sundance-communications.com/forum Forums General General Telephone & Systems Information Guidance sought, VOIP setup for small business

I've been doing a little reading and searching here and decided it's time to jump in and ask for some guidance.

I do a lot of IT freelance work, everything from helping configure an email account to completely installing a small company's computing needs.

My best client, the goose the lays the golden eggs, needs a voip solution. I've ventured into these waters only peripherally, having assisted in the setup and maintenance of a DSL solution for another client, that included one of those panasonic voip servers. But I only helped with the simplest parts of the phone installation, as the bulk came from the guy who sold the Panasonic equipment and the DSL provider, and that setup is overkill for what this client needs besides.

They're small but want to be versatile and high tech. They want 4 incoming phone numbers initially, and initially need about 8 extensions in the office, one of them with basic attendant features (it should be noted that they prefer to have a human answer most of the incoming numbers and then transfer where needed). And they want voicemail. And importantly, they are an international group that travels alot so they want "find me" and conferencing, which I believe are basically features provided by a service provider, not hardware. Later they want to be able to expand to possibly double those incoming lines and extensions.

Now this client really is a dream client. They have a huge budget, and they love me, and are often willing to pay me to learn to do things for them when I don't already know how.

So at first I thought "hey great, they will pay me to learn how to install this setup and it's going to be another talent I'll have for future clients." But I've read some of the posts by the helpful pros here, and seen what they think of the easiest solutions, e.g., TalkSwitch, and read the dire warnings to those trying to save some money with self-installs. And I have an ethical obligation to the client to always do my best and deliver results. And of course I still want to get them the best deal I can, which means something not outrageously expensive, and something that demonstrates they are getting a good deal and saving a few dollars somehow.

But if learning to this myself is unrealistic, and please tell me if it isn't, I still want to be involved in this (and profiting from it) to the largest degree possible. I'd be very grateful for everyone's input into the best solution for my client (and I).

Not to be an ass, but based on some of the remedial questions you are asking; I'd suggest partnering with someone with more experience on the phone side to help get them going.

My best client,

If this is truly the case, then you shouldn't let them be your guinea pig, as you install a system from which you will learn to shape and mold based on their complaints and dissatisfactions; as you have expressed, you know what i mean...

I am an Avaya business partner. I think your approach is what gives the IP Office its bad name.\

Joe schmoes trying to learn a new trade and install a system they have no business touching.

There are reasons manufacturers require certain classes to even sell the systems they produce....

Welcome to the board Gregory.

You did the right thing first, which was seeking out experienced opinions on something you are inexperienced with. This at least puts you up a notch in my book.

Since your post contains to many red flags of why you should not be doing this install I will instead approach my reply from a different angle.

Part of good customer service is the ability to just say No. Just because they seem willing now to be a guinea pig does not mean you shouldn't protect them from their own ignorance. Can you learn it? Probably. But what will it cost them in bills and/or you in business while you learn it? Not only that, are you learning to do things properly? Will the system be correct after the install? Will you be able to handle warranties and training and tech support on it? Ultimately (relating back to customer service) will they be happy when it's done? If you are seriously still entertaining the idea of them paying for your learning curve then you need to do your own due diligence and explain it to them.

Explain to them that you are not a phone guy, and you do not know much about how the phone system works (relatively speaking). Explain that they may be down for hours, days, weeks, months at a time while you research things and try to fix them (if you can). Explain that you may not be able to make it work correctly, and maybe not at all. Explain that your learning curve may be days, weeks, months, years.

If, after your firm explanation, they are still chomping at the bit to have you install their phones, then have at it.

What might be better for you if you want to learn a phone system is to find a dealer of brand X in your area and pay them extra to give you some training during the install. This would atleast let you learn while someone with experience can make sure it's done right.

You can also look into certification programs for your preferred brand as well. From what I understand they run about a week long on average and range from 3 to 10K depending on the class.

By all means, learn the trade. However, you will not be a competent phone guy by reading a book or browsing this forum. Setting up an IP-PBX is not difficult if you do it everyday with the right equipment/planning. Contact a local vendor, request a partnership and go out at it. Take some profit off the top for making the sale and the vendor will thank you for finding him a client. If you want to learn, ask to be involved in the whole process. To piggy-back off your network, they'll need your permission anyway. You won't learn everything on one job but its a start. Throw business my way often and you'll soon be a multi-faceted competitor to 'just-data' and 'just-phone' guys. At the same time, I learn data tricks and we both eat better.

I think you did the right thing coming here asking questions.

You really do need to find a local vendor whose service is top notch and do some business networking with them. This could be a long lasting relationship with a telephony company and as was stated by meisgq "you both learn and we all eat better".

1. Go local.

2. Do real research (i.e - call the reference list, get to know the quality of service)

3. Most phone systems today all have the same features... you're buying good service, not features.

4. Have fun learning and keep us updated!

I think you, like most IT people think that this is something you can learn on your own. Most have the inflated perception (and ego to go with it) that because they know their way around PCs and networks something like this should be easy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. No matter how you sugar coat it in your post, you have no business attempting this.

If you want to take care of your customer, be a professional and recognize your limitations. Refer them to someone who has actually done this before and can give them what they want as well as the service and support that they will need. When their system goes down one afternoon, the last thing the need is you standing there scratching your butt trying to figure out what happened.

If you want to get into selling and maintaining telecom, do it the right way. Pick a manufacturer that you like, approach them and if they accept you take their certification classes. We have enough trunk slammers and CGs trying to do this already and this is what gives this industry a bad name.

-Hal

GregoryX

I'm going to take some heat for this from my esteemed and highly respected colleagues on this board but I think what you want to do can be done.

The two biggest mistakes made by rookies are:

1) They don't get dead serious about the details during the original install.

2) They consider the telephone side of office business operations to be of secondary importance.

When any member of that office staff goes to the telephone they are going to expect dial tone. If they don't get that basic service your status in their book as the golden child will drop like a bowling ball in water.

If you have confidence in yourself and you are willing to trust someone with experience when you hear "this is important" or "don't do that, you're asking for trouble" then I'll stick my neck out for you.

I want to thank you all for your responses. And I was fully expecting, based on my preliminary reading of posts here, for your responses to urge me to get a professional to do it. And I'll consider the information of each of these posts. And thanks for the PM's as well.

I definitely have no intention of giving this business a bad name or spoiling a great client relationship, and I may very well hand it over to a vendor. I understand the more passionate negative comments come from frustration over people doing a poor job.

Question for MacOSX (from a fellow Machead) "2. Do real research (i.e - call the reference list, get to know the quality of service)" Where is this 'reference list' sorry.

And where is the best place to get a list of local vendors to call?

Please forgive me if they are right in front of me on this site. I didn't see them.

GregoryX, I am glad to see you have returned. Many new members here disappear when they don't read what they wanted to read in reply's.

Let's pursue the goal of what you want to accomplish in the office first then we will move on to what to use to accomplish the goal.

I see above that the office currently has a Panasonic of some variety in place. Can you describe it a bit more and tell us what you are expecting in the future if and when it is replaced?