Are you the owner or manager of a small to mid-sized service oriented business? Do you
‘wear a lot of hats’ during the course of your work week? In addition to becoming an expert in your chosen field, many people in your position have had to become experts in time management. One of the tools the more successful ones have learned to leverage is a live after hours answering service.
Overcome Dependencies on Outdated Tools
An after hours answering service helps many small and mid-size businesses overcome their over-dependence on voice-mail as a primary communication tool. Yes, during normal business hours they may have a receptionist or office managers that handle inbound calls and messages, but during lunch and after normal business hours voice-mail is the only option.
The ‘I Want It Now’ Effect
In today’s instant gratification society, prospective clients are not patient creatures. A large and growing percentage of buyers now expect to be able to engage you at the point of contact. In other words, when they call a business and get voice-mail, they are much more likely to call the next provider they can find, often times without leaving a message for the first provider. No matter what kind of business you are in, this translates into lost revenue opportunities.
A Better Way
A live after hours answering service remedies this situation by providing knowledgeable, friendly and professional representatives to take those calls for you – greatly increasing your ability to generate revenue from those inbound calls. From a time management perspective, it is an excellent tool because it enables you to provide 24/7 availability, increase client satisfaction and drive new revenue; all without increasing the amount of time you need to spend to make it happen. Now that’s good time management!
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications: 
Or visit our 
page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
Related Links:
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Answering Services – Not All Are Created Equal
Many traditional small business models are being challenged in today’s environment. Advances
in technology, communications, and the sharing of information have made ‘maintaining the status quo’ a rather dangerous strategy.
Business owners who recognize the need to stay in better touch with their prospects and customers, but don’t have the resources to build an all-encompassing digital or social media plan, have realized that live answering services for their small businesses are a very effective communications tool.
Listed below are the top 5 most common reasons we hear from small businesses, as to why they utilize our live answering services:
- 24/7 Availability - Most small businesses can’t be available 24/7; but to their customers they certainly want to appear that way. Each and every call gets answered by a live person, ensuring no prospect opportunities are missed and no clients are left waiting and wondering when someone might get back to them.
- Professional, Consistent Greetings - Ever have a bad day? The daily frustrations encountered as a small business owner or manager can often derail even the best of us from proper phone etiquette. Live answering services guarantee your clients and prospects a friendly, helpful experience every time.
- Each Call, Accurately Prioritized and Routed - You and your staff have a heavy workload. This means it is easy for distractions to creep in, which can causes messages to be delayed, inaccurate or forgotten. The primary purpose of an answering service is to answer calls. That means timely, accurate message delivery for every call.
- Make Money While You Sleep - When you never miss a call and handle every call right, your revenue increases. In addition, expenses can drop, since you will have a team of people to answer calls for a fraction of the cost of a dedicated phone receptionist.
- One Number Convenience - Regardless of your location, live answering services connect your clients and prospects to you. They can call one number without worrying about whether you or your staff members are on the road or at the office.
Live answering services may not be a fit for all small businesses, but the growing trend is a strong indicator that business owners and managers are seeking ways to enhance connections with their key audiences. Feel free to share your thoughts – what do you enjoy about your live answering service? Or what is holding you back from engaging one? We would like to hear from you.
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
Related Links:
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Live Answering Services for Small Businesses
Finding the right providers to engage for business services is never an easy task. For most of
us, we want a provider who understands our business, is easy to work with, responsive to our needs, and makes the extra effort to show they have our best interests in mind.
The tricky part is, no matter how much ‘homework’ you do to engage a business service; you never know exactly how they will work out until you’re already working with them. A live operator answering service is no exception.
Putting Your Best Foot Forward
Live operator answering services are designed to enhance communications and responsiveness between you and your customers. Since this is a service that interacts directly with the contacts that drive your revenue, you would likely take extra care in the selection process.
This is not a service where you would go for the low-cost provider. You want a partner that is certified in their area of expertise, has a solid track record of reliable performance, and several referenceable clients that you could speak to prior to signing on the dotted line.
Why Settle for ‘Okay’
Unfortunately, many businesses engage a business service, and after a period of time, find they are not fully satisfied with the provider. BUT, they have already made the investment, developed a relationship, and don’t want to go through the extra effort of upgrading services. If you don’t believe your clients should settle for just ‘okay’, then you shouldn’t either, especially if it is a live operator answering service that will be speaking directly to your clients and prospects.
A Good Opportunity
There are plenty of tough business challenges out there today. How your phones are answered should not be one of them. From a business perspective, this is one of the easier, yet often overlooked areas for improvement. The key is to find an organization that will partner with you to understand your unique business needs, create a program that serves your specific requirements and works diligently to execute the program flawlessly day after day.
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
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Many of today’s health systems and doctors’ offices utilize a quality answering service to
manage their inbound calls. It makes perfect sense; doctors have a critical need to optimize the amount of time spent with patients as well as maintain and grow their own knowledge base to best support their practice. A doctor’s office is a professional services business model and using an answering service is one of the tools they find to be a valuable and often necessary asset.
What Is The Difference?
But what if you’re not a doctor’s office? Does a quality answering service still make sense for you? It does make sense if you strive to be recognized as a leader in your field, if you seek more productive client interactions, and if you feel you need more time to focus on your key goals and initiatives.
We are seeing a shift in the business world where more and more non-medical professional service organizations are utilizing quality answering services to improve time management, increase service levels to their client base, and support bottom-line growth efforts.
A Professional Service for Professional Organizations
If an answering service is something you are considering for your business, please make sure you do your homework. There are many different types of services available; and we have found that businesses who stick closely to the quality answering service model utilized by doctors’ offices have the most consistent success.
Be wary of the ‘one-size-fits-all’ vendors. The answering service you select should be a certified provider and offer completely customizable programs that will fit the unique ways in which you conduct your business. And remember, the main point of engaging an answering service, or any business service for that matter, is to help keep you at the top of your game!
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications: 
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
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The first month of the new year is almost over. No doubt you started the month with a
better plan and bigger expectations for this year than in years past. Most of us work a bit harder in January, putting in that extra effort to ensure the year gets off to a good start. But by February and March, we find the workload and business challenges are the same ones we’ve always encountered; and we fall back on some bad habits that can limit our progress.
24/7 Answering Service Overcomes the Status Quo
So how do we overcome this yearly pattern? Engaging a professional 24/7 answering service is an excellent way to break the pattern and finally have your ‘big year’. Think about it - real change comes from making a significant adjustment to your daily activities and then committing to that change to make it a behavior. If you are able to spend a larger portion of your week focused on the strategies and tactics to improve your business, vs. the ‘fire-drill’ mode that many of us fall into in service oriented business models, your success rate will increase dramatically.
It’s About Time
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, answering the phone is one of the biggest time-eaters for most businesses. A quality 24/7 answering service ensures your business phones are always answered by a helpful, courteous and knowledgeable professional. And, by customizing the service to your specific business needs, inbound calls will be prioritized, routed or messaged to the right contacts in your organization. This both increases customer satisfaction, and frees-up a significant amount of time for you and your staff to focus on important priorities.
Understanding the Difference
So what will you do this year? Have you worked a bit harder in January? Or are you committed to changes in your daily and weekly habits that will drive a real and noticeable impact to the upside come December 31st? We have seen it happen time and time again; a 24/7 answering service is a tool that can definitely help get you there.
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our 
page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
Related Links:
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For all of the great technological advances it has afforded to the business world over the last
several years, the Internet is still pretty much a cold and heartless medium. The average time spent on most websites today is less than 60 seconds (try using that time-frame with the new people you meet at your next dinner party or social outing!). For many businesses, engaging professional answering services is the key to bringing the personal touch to an ever expanding impersonal world.
Attempting to be Personal
Of course, social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter have become popular outlets as people attempt to personalize the internet experience. For many business models these social sites can be used as marketing channels when they are part of a larger content generation or inbound marketing strategy. But, for most businesses, this can take a significant amount of time, effort and energy before any measureable results can be recorded. And, if you’ve made those marketing investments, do you want your prospects’ first call to you to potentially go to voice-mail? Professional answering services offer a level of personal interaction that extends well beyond the hype of today’s new media.
Bridging the Gap
Professional answering services provide three essential functions that stand out above all e-forms of communication. The first is the human connection of speaking with a live person who is there specifically to help you with your issue or questions. Second are the advantages you gain over competitors who do not use professional answering services – they will miss new business opportunities and be viewed as less responsive than you to their clients and prospects. And third are the customizations you can incorporate to ensure inbound calls are properly prioritized and routed to the appropriate contacts within your organization.
Successful Businesses and Professional Answering Services
Personalized service has long been the hallmark of successful businesses. Utilizing the Internet, your prospects are likely to be more educated buyers of products or services, but they will still prefer to do business with those organizations that give them the personalized attention that they know they deserve. Does your business pride itself on the level of service it provides to your customers? Please let us know your thoughts; we’d like to hear from you.
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
Related Links:
Live Person Answering Service in the Internet Age? Definitely Yes!
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Top 5 Reasons You Need a Professional Answering Service
People want to talk to people. Despite the explosion of social media and other new
communications methods over the last several years, the phone call is still the best method of communication for most businesses. But, because it has been around for a while, people take it for granted. Business owners and managers often neglect to update their phone answering processes on a consistent basis, or consider the significant benefits of engaging professional call handling services.
What Is Your Business Model?
For many professional services companies, a call handling service is a must have. Think about it, if you have an urgent health issue or if there is a problem with your home, you’re not going to tweet about it, or go on Facebook. You are going to find a number to call.
Doctors’ offices, HVAC providers, plumbers, electricians, property managers and others who need to resolve issues for their clients quickly; know the importance of engaging quality call handling services. So, no matter what the situation, the call gets through to a live person who can help process the customer’s issue.
Growth Mode
As we’ve discussed before on this blog, answering phone calls is a critical business function, but also one of the biggest time eaters around. If you’re looking to grow your business; strategic, well defined call handling services can be one of the most significant time savers, enabling you to focus on key growth initiatives without all the constant interruptions. Even companies that don’t fit in the professional services categories noted above can utilize call handling to manage and accelerate their growth.
Competitive Advantage
Another reason call handling services make sense is the competitive advantage they provide. So many small and mid-sized businesses rely too heavily on voice-mail and end up missing opportunities they would have easily had if using a full time or after hours answering service. For example, on a recent inbound call, a caller exclaimed: “Thank God! You’re the tenth roofing company I’ve called and the first one to have a live person answer the call”. For even small businesses, this competitive advantage could easily bring in more new clients each and every month.
Gut Check
Call handling services are not for every business, but, done properly, they can make sense for a lot more business models than most people think. What about your business? Do you have a detailed and current process for answering inbound phone calls? Do you know how much time you and your employees lose on interruptive calls that could be better prioritized or routed? How about callers that didn’t leave a message – are you losing good opportunities? Let us know your thoughts – we’d like to hear what you think.
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
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It’s the beginning of a new year. The holidays are over and everyone is focused on getting
off to a great start. Improving client satisfaction, getting new customers and growing the bottom line are often high on the priority list this time of year. Did you know that engaging the best answering service for your business is a great way to tackle those priorities?
“But We Already Have A …..”
Maybe you already have an answering service; or perhaps you still rely on a voice-mail system. The fact is, the large majority of businesses do not take the time to properly optimize their inbound business call procedures, even though this is one of the easiest ways to improve client satisfaction and help new business get in the door. Having the best answering service simply means you’ve taken the time to understand and implement best practices for phone answering procedures for your specific business model.
Different Strokes
There are many different types of answering service providers available today. To get the best answering service for your business, you need to drill down on your phone answering procedures to understand where your opportunities are for improvement.
For some, the improvements come from program customizations specific to their business. For others, establishing better ways to prioritize inbound calls is the key. Some also benefit greatly by improving coordination between their in-house and offsite resources.
There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ when it comes to what could be the best answering service for you, so the time spent to understand the needs and opportunities unique to your business can really pay off in achieving your goals for this year.
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
Related Links:
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How to Choose The Best Answering Service For Your Business
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For most of us, the end of the year is a time for celebration as well as reflection on the 
accomplishments we have achieved during the past 12 months. Here at Main Line TeleCommunications, we have enjoyed sharing our knowledge on answering service best practices this year through our blog; and really appreciate all of the positive feedback we have received from you. So, without further adieu, here are our top 5 answering service blog posts as determined by popularity from our readership:
As a service organization with a genuine interest in seeing our clients succeed at achieving their business objectives, it is important for us to be good listeners. So, instead of telling you how we think virtual receptionist services can help you grow your business, we decided for this post to listen to a user’s perspective. I recently asked a colleague and fellow business owner to tell me, in his own words, how he came to benefit from this service – as you may see similarities in your own organization. Enjoy! read more…
Being in the industry, we talk a lot about the business benefits of using an answering service, like how the service can help grow your business, drive revenue, and free up resources.
One thing we haven’t talked much about is the personal touch of live answering services. Your customers are important, and you strive to provide the best customer service possible. If you hire an answering service, who exactly will be answering phone calls for you, and how do you know if they will be any good at it? read more…
I was recently talking with a friend of mine in the computer repair business. Somewhere in the conversation I mentioned that the Internet had virtually replaced printed Yellow Pages directories. He said “Not for me, 35% of our new business comes from the Yellow Pages.”
He then explained that when a small business or an individual has a computer issue, more often than not they cannot access the Internet, so where do they go – you guessed it, the good old yellow pages! read more…
We've talked before about how a phone answering service can be a key ingredient to maintaining growth and customer satisfaction as people increasingly expect 24/7 availability from your business. Still, it can be hard to trust someone outside your business to know what you and your customers need, especially if you’ve never tried offsite call handling services before – or worse, if you’ve had a bad experience in the past. How can you be sure that your calls will be handled the way you want? read more…
Stimulating your sales—after business hours:
Your business needs sales to grow. And in order to increase revenue, you understand it’s important to maintain open and excellent communication with your customers, clients and vendors. Effective communication is a proven benchmark in helping make your business a successful one.
Imagine a workday with no telephone, no internet connection, no e-mail or text messaging, Tweeting or Facebook posts—no contact with customers, clients or staff. More than likely, you will probably have zero sales for that day; you certainly will not gain any new prospects and possibly lose some loyal customers. read more…
We hope you’ve enjoyed this brief recap of our top 5 answering service blog posts. From all of us at Main Line TeleCommunications: Happy holidays and wishing you success in the new year!
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
24/7 Answering Service Please! 
Everyone works a bit harder this time of year. In addition to our ‘regular work’ we
are diligently completing business planning for next year, finalizing the details to close the books on this year, and, oh yes, putting a good bit of personal time into preparing for those holiday celebrations.
Believe me; operating a 24/7 answering service, we understand your year-end crunch. In December, many of our traditional clients will schedule full day planning sessions or hold holiday parties during business hours or maybe close early on certain days. For us, this means we process a lot more calls than usual. For them, it means they don’t have to worry because we are there to support them with the same professional and helpful service as always.
Making Sure the Call Goes Through
Many of the businesses we work with provide services that may be required no matter what day it is, and no matter what time of day or night. Doctors’ offices, healthcare practices, property managers, and other professional service providers like HVAC, and plumbing and electrical contractors know the importance of responding promptly when an emergency occurs – especially over a holiday.
But often the staffs at these organizations are greatly reduced over holiday hours. Utilizing our 24/7 answering service, we help these businesses ensure that the call gets through, and their clients’ issues are properly addressed.
Celebrating in Style
Although this is one of the busiest times of the year for us, we really enjoy stepping up to the challenge because we know the services we provide can help our clients spend a little extra quality time with their friends and family – after all, that’s what the holidays are really about.
Now we would like to say happy holidays to our own friends and families. And, if you are a client of our 24/7 answering service, you know we’ve got you covered!
To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications:
Or visit our page.
Remember, we always have an open line for you: 877-992-9700
Related Links:
Using Virtual Receptionist Services as a Time Management Tool
24 Hour Telephone Answering Services Solve Five Common Problems
How Answering Phone Calls Eats Your Precious Time