Answering Services - Buyers Guide

Live Answering Services - Choosing

Live Answering Services are the way of the future. They provide personalized, efficient and immediately available service. The variety of live answering services that are ready to provide their utmost to please clients might make your selection process a seemingly impossible task. Before dwelling in the details it is highly recommended to narrow down your specific requirements! The size of your personnel should be determined based on the number of calls you plan to receive. Your phone bills in the past could turn out to be of incredible value in that respect! Another matter that has a large influence on the number of calls and thereby on the size of the live answering service you plan to hire is the way your company is advertising. TV and radio advertisements tend to boost the number of incoming calls significantly. Therefore, if you are advertising seasonally, be sure to consider the fluctuation in the number of consumer calls!

Furthermore, live answering services should offer the technological base and variety of services perfectly suitable for your company. Your needs and expectations could be quite different whether you are representing a small business or a large corporation. For instance, in the previous case a small call center’s basic phone line availabilities and headsets could suffice, while in case of a large entity with more inbound call traffic, you might prefer additional features, such as computer screens with instructions and charts.

In an ideal case, live answering services should train even their seasoned operators to fit your personalized requirements.   The agents handling your calls are the first representatives of your company; therefore it is mandatory that their attitude, knowledge and professional service reflect company standards and image. The operators should have a clear understanding of your organization’s activities and they should be able to identify with your missions and goals. The employee turnover within Live Answering Services would tip you off regarding the service’s competence. Naturally, operators might leave from time-to-time, but a well-established business cannot afford to have employees that come and go.

Once you have defined your expectations, you might turn to issues of a more practical nature. Companies that are not too familiar with the operation of live answering services tend to overlook certain hidden technical matters. Therefore, beware of providers that do not have a back-up energy supply! Imagine the consequences of a power-outage! This could be fatal in the case of medical facilities, but could also lead to unpleasant drop backs in a high-profile business.

Another phenomenon, fairly common in the Live Answering Services industry is the tendency to charge unassuming companies per minute instead of per call. Even larger corporations that have a generally wide-ranging experience with phone-call turnover and length are often mistaken when attempting to calculate the length of one phone call. Most customers are not prompt and to the point, leading to longer conversations on the phone in general. Therefore, it is generally advisable and seems to be more economic in the long run to be charged by call.

Finally, although it is tempting to jump for live answering services that offer the lowest price, try and find the right balance between your acceptable price range and services that offer you the best value in terms of quality, professionalism and technology!

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I immediately got a call from a moving company who was very professional. We've had good communication, the survey was punctual and they returned a quotation the following day as promised. So far, so good!

Kate, Buyer
Adelaide, Australia