If you are not familiar with Google Voice here is the gist of what it is. Google Voice gives you one number for all your phones — a phone number that is tied to you, not to a device or a location. Use Google Voice to simplify the way you use phones, make using voicemail as easy as email, customize your callers’ experience, and more.
Google Voice has many features however I picked my top five cool features to share.
- FREE – who does not like free. For the past few years that I have been on Google Voice it has been free to use. You can now call any phone in the US and Canada for free. When they first introduced Voice you needed and invitation however, anyone can now sign up.
- Record you phone calls – be sure that it is legal though. This feature comes in handy for meeting calls, interviews or even strategy planning sessions. Each call is recorded and turned into an MP3 file to that it can be easily shared to others on the call or your website.
- Place your calls using your voice number. In your Google Voice dashboard you select Call which will then give you the option to input the number you are calling and the phone to call with. Now when you number is broadcast over caller ID it will be your Voice number. You can also add apps for Android and iPhones.
- Many options when responding to the voicemail. You get a text transcription of the voicemail along with the recording. From the dashboard with each call you are given the option to Call, Text, Add a note, Block, Forward in an email or Download.
- Customized greetings and group settings. You can create any group that you like and edit the setting such as which phone should ring or select a special greeting. It essentially acts as a personal secretary.
My favorite part, well aside from it being free, is that I can have my office number with me where ever I go and if I am unavailable I can forward to my backup team members so that my office phone is never unmanned.
If you are looking for help with manning your phones, Google Voice is an excellent choice that gives you the flexibility to set up a phone and move the calls to your team members or outsourced help.
Signing off short and sweet,
Lee
