FEB02
You know that illness you often suffer from having spent ten hours of the previous day in the pub watching the rugby? Symptoms include groaning, painful eyes, a brain that feels about three times too big for your skull and intense nausea. Well expect the mystery illness to show its bleary eyed face once again over the next couple of months, as New Year’s resolutions are thrown out of the window to welcome in the 2012 Six Nations Rugby.
Wales is of course rugby mad, so you cannot blame your employees for indulging themselves in the occasional ale as they watch the drama unfold. However, you certainly cannot allow the revelry of your workforce to affect your business; which is exactly where we come in.
Here at Answer My Phone we have just increased the length of our free trial from two weeks to a month, so there is officially no better time to sample our phone answering service. Why not give us a try over the course of the Six Nations and see how the unique service we offer can ensure you turn those promising leads into sales.
We are confident we are the only company in Wales offering a phone answering service which cares as much about your business as you do. Many of the competition will take a message and leave it at that, which could not be further from how we do things here at Answer My Phone.
The intricate knowledge we develop about your business helps us to ask all the right questions, so rather than speaking with a member of an outsourced team, your customers will feel like they are speaking to one of your employees. All of our team members come from a sales background, and are able to put their experience to good use cross-selling and up-selling your products and services on your behalf. We ask the questions that matter, extracting every detail about a customer’s requirements. We will then either pass the call through to you, with a brief stating exactly what it is the customer is looking for, or, if you or your team are unavailable to take the call, we will send you a detailed message with all of their details, including the products or packages they are interested in - so much more than a simple message taking service!
For further information about our phone answering service or to take us up on our offer of a completely free one month trial, call Answer My Phone on 08000 612 845 or 02920 695 999 today.
APR08
We’ve all been there. You’ve been waiting for an important call all day, staring at your phone just pleading it to ring. It doesn’t. I might just pop to the toilet you think, it’ll be fine. Disaster! While perched you hear the familiar ringtone of your mobile. As quickly as humanly possible you exit the commode and run for the phone. Yes it’s still ringing. “Hello... umm hello”. And of course, there’s nobody there. Well worry not; with these useful tips from answermyphone.biz – the telephone answering service maestros, your missed call telephone etiquette will be without compare.
The first important factor to consider is the amount of time which has elapsed since the initial call
If you miss an important call and you are in easy reach of your phone, it is fine to call back within the first 30 seconds. The rationale behind this being: the more time which elapses between calls, the higher the chance the person you are trying to contact will not answer.
As the caller, if the intended recipient calls you back within 30 seconds, then if possible, you really should answer. Finding an excuse for missing such a return call will obviously be difficult as such a small amount of time has passed in the meantime. However, if five or so minutes passes before you are called back, it’s perfectly understandable if you miss their return call.
Screening calls is perfectly acceptable – here is the etiquette to follow
If you are called from a number you do not recognise it is perfectly acceptable to wait and see whether you are left a voicemail message. If they do and you would like to call to talk to them, call them back. If they don’t then leave a message there is every chance that the call was the telephone equivalent of spam, so there really is no need to call them back.
On the other hand, if you are the caller and you are pretty sure that the intended recipient does not have your number, then leave a voicemail, it will greatly increase the chance of receiving a call back.
So what exactly is the best plan of attack when leaving a voicemail?
The dreaded voicemail; nemesis of so many and friend to so few. Well here are some tips. If someone calls your phone and waits to be put through to your messaging service, the last thing they are then going to want is a long winded Shakespearian soliloquy. Keep your greeting short and the caller will be far more likely to leave a message in the first place. If you are the caller it is important not to explain to the caller everything you wish to talk about. Save that for the actual call. If it’s vital information then keep it brief. Never just leave a message asking the individual to call you back. Your missed call already affirms that.
It is acceptable to text back to a call?
It is acceptable to text back to a call; however, it’s only really acceptable to do so in certain circumstances. If you are in a location where it is impossible to answer the phone, such as a theatre or cinema, or you are in a meeting, responding with a text shows that you are aware of the missed call and are interested in talking as soon as it is possible to do so.
If you are the caller and you receive a text response it is important to set up a time to talk, or calmly wait for the individual to call you back at their own convenience.
If you are always missing calls then our telephone answering service can make that a thing of the past. Contact us today for an obligation free two week trial.
MAR22
Running a business today is more time consuming, labour intensive and stressful than ever before. If you are struggling to deal with the smaller things such as answering the phone in a timely manner or getting back to customers quickly, help is at hand from a new service - the virtual receptionist service.
You may have heard of a virtual receptionist service in the past or know somebody who is using a similar service. The premise is very simple and could save you a lot of time and money not to mention lost custom. It's often the case that a new business can grow bigger more quickly than expected. Where you may have been functioning perfectly well on one mobile phone or using your home phone you suddenly find both phones are ringing off the hook and that you are missing a lot of calls as a result.
A virtual receptionist service will make missing or juggling calls a thing of the past. A highly trained and professional team will take care of your calls and ensure your existing customers and potential new customers get the right impression when they call your number. Whether you only need to use the service temporarily or you would like a more permanent arrangement, there are many virtual receptionist services offering a wide range of bespoke services which can be styled to suit your exact business needs.
It doesn't matter whether you are a small, medium or large company as a virtual receptionist service can often fit all types and sizes of business perfectly. Even a large business can make use of this service choosing to divert certain numbers or provide cover whilst their regular receptionist is away on leave. Whatever your requirements you can be sure they will be catered for.
A virtual receptionist service can create a great lasting first impression to potential clients and instil loyalty and reassurance in your existing ones. It's important that any calls to your business line are dealt with quickly and in a professional and friendly manner. Nobody truly likes to leave a message or be left hanging on listening to an endless ringing tone. You may not know exactly how many customers you have lost, but if you miss a lot of calls it could be time to take action right now.
You can choose exactly how you want your virtual receptionist service to work for you. Nobody will ever need to know that your virtual receptionist isn't working in your office or with you permanently as they will be dedicated to working with you and getting to know your business, your products and your services. That's what makes this service so unique and once you start using it you will wonder how you ever coped without it.
If you are interested in finding out more about a virtual receptionist service you can trust and that will make a lasting impression with your customers, get in touch with our helpful and friendly team today.