Answering Service, What Every Small Business Needs!
It can be difficult to fulfill the needs of a small business when you are busy. Every minute you spend on phone calls, voicemails, and emails is a minute spent not fulfilling your own needs. It's time to invest in an answering service to help take care of all those time consuming tasks and put more focus on your business!
This blog post will provide information about how an answering service works and what it does for businesses. You'll also learn about pricing models, as well as answers to common questions like "What if I want someone from my company always available?".
I myself use a company called LifeLine. I've been using them for several years now and have never had an issue. Here's their number: 1-866-223-9533 .
I recommend looking at the answering service you are considering to see if they offer phone answering services only or a combination of phone, email and live chat features as well. Phone answering is really important because it saves your staff time (and money) by allowing them to focus on things that need immediate attention. It also allows you to take voice messages without having to call back – saving more time!
Here are some more questions you may want answered before making a decision on this service:
1. What does the answering service do?
Answer calls for the business. They will answer the phone and help you handle any customer issues. Nothing more, nothing less! This is what they do best and they do it at a reasonable price. If you use them, your staff won't be spending valuable time on call backs on things outside of their job responsibilities (like sales calls). Instead they will be able to focus on things that need immediate attention like quality control problems, customers with technical issues, quality assurance issues, etc… which means they can spend more time doing what they are paid to do: providing excellent customer service.
2. How much does answering service cost?
There are a few pricing models that available. The service I use charges $16/month per agent to take calls and send emails. You can add in the chat feature for $5/month per agent, but that isn't necessary for answering service (you can easily set up an auto-response on your email with your business hours, address and phone number). This price is for unlimited calls, available 24/7. They also have a pay-per-call option which is great if you would like to only have one or two of your agents answering calls during certain times (like after hours or lunch)
3. What kind of phone line will I get?
You can either get a local number (if you are in an area like New Orleans where there is only one or two companies that serve your area) or a national number. You select this based on how many calls you want every hour and it's up to you!
4. What happens if I don't have the answer I'm looking for?
Nothing! The answering service has someone on call 24/7 who is trained and ready to take your call at all hours. They can help you find the answer to your question as well as schedule appointments and take orders. They are valuable assets to your company!
5. How long is the message kept?
This is unique to every answering service, but LifeLine keeps messages for 60 days. This is great because if someone calls back a day or two later, they'll still be able to grab a copy of their previously left message!
6. What if we have an emergency? Who do I call?
You have the option of adding in one of your staff members (or someone else on staff) so that there is always someone available for emergencies. This is perfect if you have someone who is always avaliable like the receptionist, or just someone who is there more than the answering service agents.
7. Do I still get calls when my office is closed?
Yes! This was one of the greatest selling points for me. I got tired of dealing with Sunday morning sales calls where I'd have to call back and wait on hold for half an hour, only to get hung up on by the salesperson. Now I can just send an email with my information and get back to my weekend. The email is still there on Monday and the salesperson will have a great experience when I call them back during the week. It works out great for everyone!
8. What are your hours? Will you be open when I need you?
Again, this is up to you. You can have the answering service open only during certain hours, or 24/7. This is one of the best parts about having an answering service: they are available when you need them, but otherwise stay out of your hair.
9. Do you use voice mail?
No, they don't. This is another unique part of the service I use that really helps. LifeLine has someone on call 24/7 who will answer your call and help with any customer issues. As a small business owner, I am much more productive when I can spend time on things I'm paid to do: providing excellent customer service!
10. What happens if something goes wrong?
The answering service is there to assist you. If something goes wrong, they will help you get it fixed! This is important because it helps keep your customers happy and coming back time and time again. They don't just help with questions, but they also provide the service more completely by fixing the situation right away. It's really not that bad, as LifeLine has a 60-day guarantee!
11. Do they have a full-time staff?
Yes! LifeLine has someone on call 24/7 who is a total PRO and ready to take your calls at all times.
Conclusion
When looking for an answering service, I had a lot of questions. You should too! The more information you can get, the better prepared you'll be to make the right decision. The one thing I didn't have time to cover in this post is what they do with the information they collect from you and how it's used. I'm planning on creating a separate post on this topic in the near future so stay tuned!
Another important aspect to consider when choosing an answering service is training. You are investing in this service and it's important that they provide you with all of the knowledge possible to ensure that it works well for your business.