
A well respected business mentor or colleague may have recommended a small business answering service to you, and said you should consider hiring them for you business. But right now you can’t really see the benefits, in fact you’re quite concerned that you may undo a lot of the hard work you’ve put into building your customer base if you outsource your calls to another company.
Small Business Answering Service Benefits
Think about it this way, with your current set up whereby you and your team answer the phone, how long does it take for the phone to be answered? Does the customer enquiry get resolved straightaway? Does the person who answers the phone get distracted from other tasks which actually generate money for your business or deal with customers orders? What happens when the call isn’t from a customer, are you being harassed by sales calls?
On reflection you might realize that actually the incoming phone calls into your business are primarily nuisance calls you’d rather get rid off, and the people who are answering the phone in your business are people who’s time would be better spent doing more skilled tasks.
Alleviate Your Fears About Outsourcing
So now you realize that yes actually it might be good if you could get someone else to answer the phones for you. But hang on won’t your customers get upset that they can’t speak to you anymore? Won’t it be obvious to customers that they’re enquiry has been outsourced?
Well actually a good professional call answer service should seem to any customer like part of your business. The operator will pick up the phone quicker than you do, answer it more professionally than you and your team do, and handle the query very efficiently.
If the call is a sales or nuisance call the operator will dispose of that call, so it doesn’t affect your business. If its an enquiry they can handle themselves like give out an address, send a brochure, make an appointment, then they will do; and if not then they will transfer the call to the appropriate person in your company.
As the team of operators gets to know your business better and you start to trust their abilities more you can give them the scope and information to deal with more types of enquiries so that eventually the only calls that have to come through to your team are the most important ones that only they can handle.
True Benefit to Your Business
Can you now see the true benefit to your business? Now customers enquiries are getting handled in a more efficient and professional manner so they’re happier. You and your core team are freed up to do what you’re good at instead, making products, designing, creating, without the distraction of the phone calling.
You will look back and think, why didn’t I do that earlier? It is so much more efficient for all involved to have a professional call answering service.