Customers are calling, your schedule is filling up, and 2018 is off to a great start. That’s good news, but if you want the success to continue you should reconsider answering your own phone calls if you’re a business owner. Here are 3 reasons why:

It sends the wrong message.

It may seem counterintuitive that customers may not want to speak with you initially if you’re the business owner. However, many callers are surprised if they’re greeted by the head of a company, and even begin to wonder why he or she is available to answer calls. Think about it this way—if you call “Jimmy’s Automotive” and Jimmy answers, wouldn’t you be surprised he was free to answer the phone rather than being busy with his hands grease-deep in a car repair? Would you even wonder if that means he doesn’t have enough customers to a) keep him busy or b) warrant hiring someone to answer his phone? And then wouldn’t you naturally wonder if he’s not busy because he’s just not a good mechanic? No matter the size of your company, answering your own calls can lead customers to question your viability.

It eats up time.

Secondly and most obviously, answering your own phone takes up valuable time. Even answering a quick call distracts you from the task you were in the middle of, which disrupts your overall productivity. Plus, not every call requires your immediate attention. Your customers don’t need you to be there on-the-spot any time they call. They need you to be able to focus on the service or product that your business offers so that they know they’ll have your time and attention when they really need it, too.

It takes a toll on your revenue.

The cost of your business’s phone calls extends well beyond your monthly billing statement. Each call comes with actions that need to be taken, from recording the information, delivering a message to the appropriate staff member, or following up to make sure the necessary actions were taken. This all takes a toll on your productivity during business hours, which ultimately equates to lost revenue.

Letting your calls go to voicemail isn’t the answer, either. Studies have reported that as many as 80% of callers will hang up if they’re sent to voicemail. Any of those abandoned calls could be a missed business opportunity, which means more lost revenue.

For these 3 reasons, more business owners today are opting out of answering incoming calls and are hiring a live voice answering service instead. The monthly cost of hiring a voice answering service can be drastically less than the cost of paying salary and benefits for a traditional receptionist, who isn’t available 24×7 like the receptionists at a live answering service are.

The answering service will notify you of any high priority calls that do need to be attended to, as well as send you a log of all calls within a specified time-frame. Any calls that still require action can be returned in a timely manner at your convenience.

Your customers are attended to by professional, friendly receptionists any time they call, while you’re free to focus on the tasks that keep your business growing, like giving your full attention to your face-to-face customers.

The friendly call representatives at Voice Link of Columbus, Inc. will help you deliver the excellent level of service your company and customers deserve by managing your calls whenever you need—around the clock, during peak busy hours, or after business hours.

With an 82% referral rate, Voice Link provides live answering services that will exceed your expectations and will keep your customers coming back. Our monthly plans contain no hidden fees and are tailored to suit your unique needs. Request information online or call us at (800) 262-2799 for a free consultation.