Life as an entrepreneur can be difficult, yet rewarding. You have the opportunity to use your skills as an independent leader and thinker to blaze a new trail. Of course, throughout this process, there are specific challenges that arise, particularly in the beginning. Sometimes your resources are spread thin, as is your own available time. Fortunately, having a live answering service as an entrepreneur has a variety of benefits.
1. Appearance of being a big business
If it is you and only you running your business, sometimes the legitimacy of your work may be criticized. Having someone else handle phone calls on behalf of your company, even if your company is just you, makes your business seem larger and more established. This can help gain more clients who are confident in the work that you do (as they should be).
2. Logistical and time-saving assistance
If you are running a one-person company, of course there are endless tasks to be accomplished in a limited amount of time. When choosing an answering service, you can discuss the specific needs that you require for your business including, as Inc.com describes, where calls should be directed to, and how you want calls screened. The Asian American Manufacturing Association explains how most answering services provide customizable choices in terms of whether or not you want the agents to use a script, or schedule appointments, among much else. Additionally, you will not have to repeatedly stop your work throughout the day to answer the calls yourself, saving a considerable amount of time.
3. Money-saving assistance
By having an answering service, you will have the support of a receptionist without actually hiring one. Financially, if you’re a small business, hiring a full-time receptionist may not be cost effective based on the number of calls you receive. By hiring an answering service, you often pay a certain monthly fee or pay as you go, which can be a huge money-saver. An added bonus, as noted by Grow – the small business marketing experts, is that many small-business owners work remotely or have a remote team to save money by not paying for office space and furniture. In this case, having an answering service in place of an in-the-office receptionist can help maintain the flexibility, functionality, and cost efficiency of having a remote team.
4. Sense of relief
When first starting up a business, even small decisions can have a huge impact on the overall success of your company. Fortunately, an answering service can provide some peace of mind. For example, Grow explains how agents can answer calls around the clock so that you are sure to never miss a potential client. The same site also mentions the legal protection you can receive as an entrepreneur using an answering service that provides call recording. Having record of all of your calls “…will help protect you in the event of a dispute.”
Overall, an answering service provides great benefits to entrepreneurs in terms of gaining prestige by seeming well-established, providing time-saving, logistical and monetary assistance, and offering a general sense of relief for a business owner with potentially limited resources.