There aren’t enough fingers and toes on my hands and feet to count the number of times I’ve called a business and hung up the phone unhappy. Some receptionists just don’t understand basic customer service, like how to answer the phone with a smile, how to route phone calls to the proper people, take a basic message, etc. Some phone answering agents just plain suck!
Regardless if your current phone answering staff is in-house, or outsourced to a service, if the people you’re using suck, your business sucks. Clients are likely dropping you left and right. Prospects call your business once and learn every negative thing they need to know about your business in order to cross you off their list of companies they want to do business with.
Here’s a few helpful tips to help fix what’s currently broken, or avoid hiring phone support staff that suck:
1. Don’t take their word on it
It’s all well and good to think the people answering your phones are honest. That when they tell you they make all calls coming in a priority. If you were to ask, they listen intently and capture all the details a client or prospect tells them with each message they take. Ever met someone who told you they were the best (fill in the blank) ever, only to see them doing that very thing later and realizing they’re either a complete liar or insanely delusional?
People lie and people kid themselves, right? You need to test your phone answering staff by calling or having someone else call to test them for friendliness, accuracy at answering questions, and ability to take detailed messages. If your team is in-house, you’ll definitely need someone else to take the calls. When using an answering service, make sure to make a number of test calls, as they’ll likely have more than one agent answering your calls.
2. Training and retraining stops phone trouble in its tracks
Good quality assurance starts in the training room. In house, you’ll likely (hopefully) be training your staff, giving them all the knowledge necessary to answer calls most effectively. Most answering services offer agents that are ready to go, while also allowing you to give them input as to how to answer calls coming into your business.
The main point here is that if you don’t train your phone staff, or train them properly, the battle’s already lost. Once employees are trained, proceed back to tip #1, give feedback, and fix issues immediately before bad habits are formed. If staff don’t catch on quickly, you’ve got to remember that it’s your business. Hire a new receptionist. If you’re using a service, demand that the bad apples be removed from your phone queue.
3. Agents should be available 24/7 in most industries
You would think most business owners would realize if there’s a need for after hours phone support in their business. Fact is, most don’t have a clue. If you’re running any sort of business with an online presence, you need to give prospects the ability to get in touch with you using multiple methods (i.e., email, online chat, phone). Time zones and availability issues can really get in the way of growing and maintaining your business.
Even worse, you need your sleep and can’t be available to pick up the phone at all hours. This is where hiring an after hours answering service can really help. Even if you have staff working normal business hours throughout the day, you can still have a service that can pick up those after hours calls, take a message, or even forward the call to a dedicated team member on their own phone.
Tips for choosing a phone answering service:
- Look for established companies: There’s no sense going with a fresh upstart and being a guinea pig for everyone who hires them after you. Look for a service that can guarantee well-trained and friendly phone staff, who takes pride in their brand.
- Availability: Just how available is the phone service to take your calls? Do they have a large staff, or is it just a few people sitting in a dusty dark room somewhere? A truly professional service will have a larger number of staff working round-the-clock. Make sure they’ll have people available when you need them to be.
- Range of services: Look for a service that offers a range of services that can grow with your business and its needs. You may just need someone to answer calls and take messages now, but what about later when you’ve got ten times the calls coming in? All-in-one services can offer everything from simple message-taking and call routing, to full on virtual reception and call center services like technical support and sales.
- Pricing: Pricing is an obvious concern, and pricing models vary from one service to the next. Some will offer packages that give you a set number of calls to be answered monthly, yet will charge hefty premiums if you go over your allotment. Others will charge by the call or by the minute, which can seem more pricey, but might be a better fit if you estimate call volumes to be lower.
Does your phone answering guy or girl suck?
Hey, it’s just your business we’re talking about here. If your phone answering staff sucks, or you’re with a service and just don’t feel like making a couple of calls to find a better fit, it’s time to make a move.
The majority of prospects will only call your business once — rarely twice. Just the act of someone picking up on the other end of the line and assuring them someone from your company will call them back can turn a lost lead into a paying customer.
