What is an answering service?
- We give you a forwarding number,
- We answer your calls in your customized greeting,
- You choose when you want to forward 24/7, after hours, overflow, etc.
So when you are busy, need to focus or simply have too much volume to answer efficiently… We can screen the call, take a message, give information or dispatch to an on call, just to name a few examples.
How do I know if I need one?
If you are…
- Overwhelmed
- Can’t keep up with the volume of calls
- Losing track of where things are at
- Or worse, losing potential sales…
Any of these can be a sign you could benefit from an answering service. We can start with a conversation…We’ll discuss… your type of business, the call flow, the types of calls you receive. Then we can discuss where we can help to take calls that will support your customer’s needs in a timely and efficient manner and give you peace of mind.
Who uses it?
We have a number of different types of businesses that utilize our service. Examples include:
- Real Estate Brokers
- Property Management
- Large Corporations (absenteeism lines, service dispatch, work alone safety check ins)
- Small business
- Service businesses (HVAC, Electrical, etc.)
- Crisis lines
How is pricing structured?
Cost is made up of:
- Base Rate
- Cost per minute
- One time set up fee
- Allows pricing to reflect the call volume so that it works for low to high call volume.
Once we understand the scope of what you are looking for, we provide a customized quotation to suit.
Case Study 1
Company: A medium sized company that does contract services for a large retail chain. Providing electrical, plumbing, and heating contractors when needed.
Problem: One person was handling all of the calls, all the time, day or night and then determining if service was required right away or could wait until the next business day. If service was required right away, then she needed to find the right contractor for the area and get the service to the client site. This person was exhausted from being constantly on call with no down time!
Solution: We implemented a script to determine if service was required immediately, according to the company’s directive. Then a database was implemented so that the correct contractor would be dispatched to the site according to the area the store was located in.
Outcome: Some much needed downtime and sleep for the dispatcher! We can do it, we are up anyway!
Case Study 2
Company: A large manufacturing company that services residential customers.
Problem: The company had an automated attendant answer all calls and direct to the proper department. They had a large number of hang ups, limited staff was not able to get to all of the calls that came through. Many callers declined to leave a voice mail.
Solution: Select options on the IVR were directed to Extend to answer live. The information is taken and then creates a ticket in the company’s service software, so they can save time getting the initial information. Extend also implemented a database of the company’s customers so that we would be able to seem more of an extension of the company, with the ability to pull their information from the database.
Outcome: A huge decrease in the number of abandoned calls and improved service levels for the company.
Let’s Talk…
Give our Director of Sales, Bonnie Edwards a call, email or text. Bonnie would welcome the opportunity to speak about your specific challenges and requirements and offer suggestions for what we can do.
Contact: Bonnie Edwards – Director, Sales
Phone: 519-754-2855
Text: 519-759-6820
Email: bedwards@extendcomm.com