CloudPhone Blog

There are several reasons why small business owners want call screening - especially around the holidays. Your business is booming with holiday orders and you can only make time for the most important callers. Another reason may be that a caller (think client or business partner) may need to be dealt with in a specific manner due to added holiday stress or deadlines, and you need to mentally prepare for that person. And it also might be that you want quality time with your family and just don't want to take business calls unless it's an emergency situation.

Regardless of your reasoning, call screening can provide a barrier between you and your callers - making your holidays more enjoyable and giving you some much needed work life balance. Plus, it's just one of the many free services that come with Voxox Cloud Phone. So, why not gift yourself call screening this holiday season?

Here are a few ways to put call screening, combined with other professional phone features, to work for you over the holidays (and everyday!):

1. Ho! Ho! Who?

You've probably called a number that asks you to state your name before connecting. With a professional calling service like Voxox Cloud Phone, you can require each caller to state their name and then choose to pick up or send to voicemail. The real gift here is that the caller will never be the wiser no matter which option you choose and it's a simple way to provide professional service to all inbound callers.

2. Christmas "Eaves"drop

Say you've decided to send a caller to voicemail because you didn't have time to talk, didn't recognize the name or maybe weren't sure if you can easily provide assistance at the moment. With Voxox Cloud Phone you can listen in on the voicemail message being left in real-time and pick up mid-message if something important catches your ear. This unique feature is called Eavesdrop and brings us back fond memories of Christmas mornings long ago screening answering machine messages from distant aunts and uncles - who then mention gifts!
3. An SMS Wonderland

The cookies are burning, your cat is climbing the tree and your grandma is requesting another hot toddy. This is when SMS comes in handy. You've screened the call and you want to answer, but just can't talk (read background noise), so you opt for business SMS instead. Voxox Cloud Phone lets you text contacts from your virtual business phone number so the conversation stays professional, you can get your work done and tend to your holiday guests all at the same time.

4. A Call to Remember

Holidays are busy and often require traveling or hosting. If an important call comes in that you can't miss, but also need to take detailed notes on, hit the call record button. This lets you listen in on the call at a more convenient time so you can recall all the details you might have forgotten - a present for your future self!

If call screening sounds like something you could use, tis' the season to sign up for a free virtual phone number and start saving yourself time and unnecessary holiday stress -- it will be the best gift you receive all year!

Your mobile is ringing but you don't recognize the number. It could be a cable sales call that you don't have time for right now... or it could be a major new lead for your business. How do you decide whether or not to take the call? This is where virtual PBX services like Voxox Cloud Phone come in super handy -- they offer advanced call settings that allow you to customize how your inbound calls are handled – a.k.a. call screening.

With call screening, you can require callers to speak their name/company before the system connects them to you, which also allows you to discretely screen unwanted callers. You can also set up your system to immediately connect callers to you without screening, if you so choose. These simple controls allow you to accept or reject calls without wasting any precious time.

Here are a few tips on ways to use and enhance your call screening capabilities to stay in touch with clients and partners, while also running your business:

1. Name Screening

Set up your call screening feature to ask each caller to state their name. You can listen to the caller’s name before you pick up—or send to voicemail if the call can wait. This process is discreet, and your callers will never know that you are opting to not accept their call.

2. Voicemail Screening

You've screened your incoming call and decided that the call is not high priority, thinking that you'll just listen to the voicemail message at a later time. But what if the call really WAS important and you missed it? Voxox Cloud Phone provides a really neat screening feature called Eavesdrop, which lets a user listen in real-time while a caller is leaving a voicemail with the option to pick up the call out of voicemail at any time. This is a pretty unique feature, reminiscent of those answering machines from the 90s but with a modern twist.

3. Call Recording

Thanks to your call screening feature, you took an important call that came through while you're out and about. You're not able to take notes while on the phone, so use your virtual PBX service to record calls with the call recording feature – listen back later, if you missed any details.

4. Voicemail Transcription

If you really can't pick up the call - perhaps you're in a meeting - then voicemail transcription is a great way to get a glimpse of what the message is about. Simply read your voicemails in text form as if they are emails or text messages and then figure out your next move.

Call screening is a simple way for busy business owners to add another layer between themselves and callers, saving time on unproductive phone conversations each week. Plus, with all the advanced features available with modern technology, it’s easy to customize a call screening structure that is just right for you and your business.