If you’re operating a small business, you already know you need an office, skilled employees, and the right connections to succeed. However, an important component that many forget to look for is a person who can answer your phone. Whether it is a real estate answering service or something else, you’re going to need someone to man your phones.
This is not a simple matter of just saying “Hi” to the other person over the line. The person answering needs to be friendly, open, and informative. You won’t be able to find people like that on the street. Fortunately, you can hire answering services to do it for you. Here are some reasons why you should spend money on hiring one:
Better Time Management
The main advantage to having an answering service is that you can better manage both your and your employees’ time:
First, an answering service means that you aren’t standing by the phone waiting for a call to come in. This is time better spent doing something productive – from improving your business to drumming up customers.
Second, having an answering service means that you can take orders or inquiries while you’re away. Once you get back, you can manage how to meet these orders in a prompt manner. Unlike doing it on the fly, you’ll have all the information in front of you. This makes it better for you to make your staffing and scheduling decisions.
Maximum Availability
An answering service will allow your business to be available 24/7. Small businesses often have fixed office times. With an answering service, your company will be able to take calls outside business hours.
For example, a plumber answering service would be able to accept calls from customers experiencing a plumbing emergency. Depending on how bad the emergency is, the answering service will have instructions on how to respond. This can range from giving simple instructions on quick fixes until the plumber can get there the next day to calling up a plumber at his house and sending him out on an emergency run.
Profit in the Long Run
Being able to get a lot of calls means that you will potentially have a lot of customers. More customers mean more profit. For example, a real estate answering service can take calls from both sellers and buyers and forward their contact info to the agent in charge. Additionally, you can get the benefit of good customer service without spending too much. Happier customers mean repeat business that can be potentially profitable.
