| ess means communication. Communication with your | | | | place. |
| clients, your suppliers, your bankers and, most | | | | Then get down to find out the average length of a |
| importantly with your own employees and colleagues | | | | telephone call made during this period. |
| who are more often than not out of the office sealing | | | | So, now you have three sets of data. They are: the |
| business deals or fulfilling business commitments | | | | total minutes of long distance telephone usage, |
| hundreds of miles away from the corporate | | | | zone-wise concentration of calls made, the average |
| headquarters. | | | | duration of a phone call. |
| All this means continuous communication involving | | | | Then try to project the future requirement of long |
| follow up with all the constituents of the business | | | | distance telephony in your business. In doing this |
| environment – both internal and external. | | | | projection you take into account not only your present |
| This also means a substantial amount of your hard | | | | client base and the expected increase in business |
| earned revenue going to the telecom provider of the | | | | volume with them, but also expected increase in your |
| long distance communication service. So, the amount | | | | client base and the possibility of venturing into new |
| spent in commercial long distance communication | | | | zones. Always provide at least a 10% cushion in all |
| needs to be very carefully monitored and evaluated to | | | | your projections. |
| ensure that every dollar is utilized in the most efficient | | | | You may want to look beyond traditional |
| manner. | | | | telecommunication channels and consider a voice T1 |
| In order to achieve the maximum efficiency for the | | | | service as an alternative. This is a digital service which |
| dollars spent on communication, certain well planned | | | | makes use of channels to strike voice connections as |
| steps should be taken. | | | | and when required. This service has the facility of |
| First go through the last six months’ billing details | | | | using eleven such channels simultaneously, which when |
| to find out how many minutes on an average have | | | | translated in layman’s language means that you |
| you spent on making long distance calls. The last six | | | | can hold a long distance conference with eleven |
| months should be a fair measure of your monthly long | | | | persons simultaneously! But this service requires |
| distance telephony. This is a long enough period to | | | | complex infrastructure and small or medium sized |
| take of any seasonal fluctuations your business may | | | | commercial entities may not find it economical. |
| experience during the course of a financial year. | | | | Whatever may be the size of your firm or business |
| The next step would be to break up this amount in the | | | | please remember that the competition between the |
| areas or zones you have most frequently called up. | | | | long distance communication service providers has |
| This is obviously known to you, because area-wise | | | | now become so fierce that they are willing to go to |
| communication is generally directly proportional to the | | | | any length to woo their clients. So, be ruthless while |
| geographical concentration of the business. This | | | | negotiating with them and don’t get carried |
| analysis would also help you to confirm no | | | | away by tall promises and smooth salesmanship. |
| disproportionate use of your telephone line is taking | | | | |