Want to hire a Virtual Receptionist Company? Learn the top 10 features to look for to ensure you choose the best service for your business.
Service With A Smile!
First and foremost, a virtual receptionist should be friendly and have excellent verbal communication skills with a positive attitude. They also need to be an active listener and able to engage your clientele. Answering the phone with a smile can make a world of difference! I think it’s very easy to tell what mood someone is in over the phone, don’t you?
More than just a call answering service
A virtual receptionist takes on more responsibility than just providing a call answering service. They become an extension of your business and hiring a virtual receptionist service is like hiring an in-house person, so looking for someone who understands the culture of your business and fits in seamlessly is extremely important.
Call Recording
Look for a Virtual Receptionist Company that offers the feature of ‘call recording’, so that you can listen to the recorded calls in order to monitor the quality of services delivered to your clients.
Questions to ask a Virtual Receptionist Company
- Ask the virtual receptionist company for their service level numbers, “What is the average call answer time?”
- “What percentage of calls are answered in under four rings?” if they can confirm that they answer over 90% of calls in under 4 rings, this indicates they are a good virtual receptionist, and this will ensure that your callers do not abandon the call and turn to your competition!
The cost of a Virtual Receptionist
Cost will be a deciding factor in choosing your virtual receptionist company service. Generally, using a virtual service will be significantly cheaper than an in-house receptionist, but it is still a cost that will impact your outgoings. Look for a provider that has a competitive rate but doesn’t look “too good to be true” because when it does look too good to be true, it usually is!
Some virtual receptionist companies offer solely a telephone answering service. Look for a virtual receptionist that can think on their feet and deal with any situation that might come their way. Ideally you’ll need someone who can follow up with your customers, make bookings if required and give administrative support. Choosing a virtual receptionist with these qualities will give you the added value of a receptionist who can help save you time and focus on any issues or enquiries coming in first hand so that you can run the show from behind the scenes.
Another tip on what to look for in a virtual receptionist company is, reputation and trust.
There are many virtual services that have popped up recently that have limited experience in the industry. Look for a reputable and established service who have been around for several years and knows their stuff!
Outbound Call Assistance
Some virtual receptionists aren’t just great at taking your incoming calls, they can make outbound calls on behalf of a company as and when needed. These calls can include anything from relaying information to gathering details or confirming meetings and appointments, allowing you to focus on what you need to.
Sales Screening
Virtual Office Companies who offer sales screening will save your business time and money, by filtering out the sales calls. This will allow you to solely focus on genuine enquiries and existing clients, meaning you won’t have to pick up that phone and shout “I’m not interested!” 50 times a day, here at V.Office we would do that for you!
Last, but not least, look for a virtual receptionist company that is organised! If this isn’t a strong point for them, I doubt they’re going to be very successful in managing your diary and helping to run your business. Make sure they have great time management and all their ducks in a row before signing up for anything, otherwise, you might end up feeling a bit ‘quackers’!
