You want to factor in multiple elements when you aim to improve your business operations by reaching more clients. Among them is having a well-trained team on standby to receive and dispatch calls as required. However, maintaining these communication standards with in-house employees can be quite challenging, particularly if you are just starting. Therefore, the best option is to partner with a call answering service provider to access the best strategies in handling client calls. At Best Call Center, we focus on providing excellent call answering services to business owners who want their high call volumes managed professionally in Baltimore. Our wealth of experience in the field equips us with all the tools necessary for smooth operations for your benefit.
Understanding How the Call Answering Structure Works
When your call volume begins to grow, you may require additional support to ensure that all calls and messages are received for effective communication with clients. Thus, contracting a Baltimore answering service is ideal, as the business provides call answering services on your behalf.
Upon engaging the service provider, you will need to disclose the type of business you run and the brand you intend to uphold when handing over communication responsibilities. For example, if you run a medical clinic, you want the live agents assigned to your company to sound professional yet compassionate. Similarly, a merchandising business will require the answering agent to know your product reasonably.
After providing the specific requirements and expectations to the call answering service company, they will present a tailor-made service structure to suit your needs. Depending on your issued specifications, this may take several hours or days to present.
You will also have a chance to review the model before approving it to ensure it meets efficiency needs. You can also recommend changes to the call answering service model at this stage. For example, if you need the assigned agents to answer in a standard format using a specific line, you can indicate this.
Once you are happy with the final format, the answering service team will deploy live agents for a brief training on how to handle your calls. Afterward, you can begin enjoying the answering services, which will help you reach more clients and grow your business.
Services You Receive After Partnering with an Answering Service Provider
Doubtless, working with a Baltimore answering service entitles you to various perks that come as a package depending on what you pay for. Thus, you want to understand the various services to expect from the live agents assigned by the call answering company. In doing so, you can inquire about any emerging issues or seek to improve on specific factors if needed. The services include:
Live Answering Agents
Some companies opt to use an automated answering machine to prompt the caller to leave a message if the call goes unanswered. While this option is innovative, it takes away from the irreplaceable experience of human interaction. Further, the automated machine cannot depict when a caller is in distress or requires emergency services, meaning that you may lose a chance to help a client in need.
You should also note that most callers find automated answering machines annoying, especially because of their rigidity in offering solutions after an unanswered call. Consequently, a significant number of callers will hang up as soon as they detect an automated response, leaving you with fewer chances of interaction.
On the other hand, working with live agents is highly beneficial for your company or business brand. This is because a caller is better positioned to present their sentiments and interpret them as they intended. Moreover, a live answering agent can provide quick solutions to a caller where possible, so you do not have to deal with a high volume of pending responses.
For example, if a caller makes a simple inquiry as to the location of your office, the live answering agent will conclude on the issue by giving accurate directions. Therefore, you save on time and increase client satisfaction.
24/7 Call Answering Services
Additionally, you can expect reliable call answering services that run for twenty-four hours and seven days a week upon partnering with a Baltimore answering service. The rationale behind a 24/7 answering system is to help you keep up with competitors who may offer similar perks to their clients.
While most business owners may aspire to uphold an open communication line with their clients throughout, various challenges may slow down your progress and increase your expenditure. For example, you may need to hire an employee to remain on call throughout.
Most times, you will also need to pay them for the overtime hours spent on call. Additionally, you may need to incur additional charges to purchase an answering machine that then dispatches the callers to the employee on call.
Instead of dealing with multiple dispatches and expenditures, you can rely on a call answering service provider to make work easier for you. The live agents assigned to your company will be available throughout at no additional cost, as the 24/7 service falls within the paid package.
As a result, you can enjoy your free time off without worrying whether your clients can reach your office, especially after working hours. Clients calling from different time zones will also not have to worry about calling within working hours, as they will be confident of your availability at any time. Further, you can customize the hours of availability to include long weekends and holidays. This way, you remain accessible to callers throughout the year for the best chances of successful business growth.
Bilingual Call Answering Services
Your clients also want to feel included, and their needs are factored in when accessing your services. A great way to do this is to allow them the freedom to use the language of their choice for easier communication. The clients can better convey their points of view or complaints, making them feel valued.
The two main languages spoken across the country are English and Spanish, so our live agents are trained to pick calls in either language. Bilingual service is useful for business owners looking to expand to different states where Spanish is the dominant mother tongue. When potential clients are comfortable contacting you using a language of their choice, you can expect them to stick with your company compared to competitors who provide limited language choices.
Scripted Calls for Professionalism and Uniformity
Additionally, you can look forward to having the live answering agents receive calls from your clients using a guided script. This is to combat the possibility of insufficient information as client inquiries.
Moreover, a script as a guide helps the live agents deal with stressful circumstances, including when a caller becomes aggressive. This goes a long way in upholding your professional image, as the live agent will remain calm for effective communication.
Although our Baltimore answering service incorporates scripts when communicating with clients, our live agents are trained to improvise and use appropriate language intonations. Failure to do so would result in monotonous conversations with the caller, resulting in low-quality calls.
Hence, you can expect the call answering agent to sound professional, lively, and knowledgeable when answering technical questions from the caller. With the consistency that the answering service provides, your company upholds an excellent brand to the public, attracting business growth.
Appointment Setting and Reminders Using Cloud Services
Rapid digitization has also helped create better scheduling mechanisms incorporating cloud computer services. These have come to eradicate the errors and clashes in scheduling that most companies had to deal with in past years.
The main cause for the errors was manual appointment setting, whereby secretaries and other office employees keyed in dates in diaries. Although the option remains usable, it still presents the same challenges and slows down appointment-setting processes.
When working with a Baltimore answering service, you can expect the live agent handling a client to input proposed appointment dates to a cloud-based system for your reference. Since the client/caller will have suggested the date, you can confirm it or request rescheduling through the live agent.
If you decide to reschedule, the call answering agent will contact the caller on your behalf and communicate your position to help reach a consensus.
Additionally, the cloud-based system will send you reminders for upcoming appointments and other important events well in advance for your preparation. This eliminates the possibility of being caught off-guard for an important occasion, resulting in client cancellation. In return, your company will be more organized, and your clients are more likely to trust you for future business prospects.
Call Dispatch Services
Sometimes, you may need to handle a call personally, owing to its complexity. However, you may be unable to distinguish between a wide range of callers. The best solution is to brief your Baltimore answering service operators to inform you if a specific client calls.
For example, you could provide their details or ask the live agent to direct calls to you if a specific issue arises when a caller contacts the company. This way, you do not have to pick all calls to find the client with special requests or inquiries. Instead, you can proceed with other office operations as you await a call dispatch to your line.
The dispatch option is also useful when loved ones like family members call your business line. Since they may require your attention urgently, their calls are marked as a priority and transferred to you. As a result, you will save on time that would otherwise be spent picking all calls directed towards you.
On top of this, the live answering agents can help improve efficiency in your office by collaborating with other employees to handle a client’s matter. This is helpful where the employees can handle a problem without consulting you.
Therefore, the live answering agent will dispatch the call to your office, where a knowledgeable employee will handle the call satisfactorily. Ultimately, you will not have to handle all callers, giving you a conducive environment to focus and help your business thrive.
Charges for Call Answering Services
Investing in a Baltimore answering service is advisable because it helps you attain efficient and consistent call management options. Based on the services you receive, you will need to pay a service fee on a subscription or quarterly basis. Thus, understanding the different charges to expect for the service is essential in helping you plan for your expenditures.
When working with Best Call Center, you will benefit from a competitive rate. The package gives you the chance to experience different price points, depending on your call volume. Thus, if your company receives fewer calls, you will be entitled to all services discussed above for a lower amount.
Discounts are also available for business owners with a higher call volume per month, especially after retaining your contract with the answering service for some time. Moreover, the billing price is negotiable, meaning that you can propose a starting fee. While flexibility in changing the pricing depends on various factors, you are welcome to present your position and justify your proposal.
Different payment options are also available to cater to your preferred money transfer option. Hence, you do not have to worry about opening additional accounts to enable transfers every month or during any other agreed date.
Contact a Call Answering Service Provider Near Me
Call centers have increased in number over the years, owing to their efficiency and ability to scale your client outreach. Moreover, there are multiple benefits of working with an answering service, especially if you have specific goals towards growing your business. Therefore, partnering with us, the Best Call Center, is an excellent way to begin a new call answering strategy to help you exponentially scale business growth. Thanks to our large team of virtual agents and a well-organized team, you can count on us for the best call answering services. We aim to help persons in need of virtual agents to help manage their high-volume calls in Baltimore. For more details on beginning working with a call answering service, contact us today at 800-385-4656.