Even with the proliferation of social media, the telephone remains one of the most important communication devices between businesses and customers. Social media doesn’t allow for inflection or any well trusted way to sense mood and rapport like hearing someone’s voice over a phone line. Because a phone conversation is limited, in comparison to meeting face-to-face, there are rules of business etiquette that should be followed.

Running a business means that you must stay focused and productive to get the most out of every work day. If you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner, you may be performing most, if not all, of the daily duties of running your company and then some all while trying to increase revenue. The good news is that you know all of the intricate details of your business. The challenge is that there is only one (or very few) of you all wearing different hats and hoping that you stay ahead of the game.

When you consider high stress occupations, you might think about police officers, firefighters, emergency room doctors or other first responders. Call handlers also face high stress situations which could directly impact a caller’s state of mind for better or worse. Depending on the client, a telephone representative could be speaking to a frustrated customer or dealing with a life or death situation as well. The success or failure of these stressful situations are heavily determined by the person’s reaction to it.

If you’ve ever watched the TV show Shark Tank, you either have an entirely new appreciation for entrepreneurs, or quite possibly, you may be an entrepreneur yourself! Imagine pitching your awesome startup idea to a group of investors. You’d better have done your research and be very convincing. Now imagine that you’ve landed a large sum of cash from these investors. What would your next steps be? Maybe one of your first steps should be to hire an experienced answering service. Here’s why.

Outsourcing any task in a small business can be a frightening proposition. Hiring an answering service especially so, as it is an extension of your business. After all, the first line of communication with your customers, other than in person, is through the telephone. Just as your industry has its own lingo, a business owner needs to speak the language when hiring an answering service. Understanding key terms and how to contract with an answering service can make the process more agreeable.

Do you have a small business? Many businesses that provide services such as general household repairs, landscaping and lawn maintenance, HVAC maintenance and repairs and other contractors are typically small businesses. These businesses may be a one or two person shop: one to take appointments and handle billing and another to do the actual work. As the business grows there is a tipping point where there are more calls coming in than ever, and that is where an answering service can help you.

Your employees’ psychological well-being can be affected by their personal lives and also their time at work. Work relationships can either hinder the quality of life for those that work for/with you or bring value to them. Believe it or not, the quality of a person’s workplace can contribute to overall happiness or illness in an employee.

How can you make the workplace bring value to a person’s life?

There is nothing like the sweet serenity of the comfy confines of your own home. With that said, what better place is there to set up your personalized home office? And I don’t mean home office as in computer, computer chair, and filing cabinet. I’m talking about a personalized workstation to work remotely from home.

When you consider an answering service, you might expect things such as someone to answer your phone when you’re busy, away or on vacation. You might expect 24/7 coverage from trustworthy, well-trained and reliable call handlers. (If not, you should be!) What you might not expect, however, are other services that A Better Answer provides that go above and beyond the typical answering service.