Having a home business can come with amazing perks but it also has its challenges. One obstacle that should be familiar to you at home business owners is having to push back those solicitors from your front door while trying to juggle your client conference calls. In fact, it’s not just the interruptions knocking at your door that intrude on those important client calls. There’s a whole other world of interference happening at home while you’re trying to work and run your business.
Do you remember one of the biggest reasons why you wanted to run your own home business? It was so you’d be able to better balance your personal life with the professional side of your day. And, with greater ease. After all, you’ve got to walk the dog, make the kids breakfast, take the kids to school, clean house, hop on that Peloton for your way overdue workout session, pick the kids up from school, make them a snack, help them with their homework, start a load of laundry, cook dinner, feed the family, finish the laundry, walk the dog again, and somehow (with all of this going on) get your to-do-list taken care of for that home business of yours.
With your list of things-to-do growing longer in your head now you might also be wondering just how you plan to answer all of those incoming and scheduled client calls without missing a single one? Well, the plain and simple truth is, you can’t. Life simply won’t permit you to answer and connect with all of your inbound and client phone calls. It’s hard enough just trying to commit to the scheduled conference calls you had planned for the day. But with a little help your business calls won’t have to go unanswered or constantly interrupted.
That small home business you started in your basement is growing. And, it doesn’t make sense for you to hire a staff, invest in a building or even rent an office space in order to fuel expansion. So, your business stays at home and the calls just keep on coming.
Virtual receptionists are an excellent solution to this growing problem. Especially when your business can be supported by a team of live receptionists that know your brand and are well trained to provide the highest-quality customer service for your callers when you are unable to get to the phone.
You might be hesitant to sign up for this kind of service. Sometimes it’s hard to even know when it’s simply time to outsource this. Too soon and you might be spending money that you could be investing in another part of your business. Too late and you risk losing valuable client leads and existing customers from being sent to that already full voicemail box of yours, again.
So, how are you supposed to know if and when your home-based office needs an answering service? Well, there are a few crucial signs to watch out for when considering this question. And, Abby Connect is here to provide you with three key signs that are telling you “it’s time to move up to the next level”.
Incoming Calls Are Continuously Interrupting Your Workflow
You’re a one-woman or one-man band and the performance of your business demands everything from you. Orders for products or services have to be filled, inventory needs to be handled, expense reports filled out, and your at-home business needs your full attention. You also need to be taking care of your customers calling in, too. By answering all those calls, you constantly interrupt your workflow. This causes your work to take twice as long (if not longer) as it would have without those intruding inbound calls, and you might make more mistakes. If you were able to work through all of those incoming calls you’d actually save time and money throughout your workday. A virtual receptionist could be answering the phone so you can whistle while your work. You could finally focus on what’s most important for you to be doing for your business, all while a team of professional live receptionists provides your callers with information about your business.
Customers Complaining and Refusing to Use Your Phone Tree
Computerized phone trees can be relatively inexpensive and easy to use as your business grows but they’re not all that “caller-friendly”. They often confuse, frustrate and manage to bring the rage out in even the kindest callers. Some callers will just simply hang up instead of dealing with another phone tree. This author can honestly say that whenever she gets a robotic phone tree voice she’ll keep shouting “OPERATOR” or hitting “0” until she’s sent to a live person to talk with. And, if there is no live person, she’s not bothering to call back.
Instead of relying on a computer’s artificial intelligence to entice your callers to become customers a virtual receptionist could provide a friendly greeting and help callers get straight to the point of their call. You’ll also get bonus points for the professional face-lift for your home business.
Callers Won’t Leave Voicemails or Wait on Hold
People simply won’t wait very long to get an answer. According the Salesforce’s Small and Medium business trends report (find our analysis and summary here), the average person will lose patience with a call that’s been put on hold before a full minute has run up on the clock. And, only 25 % of callers who actually get as far as your voicemail box won’t even bother to leave a message. Another way to look at it is 75% of callers are about to call your competition just because someone didn’t pick up the phone. Using an answering service that only charges when it answers a call means having the flexibility to service hundreds of callers with real, live humans that are able to take messages, answer inquiries, and promote your brand. This gives those callers a good reason to become lifetime customers.
Looking to Move to the Next Level?
Your at-home business could seriously benefit from the help of an answering service. No matter what your type of business is (graphic design, freelance marketing, running an eCommerce shop, or making your own soap) a team of live receptionists gives you a greater reach and an image of being a much larger and more prestigious organization. And, all of this with very little expense to add into your report.
At Abby Connect we’re proud to support at home and family businesses. We just so happen to be a family business ourselves. Starting out small is something we all have to do but when things start to get big its time to ask for the right kind of help. Our live receptionist teams are here to help maintain the best customer service for your callers and provide them with an overall experience that will keep them YOUR customers. Try out our services for 14-Day’s FREE! We’ll help handle your calls and keep your growing business a successful one.
