Customer support is the foundation of every business. Without it, businesses cannot survive. If you use an answering service for your business calls, you want to ensure that your virtual receptionist knows what to say to which caller. This is called a script and depending on the circumstances of the interaction between the caller and the receptionist, the script must fit any situation that can arise during a phone conversation.

When signing up with an answering service, make sure that they provide great customer service and support. They represent you, and you want them to always put their best foot forward. Calls must be answered quickly and efficiently and your virtual receptionist should always be friendly, helpful, knowledgeable, and able to route your calls to the right person at the right time. 

Envision Every Scenario Before They Happen

Discuss the types of calls you typically receive with your answering service agent. Will your callers be making appointments, ordering products, or leaving messages after hours? The more information your answering service has, the easier it will be to provide the right services to your callers. Let them know what kind of response they should have during business hours versus after hours, during the weekend, or in the case of an emergency. Find out if your calls are automatically transferred to the intended person or if that person receives a text or email to inform them that there is a message.

How often do you get your messages? When someone asks for you specifically, what is the correct response? How often do you get your messages? How much and what type of information should the caller be given? If the caller wants the name of the virtual receptionist, or asks if they are an answering service, what is the response you prefer?

Do you want the answering service to screen your calls? If so, what criteria should they use? How would you prefer the answering service receptionist handle irate customers? Ask about hold times. The longer a customer waits on hold, the more annoyed they become. The more annoyed your customers are, the less likely they will be to contact you again or become repeat customers. Some answering services offer a free trial to help you determine if the answering service fits your business needs.

Insta-Answer Knows What You Need

Insta-Answer.com is a U.S. based and privately owned company. We have been in business for over fifty years, have worked with thousands of businesses, and offer a free trial because we know our services are among the best in the country. We know what kind of voice services you need to make your business successful. Don’t trust any voice answering service to represent you. Trust Insta-Answer to provide superior quality customer service every time. Call Insta-Answer.com at 888-356-8866 or email support@iacaller.com. 

In this time of growing competition, you cannot afford to ignore core business, nor can you miss answering important sales calls. No doubt, customer service is critical to the success of every organization, but owners often focus on their business instead of phone calls. Many small businesses struggle to find a balance between answering every single phone call and focusing running the business. It can be tough to wear many hats at the same time. Luckily, a professional answering service is an affordable solution for handling calls and routing leads. You will never miss an important call with the best answering service.

Answer All Calls Anytime Anywhere
When you have access to a professional answering service, your employees need not worry about answering calls and can focus more on key job duties. From simple tasks, such as appointment scheduling, to taking care of urgent calls, your staff is always on call and may find it difficult to focus on their main responsibilities. Statistics reveal that the average employee is interrupted 56 times on a daily basis. Not only this, combined recovery time for all distractions is almost 2 hours. This amounts to 60 hours of time wasted to distractions in a month. The result is a loss of productivity.

Luckily, when you hire an answering service, all of the regular calls are taken care of while the more complex calls or urgent calls that need technical support are routed to the appropriate department.

This ensures that none of the calls go unanswered and none of your leads and customers are left unattended on the phone. Another benefit of an answering service is that your business can be contacted 24/7 even when the office doors are closed for a holiday. Extended business hours is a key selling point and can give you an upper hand over the competition, helping you to expand your client base.

Exhibit Professionalism
First impressions count. No business can ignore the need to create lasting impressions with prospects, clients, and customers. So when a prospect or customer establishes contact with your company over the phone, they must be heard and answered in a professional manner. With the best answering service for small business, you can guarantee a professional approach to the way incoming business calls are answered.

Give your business a professional sound with a call answering service that responds to every call.  The best answering service directs clients and customers to the right department in case of an emergency. A happy lead is easy to convert.

Providing positive experiences for clients is the basis of good business. Right? Every business owner thinks about how important it is for each client -especially new ones, to have a positive experience with each encounter they make with the business. But then how does it happen that Customer service often takes a back seat to the daily demands of running the business itself?

For instance: You’re already on a call when another client calls in. You’re in a meeting when a client has a question and calls in. You’re about to leave for the day when the phone starts ringing. Stay and answer or go ahead and leave? It will go to voice messaging; you think to yourself.

Did you know that 80% of business is conducted over the phone? The voice over the phone can close a deal or lose it. Much more is communicated than just words.

Here’s another statistic: 70% of callers will hang up without leaving a voicemail if their call isn’t answered.  Your potential client is looking for more than a machine which says, “Please leave a message.”

Here at Insta-Answer, we know that the value of a client and customer service is empowered when a call is answered by a responsive person at the other end of the line. We know that customer satisfaction and loyalty are increased by making each caller feel that he/she is listened to. The power of an alert, well-trained and courteous voice answering the call will increase customer loyalty and help to bring in new customers for you.

Try us. You’ll see the difference it will make!

If you are considering using a telephone answering service but wondering whether it is a good idea, there are good reasons to do so. From fast response time to better customer service and ensuring 24/7 availability, the right service can act as an extension of your business. Today, when consumers have unlimited choices, you may easily lose out to the competition if the potential clients don’t get what they are looking for. On the other hand, happy customers are more likely to spread the word as brand ambassadors, helping your business grow.

Here are a few tips to grow a small business with the best answering service.

Capture More Leads

What happens when the phone is ringing and the calls go unanswered? If it is a customer or prospect trying to connect, such indolent attitude can infuriate them. Not answering calls and letting the phone ring or sending calls to voicemail will not help. While not all callers will hang up, some might even call back. You cannot rely on a clunky answering machine either.  These are business mistakes that you cannot afford to make because there is a high risk of loss of a lead or customer. What if they call your competitor and get an answer to their problems? You have not only lost a customer or lead, but also given an upper hand to the competition.

It is here that a phone answering service can come to your rescue when you have leads and customers calling round the clock. This is the best way to handle all your calls with speed and precision. When no call goes unanswered, you can capture more leads in your sales funnel. With this, it is highly likely that you will close more sales.

Faster Response Time with Real-Time Notifications

With the best answering service, no calls go unanswered. Moreover, hot leads that need a quick response will be sent to you in real-time, so you can respond quickly and contact the lead before they decide to call someone else. Fast response time is a great way that a good answering service can add value to your business.

Close More Sales
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With a telephone answering service in your marketing strategy, you will not miss a call. When all calls are answered with professionalism and in a timely manner, you can satisfy both customers and leads. When you pre-qualify leads, there are higher chances of customer retention and less risk of losing prospects to the competition. When every call is answered, you make that first impression and can convert more leads into sales.