3. No Training Required

Not only are the virtual receptionists provided by our live telephone answering service a huge amount cheaper than an in-house receptionist, they are also fully trained in how to answer your calls. Unlike large call centres, at The Answer Centre  a dedicated team of a few (typically less than 5) virtual PAs will be assigned and trained to handle your calls. So you can relax in the knowledge that your calls will be handled efficiently and professionally as if they were being handled by your own staff.

This means your business will display great customer service without you actually having to invest any time into training someone to do the job.

Having your business calls answered by a knowledgeable professional provides a seamless customer service experience which can give you a competitive edge over other businesses.

Taking on an employee can be a significant financial commitment. Salary, National Insurance contributions, pension contributions and any other company benefits you would typically pay an employee all need to be taken into account.

A live telephone answering service provides the benefits of a highly skilled receptionist without having to face the cost and commitment. A virtual receptionist can handle all business calls at a fraction of the cost of a full time in-house receptionist.

A live telephone answering service is able to handle a high volume of calls meaning even during your company’s busiest calling times, every single one of your business calls will be answered.

Because a live answering service has a team of dedicated receptionists on hand, each and every one of your calls can be given the time and attention it needs, even when there are several incoming calls.

In short, by utilising a call answering service, your business will never have a missed call again and you won’t have to worry about paying for a salary, sick days and other overheads that come with having a full-time receptionist on payroll.

The money saved here can be used towards other ventures that can further expand or improve your business.

See our prices for call answering services here to explore further, the benefits of a Telephone Answering Service.

5. Take Your Workday Back

How often do you find yourself wishing there were more hours in the day? Well, with a live telephone answering service you get just that.

Using a call answering service ensures that your day goes exactly as you plan it. When working on important tasks or in meetings, you can divert calls and have messages taken by a real human. This enables you to get what you need to do done, uninterrupted, whilst your caller still feels looked after.

You will receive messages throughout the day regarding calls so that you can stay up to date, in the loop and quickly respond to urgent callers.

Having the freedom to be away from your desk and phone whilst knowing important calls are being handled will work wonders for your day to day productivity.

6. No More Cold Calls

How frustrating is it when your focus is interrupted by an incoming call? Very.

How much more frustrating is it when the call is of no importance or relevance to you or your business? Extremely.

Utilising a call answering service can make this a thing of the past as your virtual receptionist can screen calls for you and filter out the cold callers. You will always receive notification of calls and callers but this screening process enables you to pick and choose which calls you want to spend the time and energy on calling back.

7. Fantastic Customer Service

With a virtual receptionist, your phone calls will always be answered during business hours. When calls are being answered quickly and professionally, customers instantly get a great impression.

Your call answering service team will answer calls in the name of your company and will either take a message or relay the call to the right person within your business, as if they were a permanent member of your team.

Having your business calls answered by a knowledgeable professional provides a seamless customer service experience which can give you a competitive edge over competitors.

8. Never miss another business opportunity

Telephone Answering Service are playing a bigger part than ever before in helping small businesses to grow in the early stages of development.

Research has now shown that when a small business is in the early stages of growth, missing inbound calls can have a detrimental effect on the growth of the business.

Small businesses with up to two or three members of staff cannot normally justify having an employee dedicated to answering incoming telephone calls, which means that new business enquiries will inevitably get lost.

By employing the services of a Telephone Answering Service provider such as The Answer Centre a small business can ensure that new sales enquiries are not missed, thus ensuring that the business will grow at the optimum rate. Having access to a Virtual Assistant or Virtual PA to answer your calls means that as a small business owner you can get on with building your business without worrying about missed calls.

Additional benefits of using such a call answering service include the fact that when calls are received they are always handled consistently and professionally thus creating a good first impression to callers. How often do you call a small business and hear a voicemail greeting before hanging up and calling the next supplier in the list?

To find out more about the Telephone Answering Services and virtual office services provided by The Answer Centre you can call us Free on 0800 093 7333.

9. Make more money

Because your business is not actually employing a receptionist, your business will have extra cash flow to put towards investments and growth. Using a telephone answering virtual receptionist  gives your business the function of an in house receptionist, without having to pay salary, pension, National Insurance contributions or any other benefits you would typically pay an employee.

10. Create an impression of scale

A large factor behind successful businesses is brand awareness. This normally requires a large investment of time and money to build the brand. A telephone answering service allows businesses to reap the benefits of the professionalism of The Answer Centre’s virtual PAs, giving customers an impression that your business is established; without having to devote the time and expense involved in hiring and employing your own staff.

When working with new and potential customers, building a warm and professional rapport is essential but time consuming. Our call handlers are experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to telephone manner and rapport building, so by the time the caller is speaking to you, they have already been warmed up.

11. Increase productivity of your staff

A virtual receptionist or answering service can drastically increase your own, and your teams productivity, and free up a huge amount of time day to day.

Phone calls can be a huge disruption and distraction in a work environment. Whilst it is important to take and respond to calls, not all calls are a priority. A virtual receptionist can filter out cold calls and make a note of or forward the calls that matter.

If you are too busy to take calls either because you are travelling, in a meeting or working on an important task, your answering service can pick up the calls and take detailed messages on your behalf. You can choose to divert calls when you don’t want to be disturbed, and prioritise calls in order of importance to you, all whilst maintaining a professional  image.

12. Choose any number you’d like

A professional number is better for your business and with a telephone answering service you can be whoever your customers want you to be with the ability to choose any available local number in the UK, or choose an 0800 number for that national presence.

The Answer Centre will provide you with your chosen telephone number that you can either advertise or divert your existing number to. You do not need any additional equipment to start using our service which can be set up in minutes. We will answer calls in your company name and sound exactly like your own company receptionist.

13. Personalised service that’s right for you

Your calls will only ever be answered by a small team of dedicated Virtual PAs who you will get to know by name. We believe that the only way to provide a fully personalised call answering service is to have your calls answered by a small number of real people, based in our own UK offices, with real names who fully understand how your business works. If you are looking for a call centre you have come to the wrong web site!

14. Call forwarding and/or Messages by email, SMS

With a telephone answering service your messages are carefully logged and stored so that you’ll never lose or inadvertently deleted an important message again. Once your call has been answered by one of our virtual PAs, if you are unavailable to take the call or would prefer us to take a message this can be sent via email or SMS, whichever is most convenient for you.

How it all works?

When a caller rings your number, their call will pass to your virtual receptionist at The Answer Centre. Their call will be answered in a friendly and professional manner using your preferred greeting. The call can then be passed to you or one of your colleagues on a specified number. If you are unavailable, a message can be taken and will be forwarded on to you immediately either by email or via text message.

We will know when an incoming call is for your business because we will issue you with a unique telephone number for your clients and customers to use. When your number is called, your receptionist will see a screen notification and will answer the call with your company greeting. The caller will think they are speaking to your own personal company receptionist.

Why not try out the service for yourself – free of charge! We can offer you a two-week free trial of our service so you can see for yourself how valuable and cost-effective our phone answering services are.