Getting the Maximum ROI From Your New Virtual Receptionist
A phone answering service can save you time, impress prospects and clients, and so much more. But, in order to get the greatest return on investment, you need to make sure your phone answering service is set up for success.
Here's how to do just that, including insights on selecting the best service, what type of onboarding information to provide and other helpful tips.
Figure out what type of phone answering service you need
Phone answering services often rely on virtual receptionists, and these well-trained professionals can handle any type of call that comes through. But, to get the most from your service, it helps to narrow down the type of support you need:
- Are you primarily concerned about setting appointments for your service-based business?
- Do you need someone to help process orders?
- Is call filtering something that would save you tons of time?
- Do you want to make sure every caller receives personalized customer service?
- Are you mainly interested in having someone take down notes and contact information from callers?
There’s no right answer. You know what your business needs better than anyone else, so spend some time thinking about the types of calls your phone answering service will need to field. Armed with those answers, you can move on to the next steps.
Decide how you’d like the virtual receptionist to present themselves
Some businesses like their virtual receptionist to present themselves as a full-time member of the team. Others want callers to know that a phone answering service is being used because it helps set expectations about what types of questions and concerns can be addressed.
There are merits to each approach. For example, at IO, many of our members like to think of our team as an extension of their own team. On the flip side, when a caller understands that a third-party phone answering service is being used, they still get peace of mind that their call will be routed to the correct person or department.
No matter which approach is chosen, it’s still important to keep the service up-to-date about your company’s products, services, policies, procedures and other preferences.
Take advantage of the phone answering service’s client portal
The best phone answering services will have some type of client portal for members. These systems streamline how you train and onboard a new phone answering service. Your client portal should include all of the information a virtual receptionist needs to know, such as:
- How you’d like calls to be answered and any specific language that should be used.
- A list of frequently asked questions and answers.
- Any important scheduling information for you and your team (for example, the on-call schedule if you are a medical provider).
- How calls from angry or dissatisfied customers should be handled.
- Details on upcoming promotions or other events.
This is hardly an exhaustive list, and every company’s client portal will include different details and guidelines. If you aren’t sure what to include in your own notes, the Intelligent Office (IO) team is happy to help.
Our virtual receptionists have helped thousands of business owners just like you reclaim time and energy through trustworthy phone answering services, so get in touch and let’s simplify how your company handles it’s most important phone calls.
