The January 2019 Issue of TAS Trader

Amtelco Cloud-Based Platform

A New Year Means New Possibilities

Embrace Today as an Opportunity to Form a Better Tomorrow

By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD

As we step into the new year, we embrace the potential that it brings. Now is the time to move toward our best year yet. It starts with embracing the opportunities we have in front of us at this moment.

Author Peter Lyle DeHaan

What might this be? It might involve personnel, such as a new hire, a restructuring, or fixing a broken team. Could it be technology? To implement or fully master what’s already installed, to acquire something new, or to replace something that’s inadequate. What about operations? Streamline an outdated process, establish a procedure, or simplify the complicated. Then there’s sales and marketing. Master online ads, overhaul sales collateral, or update an ineffective website.

There’s plenty to do and each one of these things will help pave the way for a better tomorrow.

Today Is the Day: We’re a couple days into the new year, and if you’re like me, you’re still trying to wrap up last year and put a nice bow on it. Yet it’s hard to look forward when we’re absorbed with the past. It’s true that we shouldn’t leave last year undone, yet we shouldn’t use this as an excuse to not move forward. Today is the day to step into our future. Don’t delay.

Don’t Wait for Tomorrow: We shouldn’t delude ourselves into thinking that next week will be a better time to embark on a special project. Promising ourselves that we’ll make a fresh go of it tomorrow, merely serves to delay forward progress. Putting things off till tomorrow can easily become next week and then next month. Before we know it, it’s spring and then summer, and the year is half over. Don’t wait for a better time to launch important initiatives. Start today.

Focus on One Thing: I have more great ideas then I’ll ever have time to do. If I try to do them all, I’ll end up accomplishing nothing. Therefore, join me today in picking one thing that will make tomorrow better. Then go do it. We aren’t likely to wrap up our project in one day, but the work we do now brings us one day closer to completing it.

Then Move to the Next Task: Once we complete one item, it’s time to start the next. Though taking a day off to catch our breath is enticing, it also threatens to negate the habit we just formed of using today to produce a better tomorrow.

May today be the day that we start to take hold of our future, for our business and for our life.

Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader. Check out his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.


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Why an Answering Service Is an Essential Part of a Disaster Management Plan

By Benjamin Pure

While the economics of hiring an answering service appears to be driving a rapid growth in the industry, answering services are in the spotlight for yet another reason—their role in ensuring seamless continuity for critical services in times of unforeseen mishaps.

It’s important to collaborate as a business community to lay the groundwork for comprehensive disaster preparedness plans in times of crisis. Not only is it an essential community service, it encourages growth of our businesses and industry. Experienced answering services can go the extra mile by establishing multiple call centers with streamlined processes and protocols that can offset a substantial part of the affected center’s workload when needed. This ensures the best possible outcome in any given situation.

While all businesses prepare for breakdowns in service, it’s especially important for medical, government, and emergency related institutions given the importance of the services they provide. It’s imperative for such groups to plan for disasters that can disrupt or even further burden their infrastructure due to the increased call volume that can occur during a crisis.

Disasters—natural or man-made—amplify the need for community services, and relevant care or action is possible only if communication lines remain connected. Doctors need to be reached, patients need to be transported, members of the general population may need information or assistance, and family and caregivers need to stay connected to manage and mitigate the effects of any calamity. Hospitals, businesses, and relevant establishments cannot afford not to have backup communication in place given the central role they play in helping survivors. While always an advantage, an answering service can become indispensable at a time like this.

Benjamin Pure started his call center career from the ground up, answering calls while studying at university. After graduating, he transitioned into the management side of the business and is currently the business development manager for  The Doctors Answer. What Ben enjoys most about his work day is delivering real life solutions for real life problems.


Telephone Answering Service News

Startel Announces Retirement of Wayne Scaggs: Wayne Scaggs retired as the company’s director of corporate strategy effective January 1, 2019. Scaggs joined Alston Tascom (previously known as Conrac Alston) in 1979. He began as a field service engineer and progressed through the organization in a variety of roles until he had the opportunity to purchase the company in 1994. He served as the president of Alston Tascom until September 2017, when Startel, Professional Teledata, and Alston Tascom merged.

“I have given this decision a great deal of thought and concluded that the time is right for me to take this step,” said Scaggs. “I’m confident that Startel has the right strategy and team to drive our business forward.”

Amtelco’s Genesis Intelligent Series Receives Unify Certification: Amtelco received interoperability certification for the Genesis Intelligent Series call center console solution with the version 8.x Unify OpenScape 4000 PBX (private branch exchange) by the Unify Technology Partner Program, based in Munich, Germany, on December 3, 2018.

Testing of the interoperability between Amtelco’s Genesis Intelligent Series solution and Unify’s open SIP interface for the OpenScape 4000 PBX was conducted remotely in October by Amtelco’s PBX Integration Lab staff in McFarland, Wisconsin, and the Unify Communications Development Lab in Beersel, Belgium. Amtelco received interoperability certification from Unify in 2016 for the Infinity Intelligent Series call center console solution with the version 7.x Unify OpenScape 4000 PBX.

Send us your TAS articles and news for consideration in the next issue.


Quotes for the Month

“To cultivate kindness is a valuable part of the business of life.” -Samuel Johnson

“The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.” -Thomas Moore

“He broke into song because he couldn’t find the key.” -unknown