These are some of the questions that our customers ask about Answering Services
How does a Live Phone Answering Service work?
Setting up a live telephone answering service is easy. Our friendly staff can set up your service within just a few minutes.
- Firstly we talk through what you need. Our call answering packages are based on the numbers of phone calls you’ll expect to receive. Just pick the plan that best suits you from our call plans that range up to 200+ calls per month.
- Then it’s time for you to tell us about your company, so when we professionally answer the phone on behalf of your business, all of our team will have a real awareness of your firm.
- Next step is for you to decide on your greeting to callers. You can change your welcome greeting any time you like and you can be certain that the scripted welcome will always be the same – regardless of which virtual receptionist answers the call. Exactly the same welcome greeting for all your callers helps to present your image in a soft but very powerful way.
- Then tell us how you would like to receive the details of the phone calls – it’s usually by email but we can SMS you too.
- Finally we need your instructions on how you’d like us to manage calls, just give us your directions on which calls you’d like to prioritise and transfer to your cell phone of you or to your key people. That’s it!
Then we will provide you with a new local number. You can use the new number or we will just link it with your current number, so customers will just call your usual number – and their calls will go straight through to your new virtual receptionist team.
So you’re now set up and ready to go. And now you have the certainty that absolutely every call to your company will be answered promptly on behalf of your business by our local professional receptionist US team. How good is that!
Why hire a telephone answering service?
Because a telephone answering service solves problems.
- If your attention is constantly interrupted by routine phone calls, then save your precious time and use our local American call answering service.
- If you can’t afford an in-house receptionist but you want to be sure you never miss a call – get your calls answered by an experienced US based receptionist.
- If you need to save costs and your 9-5 in-house reception is just too expensive, save some money and get a live answering service that’s so affordable because it only charges for what you use.
- If you want your company to present a professional image at all hours of the day and even on the weekend – hire a telephone answering service.
You’ll wonder why you didn’t hire a local live call answering service years ago!
Who uses Answering Services ?
The real question should be what industries don’t use Answering Services? Almost every kind of business can benefit from a Live Telephone Answering Service. If customer care is important to your business, then an after-hours or overflow live call answering is a must have. If saving costs really matters then live call answering services can replace your in-house receptionist, save salary costs AND improve your customer care by always being there to take every call. At Virtual Headquarters we have clients from the real estate industry, florists, plumbers, contractors, funeral homes, designers, finance consultants, landscapers, physiotherapists, sports trainers, language and music teachers, car repairers, marketing companies, law firms, IT consultants and more!
How much is a call answering service?
It’s an important question. How much does a telephone answering service cost? If your business receives 50 calls per month, then simply take our $110 package that includes 50 calls per month plus tax. If the volume ever goes above your package, the extra call is charged at a low per call price over the plan.
You can scale your services up or down depending on what you require, just choose the package that suits. And you won’t be locked in to any long term contract.
The real value is that your business will now never miss a call – and every call will be promptly answered by a local American voice.
What is a Virtual Receptionist?
A Virtual Receptionist is simply a receptionist that answers calls on behalf of your business – but they are not physically in your office. Many people get confused by the term “Virtual” but it just means the service exists in the same way, but it is not located in the same place. Your customers will simply think that the receptionist answering their call is working in your offices, and in many ways our “Virtual Receptionists” are part of your team. It’s important to keep in mind our Virtual Receptionists are part of a larger team (based in Arizona) so that even if your company sudden has a high volume of enquiries, it’s no problem – we just instantly scale up to meet the need.
Is a Telephone Answering Service Pay As You Go?
There are two ways you can pay for your live call answering service. You can take our very basic package and you’ll be charged a set fee whenever we answer a call to your company. That is our Pay As You Go Option. If no-one calls your number, you don’t pay anything at all. If a customer does call, you get charged $2.65 per call, plus tax.
The other way you can pay for your telephone answering service is to take a package that includes a number of calls already covered by a monthly charge. For example, our Virtual Receptionist 100 plan includes 100 calls per month for just $ 199 monthly plus tax. Any calls above 100 are charged at $2.40 plus tax.
What’s the difference between an Answering Service and Voicemail?
There is a big difference between a live call answering service and voicemail. The difference is human. With our phone answering service your call is promptly answered by a live local US receptionist. A real human. A Real Person answers your call.
If you really want your company to grow and meet and beat your dreams and be a big success – you have to show that you care!
Basically, voicemail insults your customers. Making your customers leave a message on voicemail does nothing at all to make your customers loyal. Voicemail forces people to compress their thoughts and questions into a short little sound bite – and quite often the recording stops before they have finished. Imagine someone just walking away from you when you are in the middle of a conversation – voicemail can treat you like that.
The other problem with voicemail is that customers never really know when the recording is going to be played back, tomorrow? Mid-week? Who knows?
A live answering service with professional receptionists greeting customers promptly is the way to go – anything else is customer careless.
Is there an Answering service that makes appointments?
Can our Answering services make appointments? Definitely. We have services that can schedule meetings and make diary appointments for many professional services such as medical clinics and real estate agencies and law firms. This service can also be so helpful for busy clients who call after hours or weekends to book appointments. Just imagine the appreciation from customers when you make your weekday services available to be booked even if they call after hours. Our appointments scheduling services also really allows your employees to focus on their key tasks instead of just booking appointments. It’s an affordable and efficient way to streamline your operations.
What is an After Hours Phone Answering Service?
Our live call answering services are available whenever you need them. A virtual receptionist service is so convenient because it is flexible. If you want your business calls and enquiries to be answered 24/7 it is so easy.
- This service is especially important if your company has customers across US or International time zones – because it will not be “out of hours” where your clients are calling from.
- An out of hours answering service is also crucial for contractors, plumbers, electricians and any service providers that people need to call when things need fixing, urgently. It is also the best way to keep business revenue pipelines open if you and your service teams spend most of the time at work sites or travelling.
Is there a Phone Answering Service near me?
There is always a telephone answering service near you, because we are virtual. Most of our team are based in Arizona and we have experienced bi-lingual virtual receptionists providing services 24/7. If your business is based in Beverly Hills or Denver or Miami or wherever in the US, we are always ready and available to promptly welcome callers to your business.
What is the Best Phone Answering Service?
The best call answering service is the service that satisfies. How do you find the best telephone answering service? Here are five tips to help you in the search for a great call answering service.
- Choose a call answering service that has a great reputation, not a business that only started yesterday! Ask, when did their service start?
- Make certain the receptionists are US receptionists – not outsourced.
- Be sure the prices are clear and simple – with no hidden extra charges.
- Go with a service that offers a free trial so you can test the service.
- Pick the service that offers bi-lingual and 24/7. Give yourself options.
We think you’ll be very happy with IvyAnswer.com. We are a great call answering service with years of experience serving American business. Please contact our friendly staff for a free trial.