MyOrderDesk by PagePath

Last month I discussed sales calls on the cheap which essentially was all about price.   Well cheap is great but what about quality and reasons behind choosing Skype other than price.  Let’s face it if it’s cheap and the quality isn’t there it’s not worth it especially if you’re conducting business.

Let’s address the fist point of quality.  What is Skype? Skype is a VoIP based phone system that relies on your internet connection to make phone calls.  In order to use it you must be connected to the internet and the connection needs to be high speed.   Being that high speed internet is becoming the norm and not the exception this allows you to make phone calls from virtually anywhere in the world.  In my particular situation I use it at home the majority of the time over a cable internet connection but I do go into the office a few times a month where they have a DSL connection.  At either location I have no issues with call quality.   When I fist started using Skype I would occasionally ask my prospects “how’s the phone quality, we are testing out a new phone system”.  Every response was favorable and they had no idea that I was using Skype.  Now I haven’t had the opportunity to test the dinosaur of dial up but my suspicions would be that the results are unfavorable.  In fact my new laptop doesn’t even have a modem to connect a phone line.  In those rare particular cases that I am not around a high speed connection I just use my cell phone.  Even then I can use a SkypeToGo number to make my calls using a local number even though the call is international.

The second point was reasons for choosing Skype.  Most of the time sales people like to be mobile so they’ve got their trusty laptop to be on the go.   Being that Skype is software based you can take it with you where ever you go.  At the very least  you should have your Skype headset with you as well.  So, not bad a laptop that you lug around anyway and a headset that weighs only ounces.  With other VoIP solutions such as Vonage and Packet8 you need to lug around a little box and a phone or phone/box combo.   That may not sound like much but you have to plug in the power cords and network cables.   What happens when you can’t plug in a network cable and only wireless is available, uh oh!    Since Skype is installed on your laptop no wires necessary.   Look mom no wires!!  At least till your laptop battery dies but it’s much easier to find an outlet than a wired network connection.   Also, if you think about when you go to a hotel, airport or hotspot what do they have you do?  They have you sign into a webpage to enable the wireless connection, try doing that with Vonage or Packet8 hardware.

I mentioned earlier about getting a Skype headset which is very important.  Since it is designed to be used with Skype this means they’ve done all the testing for you there’s no need to play Russian ruellet with headsets.   Make sure you get a headset that has a USB connection.   The USB headset can be assigned to only be used with Skype within the Skype application.  So when instant messenger pops-up or arriving emails make noises they won’t be blasted in your ear.   Computer noises are directed out the computer speakers and Skype calls are directed to the headset.  This also allows you to mute the computer speakers but not the headset.

There you have it just about as mobile as you can get on $8.95 to $18.95 a month to make those paycheck impacting phone calls.

Michael is a Sales Representative and Support Manager at PagePath Technologies. PagePath was founded in 1983 and is headquartered in Plano, Illinois. PagePath’s MyOrderDesk is an eCommerce solution that combines, Web-to-Print, automated proofing, pricing, reordering and more. It seamlessly integrates into a printing organization’s existing website or can be used as a standalone site. MyOrderDesk is known throughout the printing industry as the leader in Web-to-Print software.