Long telephone conversations are obviously expensive. Calls should be planned and precise but, in addition to keeping the conversation as short as possible, consider other ways of reducing the telephone bill.
1. Check for overcharges on your telephone bill
By keeping a close eye on all the detail and by checking against your own records it may surprise you how often you may be able to identify an overcharge. Perhaps you don’t even look at the telephone bill but please don’t leave it to the telephone company. Treat it like any other supplier’s invoice and subject the account to scrutiny. Get out the last three years’ telephone bills and compare the quarterly charges item by item, line by line.
2. Meter the cost of telephone calls
If you don’t have a call logger have a chat with your operator to see who spends too much time on the phone — then confront the culprits frankly.
3. Make use of cheap and standard rate calls
British Telecom’s charges vary according to distance and the time of day the call is made. For example, ‘cheap rates’ are available Monday to Friday 6 to 8 pm and weekends, `standard rates’ Monday to Friday 8 to 9 am and 1 to 6 pm, and `peak rates’ are Monday to Friday 9 am to 1 pm.
Calls made during cheap rate times are less than half the cost of peak rate calls, and those made during standard rate times are generally a quarter to a third less than the cost of peak rate calls.
Every business should obtain a copy of the booklet ‘Your guide to telephone charges’ obtainable free of charge from British Telecom, and study it. By retiming routine calls and properly controlling the use of the telephone in your business your telephone costs will plummet.
4. Discourage reverse charge calls
Very expensive. Get your operator to make a note of the number and return the call.
5. Make staff aware of your firm’s telephone account
Make them aware of the cost and they’ll most likely want to co-operate to reduce it.
6. Lock direct lines at night
You are inviting private calls by employees working late, particularly those expensive overseas calls, if you don’t lock each extension that has an outside line. Simple locks are available.
7. Pay a fair proportion of home telephone accounts
A number of executives have all or part of their home telephone accounts paid by the company, usually because they use their home phones for business in the evenings and at weekends. You should check that you are not paying too big a share. If the employees’ contribution was fixed years ago it could be adjusted for inflation.
8. Plan the conversation
As time is most definitely money when it comes to the telephone, outgoing calls should be planned. Prepare the call by making a note of what you want to say, getting the relevant files out and knowing the right reference numbers, extension number etc. Searching for information while the call charge is ticking away is pure waste.
9. Book calls through the operator
Some people book their calls through a secretary, who in turn processes the call through the operator. Try asking the operator to get your calls directly for you, leaving your secretary free to do some important work in a different capacity.
Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)
Calls, Keeping the Conversation as short as possible, Learn Reducing the Telephone Bill (1-9)
- Calls, Keeping the Conversation as short as possible, Learn Reducing the Telephone Bill (10-17)
- The Follow-up: What Do You Do, Or Not Do, for an Encore?
- Selling the Network Marketing Concept part 1
- Projecting A New Airline's Finances: The People Express Model
- Common questions about network marketing
- Involved in Success New Products and Product Improvements
- Project Collaboration Monitoring, Control and Information
- Investing in your best is ... The Fairest thing to do
- The Art of Motivating Employees
- Just How Effective Is Your Network?
