{"id":2339,"date":"2018-08-02T16:59:03","date_gmt":"2018-08-02T16:59:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/?p=2339"},"modified":"2018-08-02T16:59:03","modified_gmt":"2018-08-02T16:59:03","slug":"the-importance-of-phone-numbers-in-a-wisp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/the-importance-of-phone-numbers-in-a-wisp\/","title":{"rendered":"The importance of phone numbers in a WISP"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the things I see startup wisps do wrong is their use of phone numbers.\u00a0 This is one of those details that is often overlooked but is critical. It’s critical not only for tracking but also for the sanity of everyone involved.\u00a0 Let’s identify where many WISPs go wrong.<\/p>\n

The typical startup wisp is a type A go-getter. This is what Entrepreneurs are by default.\u00a0 Once they have a plan they jump head over heels in. Many may start with a simple phone number, but when they call a customer if they are on their way to do an install or something they end up using their phone number.\u00a0 The problem is customers keep this cell phone.\u00a0 If the office is closed they start texting or calling any number they have.\u00a0 Some customers will be respectful of boundaries, but many will not.\u00a0 If they are getting packet loss at 3 am they are calling and texting.\u00a0 This problem compounds as you grow and you have multiple installers involved. You want customer issues tracked in some sort of ticket\/CRM system. You also don’t want your employees ahev to answer customer texts or calls after hours if they aren’t being paid.\u00a0 It’s one of the quickest ways for employees to get burnt out or say the incorrect things.<\/p>\n

So how do you solve this? The simple buzzword answer is unified communications.\u00a0 One of the easiest and cheapest is Google Voice<\/a>. With Google Voice and others, you have a primary number. This is the number you give out to clients. They call this and it rings another phone or phones.\u00a0 This can be an extension on the VOIP system it is a part of, another number, and\/or cell phones.\u00a0 Depending on the level of sophistication it can ring all the programmed numbers at once, or ring one, and move on to the next one. If no one answers it drops the caller into voice mail.\u00a0With Google voice, the programmed numbers are all rang at once.<\/p>\n

The inbound ringing is pretty standard.\u00a0 The “trick” for the WISP is the outgoing calling. You want to be able to call a customer and have it come up as the main number’s caller ID, not your cell phone. Most PBX systems can be set up to do this with the extensions attached to them.\u00a0 Cell phone calls are a little more complicated.\u00a0 The way Google Voice solves this is through the use of forwarding numbers, You bring up the app, enter a number and it actually calls a different number.\u00a0 Behind the scenes, it is using this forwarding number to “spoof” your number to the person you are calling.\u00a0 \u00a0Your phone is not calling the other party directly. Your phone calls this forwarding number behind the scenes and works it all out on the backend.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Other vendors have Apps which do similar functions. Asterisk\u00a0has their\u00a0DISA function<\/a>.\u00a0 Once you have these functions setup it boils down to training and processes.\u00a0 Your installers need to remember to use the app or the function when calling customers.\u00a0 As the company grows, a way to help this situation is for employees to not use personal cell phones.\u00a0 If a company provides a cell phone the employee can customize voicemail, or even forward no answers to the help desk should a customer get the cell phone.<\/p>\n

Hope this helps one of the glaring issues a startup faces.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the things I see startup wisps do wrong is their use of phone numbers.\u00a0 This is one of those details that is often overlooked but is critical. It’s critical not only for tracking but also for the sanity of everyone involved.\u00a0 Let’s identify where many WISPs go wrong. The typical startup wisp is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[1],"tags":[576,546,575,5],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/DSC00287.jpg?fit=5184%2C3888","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6VLMf-BJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3307,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/small-cells-and-hybrid-networks-for-wisps-part-1\/","url_meta":{"origin":2339,"position":0},"title":"Small Cells and hybrid networks for WISPs: Part 1","author":"j2sw","date":"April 7, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Update. Due to some weirdness with a server move this article has been updated at http:\/\/blog.j2sw.com\/2019\/04\/25\/small-cells-and-hybrid-networks-for-wisps-part-1\/ The never-ending goal of any Wireless Internet Service Provider (WISP) is how to get ever-increasing levels of bandwidth to clients. 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In answering 38 vendor-neutral questions, 721 WISPs from 47 countries, provided a comprehensive view of the global WISP industry.\u00a0 The active participation in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Cambium"","block_context":{"text":"Cambium","link":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/category\/cambium\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":295,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/american-tower-webinar-for-wisps\/","url_meta":{"origin":2339,"position":2},"title":"American Tower Webinar for WISPS","author":"j2sw","date":"May 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"An advertisement on the WISPA list. Useful for any WISP looking at deploying on American Tower Towers or Cell towers in general. https:\/\/attendee.gotowebinar.com\/register\/7229015539956879618 \u00a0","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1688,"url":"http:\/\/www.mtin.net\/blog\/open-letter-to-the-fcc-about-cbrs\/","url_meta":{"origin":2339,"position":3},"title":"Open Letter to the FCC about CBRS","author":"j2sw","date":"July 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"An open letter regarding: GN Docket No. 12-354 RM-11788 RM-11789 I am writing on behalf of my Company MTIN.NET LLC in regard to the proposed changes to the CBRS band. We are primarily a consulting company for Wireless Internet Providers (WISPs). 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