It goes without saying that in the business world first impressions are very important. But in today’s modern business world, very few initial business interactions will be made face to face. It is far more common for the first contact to be made between businesses and their colleagues, clients and potential customers over the phone.

Because a phone call may present an important opportunity without much warning as you would get from a scheduled business meeting it essential that a well-appointed plan is in place to catch each of these phone calls and ensure that all opportunities are captured optimally.

One of the most effective ways to leverage incoming calls is with a professional call answering service. Take a look at AnswerFirst’s website to see what services could benefit you. There are several important advantages that can be gotten from a professional call answering service, some of which are industry specific and some are applicable to all businesses.

Sound Professional All the Time

Any business making progress in the world today will do their utmost to appear professional at all times. Nevertheless, even the best of us are prone to simple human error and simple complexities of life can have very serious consequences. A small confusion or tension in your regular work schedule can cause an otherwise professional employee to succumb to stress or confusion and provide less-than-acceptable service to a very important caller.

Most businesses are fully aware of the situation of having to provide excellent service to a caller on the phone who was either not properly informed or simply not interested in the information being provided and this has consistently caused frustrations. This poor service leaves a very bad impression with a potential customer and can lead to a customer taking their business to the competition.

One of the advantages of having your incoming phone calls managed by a call center staffed with knowledgeable humans is that your level of professionalism is assured no matter what is happening around you in the office. No matter if you are receiving your first business call ever, or your thousandth call, the exact same level of professionalism and courtesy will be applied equally.

Maintain High Levels of Efficiency Even when Working Remotely

Another considerable challenge that can affect a startup or SME is the issues that arise when the job requires relocating. If you are on the job and moving about very quickly, there is a good chance you may miss some of your incoming phone calls. This means you may miss some vital business deals that you could have saved with a suitable call managing system.

Rather than leaving the responsibility of answering the phone to your internal staff, who will likely be very busy and possibly the only person available, a call center service can handle all the calls and even a basic set of queries without having to bring in any of your company experts. If the conversation is getting a bit too detailed for the call center, they can help out by directing the call to the person or department that will best provide assistance.

This screening process spars your in-house staff from muddling about with the niceties of basic inquiries and only be summoned to help In the event their expertise is needed.

Ensure that Calls are Never Missed

As your company begins to grow and expand there will not be any more time from your seasoned employees to be addressing the needs of the photocopier or answering the phone. By the time your company is taking on bigger projects they will be primarily focused with addressing the tasks that will push the company toward its essential goals.

Nevertheless, the all-important tasks like answering the phone and providing service to your valuable customers can’t be neglected. Failure to catch these opportunities as they present themselves will eventually begin affecting the bottom line because each missed call is a missed lead and as the leads decline so do the steady stream of revenue.

A study performed at eReceptionist actually concluded that 67% of customers won’t call back or even leave a message if their call is not answered in the first attempt. Because they typically failed to leave any sort of information it could be said that every one of those customers was a lost client that will never be recouped.

This is where the eReceptionist service can ensure that none of these potential clients are lost and this will doubtlessly be a bonus that pays for itself and then some in revenues that aren’t lost. Your business will be supported with a team of trained phone staff that will be fully prepared to catch any incoming inquiries and ensures that all business opportunities are taken full advantage of.  Never underestimate the value of stopping up these leaks and cracks in achieving your potential cash flow.

Out of Hours Support

Traditionally, business hours and phone staff will operate from 9AM to 5PM Monday through Friday. But, with the urgency of business at the rate it is today, this small time frame is just not enough when customers from everywhere can be looking for information at all hours of the day and night. With more and more companies and individuals operating under odd business hours there has never been such a need for businesses to make their services available at all hours of the day.

Here is one of the best things about working with a call answering service, there are no business hours. Whether you could be expecting calls from the far corners of the globe or even from your late night clients, your eReceptionist will be on call to ensure the messages are relayed properly and your client’s needs and concerns are addressed.