A softphone is software that allows users to make phone calls over the internet from any device as long as it has a speaker and mic. Computers, tablets, and mobile devices are all commonly paired with softphone technology. Softphones connect to Voice over IP (VoIP) systems.

A softphone allows users to make telephone calls without needing to use a physical telephone. Softphone software like Lead Center by CallRail accommodates many great features in addition to telephony that make it central to business productivity, such as: click-to-call, call recording and transcripts, visual voicemail, live chat, text messaging, a unified team inbox, a complete interaction history for all contacts, and many more.

How a Softphone Works

Softphones allow for making phone calls just like hard phones (typical office desk phones) and landlines do, except they use software to make calls. Given they are powered through software, they also provide convenient features that simplify running your business.

The Lead Center softphone by CallRail works by extending beyond the basic functions of your typical office phone. Lead Center serves as a business phone system backed by lead intelligence. In other words, Lead Center connects your marketing campaigns to the leads they drive – whether leads contact your business via call, text, or chat. When someone calls your business and you answer with the Lead Center softphone by CallRail you see before you even answer, what marketing channel, campaign or keyword caused them to call.

Team members benefit from Lead Center’s unified communications inbox in that they’re able to work more closely together thanks to the central point of truth which all incoming calls, texts, and chats flow through. The team inbox along with the complete interaction timeline for every lead and customer means the Lead Center softphone works for your team – and not the other way around. In addition to a complete timeline of your customers’ interactions with your business, your team members have the ability to add notes that can be referenced later or by the next person who speaks to the customer – to give them the context they need to have more productive conversations.

How do businesses use softphones?

Some businesses choose to use softphones instead of traditional phones to save money on infrastructure. Since softphones are software applications that can be added to existing devices, there’s no need for an additional telephone hardware investment. Softphones are therefore seen as more scalable than other communication options.

According to SearchUnifiedCommunications.com, “A desk phone is a relatively pricey piece of hardware that requires a company to pull additional cables to cubicles, and desk phones come with a certain amount of operational overhead for support and maintenance.”

Installing software and being able to get started almost right away is a much faster and less expensive onboarding process compared with the more manual setup required for “hardphones.” This is a big deal for small businesses that are growing quickly as well as medium and large businesses who save time by not keeping track of physical telephones.

Businesses also use softphones opposed to more traditional hard phone options for productivity. The Lead Center softphone by CallRail provides the following benefits:

Lead Intelligence: When you understand the interaction history for each lead, plus which ad, keyword, or other promotional source inspired a lead to reach out you can:

• Have smarter conversations, gain the context and confidence you need to elevate customer service, and win more, better customers
• Focus your time, effort, and marketing dollars on the sources and campaigns that work

Unified Team Communications: Work together more efficiently as a team from a unified communications inbox where calls, texts, and chats flow so available team members can manage them together.

Sales Efficiency: Leverage smart call routing to keep your team’s attention focused where it’s needed most. Lead Center’s integrations also reduce the need for tool toggling.

Ease of Use: Easy to set up and use – no complicated provisioning or IT team needed, just add your team and start doing business.

Key Features of The Best Softphone Software

Best-in-class softphone software like Lead Center offers a range of value-add features, helping your customer service team do more with less, no matter where they’re working from.

Make phone calls from any number and any device

Lead Center’s virtual phone system decouples phone numbers and physical phones. Instead of being tethered by a corded desk phone at the office, Lead Center turns any device into a cloud phone over the internet. You can take calls from your desktop PC, laptop, mobile device, or tablet — with the same single, easy-to-use interface.

Maintain professionalism and privacy

You and your team shouldn’t have to share your personal number with customers or prospects. Through your smartphone with the Lead Center app, you won’t have to. The Lead Center app lets you handle business calls and texts via softphone, giving you greater peace of mind and your leads one less number to learn.

Place and receive calls with numbers your customers recognize

With Lead Center, not only can you see the sources that drive leads to your business, but you can also immediately take action on leads using tracked phone numbers to follow up via phone or text. After all, your leads are more likely to answer a call or message from a number they recognize. As you consider which softphone is right for your business, consider Lead Center for unique call tracking features like this –- that only CallRail can provide.

Easily capture and access lead data

Lead Center automatically creates a searchable database of your leads and customers as they contact you. What’s more, a detailed record of every interaction is neatly filed under each contact for you. Every team member has the context they need at their fingertips – accessible from any device.

Benefits of using softphones

Businesses can enjoy several benefits from softphone software compared with traditional telephone systems. Using softphones allows businesses to:

• Have smarter conversations, leveraging built-in lead intelligence (like marketing source and interaction history)
• Customizable call routing and call forwarding
• Monitor calls in real time
• Record and transcribe calls
• Allow employees to access softphone system from anywhere through a softphone app

Another benefit of the softphone is that it can move where the person who needs it goes. More workplaces are becoming remote or telecommute friendly. Having a softphone attached to an employee’s laptop and mobile phone means he or she can take calls to business phone numbers while at the office traveling, and working from home.

Similarly, softphones give users a single phone number to take calls regardless of the device he or she is using. No more giving out personal cell phone numbers to customers. These benefits can make life much easier on businesses as small as single entrepreneurs to larger companies with multiple locations.

Are there drawbacks to softphones?

While you do not need traditional telephone hardware to use a softphone, you might need a headset type of device with a microphone and headphones if you plan to take and make calls from your computer. Most softphones offer a speakerphone option, but not everyone wants to talk to their computers on speakerphone every time they take a phone call.

As softphones are reliant on an existing device and an internet connection, if either of those fails, users will be left with no way to make calls. If your laptop crashes or you lose internet connection, you’ll have to reboot and potentially resort to a traditional phone device. There are softphone apps that use a smart device as the telephone, but constant use (as with any app) can run down a device’s battery quickly.

That being said, as with any modern technology, you need to weigh the benefits against the potential risks – and in nearly all cases – a softphone like Lead Center by CallRail could benefit your business tremendously.

What businesses benefit from using softphone technology?

Softphone technology can benefit a wide range of businesses, from single-owner small businesses to large companies with dedicated contact centers. Any organization that handles calls can benefit from the accessibility, flexibility, and capabilities of these systems.

Small businesses

For small and midsize businesses working hard to grow, maintaining professionalism and the image that they’re “bigger than they actually are” are often cited as important when it comes to client-facing work. Team members typically wear a lot of hats and can end up overextended, so providing a smooth and unified customer service approach requires the right tools.

Softphones are the ideal solution for small companies or teams that rely on phone calls, text messages, and/or live chats to generate leads, acquire customers, and grow their businesses.

The Lead Center softphone serves as both the business phone system small companies need for handling calls from leads and customers, as well as the central point of truth for team members to remain current with each and every customer’s journey. Keep up professional appearances, no matter your size, by having every detail about your leads and customers at your fingertips: from the first ad they see, to each and every touchpoint along their journey.

According to a recent CallRail study, 95% of Small and Midsize Business (SMB) leaders reported wanting to improve their customer communications tools. Learn more about the reasons they cited, along with key solutions on the horizon by downloading the full report: Keep leads from falling through the cracks: A report on how small and midsize business teams handle customer communications.

Entrepreneurs

Investing in a softphone system can empower small business owners to scale their ventures without large capital investments in expenses like office space. Small business owners can take calls from anywhere on a dedicated business number.

With Lead Center, entrepreneurs can take advantage of features like customizable call routing with intro messages and menu steps so their business comes across as professional to potential customers – even when it’s still in its infancy.

Softphones also open up the option to hire employees who can work remotely while accommodating customers’ needs without skipping a beat.

Home services providers

Companies that provide home services like pest control, lawn care, home renovations, or house cleaning are well-suited for softphone systems. These businesses often have employees deployed all over their local areas.

Often, no one is in the office to take phone calls as they come in. Softphones or software phones ensure that calls ring on both computers and mobile phones at the same time, so you can answer quickly from whichever device is most convenient for you. This ensures your company won't miss out on any leads. The technology also allows each employee to have a dedicated business line instead of answering calls on their personal phone numbers.

Healthcare providers

Softphone gives healthcare providers remote capabilities, which is beneficial to healthcare professionals who work as home health aides and other positions outside a medical facility.

Some softphone companies also offer services like HIPAA compliance tools. These features can help healthcare providers maintain their legal obligations around patient privacy.

Law firms

Like any other small and midsize businesses, law firms face challenges with bringing new prospective clients into their marketing funnel and staying organized and informed of the journey leads and customers take with the firm. When secretaries, assistants, team members, and attorneys themselves interact with leads and customers, it’s pertinent to the firm’s image that team members have the latest accurate information.

With the Lead Center softphone, team members have the information they need to have better conversations, whether that’s to convert leads or facilitate a positive experience for clients, all the necessary context is easily accessible in one central point of truth. Lead intelligence at scale also provides valuable insights firms can use to drive more of their highest value leads.

Real estate companies

The Lead Center softphone is the answer for realtors and real estate agents whose job it is to be on the go: commuting one minute, at an open house the next, and at a coffee shop later. Wherever you are, Lead Center ensures you don’t miss important calls and messages. Not only does Lead Center organize all your calls and texts into a single inbox – it can also completely replace the phone system that’s tethered to the desk you never sit at.

Sales-based businesses

Today's sales and marketing teams are increasingly driven by data insights into customer behavior. Softphone technology can automatically collect and categorize call data as it comes into the desktop softphone system, providing these teams with information about call types, customer satisfaction, and other key metrics.

Midsize and large companies

The cost savings of switching from an interconnected, wired, traditional phone system to a softphone is one reason larger companies are making the switch.

Many companies discovered unexpected benefits of cloud-based phone systems during the shutdowns created during the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. Employees were able to work from home and continue performing phone-related tasks because of the built-in remote capabilities and unified communication of softphones.

For some businesses, the move to digital telecom services may be inevitable. In many parts of the world, copper landlines are fading into history as they are taken out of commission by local phone companies and replaced by optical fiber.

At this point, 20 states have allowed AT&T to stop servicing copper landlines. This move paves the way for telecom companies to develop VoIP phone systems and other modern communications tech.

Contact centers

Softphones are great for contact centers in that these teams need to remain current with customer interactions across a variety of channels, including telephone, SMS, and chat. Since Customers feel more engaged with companies and satisfied with service when they can reach agents quickly and resolve their needs efficiently, Lead Center helps teams gain a bird's eye view of the customer journey with the interaction timeline, and stay on the same page with one another through notes and tags. With these features, employees are able to resolve issues no matter what channel leads and customers use to get in touch.

How to set up a Lead Center softphone free trial

Setting up your Lead Center softphone is as easy as starting a free, 14-day trial.

Start your free trial here