If you run a small business, then you probably have learned two very important things – there aren’t enough hours in the day, and there is never enough in the budget to get everything done. However, if you take advantage of outsourced call centers, you don’t have to worry about those things – at least when it comes to your phone calls!

You can’t possibly be expected to personally answer phones constantly. After all, there are going to be times when you’re sleeping, sick, or on vacation. But with an answering service, you don’t have to neglect your clients during any of those times!

Instead, telephone answering services are independent companies that you hire to handle your phone duties. A good answering service will offer a variety of contact center solutions – from answering your phone after normal business hours, to answering your phones 24/7, to providing emergency assistance for your customers at any time of the day or night.

When you work with outsourced call centers, the employees are trained on the specifics of your individual business – like how your products work and what kind of customer service you offer. That way, they can actually give your customers basic answers and solutions, instead of just being a glorified message-taking service.

For businesses where responding to customers is a time-sensitive issue – like if you run a doctor’s office or an apartment building – having someone available 24/7 can literally mean the difference between life and death.

For other businesses, having telephone answering services can simply make your customers feel important. Even if they call at 3:00 AM, they are going to get someone on the phone that can help them, instead of an impersonal voicemail machine.

And, if you run a small business, taking advantage of these contact center solutions can actually make it look like you have more employees than you really do. For example, if you have your answering service handle your phone duties during normal business hours – instead of doing it yourself – it makes it look like you have a full-time secretary.

Plus, when you don’t have to jump up and answer the phone every 5 minutes, it makes you look better during meetings and appointments. After all, no client wants to feel like they’re second-fiddle to a ringing phone!
But if you have to pay your answering service, how does
that save you any money?

When you work with outsourced call centers, you pay a monthly fee for their services. The company that runs the call center is in charge of paying salaries and benefits – not you. That way, it’s much cheaper than hiring a full-time secretary or office staff!