Answering Service For Small Business

Picture this - a small business owner runs a sales-based business and needs to be out in the market place visiting new and existing clients. He carries a cell-phone but cannot answer it in the middle of his sales pitch. It is an economic impossibility for him to have a secretary in an office taking his calls and yet he knows that he may lose business if calls are not answered. What is he to do?

The answer could lie with a company such as Work With Me Call Centre.

Taken from their website, this is what they offer :

This is how the Call Center works:

* You will receive a dedicated land line phone number. TIP: To receive all your calls, even from your existing number, just forward calls from your existing line to the new number.

* You will also receive a fax number and email address.

* Our professional staff will answer incoming calls, record messages and pass them onto you. For example: If a client calls and wishes to speak with a consultant, we will take his/her details and SMS them to you immediately. You can return the call at your convenience!

* If a client requires info, and we have it on file (e.g. a standard price list) given by yourself, we will fax or email it to them immediately, again reducing your workload.

* We will also receive emails and faxes on your behalf and forward them when you are ready to receive it.

* An answering service is set up to record any calls received after hours. You will never miss out on those all important calls again!

* At month end you will receive a full report on your Call Center activity.

This certainly seems an attractive offer. Their rates range from R400 to R2100. This is still cheaper than having your own secretary! Another benefit is that your messages and communications can still be taken while you are away on holiday allowing you to pick up the business on your return to the office.

A potential pitfall though is that the person answering the phone has no stake in your business and therefore has no incentive to represent your company as you would like.

It is worth taking a look at the services offered though and I would be willing to give this a try if the need was there. This is not something I would sign up for just because it seems like a nice idea.

If you sign up please let me know how it works out for you.