Do you use a call answering service?

Have you considered a call answering service – a professional organisation or someone in the office helping out with the calls?

We don’t spend every working hour fixed to our phone; ensuring we don’t miss every call, enquiry or wrong number. It is impossible to do this and grow your business; there are times when we are out networking, meeting potential clients, collaborating and forming partnerships so my question again; who is looking after your business?

Do you worry that you will miss a very important client, or potential client enquiry? Do you find yourself answering your telephone at all hours or checking it constantly when in meetings/networking?

Have you already outsourced your calls for occasions such as this? Do you set up a call forward to a reliable service or just to your own built in answerphone?

How do you respond to answerphones – do you leave a message or would you prefer to speak to a human? Now think about your clients and potential clients.

It is an investment to use a call answering service; but I believe that far outweighs losing a potential client and having that communication line open to enquiries.

Many offer a trial basis, a time when you can assess how many calls you get a day, what their service is like, what your clients (maybe get your friends to test them) think about them, what their message taking skills are like, response times, etc. Lots to consider as they will be representing your business for you. Some enable you to leave messages as to your whereabouts; in a meeting, on holiday, will respond within 24 hours, not available until the next day and you can get your messages by email or text. You can even get them forwarded to your VA so they can call back and assist if you are not available.

That personal touch – we all prefer that approach and if you pride yourself on that personal touch and treating every client as an individual it may be worth your investment.

Looking forward to long weekends and holidays – who’s looking after your business?

Will the next call be one not to miss? If you need a recommendation do let me know; I have a few that I have used myself.

Employing staff is a whole new ball game with its own set of rules. Working with a VA is an option that a great many business people are turning to. Check out my book on How to Hire a Virtual Assistant. Available on Amazon by clicking here.

Learn how you can work with Virtual Hand; how your business can grow and how you can communicate better with your audience.