5 Tips to create the best answering service!

If you’ve hired an answering service to manage your calls, then virtual receptionists, not your own employees, are likely the first point of contact for your customers. Since these receptionists aren’t sitting in your office with firsthand knowledge about the inner workings of your company, you’ll need to manage outsourcing a bit differently that you would manage your own office receptionists. We’ve put together 5 things you can do to ensure a successful interaction each time an answering service agent answers your line. Check out our tips below, and you’ll quickly be on your way to creating the best answering service experience imaginable.

#1: Lead the way with a custom greeting!

Do you have a business name that’s a little difficult to pronounce? Maybe it’s so complicated, even you get tongue-tied trying to say it. If that rings true, then place the company name in a recorded opening greeting instead of having the operators say it. Even better, have the greeting professionally recorded to really wow your callers.

• A recorded greeting means customers will immediately know that they’ve reached your office, and your business name will sound the same on every call.
• Customize your recording with an advertisement, a professional tone, something a little more upbeat, or even an English accent!

#2: We’re at your “answering service.”

When callers think we are your receptionist, they may expect the operators to have a certain understanding of your products, services, policies and procedures. There are always a few basic FAQs listed in your account to help the operators, but allowing us to represent you as an answering service is the ideal situation for both operators and callers alike.

• Letting callers know they’ve reached the service sets the tone for a more relaxed call flow and will help disengage callers who normally push for answers.
• Your customers may not receive the immediate answers they’ve requested, but they’ll have peace of mind knowing that their message will reach the correct person or department.

#3: Keep your FAQs short and sweet.

Frequently Asked Questions can empower operators and help move calls along. You may be thinking, the more FAQs the operators have, the better they’ll be able to answer customer questions, right? Wrong. Having the operators field a bunch of questions may sound like a great idea, but the more questions they have to weed through, the longer calls will take, and the more likely customers will become frustrated.

• Some things are better off explained by you and your staff, and it’s really is okay to let callers know that the appropriate party will get back to them.
• Make your FAQs as clear and concise as possible. When operators can confidently assist your callers, they’ll feel more at ease answering your calls.

#4: The best calls begin with the right questions.

There is usually a primary reason why your customers need to reach you. With that idea in mind, updating your live greeting to triage callers’ requests will steer the call in the right direction from the get-go. For example, an after-hours HVAC contractor may want the operator to say, “Are you calling for emergency service?” Similarly, a medical practice might open with, “Are you calling to schedule an appointment?”

• The more efficiently we can approach your calls, the smoother the operators can transition through your script.
• The end result is less overall usage, lower monthly bills, and an increased number of satisfied customers!

#5: Just the basics, please.

Keep your script simple. If you are utilizing an answering service to screen callers and determine which leads to call back, then stick to the basics you’ll need to get the conversation going. While asking everything from blood type to favorite pasta may seem like a good idea in theory, it’s really not. More questions mean more time spent on each call, which means a higher bill.

• If your answering service is asking for an abundance of information, callers may assume that the operators have in-depth knowledge of your products and services.
• It’s a good idea to whittle your call script down to the key questions you’d like us to ask. We’ll collect your basic requirements and leave the heavy lifting to your experts.

Keeping your protocols simple and taking advantage of recorded greetings and voice talent are some of the ways your company can improve it’s outsourcing and help create the best answering service for your callers. Specialty Answering Service offers a treasure trove of experience and can give you the best suggestions to make sure we’re creating the best experience – it’s simply a matter of letting us guide you to creating an experience that will dazzle, instead of deflate.