How to Pick a Call Centre / Virtual Receptionist for Your Business: 3 Things to Look For
Running a business is a round-the-clock endeavour. There simply isn’t enough time in the day to do everything that needs to be done to grow your business. There certainly isn’t enough time for you to take every phone call that comes in – but then again you need those calls answered if you want to get more clients.
Many businesses turn to in-house receptionists, but these can be expensive. One great solution that many businesses are now turning to is a virtual receptionist. But how do you choose the right one?
Look for these 3 things when picking a call centre/virtual receptionist for your business.
1) One Call Environment
Many call centers continue to work in a two or even three line call environment, which means your clients are continually cut off and put on hold while telling their story to the agent. In a one call environment your customers are never put on hold while agents respond to other client’s callers. When calls are handled beginning to end agents can remain solely focused on the customer’s concerns and they hang up satisfied that they were heard and confident that the proper follow up action will be taken.
2) Complete transparency through internet accessible Web Portal feature
You should be able to access your messages, listen to all voice recordings of your calls, consult all account statistics and review your billing online. It should be highly encouraged that clients listen to their calls especially at the outset of the service in order to ensure that any necessary “tweaking” is made right from the beginning.
3) A free trial
This one should be a deal breaker if it’s not offered. Any reputable company should offer a free trial to let you see if you like the service. This will allow you to see how they handle your calls, how many calls you are getting, and if the price is right for you. After the trial, if you are satisfied with the service, then chances are you will continue (which is why offering a free trial is so important). If they don’t offer one, then stay away.
Picking a call centre or virtual receptionist service is a great way for companies to cut back on costs while maintaining a certain level of service. Having a dedicated call answering service that handles all of your call traffic at an affordable rate can be a great stress reliever, and will help free up valuable time for you to spend elsewhere on developing your business.
So when figuring out how to pick the right call centre / virtual receptionist for your needs, make sure you take these three things into account so you can find out if they are the perfect fit for your business.
