Welcome to the P3 Telephone Integration Module.

In this article we are going to cover some key concepts, terminology and what to expect with the module.

Background

There are two main reasons this module was developed:

1. Call Tracking & Reporting
2. To help the CSR provide a better Customer experience

When phone rings inside of P3 two great things will happen for your company. 

One, the CSR will know who is calling and the software will immediately provide details about the customer - things like important notes, the status of the customer (active service agreement) and if there are any open calls they might be calling about.  From there, accessing the customer details or creating a new service call is only a click away.  No more spending time searching and finding a customer record, that information is now immediately available.  This will allow your CSR to focus on the needs of the customer, rather than finding the customer in the database.

Two, the software will automatically track many details which will allow owners and managers to make more informed decisions.  For example, by having the Lead Source tied to the incoming phone number, determining a ROI for various marketing campaigns is straight forward.  In addition, track the number of calls received, CSR conversion rates, call times, the percentage of calls that are actually bookable is easily obtained through Dashboard reports.  Lastly the software is tracking several metrics via a CSR dashboard to make it easy to understand CSR performance.

Before You Enable the Module

There are a couple of key concepts that need to be covered before the Telephone Module is activated for your account:

• Phone Numbers
• Phone Number Forwarding
• Equipment

Phone Numbers

Please gather a list of all phone numbers that you want to be answered inside of P3.  If any phone numbers are tied to specific marketing campaigns, please double check that there is a P3 Lead Source for the marketing campaign.  This is how the software will automatically track call revenue by lead source and provide a marketing ROI. 

Phone Number Forwarding

Currently, phone numbers from your existing phone system/provider will be forwarded to P3.  The main reason we are FORWARDING and not PORTING the number is to provide a backup plan should there be an issue within P3.  In this case, the forwarding can be stopped and the phone calls can be answered like before.

P3 will create an equal number of phone numbers as you presently have today.  Then the phone numbers will be mapped and when your company is ready, they will be forwarded based on this mapping.  P3 stores the relationship between the old number, new number and lead source.

Equipment

All phone calls will be answered within the Command Center.  Therefore, each person that will answer a phone call, will need a microphone and speaker to communicate with the caller.  Having a high-speed Internet connection will be vital for clear communication with the caller.

As phone calls are answered within P3, it is vital to maintain your login within P3.  We have taken measures to make sure the call answering screen is never accidentally closed, but at the same, one make sure to stay logged into the software and not go idle, otherwise the call will cannot be answered.

The good news is that there are multiple settings on how to handle situations when a call is not answered, both during business hours and after hours.

Answering Phone Calls

Please watch the demo below on how calls are answered within the software.  All calls are answered on the "Call Summary Dashboard."  

Call Summary Dashboard.

This is the only screen where a call can be received.  As a result, as mentioned above, it is vital that the screen stay active.   To help keep this screen active at all times P3 has done two things.

One, when a CSR first logs into the Command Center, the Call Summary Dashboard will automatically appear in a tab.   It will be the first tab opened in your browser (your normal home page will open in a separate tab).   In addition, while on the Call Summary Dashboard, it will be natural to click around.  Any action leading to another page will automatically open that page in a new tab.  Therefore, it will be impossible to accidentally close down the Call Summary Dashboard.

Call Box

The "Call Box" is the box that will appear on the Call Summary Dashboard to indicate that there is a new call to be answered.  In addition, there will be a beep/ring to indicate there is a new call present in case you are not the Call Summary Dashboard when the call comes in.

The Call Box is highly customizable.  Not only can the information displayed within the Call Box be configured, but also the color coding of the Call Box itself.  Common attributes are color coding to indicate active service agreement customer or Do Not Service customers, in addition controlling the amount of customer data displayed - location information, notes, open service calls, etc.

When there are multiple active calls, there will be multiple Call Boxes - one for each caller.

Call Box Controls

The Call Box has a set of controls to allow for the following functionality:

• Answer the Call
• Decline the Call
• Put the Call on Hold
• Forward the Call
• Block the Call
• Drill into the Customer Record
• Create a New Service Call
• Dialpad

Some of these controls are configurable, but most are common controls that will be available for all calls.

Call Actions

In addition the normal process of answering calls, the system can be setup to take additional actions.   Calls can be automatically recorded or turned off with the ability to be recorded by the CSR.   Custom messages can be played before a call is answered, giving important information to the caller.  Custom messages can be played when a caller is placed on-hold.  Call recordings can be made available for Technicians.  These are just a handful of common actions that can be configured within the software.

After the Call

When a call is concluded, there will be a Call Disposition popup.  This is an opportunity for the CSR to provide a call summary which includes the following:

• Is the Call Bookable
• Call Disposition/Status
• Notes

Please note that each company determine if this is required or optional.  In addition, the ability to change this information later is available.  This is available on a permission basis and can allow the CSRs to update information later or for managers to override if a call was actually bookable.

Missed Calls

Whether during normal business hours or after hours, sometimes the phone does not get answered.  The software has multiple reports and settings to help manage this situation.    Missed or Unanswered Calls is part of the main Call Summary Dashboard which allows these calls to be immediately identified and with one click to listen to the voicemail.

In addition, the software has settings available to forward the call to another number.  Whether it is a fallback number, a call answering service or a technician on call, the software can route to the appropriate party.   Furthermore, internal notifications can be sent outside of the software.  Both emails and text messages can be sent to designated people when a call is missed.

Help

Here are links to the Help Desk Articles on various topics.

General Settings

• General Settings - Incoming Call Display
• General Settings - Incoming Calls - Caller Color Coding
• General Settings - Incoming Call Actions
• General Settings - Unanswered Calls

Other Settings

• Phone Numbers
• Call Disposition
• Declined Call Reasons
• Vendor List

Dashboard Reports

• Total Calls
• Call Trend
• Average Call Time
• % of Bookable Calls
• CSR Conversion Rate
• CSR Call Time
• Incoming Call Source
• CSR Call Volume
• Call Dispositions
• Top 5 Call Revenue

Standard Reports

• Call Log
• CSR Dashboard
• Voicemail
• Blocked Call
• Call Revenue