Answering Services for Small Businesses: Saving you Time, Stress and Sanity!

Today I just happened to stumble on this article by Business Insider: Small Business Owners More Stressed Than Ever: 3 Tech Tips That Can Help. It made me chuckle because while we’ve known that hiring an answering service will help a small business owner save time by delegating tasks they’d normally be doing themselves, we just wrote and uploaded a whitepaper on just how helpful it is to your productivity to do so! You can read our report here!

Here’s an excerpt from Business Insider’s article:

The survey of 1,000 small business owners found three-fourths of the respondents report physical symptoms of work-related stress. Those symptoms include headaches, back pain, and anxious thoughts. Most cited a fear of losing their business and losing clients as a cause of their stress. The economy has taken its toll on many small business owners, who are feeling more pressure than ever to keep things going.

Top 5 Most Popular Services from an Answering Service

While many call centers and phone answering services offer a wide range of services from basic call handling and after hours support to web applications and order entry, we’ve logged our most requested and most popular services we offer and came up with this list of the top 5 most popular services from an answering service and the other names they go by.

Telephone Answering Services

AKA: Inbound Call Service, After Hours Answering Service, Phone Answering Service

No surprise here that having your phone answered is the number one most requested service of an answering service! Most answering services have many additional features when it comes to taking a message for you: they can record your incoming calls, handle calls uniquely based on your instructions (say you want your phones answered differently and messages sent only once a day while you’re on vacation or a list of people who are to always be transferred directly to you), and even call you every morning for a wake up!

Bilingual Answering Services

AKA: Spanish Answering Service, Spanish-English Answering

Spanish answering services ranks high with us because our call centers are located through Texas. There is still a major growing need for bilingual Spanish-English telephone receptionists throughout the country and many companies have a Spanish speaking customer base.

Order Taking Service

AKA: Order Entry, True Call Center Services

Order taking services aren’t just for big catalog businesses or infomercials. There are many companies that use order taking to send out brochures and information as well as smaller businesses with a few products to sell that just don’t have the resources to do it all themselves. When payment processing is included, it becomes substantially easier to get your information and products out there!

Customer Service

AKA: Customer Care, Outsourcing by Large Customer Service

Regardless of the types of phone calls a telephone receptionist takes, at a good answering service, they are ALL trained to be as courteous, professional and helpful as possible. It’s no surprise that great customer service comes naturally to a call center and is a service sought after by companies who want a great relationship with their clients and customers.

Appointment Scheduling

AKA: reservation taking, meeting scheduling, service appointment scheduling

Appointment scheduling can be used to set, track, and organize appointments and meetings for any business that works around a schedule. We’ve scheduled appointments for lawn care services, attorneys, restaurants (as reservations), doctors, freelance workers, and beauty industry businesses. The great advantage to using an answering service to schedule appointments is that you can focus on working and your business, while new appointments and clients are added to calendar is always kept current and in sync without ever having to hire a secretary.

Not Just an Answering Service

If you liked the information in this post or learned something new, let us know in the comments! If you came here seeking information on call centers/answering services or are interested in hiring someone to handle your calls, you can also view the rest of our services, fill out a quote, or contact us directly!

Tips From an Answering Service: Using Your Voice

You can set the entire outcome of any call by how you sound: You can give a caller a high level of comfort or a high level of anxiety just with your voice!

The voice you project is determined by four factors: Energy, Rate of Speech, Pitch, and Quality. You have complete control of all of these factors and can change them to gain call control as well as create a professional environment between you and the caller.

Energy

Answering the phone with a smile and smiling often while talking during a call will help keep your energy level up and positive!

Energy reflects your attitude and your level of enthusiasm. Higher and positive energy will make your callers and customers feel like they are being listened to and will give them confidence that their message is being handled properly. Lack of energy translates into different meanings to the words we speak. It can make the secretary come off as indifferent and give the caller a sense that their message or issue is not of importance.

Rate of Speech

The normal rate of speech is 125 words per minute. A faster rate of speech creates the image you’re rushing to get rid of the caller of that the caller might not be able to understand what you are saying. A slower rate of speech creates the image to the caller that you do not know what you’re talking about OR that you’re talking down to them. BOTH conclusions reflect poorly on the operator and can cost you control of the call.

Pitch

The pitch of your voice (the height or depth in the tone of your voice) can also affect the way you are perceived by a caller. A monotone pitch, where there are no changes in the tone of your voice, is the most difficult to listen to for any long period of time (think Ben Stein as Ferris Bueller’s teacher). A High pitch wears on nerves very quickly and sounds unprofessional. Low pitch is the easiest to understand and listen to while ending sentences by bringing your voice up to a high pitch will immediately turn whatever you’re saying into a question instead of a statement.

Quality

All of the above combined makes up your unique personal voice profile. Maintaining a positive energy level, talking at the normal rate of speech while avoiding monotone and high pitches is something our virtual secretaries at A Better Answer utilize at all times. Remembering these voice control tips will guarantee that you or your telephone secretaries will sound professional and credible during any call! Your voice becomes your portrait and your signature on every call. Make sure you have complete control of all four aspects and you’re sure to impress any caller!

How to Choose the Right Call Center for Your Business

In many ways, the customer call center is the heart of any business. It is often the first contact customers have with the company, and must be run efficiently and with the utmost professionalism. Utilizing an outside call center can save you money, and allow you to focus on running your business.  Call centers are as varied in function as the businesses that use them, and in order to choose the right center for your business, you must identify the needs specific to your company. Is your business large or small? What sort of call volume do you expect? Are the calls inbound and/or outbound? What customer service hours do you require? What types of clients do you serve – wholesale or retail? Whatever your requirements, there are a few questions to answer about a prospective call center’s service before signing an agreement to utilize their services.

• Does the customer call center offer bilingual services? Because America is a melting pot, this should always be a consideration in order to alleviate customer frustration and promote satisfaction.
• Does the call center company have any awards for customer service excellence? Customer service awards prove that a company is respected by others in the industry, and that it will represent your company in the best possible way when dealing with customers.
• Is it an American answering service or is it “off-shored”? Studies have shown that domestic answering services have better customer issue resolution, as well as higher rates of customer retention.
• Are there multiple locations? A service with multiple locations allows your business to grow and have location independence. Another benefit of having multiple locations is that if one is damaged by a natural disaster, calls can be rerouted to another
• Is there an emergency contingency plan in place in case of bad weather? Inclement weather can temporarily shut your business down, and it is important to know that your call center has a plan to handle this.
• How experienced are the customer service representatives? Customers often have significant contact with customer service representatives, and it is important to ensure that an accurate impression of your company is conveyed with warmth and professionalism.
• Does the service use live operators? Live operators offer a distinct advantage because they can immediately deal with any issues that arise for a customer. If you choose to use live operators, be sure to identify the style and feel that best represents your business.
• Are inbound and outbound services offered? Even if you are only using one of these now, it is good to know the capability exists for the other, should the right circumstances arise.
• What is the cost? A value-driven, affordable service is vital. Be sure you have a clear understanding of what you are paying for, and what will be the exact cost incurred before you sign and agreement.
• Does the call center utilize the latest technology? A major reason for a business to use an outside call center is because trying to keep up with rapidly evolving technology becomes too expensive for most businesses. In this scenario, employing a technologically progressive call center is a wise, cost-efficient strategy. An innovative service is a great partner to carry your business into the future.

The right call center can help increase your business’ profits exponentially. Whether you are looking for a customer call center or an answering service, A Better Answer is among the best in the business. With a collective one hundred and sixteen years of call center management, ABA’s managers oversee the delivery of over ten thousand messages daily to clients and customers. With an aggressive approach that matches technological advancement to the individual needs of each client, and an unsurpassed commitment to professionalism, ABA offers award-winning service poised to help you optimize your business. For more information, including a free personalized proposal for your company or office, please visit us at www.ABetterAnswer.com.