Smart Businesses Add Call Handling Services to Their Arsenal

Smart Businesses Add Call Handling Services to Their Arsenal

a call handling service

Like it or not, we now have an ‘arsenal’ of ways in which we can communicate in the business world. There are already too many for one person to become an expert in all of them, but, as business professionals, it is important for us to understand changing trends and adapt to the most common methods to ensure our continued success.  Engaging a call handling service is just one of many options, but smart businesses are finding they gain a real competitive advantage when done correctly.

Understanding the Channels

Before we address call handling services, we need to talk about everything else that is available to us.  No matter how big or small your organization is, you need to engage multiple methods of communication.   The simplest way to break down these communication methods is to follow your sales cycle:

1. Marketing / Awareness – This is your one-to-many channel.  It includes your website, all your social media accounts, advertising and traditional marketing efforts.  Whether it’s your phone book listing, or trying to get to 10,000 ‘Likes’ on your business Facebook page, the main point of these communication methods are to make your target audience aware of you and perhaps peak their interest enough to want to learn more.

2. Direct / Interactive – This is your one-to-one or one-to-a-few channel.  These are the contacts that have expressed some interest in your organization, as well as your co-workers and business associates that help you serve your clients.  This may include a ‘login’ section or ‘chat’ feature on your website, instant messaging, text messaging, and most other electronic forms of communication where pertinent and detailed information can be exchanged between two people or within a small group.

3.  Closing the Deal – This is your most critical channel.  For the large majority of service driven companies, phone and e-mail are still the two primary communication tools used to close deals.  Many prospects may prefer to learn about your organization via the other channels listed above, but picking up the phone and calling you is often a good indicator that they are ready to do business.  Follow up e-mails confirming the details of your conversations can then lead to the signed agreement.

 How Well Are You Handling Your Calls? 

For the first and second channels above, there have been very dramatic changes in communications methods in recent years.  Just ten years ago Facebook, YouTube and Twitter didn’t even exist (channel 1), and no one had a web-enable communication device that could rival today’s smart phones (channels 1 & 2).  However, for our third channel, ‘Closing the Deal’, business e-mail and the basic business phone call have remained the same.  Because of this lack of change in the third channel, many organizations have neglected to appropriately address how they handle their inbound business calls.

The common theme from channels 1 & 2 is that technology has made things much more instant.  People can instantly get information from your website or social media channels and also have several near instant communication methods via their smart devices.  Yet, for channel 3, the most critical channel, they are often forced to wait.  Call handling services, when properly customized to fit your business needs, eliminate this major stumbling block.  By simply having a warm, friendly and knowledgeable person answer your business phone 24/7, or even after hours, you significantly reduce the potential to frustrate your clients and prospects.  Given all the energy and attention that has gone into managing channels 1 & 2 over the last several years; this is often a very wise investment for companies that hold good quality service and client satisfaction as one of their top priorities.

To learn more about Main Line TeleCommunications, please download our free guide:
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Related Links:
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Live Person Answering Service in the Internet Age? Definitely Yes!
When Call Handling Services Make Sense