You don’t need to waste months auditioning your answering service to find out if they’re helping you grow. In reality, you should know within a few weeks if they’re going to be a good fit. There are certain things to consider when creating your pros and cons list as you assess if they’re working for you, or against you. After reading this article, you’ll fully know if your answering service fits your needs, or it’s time to go on another date.

#1. They’re solving a problem

It’s important to know what problem you were trying to solve when you hired your answering service, and if the service is helping you achieve those goals. Here are some common goals customers have when hiring an answering service. If you see your goal in the list below, ask yourself if the service is helping, or hurting:

• You want to filter out unwanted telemarketing calls
• You want to save money by not having to hire full time staff
• Your in house staff are too busy answering calls and are unable to focus on other tasks
• You want to reach a larger customer audience with bilingual support
• Too many leads are being missed after hours, on weekends or holidays
• You want to increase response time with your customers

#2. They get messages to you in a timely manner

The primary goals of an answering service is to handle customer communication on your business’s behalf, and to make sure those inquiries and requests reach you successfully – but not all answering services are created equal. Some systems rely on the operators to send the message manually, while others will dispatch a message when the call is saved or when the caller and the callee have both hung up. If you’re waiting on an agent to remember to send you a message after a call is over, human error could be affecting how long you’re waiting around to get messages. If you’re relying on a system that only sends messages a few times an hour based on a scheduled system task, you could be missing important leads.

Waiting around for minutes or hours to receive your messages means you’re probably going to miss out on some important business opportunities. For well-established, enterprise-level organizations, maybe that’s not such a big deal. But if you’re a small business owner or you’re just starting out, seconds matter! A few minutes wait, and a new lead may become another number to toss in the circular file. The faster your answering service can send your messages, the faster you and your team can prioritize and act on them.

If your answering service sends you messages automatically as soon as the call hangs up, you’re on the right track.

#3. They’re saving you money

No matter how big or small your business is, managing and budgeting your finances is a crucial aspect of running a profitable company. Answering services can help you cut costs and keep more dollars in your business going towards growth. If your current answering service offers the following 3 must have points, you’re in good company:

• Multiple plan options: Similar to phone companies, an affordable answering service will offer multiple plan options depending on how much call volume your business generally receives. For example, Specialty Answering Service has 8 different pricing plans to choose from on our pay-per-minute service, starting from the bare minimum all the way to a plan that covers over 10,000 minutes.
• Ability to increase or decrease plans as needed: In the business world, nothing is ever static. One month, you may be overwhelmed by a flood of calls, and the next month, there’s barely a trickle. An answering service that wants to help you save money will allow you to increase or decrease your plan as needed so that you’re never overpaying for service.
• Option to add automated support: If your answering service uses a pay-per-minute pricing structure, then every minute counts, especially for small businesses. If you notice your line is getting hit with robo-dialers or customers who just have simple questions, such as where your business is located or your business hours, those calls may be eating up unnecessary costs. Ask if your answering service can add automated support to your line with an IVR. Robo-dialers won’t be able to press 1 to get connected, and customers who just want to know what time you open will be able to listen to a recorded message.

If your service doesn’t have the appropriate plan for your volume, if you’re locked into a rate that you may not be able to maintain, or if you can’t add automation options to help cut down on live operator minutes, it may be time to look for a new service.

#4. They’re actually answering your calls

Another reason businesses look to use answering services to capture leads and handle customer communication is because they do not have the resources, budget or staff to be able to handle a high volume of phone calls themselves. However, if your answering service is frequently having trouble picking up the phone, then it may be time to shop around. For answering services, queue times, also known as answer rate, could be costing you business.

No answering service in the industry that can guarantee a 100% answer rate all the time. In fact, the industry standard is 80% of calls answered within 20 seconds. A familiar gauge that answering services use to break this down is the length of a ring, which is about 6 seconds. If an answering service tells you they usually answer a call in 3 rings or less, they are telling you that they usually answer a call before 20 seconds.

A good answering service will monitor their answer rates, look to previous data trends to make sure they are always staffed up accordingly, and continuously work to ensure that all calls are being answered in a reasonable amount of time. If they can’t always answer calls quickly, then they should have features that can be activated to help cut back on missed leads, like a call back system. For example, SAS offers both a Callback feature and a Queue Callback Feature, at no additional cost. Here’s how they work:

• Callback: This option will give callers the option to reserve their place in the queue. The length of time they may be on hold is announced in the beginning, and callers have the option to wait, or to hold their place in line and have an agent call them back when they become available. After hanging up, their spot in the queue is held and they’re automatically called back when an agent becomes available.
• Queue Callback: This option will dial your callers back automatically if they hang up while waiting for an agent to answer the call.

If you’re seeing more calls have come into your office telephone line vs. how many messages the answering service has taken, or you’re hearing reports from your clients about how long the service is taking to pick up the phone, you’ll want to contact your answering service to get a call report. If they aren’t answering your calls, they’re costing you opportunities, and your relationship with them may be a bust.

#5. They have enough features to grow with you

Most answering services can do a lot more than just answer your phones. As technology continues to evolve, message centers are able to incorporate features designed to make your life easier. There may be some features you don’t need now, but it’s great to know that as your business grows, you won’t need to look for another service to meet your evolvoing needs. Ideally, a solid answering service will provide:

• Access to an online portal or mobile app: For professionals who may not be in front of their computer all day, such as mobile veterinarians or plumbers, it’s important to have the ability to check messages or make updates on the go via an online portal or mobile app.
• On-call scheduling: If your answering service utilizes an on-call scheduling system, take advantage of this option for emergency dispatching, or even just for immediate lead capture with a warm transfer schedule.
• App integrations: Many business owners have adopted customer relationship management (CRM) systems to store and organize customer data. An answering service that offers app integration with popular CRM software will streamline the intake process by eliminating the need for your team to do double the work. And less time in data entry means increased employee productivity!
• Bilingual support: Having the ability to provide consistent support to your Spanish-speaking customers is a game changer, opening your doors to a much larger audience. If this level of customer care is important to the success of your business, look for an answering service that offers bilingual operators at little to no extra cost.
• Flexible scripting options: Every company is different, and any worthwhile answering service will take your specific needs into account when working with you to develop a fluid call script. For example, legal firms would likely require a different set of screening questions than an HVAC company, and medical practices may want to include a dispatching protocol for emergencies.
• SMS messaging: Having the ability to text back and forth with customers via your online portal is a great way to keep a channel of communication open at all times, and can even allow you to assist multiple customers at once!

#6. You can reach them if you have issues

No one likes dealing with a business whose customer support team is unresponsive. When there are issues, customers want to know that there is someone who can help them fix the problem as quickly as possible. Not only that, but representatives who are friendly and empathetic can turn a frustrated caller into a lifelong patron simply by putting themselves in the caller’s shoes. This goes for both the operators answering your inbound traffic and the customer support team managing your account.

If your answering service makes call recordings accessible, listen to interactions regularly to ensure that operators are delivering assistance with courtesy, care, and commitment to a positive outcome. A great service will always welcome your feedback, good or bad, and take immediate steps to resolve issues. When their customer support team can maintain quick response times, handle updates efficiently, and offer valuable suggestions that will provide the best possible experience for your callers, your search is over. That’s a perfect match!

If your service isn’t giving you the ability to listen to calls, or if you’ve had issues and you haven’t been able to get them resolved, it’s time to look for another service.

Choosing the right answering service for your business is an important, and sometimes lengthy process. To really know if they’ll work for you, you need to give them a try. Specialty, like other services, offers a trial period where you’ll be able to experience everything we offer, for free. It’s a great way to know how a new telephone answering service will work for you before you’re committed. The considerations above can help you to take the temperature of your current service to see if it’s working for you, as well as give you some questions to ask while you’re in the discovery process. You’ll want to make sure you choose the best service for your business model, as the right live answering service will be instrumental to the growth of your company.

The post 6 ways to tell if your answering service is the right fit for your business appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

If the company you’re using doesn’t have the right environment set up for their agents to thrive, or if your expectations aren’t aligned with what the answering service can do, you’re going to set yourself up for failure.

If you’re looking for a small business answering service, your first step should be researching the marketplace to determine which service you feel would be the best fit for your business. Once you’ve found the one, you’ll need a clear plan so that as you start the onboarding process, you’ll ensure your business needs are being met.

Let’s look at 9 pitfalls that are common for small businesses who are outsourcing to answering services for the first time to make, and ways to avoid them. Ultimately, you want to work together with your answering service to create an outsourcing solution the stakeholders on your team can be proud of.

Pitfall #1: Adding too many FAQs

Adding company and product information to your Frequently Asked Questions is really great! Until it’s not. There is such a thing as going overboard with “too much” data. And you don’t want agents jumping ship when they see your FAQs because there are too many or they’re poorly organized. So, sticking to the basics will ensure that agents aren’t scrolling through endless pages of detail. It’s not only a challenge for them, but it’s bad for your wallet.

The more time agents spend looking for answers, the more live operator time they eat up – and that may lead to a much higher monthly invoice than you had anticipated. If a caller has in-depth questions about your offerings, it is generally better to simply deliver a message rather than wade through an ocean of info. Not only do beefy FAQs lengthen calls, but it makes the operator sound less professional when they don’t have an immediate answer.

The solution

I recommend keeping your FAQs short and sweet and letting you and your staff handle the nitty-gritty questions. While FAQs will vary depending on the type of business you run, here are some examples of simple questions the operators can answer without having to forward a message over to you.

• What are your business hours?
• Where are you located?
• What kind of services do you provide?
• What are your prices?
• Do you offer after hours service?
• Is there an after hours fee?
• Do you accept insurance?
• What types of insurance do you accept?

Pitfall #2: Forgetting to forward calls when you need extra help

Most telephone answering services provide virtual receptionist support 24 hours a day. So, just because your accustomed to only forwarding your calls after hours and on weekends, those aren’t the only times you should be using a service. You can use them any time you need some extra help, even during business hours. For example, imagine it’s the morning after a large snow storm and the phones are ringing like crazy. Your receptionist is trying to answer every call but telling each potential customer to hold. One by one the callers give up and slowly but surely, your opportunities of new business have flown right out the window.

The solution

The easiest way to solve this is to remember that your answering service is available whenever you need them – so it’s up to you to remember to forward calls when you office is overwhelmed. If you’re looking for a more automatic solution, you can explore something called conditional call forwarding.

Instead of drowning your over-worked receptionist, you can set up conditional call forwarding so that any calls your receptionist can’t get to, will forward right over to the service. With conditional call forwarding configured, each caller will reach a live voice, more leads will be captured, and your receptionist will stop pulling out her hair!

Pitfall #3: Leaving an open-ended greeting

Creating a call script that works for both your business and your answering service doesn’t have to be complicated. Actually, it can be quite simple by first starting with a strong greeting. While a generic opening can work, an open ended question like “how can I help you” allows the caller to take control of the call and can seriously eat up time. Instead, driving questions can help steer the call and allows the operator to maintain control over the conversation.

The solution

If you know 90% of the calls that are coming in will be for one particular service or objective, you may want to have your operators ask “Are you calling for a quote?” or “Are you calling to schedule an appointment?” This way, your operators can easily determine which way the call is supposed to go and seamlessly gather the callers information. Businesses that handle urgent requests like Medical, HVAC or Property Management companies may also want to ask callers upfront if they’re calling in regards to something urgent. That way they can ensure urgent calls are being handled as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Pitfall #4: Foregoing automated services

Answering services are great at giving your callers a live voice to talk to 24/7. Don’t think that just because you are using an answering service, you shouldn’t be thinking about using automation. Most services will also offer some type of voicemail or IVR automation, and they’re great for automating protocols that are currently taking up too much of your staff’s time. IVR, or Interactive Voice Response, is a tool that many businesses use to help direct calls while also allowing customers to help themselves. For small businesses with a limited budget, you may not want to spend as much money having your operators answering these questions when an IVR can do it for much less.

The solution

There are many different ways to incorporate automated services to work in tandem with live receptionists. For example, you may want to set up an option for your Spanish callers to press 2 to be connected with a bilingual representative, or you may want to set up an option for callers who are having an emergency. IVRs are also great for simple calls like a customer wanting to know your business hours or location.

Automation can also be used via virtual queuing systems, by setting up a call back feature with your answering service. Call back options can be automatic, where the system automatically calls back callers who hang up while in the queue, or they can be manual, where callers are given the option whether or not they want a call back. If they do, they can hit a number on their dial pad, and the system will hold their place in line.

Pitfall #5: Forgetting to place test calls

Your answering service handles their own quality control, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t help control the quality with respect to your own account. Placing test calls is a great way to get a feel for what your customers will experience when they call, and it also offers an opportunity to iron out any kinks and fine tune the whole process. If you’re worried about eating up your own minutes while placing test calls, then don’t worry! Most if not all answering services will offer some sort of free trial period, which is a great time to place free test calls and make updates prior to going live with your customers.

The solution

We suggest placing test calls in the following situations:

• When an update has been made to your script: If you or your answering service has updated your scripting protocol, it’s a good idea to place a test call to ensure the updates were made correctly and that the script flows naturally for the operators.
• When you forward your lines: Placing a quick test call whenever you forward your line(s) to your answering service is a good way to confirm your line(s) are forwarded correctly. If you haven’t forwarded your line(s) correctly, callers may get an error message and be left hanging in limbo.
• When you’ve added a new upfront greeting: After updating your custom upfront greeting, call your line to hear how it sounds!

Pitfall #6: Leaving your script generic

Along with adding an  IVR and driving question to your account, there are other ways your answering service can help screen callers. For instance, if you have a list of requirements for certain types of calls, we can use this to determine if you need to receive a message or not.

The solution

Here are some examples of how an answering service can help screen your calls.

• Asking callers for their email address: If you require an email address to correspond with your customers, your service can ask for this information. If it’s provided, the call will continue but if it’s not, the operator can inform the caller that one is needed to proceed. If the caller refuses, the operator can politely end the call.
• Asking callers if they accept a service fee: If your business requires a service fee prior to scheduling an appointment, your answering service can screen callers accordingly. If they accept the fee, the operator can continue with the call. If they don’t, the operator can end the call but remind the caller to reach back out if they change their mind.
• Screening for specific types of insurance: If your medical practice only accepts certain types of insurances, it’s a great idea to have your service screen callers. That way your calendar doesn’t get booked for appointments that shouldn’t have been scheduled in the first place.

Pitfall #7: Forgetting to keep your On-Call schedule updated

Even your best employee can’t work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. They may be dedicated to  your company, but they’re no Clark Kent. This is why having a rotating on-call schedule that your answering service can follow is great for not only helping cut down costs, but evenly delegating work responsibilities. A good answering service scheduling system will allow you to make changes whenever you need to through an online portal or a mobile app, and will allow you set your schedule for days, weeks and even months in advance.

The solution

Upon creating an on-call schedule, you’ll be required to configure a Default Group, which is who our system will reach out to in the event your schedule(s) have expired. Having a Default Reach option will always ensure someone is being reached, even if it’s not the person who is currently on-call.

Pro tip: Whenever you make changes to your in-house schedule, always remember to keep your answering service updated so they can ensure the right person is always being reached!

Pitfall #8: Scheduling appointments yourself

In order to cut down on phone calls, many businesses have integrated systems that allow customers to schedule their own appointments online. The less appointment calls that come in, the less time employees are on the phone, which means more time they can dedicate to other projects. However, just because it’s available, doesn’t mean every customer will use it. In fact, many customers still prefer to speak with a live person over scheduling online, which means you still need to have someone available to take those calls.

The solution

Having your answering service schedule appointments for you is a great way to give your customers that personal touch and also allows your in-house employees to step away from the phones and focus on other tasks. Many services either offer their own scheduling software, can use a software you’ve already implemented, or integrate with a web-based platform like Google Calendar. In addition, they may even be able to follow up with appointment confirmation emails, schedule particular services, or help new patients fill out intake forms.

Pitfall #9: Not reaching out when there are issues

Just like everything else in life, there will always be an adjustment period for things that are new to you. If your answering service isn’t living up to the hype or dropped the ball in some capacity, the best thing to do is to try and work through it together. Otherwise, you might prematurely move on to the next service without fully understanding what went wrong the first time around. If the agents were messing up, it could have been because the call script was too confusing.

The solution

Working with your answering service and bouncing ideas off of each other is a great way to create the best possible experience for both you and your callers. Ultimately, answering services want to help your business grow.  In order to do that, there needs to be an open door of communication.

We suggest scheduling periodic check-in calls with Customer Support, so they can review your scripting protocol, answer any questions you have, or address concerns or issues you may have encountered.

The post Small Business Answering Services: 9 Pitfalls to Avoid appeared first on Specialty Answering Service.

Voicemail Pros

• You always get the correct message: Since an answering machine literally records your caller’s message as they’re speaking, you’re always guaranteed to get the right message every time.
• It’s usually a free feature with your business or cell phone: While voicemail used to be something that you could pay for, it’s a standard feature now and comes free with 99.9% of phone plans, whether they be for business or personal use.
• Automatically answers if you can’t answer the phone: As long as you have your voicemail set up, it’s guaranteed to be there for your callers whenever you can’t.

Voicemail Cons

• Leaving a message is not very personal: Many people don’t like to do business through voicemail, and would prefer to speak to a real person.
• Your mailbox could get full: Unless you’re going through your voicemail every day and clearing out messages, your mailbox could get full, which means potential callers won’t have a way to leave you a message.
• Many callers won’t want to leave a message: Customers are almost always looking for an immediate response. If your answering machine is the only one answering, chances are they won’t want to leave a message because they’re unsure when you’ll get the message, or if you’ll ever get it.
• 7 out of 10 callers will hang up if they reach voicemail: If 7 out of 10 callers are hanging up when reaching voicemail, it means your business is missing 70% of all potential business inquiries. Those odds are certainly not in your favor.
• Increased potential to lose business: Because your voicemail is on the front lines for potential new and existing customers instead of a live voice, you have a higher chance of losing business to a company who will actually be there to answer.
• Listening to messages and returning calls is time consuming: The first thing many employees do when they come in in the morning is go through their new emails and listen to any new messages they received over night. However, after they’re done listening to those messages, they have to call those customers back. So, by the time they can even get on to today’s work, half of their day could already be gone.

Answering Service Pros

• Callers leave a message with a real person: For callers who would like to talk to a real person, an answering service can provide that assurance to customers who can feel comfortable knowing a real person is listening.
• Can handle the same tasks your in-house staff do: Answering services can do more than just jot down your messages. They can schedule appointments, dispatch urgent messages, place orders, troubleshoot basic issues, and follow custom scripted workflows that match your company’s in-house procedures.
• Always available: Answering services are always available, which means your customers always have a live voice to talk to.
• A live voice can help capture and convert leads: An answering machine can’t make a sale, but an answering service agent surely can.
• Operators can make outbound calls as well as answer inbound calls: If you’re having trouble calling prospects back, an answering service can help with that.
• With call forwarding, the service can be turned off or on as needed: While answering services are available 24/7, that doesn’t mean you’ll need them 24/7. Through the call forwarding feature on your phone, you will be able to route calls to your answering service whenever you need to, and then simply turn it off whenever you don’t.
• Operators can answer basic questions: As long as you provide your answering service with a list of FAQs plus their answers, they would be able to help answer callers’ questions, which would help eliminate the need to leave messages for a return call.

Answer Service Cons

• Answering services could be costly: Depending on the volume of calls you get or how often you use your service, your answering service bill might add up quickly and exceed your budget.
• Customers may not like speaking to a virtual receptionist: If your customers are used to speaking to you or your employees, they may not feel comfortable speaking to someone like a virtual receptionist who isn’t actually in the office. Their hesitance to speak to your answering service could eventually result in them looking for another company to work with.
• Answering service agents may make mistakes: Answering services employ real live humans, and humans sometimes make mistakes. Unfortunately, this means that the mistakes your answering service make could potentially cost you a sale or two.
• You may be obligated to a long contract: Some answering services offer month by month billing, while others require you to sign into a contract. So, depending on who your provider is, you may get stuck to a long, costly contract.
• Agents may not be able to handle everything  your staff does: While answering services can handle many of the same tasks your in-house staff can, they can’t do it all, which means some jobs would be better left up to your own employees.

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However, if an answering service is the best you’ve ever used, there’s no guarantee that if you refer a friend or a business associate, they’re going to have the same stellar experience. What works great for you may not work as well for someone else. Why? For starters, there may be factors that are important to you that the answering service does well, and other factors that are less important that the service is a bit shaky on. If you’re only looking at what’s important to you, and they’re checking those boxes, you’re a happy consumer. If your referral is looking at the shaky factor as what’s important to them, they’re going to be less than satisfied.

As businesses continue to realize the cost-saving and customer service power of outsourcing, answering services will continue to get attention. With this need for live customer service, we want to make the consumers search for what’s best answering service for their business a little easier. To help with your search, we we believe your emphasis should be on technology, transparency, tailoring and trials. These four T’s will help you find the ideal service for your needs – let’s see how:

Technology

As technology continues to evolve, businesses need to evolve with it in order to keep up with an ever growing tech-savvy consumer base. When finding the perfect answering service to outsource to, you’ll want to make sure their technology is up to date as well. Even if you won’t be taking advantage of advanced features to start, your business needs may change down the line and it’s better to grow with an answering service than have to constantly change providers as you scale up or down.

An answering service that is up to speed on technology will include things like:

• PCI compliance: If you’re an eCommerce company, you’ll definitely need to look for an answering service that is PCI compliant so they can securely process payments from your callers.
• HIPAA compliance: As a medical provider, finding a HIPAA compliant service is critical so that you can maintain your patient’s private health information. An answering service that is HIPAA compliant will not send any PHI through email, text or voicemail, but will allow you to check your messages via a secure online portal or mobile app.
• App integrations: An answering service that offer app integrations will enable users to integrate with various CRM software like Salesforce. This can help decrease the amount of work you and your staff have to do on your side, which leaves time for other tasks. Integrations can also include apps like Google Maps, which could help your service technicians figure out where their next job is, or it can help weed out callers who are not in your service area.
• Mobile app: For businesses that require staff to be on their feet all day like healthcare providers or HVAC technicians, you need an answering service that’s going to offer a mobile app so you can check messages on the go. A good mobile app should also let you access your on-call schedules to make immediate changes, and contact callers back right from the app.
• Appointment scheduling: If you’re outsourcing to an answering service, you’ll want to make sure they can handle many of the same tasks your staff is already handing, including appointment scheduling. You’ll also want to make sure the platform in which they are scheduling is compatible with your business. An ideal answering service will be able to use your own scheduling platform or they should be able to integrate with a web-based platform like Google Calendar.
• Easy to use on-call schedule: If  you’re looking to use an answering service for dispatching purposes, then it’s imperative your service offers a user-friendly interface that allows you to update your on-call schedule whenever. Not only that, but it’s important for your service to be able to follow your on-call protocols successfully as well.
• Online portal: An online portal gives users the freedom to check their messages without having to sift through old emails or reach out to the customer support staff. It should also allow complete transparency, which leads us to our next point…

Transparency

In addition to technology, your answering service should be transparent, meaning that you’re not left in the dark about anything. Want to know how long your calls are lasting before you get charged? Want to listen to your calls and rate the operators? Want to see exactly what the agents see when they’re handling your calls? All of these things can be achieved with the right answering service, through the use of an online portal. For example:

• Billing details: A transparent answering service should offer you details about your billing history before getting hit with the bill so that you can stay on the most cost effective plan. It may even allow you to change plans right from your portal so you don’t have to take extra time to reach out to customer support. Getting a peak at your usage throughout the month may also encourage you to make changes that may help cut out unnecessary talk time. This can also be done through the use of on-demand reports which can be customized to your needs.
• Listening to calls: If an answering service has nothing to hide, they’re going to allow you to listen to your calls whenever you want. They may even allow you to rate them and provide feedback! Sometimes when you just have your customer’s feedback to go off of, you may not get the whole picture. Listening to your calls will allow you to see exactly what happened on each call so that you know how to handle the follow up.
• View your call handling: It’s one thing to be able to make changes here and there, but being able to see exactly what your operators see while handling calls can help bridge the gap. For example, you may not understand why your operators keep messing up on one thing, until you see it from their perspective. Once you see the issue from a different light you can then make the appropriate changes to help smooth things over.

Tailoring

An answering service that cannot be customized to your needs is not an answering service you want to work with. Since every business is different, it only makes sense to work with a service that can cater to your specific requirements. For example, healthcare providers usually require their answering services to help schedule appointments and dispatch emergencies, whereas a landscaping company may just want the service to ask callers their name, number, address, the size of the yard and the services they want done.

While an answering service may not be able to match your in-house protocols exactly, they should be able to come pretty close. This can also include being able to program in custom frequently asked questions that will allow the operators to answer questions on behalf of your company. While most FAQs should include basic information like your business hours and location, you should also be able to add in some questions that pertain to your account specifically. For example, a law firm may want to specify which type(s) of law they practice, whereas a dental office may want to specify the types of insurances they accept.

Trials

Just like you test drive a car before driving it off the lot, or try the samples at Costco before buying in bulk, you should always take advantage of an answering service’s free trial before taking the plunge. A free trial period allows you the freedom of testing the service without having to make any commitments, all while getting a feel for what your customers will experience. A trial period also gives you the opportunity to get to know the customer service team that will be helping you along the way, and the ins and outs of what your service can or can’t do.

Each answering service’s free trial will be different, just like each service is different. Some may offer a 1 week trial with limited features, while others may offer a whole month free with access to all features. So, before you start your search, you may want to sit down and consider what you are looking to get out of a partnership with an answering service. Having an idea of what you want beforehand may make your search that much easier.

If you are taking advantage of an answering service’s free trial, consider these tips:

• Place test calls at different times of day and night to see if there are any hold times, and how long they last.
• Ask your coworkers, friends and family to call in pretending to be customers, and then ask how their experience was.
• Try different scripting approaches to see what works best for your business.
• Keep making test calls until you are able to smooth over any hiccups.
• Ask questions! When the trial period is over, you want to be crystal clear on all fronts so that you’re not hit with any surprises.

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#1. What is your outsourcing goal?

Is your outsourcing goal to capture more leads to help grow your business? Are you looking to be available to your customers after hours and on weekends? Does your staff just need a bit of extra help during the day to field incoming calls? After you determine what your outsourcing goal is, you can then work on devising a plan to have your answering service agents screen and handle calls accordingly. For example:

• If your outsourcing goal is to capture and convert more leads, your answering service could be used in a few ways. They can be used as an outbound telemarketing service to try and generate new leads, or they can be used as an inbound service to answer calls 24/7, answer questions, and use various techniques like up-selling and cross-selling to beef up a sale.
• If your outsourcing goal is to be available for customers after hours, a good idea would be to set up a dispatching protocol where the agents are able to discern what’s urgent or not so that your on-call staff are not getting slammed with tasks that can wait for the morning. Another option would be to utilize your answering service as a tier 1 help desk to help troubleshoot basic customer issues.
• If your outsourcing goal is to help alleviate your in-house staff during the day, you could have your answering service agents handle some of the same tasks your regular staff does, like schedule appointments, respond to emails, and process orders.

#2. Are the potential questions callers will ask too complex for a casual receptionist to answer?

Having your answering service help answer caller’s questions via programmable FAQs is an effective way to cut down on the amount of calls you have to return. However, you will want to keep in mind the amount of FAQs as well as the complexity of the questions. While a virtual receptionist can easily answer questions about things like business hours, services, insurance and pricing, they won’t be able to give more specific answers to some of those basic questions.

For example, an answering service agent will be able to tell a caller if they accept a particular insurance or not, but they won’t really be able to answer more specific questions like “what is the copay” or “what could I expect to pay for service on an area X big.” Once you start programming in more and more FAQs, operators can get confused and make mistakes. While you may want to equip your agents with as much information as possible, you must also take into account that these agents are not strictly answering your calls and your calls only. So, it can be difficult navigating paragraphs of information that may or may not be asked. At the end of the day, your answering service should be equipped to answer basic questions, and everything else should be left up to you and your staff.

#3. What type of call is going to be important enough to warrant reaching out to your staff?

While all customer calls are important, not all of them will require your staff’s immediate attention. That is why it’s important for you to set up specific protocols with your answering service to help distinguish between urgent and non-urgent scenarios. For example, a property tenant calling about low water pressure may not be urgent, but a tenant calling about having no water may be.

It’s also important that you are not leaving the decision making up to the answering service agents, as what they deem to be urgent or not urgent may not be congruent with what your staff considers urgent or not urgent. It’s a good idea to include a drop down of scenarios that a person may be calling in about, and have each of them follow a particular protocol. For example, a medical practice may have a list of the following options for urgent scenarios:

• Caller is in pain
• Caller is having an allergic reaction
• Caller is having suicidal tendencies

If the caller mentions any of these scenarios, your script can be programmed so that your agents are following an on-call schedule and reaching out to the appropriate on-call doctor. Some examples of non-urgent scenarios could include:

• Caller is almost out of medication
• Caller wants to schedule an appointment
• Caller has questions for the doctor

If the caller mentions any of these scenarios, your script can be programmed so that your agents are simply taking messages or scheduling appointments on your behalf, without having to reach out to the on-call doctor.

#4. If you’ve used an answering service before and they dropped the ball, is attempting the same protocol with a new service worth the risk?

Getting burned in a business venture is never easy, but your experience with one provider or company doesn’t have to be the end of your outsourcing endeavor. There are many companies who trial through a number of services before settling on one that suits their business model the best. However, if your previous answering service dropped the ball, it’s always important to look at both sides. Did the service drop the ball because they weren’t a good service, or did they drop the ball because the protocols you set up were too complicated for an answering service to handle successfully?

If you think it’s the former, then trying the same protocol with a different answering service could be the solution you were looking for. However, if you notice the same thing continues to happen no matter who your service provider is, you may want to consider simplifying your protocols to ensure successful transactions all the time.

#5. How much effort do you want to put into the outsourcing relationship?

Although there are some businesses that work with their answering service daily, there are others who only use their service every so often in case of emergencies or as needed. These relationships generally require a minimal amount of effort since the scripts are usually pretty basic and there aren’t a lot of phone calls that typically come through. Depending on how you want to use your service, you’ll need to determine how much effort you’re willing or capable of putting into it.

Some examples of businesses that may want to put a lot of effort into their outsourcing relationship could include:

• Healthcare practices
• HVAC companies
• Property management/real estate firms

Some examples of businesses that may just want to keep their answering service on the back burner could include:

• Non-profits
• Local government organizations
• Accounting/tax prep companies

#6. How much is an acceptable amount of money to spend on each interaction to help you achieve a reasonable ROI?

Depending on your particular business and what you are looking to achieve with your outsourcing goals, the amount of money you wind up spending is going to fluctuate. However, it’s important to determine if the money you are spending is worth it in the end, or if it’s more of a hassle than a benefit. For example, a small business with a limited budget may have big outsourcing goals, but it probably isn’t going to be worth it for them to spend a lot in the beginning on an answering service, as they’ll most likely be spending more than they’re bringing in.

A more affordable option for a small business with limited funds would be to sign up for a small pricing plan and set up a simple answering service script that’s in place to catch any calls that come in after hours, which would allow them to capture more potential business opportunities. On the other hand, a bigger business that has a more stable presence and a larger budget to work with may want to consider spending more on outsourcing, like setting up outbound telemarketing campaigns or sending more call volume through to the service.

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