Small business owners have limited capacity but a lot to accomplish. Trying to do everything will burn you out and could result in missed opportunities. No one can do everything themselves, including answering phones. This is why it’s important for small business owners to work with a phone answering service to streamline their business and improve their bottom line.
Here’s why you should consider an answering service today.
We all have the same number of hours in the day, but when you’re a business owner they can never feel like enough. All your necessary tasks will make you feel pulled in many directions. How do you decide which task is right every time?
Answering phones, for example, is a key component of your business. You must interact with your customers, but if that takes you away from your in-person customers or back-end tasks that grow your business, how do you decide?
At some point, you have to let calls go to voicemail. Whether you’re with current clients or tending to other business needs, you can’t always answer the phone.
What if the caller was a new client or an existing client that wanted to do more business with you? In those three seconds that the phone was ringing and you didn’t answer, you lost the chance for more business. That’s an opportunity cost.
Did you know sometimes when the owner of a business answers the phone it can turn clients off? They might either think your business is so small that you don’t need assistance and they might not trust you or they might think you’re not professional enough to bring in more staff.
Having a service answer your phones makes you seem more professional (and busy). You want to give your clients the vision that you are successful, making them want to work with you.
What’s worse than missing an important call? Wasting time on an unwanted call. Solicitors or nonsense calls can drain your energy and take you away from the more important tasks. When you have someone else answering your calls, you aren’t distracted by the unnecessary calls and can remain on task.
Having someone else answer your calls is important. It may seem like such a simple task, but it has profound effects. You’ll be more focused on growing and running your business, you won’t have to deal with unnecessary phone calls, and most importantly you won’t miss important calls that could result in new or more business.
The good news is you don’t have to hire a full-time employee, pay benefits and worry about taxes. Outsourcing your phone answering needs to a phone answering service can give you the benefits of a professional answering your phones 24/7 while you get to focus on your business.