someone in Chile dials your international forwarding number, the call would “ring to” the number you’ve designated in the United States.

As the call divert account holder, you will be billed for calls that go through your international forwarding number on a per minute basis. International call forwarding rates depend on the countries involved. They are also sometimes dependent on whether or not a mobile phone was used. In addition, you can order either local or toll free international forwarding numbers.

Using an International Forwarding Number in Lieu of a Physical Location

Using the United States to Chile example above, you should be able to see how using call divert can be an affordable alternative to setting up a physical location in Chile. Some of the costs that you will NOT incur include the following examples:

Travel costs – You will not need to fly to Chile to scout physical locations.
Office space – Since you won’t need an actual office in Chile, there’s no rent whatsoever.
Infrastructure – Aside from the international forwarding number, you won’t need to invest in additional technology. There’s no PBX or computer network required. Simply divert calls to your main office.
Local office staff – Since you will not have a physical office in Chile, you will not need to hire employees in Chile to answer your phones. However, you may have some staffing costs as addressed below.

Please note that while an international forwarding number can slash your costs and help you establish an international presence, you will still need to do your due diligence to ensure that your business complies with all applicable trade and business regulations which are beyond the scope of this article.

Staffing Your “Local” Office

While you may never need to step foot in Chile in order to use call divert and establish a presence in the country, you will need to accommodate any callers who use your international forwarding number. Depending on the anticipated call volume, you may need to hire additional staff at your call center or main office to handle incoming calls. Depending on the languages involved, you may also need to hire bilingual customer service representatives.

Let’s say that you’ve determined that three Spanish-speaking customer service representatives will be sufficient for the amount of calls you expect to come through your international forwarding number. Use your call diver’s advanced routing features to ensure that these calls ring specifically to these CSRs.

In addition to staffing your office with bilingual staff, you will also need to consider scheduling your staff during international business hours. For example, the time zone your main office is in may conflict with the time zone for your international forwarding number. If so, you will either need to have staff available during that country’s normal business hours or use “time of day” routing to route callers to an alternate call center or voicemail during business hours.

Advertising Your International Call Forwarding Number

As with any other branch office, your call diver number won’t necessarily ring until you’ve advertised it. Use various advertising channels to let international customers know that you are able to take their phone calls. Whether you advertise locally or use the Internet, using an international forwarding number that’s local to your target countries provides local callers with a comfortable and familiar way to reach your office.

As a mid-sized business looking to establish itself internationally, using call divert is a terrific, low-risk way to get started. International call forwarding facilitates communication with minimal costs.

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International Call Forwarding for Small Businesses

Global Small Businesses can grow with International Call Forwarding Virtual Phone Numbers

As a small business owner, you may not necessarily consider your business an international one. However, you may have customers, vendors, manufacturers, suppliers, partners, and colleagues located in other countries. Even if you don’t currently, that could change in the near future.

Whether you currently work with others from around the globe, expect to, or want to, setting up an international call forwarding number for your business is an option with numerous benefits for small businesses. Here’s a quick look at what international call forwarding could do for you.

Facilitate International Collaboration

Are you working with an important client from another country? Have you outsourced a part of your business to another person overseas? Setting up an international call forwarding number is one way to avoid international dialing confusion and concerns about costs.

With international call forwarding, you establish a virtual number that is local to the country in which your client, partner, supplier, or other party resides. That number looks the same as any other phone number issued in that country; however, it rings to a phone located in your country such as your home office phone or mobile phone.

For example, if you’re based in the United States and have an important client in Portugal, you could get a virtual number from Portugal and set it to ring to your office in the U.S. Your client dials a local number to reach you and does not need to worry about international calling costs or operator assistance.

As the international call forwarding account holder, you will pay for forwarding costs on a low per minute basis based on the countries involved.

Enable International Sales from New Overseas Markets

Many small business owners use international call forwarding to enter new markets. For example, if you offer a product or service that appeals to consumers in Brazil, you could establish a Brazilian presence simply by getting a virtual number for Brazil and marketing your offer. Consumers would see a familiar phone number that’s local to their country, yet the phone would ring at your desired location.

Create a Larger Image for your Small Business

Many small businesses appear larger than they are thanks to the ability to add international “locations” through the use of virtual numbers. For example, let’s say that you run an eCommerce store that sells products to customers in North America and the United Kingdom.

While you may run your site and coordinate drop shipping out of your home, your customers don’t need to know that. By using international call forwarding, not only can you have an 800 number for your U.S. and Canadian customers to call, you could establish country-specific numbers for callers from Mexico and the United Kingdom to call. At first glance, it appears as though you have offices in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and the U.K. In addition to appearing larger, these local numbers help to ease customer concerns about dealing with a local company.

Reduce International Calling Costs

As the owner of a small business, containing costs is likely a top priority. If you make a lot of international phone calls, you may find it advantageous to use international call forwarding as an alternative to direct dialing.

This strategy takes a little price comparison to ensure that your per minute virtual number rates are lower than your phone company’s international calling rates. If they are, then use your international call forwarding’s online account management dashboard to temporarily change the destination phone number to the international number that you intend to call. Once set, dial your virtual number; the phone will ring to the number you just entered.

Enjoy your conversation with the knowledge that you are saving money. Once the conversation ends, make sure to go back into your account management dashboard and change the ring to number back to its primary one.

Keep Connected When on International Trips

Another great use for international call forwarding arises when you travel outside of your own country. In many cases, your cell phone won’t work internationally. If it does, international roaming rates may be cost-prohibitive.

Set up a local international call forwarding number before you go and distribute it to your family, friends, and colleagues who may need to reach you while you’re gone. When you arrive at your destination, buy a disposable cell phone and then set up your virtual number to ring to it.

Whether you need to collaborate with overseas partners, enter new markets, make your business appear larger than it actually is, reduce international calling costs, or stay connected while traveling, international call forwarding can play a role in making it happen.

Not only can international call forwarding help to do all of the above, it can do so more affordably than you may realize. Pay-as-you-go plans with no minimum usage requirements or penalties are available with both excellent service and attractive rates. You may not consider your business international, but it could be. Get your international virtual number today!

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Virtual Number Call Forwarding When Traveling

Virtual Number Travel — Virtual Number and Travel

Using Virtual Number Call Forwarding When Traveling

Virtual numbers are not only an indispensible business tool for many enterprises but also a very useful travel aid.

Whether you’re a busy professional who travels frequently or a casual traveler, anytime you leave your home base, you often leave behind your ability to communicate using your main phone number.

While you could give everyone you know your mobile phone number or use the phone company’s call forwarding option to transfer calls to your cell phone, doing so is a hassle. Plus, mobile phone companies will not divert calls overseas so unless you’re traveling within your own country, you will need a virtual number to transport your calls abroad. Virtual number call forwarding is the answer.

What is Virtual Number Call Forwarding?

Virtual number call forwarding is a telecommunications service where you order a virtual telephone number that is not attached to any given phone. For example, your home phone number is associated with your home phone while your mobile phone number is associated with your cell phone. With a virtual phone number, you control which phone rings whenever someone dials that number.

When you first sign up for virtual number call forwarding, you will be issued a virtual number and prompted to designate a “ring to” number. This ring to number can be changed as needed, making virtual number call forwarding especially convenient to business and leisure travelers.

Virtual Number Call Forwarding in Action

Let’s use “Bill” as an example. Bill is a US-based sales manager living in New York City who has several trips scheduled in the next few months: an international conference in London, a trip to Japan with his wife, a regional sales meeting at his company’s Chicago office, and a trip to Atlanta to help his son get settled into college.

Bill is concerned about his clients and young adult children being able to reach him when he’s overseas. He also does not want anyone to have to dial complicated country codes or incur international long distance charges when trying to reach him. At the same time, he’s unsure that his cell phone will work in London or Japan.

Bill had heard about virtual number call forwarding from one of his colleagues and decides to give it a try. Here’s what he does:

He signs up with a virtual number call forwarding service provider on a no annual contract basis.
He orders a local virtual number in New York City so that his local clients and most of his young adult children will not incur charges when calling him. He also has the option to order a toll free virtual number.
He initially designates his cell phone number as the default ring to number. When traveling in the United States, he finds that this works well most of the time. He eventually discovers that it’s easy to change the virtual number call forwarding to other phones and enables simultaneous ringing so that both his cell phone and his temporary extension at the Chicago branch office would ring at the same time.
As expected, his mobile phone didn’t work in London or Japan. Bill was able to quickly change the ring to number to his hotel room number when he first arrived. In London, he purchased a disposable mobile phone and set his virtual number call forwarding to ring to his temporary mobile phone. It worked so well, and was such an inexpensive solution, that he did the same in Japan.
His clients and family members were able to reach him no matter where in the United States or the world he happened to be.

Using Virtual Number Call Forwarding When Traveling

Like Bill, you could use virtual number call forwarding when traveling. However, like Bill, there may be time zone issues involved. If you intend to give callers your virtual call forwarding number which will ring to you several time zones away, it’s possible that you’ll receive phone calls in the middle of the night. Fortunately, you can control how your incoming calls are routed based on the local time of day.

For example, if you want to be available for calls at a specific time of day, you can set your virtual number call forwarding to ring to your designed phone at a specific time. If someone calls at any other time, the call can be routed directly to voicemail. You could even set your calls to ring to an answering service, call center, or other phone at a specific time of day.

The Benefits of a No-Contract Virtual Number Call Forwarding Plan

Monthly virtual number call forwarding plans with no contracts and no cancellation fees are a terrific choice for anyone who needs a virtual phone number. These plans come with a variety of features including:

Exceptional call quality
Simultaneous ringing
Sequential forwarding
Customized greetings
Advanced PBX features
Rollover minutes
And much more…

Whether you need a disposable virtual phone number for a short time or want to try out the service without a long-term commitment, you can enjoy the benefits of virtual number call forwarding.

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Have your calls forwarded to another country while traveling, or at another office

Have your calls forwarded to another country while traveling or at another office

It can be a problem for all of us that need to stay in contact with our office with associates,
potential new customers as well as existing clients when we travel.

Enjoy seamless contact with callers while traveling or simply to create a phone presence in another country and have the calls forwarded to a mobile or fixed phone overseas. (local overseas or U.S. phone companies won’t redirect calls internationally, we do)

There are actually two separate solutions for the requirement of keeping in contact while traveling and setting up a virtual number to create an overseas phone presence.

Let’s look at the scenario where you already own a mobile phone in your country but plan on going to another country on assigment or on holiday. If it’s going to be a holiday, you may not even want any calls forwarded. But if it’s a business that you have and it’s important to keep in contact with callers, this is how to do it.

#1. Get a virtual number in the same country or locale where you have your mobile number.

#2. Use the built-in call forwarding feature on your mobile to redirect calls to your ‘new’ virtual number.

#3. Set-up the virtual number to ‘ring to’ the phone number overseas where you’ll be going to, either a fixed line or new mobile.

This strategy enables receiving the calls from your mobile or landline from your original country at your new phone number in your new locale.

Creating a phone presence in another country

Virtual numbers are now offered in appproximately 95 countries and the list is growing. Many customers find that they wish to promote their product or services in another country and using a virtual number is the easiet and quickest way to accomplish creating the local phone presence. The removes the requirement of leasing an office internationally and deploying a support staff to go with it. The virtual numbers can be purchased on a month-to-month basis, so no long term commitment is necessary.

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How virtual call forwarding service allows you to stay connected worldwide

Everybody knows what technology has done to our world. We are surrounded by technological innovations and have become addicted to their uses. Gone are the days when it was hard to communicate with a person sitting in another corner of World. Today communication mediums are so advanced that it has enabled both businesses and individuals to stay connected frequently.

Businesses are taking the help of communication sources to explore various ways to expand their business and go beyond national boundaries. The part of communication mediums that has greatly influenced the growth perspectives for businesses around the world is the teleconferencing services. These services have enabled businesses to establish conversation with clients, business partners and senior authorities sitting around the world. Previously it was a costly affair for businesses to travel around the world to conduct meetings with clients or to give directions to senior authorities regarding business operations.

Teleconferencing services are contributing to the growth of businesses by providing them services like virtual phone number and virtual call forwarding. Not only are these but there are numerous other conference call services which have brought the whole world on a uniform platform where everybody is easily accessible.

Virtual phone number is kind of service where an individual is assigned a particular calling code in accordance with the calling conventions of the country where he/she wants to establish a conversation. This service is helping businesses better because the access code which is flashed on the client’s telephone or cell is similar to the dialing conventions of his/her country. This creates a sense of familiarity in the mind of clients and also reduces the need to setup local offices to cater clients present all over the World.

Today businesses are growing big but still it is not possible for them to establish their offices all round the world. This is where services like virtual call forwarding help businesses to deal with their clients by having conversation to discuss business issues. Although these services are benefitting businesses more but they are useful for individuals too. These services are cost-effective and convenient to use and helps individuals to stay connected with people who matters to them.

Teleconferencing services have changed the way people use to communicate. Today no matter what is the geographical position of an individual he/she is not far away and is easily accessible.