Many businesses already hire a virtual assistant. A recently survey stated that 58 per cent of UK workers think that today’s offices, as they currently are, will not actually exist in ten years time. This is due to the rise of the “virtual office.”

A virtual office seems to be the way forward for many businesses, because it allows staff to spend time working remotely. This is achieved because of modern technology which allows people to connect virtually and means they can be based anywhere in the world.

Businesses are continually searching for effective ways of cutting costs whilst still maintaining a professional company image. This can be hard to achieve without the help of a professional outsourced call centre, who can provide you with virtual assistant and virtual office facilities at a cost effective price.

Businesses also need ways of handling their company and a way of changing from their expensive offices to a virtual workforce which allows a much cheaper running cost without compromising on business quality.

So what is a virtual assistant? A virtual secretary or assistant is an employee that works for a company. This employee works remotely and also depends on IT and communications to help them.

What does a virtual assistant do? Your virtual secretary can help you in many ways, they can simplify some of your day to day tasks by creating a virtual office. They will automate everyday tasks and link them with your online systems. They can take bookings, help with your website, conduct paperwork and even help with invoices where necessary. They can also standardise your internal forms, company reports, contracts, approval forms and so on. They can make them available to all other virtual secretaries within your organisation too. This means in the future you can rely more heavily on computer systems. It can greatly improve relations between you and your customers as the virtual PA can nurture client relationships with follow up calls, emails and so on.

A virtual assistant will focus initially on the time consuming processes which make your job more difficult and that seem more prone to operator error. This immediately takes the load off you and allows you to focus on more important business processes like closing down sales.

Why choose a virtual assistant? Simple. It saves time, money, and allows a consistency and quality of work which may be otherwise unachievable.

If you are the owner or manager of a start up company, you will probably have a lot to think about. However, you really need to consider your telemarketing service. This can help you to boost your business right from the start, spreading the message and getting your name out there.

A telemarketing service is able to help advertise and represent your company but you probably don’t have time to do this yourself. Outsourcing this service could be the answer.

A call centre that specialises in providing a telemarketing service will have the up to date equipment required to complete the service effectively, as well as being fully up to date with the current trends in the market which also benefits your business. 

A telemarketing service can offer flexibility; Because the business world is always changing and the industry is adapting constantly to consumer demand, the telemarketing service is designed to change along with them to provide your business with a modern solution.

A telemarketing service can offer cost effective solutions; Some companies use the TV to advertise their company, this is very expensive. Even appearing in your local newspaper can prove a waste of time and money. By using the telemarketing service, the fully trained telephone salespeople that work for you will give you a direct approach to each potential client without costing you the earth.

A telemarketing service can offer instant feedback; The operators speak to customers on the phone directly and can therefore generate instant feedback which is recorded for you to use.

A telemarketing service is personable; Speaking to a live person, the telemarketing service allows you potential clients to get to know you as a friendly and professional company.  A professional telemarketing service does not pester or harass clients either.

A telemarketing service can be combined with other services too; A call centre can offer many services not just telemarketing. This means you can also outsource them to take your orders, process orders, help you with websites, answer calls, technical service assistance and so on. In many instances they can also produce invoices and a debt recovery service.

Telemarketing is crucial for business success, and what better time to start than right at the start of your company when first impressions really count.

Call handling is becoming a common term but what does it mean?

Many years ago, call handling meant employing a full time receptionist in your office. This person would answer your calls and pass on messages, etc.

Why isn’t this the case anymore? This is now a luxury for most businesses, mainly due to the expense of it. You have their salary to pay for as well as their cover when on holiday and sick. It could cost a business £20,000 a year, if not more. This is the case especially for small businesses and start up enterprises.  

Businesses can get our loans anymore to help cover this cost, either. This means businesses have to find new solutions to cover their calls without burdening existing staff.

Why do I need a telephone receptionist to handle calls?

By not having a telephone receptionist, many calls can go unanswered which is very poor representation for your business. All of your calls are important, not just the people eager to make a purchase. One call may be from a supplier who could be calling to save you money. This means you cannot distinguish what you need to answer and what you don’t.

In the present economic climate, no business can afford to lose opportunities.

What do modern companies do to handle calls?

Every company is different, with some businesses receiving just a few calls and others receiving a few hundred calls every day. A call handling service from a call centre allows you to manage your calls without burdening existing staff and without spending a packet!

A call handling service uses full time employees to answer your calls or make them where required. They will be there to answer every call that your company receives.

What are the benefits?

Call handling centres are staffed by fully trained professional people who work full time. They cover your calls on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year basis which means even calls in the night are answered. You achieve a comprehensive customer service solution, which impresses your customers.

Can a call centre do anything else?

Yes, a call handling centre can also provide other services which includes order taking, planning site visits, telemarketing, online help, brochure requests and so on.

Call centre s are highly beneficial to a business but make sure you choose a good one. Here are some tips for spotting a poor call centre.

Not Enough Experience

Does the company you have outsourced have sufficient experience to operate all your incoming and outgoing calls? If you want your company to be taken seriously, then the call handling service you have in place should be operated by a company with a high level of expertise in its field. Having a call centre that doesn’t live up to the standards of your company is a large downfall for a company. A way you can see if a call centre company is trained and will be able to handle your business is by checking their background, researching a call centre first and when employed, be sure to check up on their progress and skills.

Lack of flexibility

A company that does not match up to your schedule is not the ‘right’ call centre for you, businesses change rapidly therefore a call centre company has to adjust with these changes quickly and efficiently. If you fear that the company you have outsourced does not adjust well or they do not stick to time schedules, then they are probably not the right company for you. Even if this is a quick option for you now, it most likely will cause problems later down the line.

Technology

Businesses are growing all the time and with every call centre should come adaptability, ensuring that software is updated and technology is up to date too. Providing the newest technology and computer systems is vital for keeping up with the times.

Lack of references

If the company you are considering outsourcing does not present real references and testimonials then it should soon trigger alarm bells. With every good company who has had successful client relationships in the past, comes good references. A company that happily expresses their successes has nothing to hide, so if the call centre company you are in talks with does not present this then it is suggested you carry on researching for a better call centre. Reputable call centres are around and with quick internet searches you can find the right one for you.
 

Whatever industry your business may operate in, you will find that telephone calls will inevitably play an important role in your company’s overall running. Telephone calls are how you connect with current clients and future clients and are how your business will grow and expands. Below are 10 benefits of using an outsourced call centre for your business telephone calls;

#1 - There will be a team of trained professionals

At an outsourced call centre ready to specifically answer your phone enquiries; they are all well trained to handle your phone calls in a polite, helpful and personable phone manner which represents your brand in the best possible light.

#2 Tailored requirements

When you are going through the process of hiring a contact centre, you will find that the services they provide can be specifically tailored to suit you and your business - and its very specific needs. This can be your choice as your business in unique. If you need a full team of 20 staff or just one member of staff to handle your phone enquiries any time of day for any length of time, outsourcing  a call centre will allow you flexibility.

#3 – If you are worried about what your customers will think when they call in, then you needn’t worry.

Any customer calling your business will not know any difference to who they are speaking with, between a call centre facility and your actual staff members. When the call comes through it will show up on the operator’s screen that it is a call for your company, instructions will then appear on how to answer and deal with the call and it will therefore sound as though they are sitting in your office.

#4 - Specific to your business

As well as having these services tailored to your needs, you can also request your call centre operators deal with specific calls. For example, there may be certain clients that your company will want to deal with personally or who they don’t want to have contact with at all. You have full control of how the call centres will operate for your business.

#5 Cost savings

Some companies prefer to hire a team of operators along with computers and office space themselves that can be on the premises. However this does tend to add up in cost, as a lot of customers will be calling outside of office hours which will mean the offices will need to be opened for longer lengths of time, becoming more costly on electricity bills. A call centre does not need YOUR office space, they have their own offices, computers and phones and you will only have to pay for the cost of the call.

#6 Save on recruitment

Rather than recruiting a new member of staff, it may be wise to consider using a call centre operator. This will ensure the outgoing cost is cheaper as you have no salary to pay.

#7 Staff benefit savings

Unlike with staff members, you will not need to worry about how much annual leave you will have to give as an inbound contact centre will not demand this from you. If someone is ill from the call centre you wouldn’t even know as someone else will step in – giving you ultimate peace of mind.

#8 - Fully trained staff

As the outsourced contact centre employees are fully trained and have had plenty of experience behind them, they will be able to go that extra bit further with clients; they will be able to deal with sales enquiries, requests and so on. This frees up your staff’s time to concentrate on areas more important within the business.

#9 Expansion opportunities

If you’re an up and coming business that is yet to be recognized with big plans for expansion, you may want to consider a call centre on a short term basis as along with experience they will be able to lead you in the right direction, bringing in the clients and making your business a success before it has been properly established. You may be a small business but there are many areas that require assistance which is where a call centre will help and decrease your work load.

#10 Reduced workload

With every business, the amount of calls a company receives usually increase on a daily basis and you will often find that the workload increases along with this. This is then stopping you and your team from completing the high demand of work and establishing new opportunities or leads and you may get stuck in a rut, unable to expand as a business. As mentioned previously, there are far more important tasks that you can be getting on with, such as dealing with new enquires from the phone calls which could bring in your business much needed sales and recognition. By using a call centre in your business, you will be able will to deal with call handling effectively and allow you and your team time to deal with seizing new opportunities.  

Call centres tailor around you and your business, however long you need them and for whatever reason, they will be there to help.

Whatever the industry your business is in, from estate agents to dog walkers to interior design companies, a call centre can cater to anyone’s needs, and below represents 10 benefits of outsourcing a contact centre for YOUR business.

#1 – Call centre employees are fully trained

and constantly developed so you know your calls and essential business services are in the right hands.

#2 – You are in control of the recruitment

and handling of a call centre, whether you want a team of 50 or a small unit to work for you, it really is up to you. Not only this but a contact centre will also work the hours you want, as for many companies potential customers aren’t available during office hours, so being on hand 24/7 is important.

#3 – Your clients and customers will not know

that they are talking to a call centre when they calls, they will think they have gone straight through to your company directly.

#4 – You can also request for the call centre to deal with clients specifically

for example the company may want to deal with a specific VIP customer personally, which will mean that you want the call centre to pass the call on to you. This flexibility means you can tailor the service around you.

#5 Equipment cost saving

– Some companies prefer to hire in a team of operators rather than a contact centre but the cost of offices, computers and phones adds up in cost, especially when operating 24 hours a day. A contact centre will only incur a fixed cost, saving your company money.

#6 Staff salary savings

Employing full time staff like receptionists also adds up in the cost of salary and pension schemes; outsourcing a call centre does not present this responsibility or cost.

#7 Staff benefits savings

– You needn’t worry about the amount of holiday pay, annual and sick leave you will have to grant employees either.

#8 More than just call answering

– The call centre employees will be able to go further than just answering phone enquiries, they are trained to deal with sales enquiries and website requests too.

#9 Peace of mind

– If you are a small business that is yet to become fully established, then considering a contact centre will take the stress off you and give you peace of mind that vital business functions are in safe hands.

#10 Quality customer service

– A call centre allows you to offer excellent quality customer service – with calls answered within a couple of rings and enquiries dealt with swiftly.

Call centre have risen in popularity in recent years. They are no longer the foreign based centres of past times, but well developed and successful centres based right here in the UK. There are a considerable number of benefits that a call centre can offer companies from any industry, from councils to clothing stores to freelance business people.

The modern business world is an extremely difficult environment to trade in and  businesses are increasingly looking to reduce their costs. Many businesses have failed to stay afloat due to rising staffing costs and other overheads.

By outsourcing, companies can reduce their levels of in house staff like receptionists. A call centre can provide a virtual receptionist, who can receive your calls or even conduct telemarketing on your behalf. 

This kind of service can really add value to your company and your customer service, which is crucial.

Good customer service encourages customer loyalty which is an invaluable trait in this modern world.

A call centre can help you with so much more than just answering calls. They can also review how other companies, which act as your competition, have succeeded in specific areas and how you could compete with this. This is invaluable information in this day and age where you must compete successfully but also be one step ahead of the game.

A business day can be chaotic, and a strong level of support is required to keep a business organised and running smoothly. Any exact specifications your business may require can be fulfilled, like a straightforward telephone answering service or the support of a complete section of your business, like your administration. Admin can often be left to the last minute because there are more important things to do in a business day, but this is still a crucial area of a company’s functions.

The level of participation of a call centre in your business can be modified at specific moments when you are extraordinarily busy in the day or indeed in the year, like throughout summer.

There is a huge flexibility benefit by using the services of a call centre. You can literally be travelling the world, attending a business meeting, in the car or even spending the day at home but you know that your customers will still be answered and your main business functions are being taken care of.

Call centres are a great way to cost effectively outsource certain areas of your business so you can concentrate on more crucial matters, like making sales and following up leads.

To find a good call centre, look out for the following:

1. They should have trained staff. Staff in poorly managed call centres might be students looking for part time work over their summer holidays, these are not the best workers as they are not fully dedicated to your cause. The staff that work in a well managed call centre will be well trained, constantly developed and also work full time.
2. A good call centre will have good management skills. This is very important. Without professional management, a call centre could be unable to handle your needs. You should be given a dedicated account manager to deal with on an ongoing basis. If you are constantly palmed off on other people, you should avoid working with the call centre because they may not have your best interests at heart.
3. They should communicate very well. Call centres are all about communication. The operators need strong communication skills and channels. This should include web, IVR, and social media applications. They should be able to tell you what systems they use and how often they update them.
4. A call centre should offer flexibly. A good call centre will know that your demands will change over time and as such, they must adjust to rapid changes within your business, as well as being able to anticipate new demands. This might include something like the demand after a new product lunch or service introduction. The call centre should also be flexible in terms of day and night coverage of calls, they should want to keep your best interests at heart and be willing to change when your company changes. Ask them up front about their services and how easily they can be adjusted.
5. They should want your business. If they are not too bothered about your business and making the sale with you, by not following up calls, etc, then look elsewhere. They may be too busy to take on your case and if they don’t care now – they won’t care further down the line.

Telemarketing is an important aspect to any business to gain direct leads from calling people directly.

Telemarketing is by far one of the most effective means of gaining leads for a business or company. This technique is very helpful to businesses all over the world and offers results and instant feedback unavailable in other techniques. Below are a few things to consider with telemarketing:

Telemarketing companies will be fully aware of any laws in place which regulates the use of phoning potential clients and customers as a means of marketing. This includes phoning in unsociable hours. Sometimes, if telemarketing calls are too early or too late it can be highly frustrating for a client and your call can have a negative effect. Professional telemarketing companies will know when to call and how to best approach clients or potential clients.  

It is also essential that the company you decide to choose to conduct your telemarketing will measure up when it comes to sourcing calls from legal and professional data lists. The people on these lists should be happy to be on the list and their details should be protected on the data protection act.

The most effective and professional telemarketing services will know how to approach each call properly, without hassling the person you’re calling. Their operators will be fully trained to be able to handle all types of calls and responses.

You should factor in the cost of using any telemarketing services as well, the general rule is that even if you think a company is very cheap, shop around because “cheap” does not ordinarily mean good. Make sure you check the testimonials of a company to be sure that other companies rate the business.

Outsourcing a telemarketing service is beneficial for many ways. As soon as you choose the right company for you, you will be impressed with their level of commitment to your company, conducting vast amounts of quality calls each day and generating leads for you to follow up on. This is ideal for staff who don’t have the time to make leads themselves. Leaving the hard work to the telemarketing service means your staff are also free to get on with their job instead of making telemarketing calls, which can sometimes effect staff morale and create a poor impression of the company to those that are being called.

Being a receptionist is a big job as you are the front of house, the person that people see first when walking through the door and the first person they speak to is you. When contacting the company, your impression means everything to the client; when phone answering it is important you hear everything correctly. You should check and double check to keep the client from going elsewhere for business. Below are a few suggestions to help maintain the professional image for your company through telephone answering.

Although receptionists and call handlers take messages, the receptionist may not be equipped with the full knowledge of the company such as those working as a lawyer’s receptionist. Taking calls is one thing but when bombarded with questions on a current case, this is a bit out of their comfort zone and they can not be expected to be trained in law to answer calls. Therefore in order to maintain dignity and keep a client happy, a technique to enable a level of understanding is by jotting down what they are saying as they are speaking to you. This ensures you can reiterate back to them what they have just said, 'Just to make sure you want Mrs Knowles to contact you on the recent file you discussed?' this will avoid any questions 'OK thank you, I will notify Mrs Knowles and get her to give you a call back.'

Phrasing a message in a certain way will imply you are dealing with the enquiry and have listened to them, therefore if they were once aggravated during the call, they will no longer feel so as you have dealt with their requests effectively.

If the staff member is at their desk, the notes you were jotting down will be handy for them before you hand the call over - so they are aware of conversation and can take over from you.

Confusing names is a basic mistake but a very common one, too. There are many names that are quite similar, or it may just be the caller said their name quickly so when answering the phone offer your name clearly and make sure you take their name too. For example, if their name is 'Tom' but it sounded as though they said 'John' phonetically read back their name, sorry is that 'J' for 'January,' this will avoid any confusion and embarrassment on your part.

Phone answering is important, so make sure your company is getting it right.

Many businesses are deciding to outsource their telephone answering to a telephone answering service, mainly because they are unable to handle of all their incoming telephone calls.

Callers and opportunities are being missed due to the inability to cope with the high number of calls and in the present climate every call could be potential new business for your company, something you cannot afford to lose.

You could be a small, medium or even a large business but whatever the size of your company, a message taking service could be the answer to stop missing those calls.  It is very difficult to take all your calls in an efficient and professional way, so by outsourcing your calls to a call centre with message taking facilities, the fully trained operators will be able to answer your call enquiries promptly. You can have a bespoke message taking package all in one place, which will mean you will never miss another call or a business opportunity again.

The telephone answering service is usually based in a large call centre where all the operators work within this centre. They are fully trained to answer a wide range of your customers’ calls, queries and enquiries whatever the time if day it might be. The call centre is operational twenty four hours a day seven days a week and 365 days a year, which will mean even your international calls will be answered promptly.

Whatever your clients are calling for, your telephone service will be able to help. This might mean more than just a message taking service but additional services can be provided that can include a telemarketing service and a debt management service too. The operators will be able to answer enquires about your products or services, and this all can be arranged through your Account Manager who will be allocated to you when you decide to outsource to the telephone answering service. They will be available to talk you through all your concerns and of course as your business requirements change, the services you receive can be changed or be tweaked along with your total agreement - ensuring your total confidence.

As the operators are fully trained in telephone answering and will know how to speak to get to know your clients, this will also help your business by giving a wholly professional image to customers. Customers like to feel they are talking to someone who cares about what they are calling for. The telephone is the first point of contact so first impressions are very important, and this telephone answering service also acts as a vital form of customer service.

A recent survey suggested that around 80% of callers will not call back if they are asked to leave a message on an answer phone system.  They would rather call someone else than leave a message or call back at another time.  How many times do you think this happens, and how many business opportunities have been lost because there has been no one there to answer your customer or potential customer’s call?  

In the present economic climate, no companies can afford to lose out on any potential business calls that may ultimately bring in much needed revenue for a business.

A phone answering service has highly trained operators that will be available to answer your calls twenty four hours a day seven days a week and 365 days a year.  You can choose whether you want the telephone answering service to answer all of your business calls or just step in for the busy times, or unsocial hours. You only pay for the time you use.

Many companies are finding that using the services of a telephone message taking service are proving to be very cost effective, whether you are a larger company looking at cutting  their out going expenses, or a smaller company just starting out and needing just a little bit of help with answering calls.  The telephone answering service can provide your company with an excellent and highly qualified professional service.

The message taking service can answer your calls using your company name and pre-agreed script; they can patch the calls through to your office or mobile or take the message and forward it to you via email or text for you to deal with when you have the time.  Calls will pass through the message taking service seamlessly, giving your customer the impression they are speaking to your receptionist or switchboard directly.

Whatever service you require, the telephone message taking service can be a tailor made, bespoke service, to fit in with all your requirements and because businesses are always changing, your service can be changed as you go.

For those in need of generating potential leads over the phone, you may have already realised it can be a difficult job to tackle. Having your current staff do the work is often too much for them and it is more important for your employees to be focusing on their own current job at hand. This is the reason why many businesses decide to outsource a telemarketing service that can take the stress away and gain companies extra clients.

Here are the reasons why you should use a professional telemarketing service from a call centre:

1 -  INEXPERIENCE

Using a current staff member to perform telemarketing sales can be detrimental to your business as their inexperience could catch them out on the spot, making your business appear unprofessional. It can also cause the member of staff to be put in a stressful and demoralising position which could lose clients instead of gaining them. This also puts your workforce on a lower staff morale.

2 -  ENVIRONMENT

In order to conduct a successful telemarketing campaign an ordinary office environment is not the place to be.  Staff are easily distracted by the busy atmosphere and quickly shuffle through the phone call in order to get on with the work load that is quickly building up in the background.

A quiet room will give a clearer message to the client and allow the staff member to work more easily.  

3 – DATA

Finding potential clients for your business, a telemarketing company provides all the significant leads that you need because they have access to professional data lists which you would ordinarily not have been able to gain access to.

4 –TEMPING IS EVEN WORSE

Although there is a lot of work on, do not employ temporary staff to conduct telemarketing for you. They do not know the business and could be even worse for the job than current staff members. Temps do not fully invest their time and effort as they are usually low paid which decreases their work ethic. A successful telemarketer should care about the company. Telemarketing professionals are fully trained and equipped for the job, investing full time and effort in you and your company.

5 – FLEXIBILITY

Often clients are not available in normal office hours as many are in meetings or on the road, therefore the requirement to call after hours when customers will be available to talk is sometimes best. This may not match well with your staff members who do not want to work past normal office hours. However, a telemarketing service can conduct your 24/7 telemarketing in a package to suit your unique needs and flexibilities. 

Having your own dedicated switchboard if you are a small business is possibly a luxury that few businesses are able to afford, but there is a cost effective way to call handling without breaking the bank - by using the services of a virtual receptionist or call centre company.

A virtual receptionist service will always answer your business calls by using your company name, managing and allocating your calls to the correct staff wherever they happen to be located, making you feel like you have your own personal PA for a portion of the cost.

There are specific guidelines that are accepted within the industry that can and should be followed by any reputable Virtual Receptionist service.

The virtual receptionist will answer your calls appropriately as it is often difficult to answer the call with the correct wording. It is often said that a first impression can only be made once so to answer the first call in the correct manner is worth it’s weight in gold! It will also leave your customers feeling like they are dealing with a modern and professional business.

To answer the telephone call promptly with your name will give your caller a friendly and personal   greeting, so the customer can feel more confident because they know who they are talking to straight away. This sounds extremely professional and is a great way of establishing the right tone and business relationship. This similarly provides a welcoming service, ensuring your customer is at ease and comfortable to talk to you and your staff members.

Speaking clearly and appropriately, as well as slower for easier comprehension, is definitely a prerequisite as it is essential that your customer or potential customer can understand and hear what you are saying.

The Virtual Receptionist will be trained to take notes throughout the call to make sure that the caller’s name, company they are calling from and possibly position in the company are correctly remembered. This will be noted together with the time, date and purpose of the call.

If the caller is not forthcoming with this information then the Virtual Receptionist will have sufficient skills to ‘interrogate’ the caller without them actually realising it.

Before the call is ended, the Virtual Receptionist will make sure both parties have all the appropriate contact information by confirming you both have the correct details, spelling out any difficult or unusual words for the client so they are able to verify the information. This will again show your customer that your company is interested in them and are dealing with any issues appropriately.

There is an ever increasing number of businesses that are starting to use this type of service for their call handling where the virtual receptionist can handle large volumes of calls, whatever the time of the day or night - it is as they are ‘open for business.’

This is particularly necessary if you have a global business where the different time zones throughout the world mean you could miss out on some potential business if you do not respond to a call. One country may close for business and another country just starts it’s business hours and your business or any business cannot afford to miss out on opportunities.

All the telephone calls received are answered promptly and politely, by a real person and in a courteous, friendly manner with no customer having to leave a message on an answering machine again.

The higher quality companies that offer a virtual assistant service are quite unique in the extended services they offer, as they tailor your service to reflect your precise requirements. These precise requirements are agreed in detail with you in advance and can be altered or amended at literally the press of a button.

If you, or a member of your team, are unavailable at short notice then your status can be amended to being ‘unavailable’ and the virtual receptionist will then start taking your messages or diverting calls straight away for you until you become available again.

The service is totally flexible so the virtual receptionist can take all of your calls all of the time, just when you are in a meeting or even when you are travelling and can only be available to take a call infrequently.

Messages will either be taken or transferred to you verbally or the call information can be sent to you via email or text for your follow up when it is more convenient to you.

The call handling service is the central point for your business from which all your customer contacts can be managed, whereby the virtual receptionist or other call centre staff can build up an excellent relationship with your customer base, new and old. This leaves them feeling confident of your customer service skills.

All your calls are answered by fully trained staff; usually being based in the larger cities in large open plan offices where the operators work from work stations within the office space.

An additional service would be to offer customer enquiries on your products and can even include telemarketing, debt management and many more services. An Account Manager would be allocated to your business that will discuss with you and build a custom made service to suit whatever your business requirements need that can be changed at any time as your business changes.

Whether you are the receptionist or main call advisor for your company, every call you take is just as important as the next. Your efficiency, time keeping, telephone answering and accuracy is by far your priority and below are some techniques that can make every call effective.

1.

If you are a receptionist that is involved in parts of the law such as a lawyers’ receptionist then you may not understand every bit of legal language that someone may throw at you. A way in helping to avoid situations such as this are to jot down all the details of the call and message taking as the person on the other end of the line is saying it.

If the person they are calling to talk to is not available, you should offer to take a message, 'Mr ….. is in a meeting at the moment but I will be happy to take a message to pass on, you were enquiring about a '…..' service, correct?' this will show you're polite and will also show you are listening to the person talking to you. However if the person is available to talk to, in order to give a 'heads up' to that staff member, hand over the notes you were jotting down from the call.

2.

There may be callers who will blurt out a list of information. A way to get around this obstacle is by summarising your message taking and what you have just heard from the notes you have just jotted down, this will again show you are listening to the call and have paid close attention, which is bound to impress. 'Just to make sure I understood everything correctly, you were requesting......' refer back to your notes and literally reiterate the conversation then end the call with, Thanks, I shall get Mrs …... to give you a call later to discuss.' if the caller is distressed, this technique will work brilliantly as they will be reassured someone is dealing with their request efficiently.

3.

It is ever so easy to misinterpret and mishear what someone may have just told you and writing down an address or phone number is very important therefore 'Just to confirm your address is 28 …..' and continue to repeat the contact information, thus ensuring all the details are correct and that the company have not lost a client due to mishearing.

4.

Setting a professional image for a client is very important for the company, so you need to get a client’s name right, as silly as it sounds, similarities in names are common and are quite easy to mishear. Names such as 'Alan' and 'Aaron' , sound similar so as simple as phonetically reading out the letter or asking how they spell their name should be done.

Following such guidelines are so simple and is the difference between gaining a client or losing one. You can also hire the help of a professional telephone answering service

Virtual assistant or virtual PAs can work for your business wherever you are based, as their work is all completed remotely.

It is in the name 'virtual' : this role enables a person to be in their home or from a call centre working for your business. This job comes with huge responsibilities, because the assistants have to be dedicated to their job and have skills in time management, prioritising, communication and so on.

There are many types of jobs which a virtual pa may have to complete for a business.

The role is mainly based on the administrative aspects, so they have to have experience and knowledge of Word, Excel, data entry and so on. Often you will undergo work related to proofreading, editing, scheduling and organising files along with many other tasks.

Other virtual assistants can work a little more in depth for your company. They may undergo administrative based work along with online or website tasks. This may include updated and having control over the online shopping cart, web design, the general maintenance of the website and other aspects involved to run an online business.

Many virtual assistants interact with your client on a regular basis. It is therefore crucial that a virtual assistant has communication skills and they should also be personable and friendly in nature, to represent the best image of your business. They act as the face of your company, so they need to give the right impression in all correspondence to your clients and suppliers.

If you go to a reputable call centre where services in virtual assistants are available, you can be sure that the type of assistant that will work for you possesses all the above skills and more. With many years’ experience as a virtual assistant, the person will be able to effectively manage your administrative company tasks with ease. You can count on them to be timely, work through when you need them and communicate everything effectively.

A virtual assistant is becoming more popular due to its cost effectiveness. It makes good business and financial sense for any business to use a virtual assistant instead of an in house assistant. Any business trying to cut back on spending will benefit from the productiveness and value of a virtual assistant.

Every business needs a good technique to let people know what their business is all about. Translating your message can be difficult, how do you let people know what you aim to deliver? How do you reach everyone?

There are many ways of informing people of the products and services you have to offer and one main method of attraction is to advertise. Placing advertisements in newspapers, billboards, internet, leaflet and various other types of media where people are likely to come across your services and products is where you are most likely to attract and gain customers.

If you have not already set up a website, then now is the time to do it, as with many people are spending most of their time on the internet so this is one of the most effective means of attention. Advertising online reaches out to a variety of different age groups.

There are other avenues to explore too, and most sales companies and businesses use telemarketing as a method of communication with them and the potential customers.

Telemarketing companies and companies that conduct telemarketing focus strategically on target markets so that they can contact potential clients directly.

The marketing strategies of a business can be either direct or indirect which is dependent on how the salesperson approached a client. The use of telemarketers are employed as a direct source of marketing a product or service, the main idea behind telemarketing is to communicate and communicate well. This allows a business to build a rapport with potential clients in order to persuade them to purchase a product or service. In general, the marketing of products or services are done over the phone, creating a relationship with the customer and making the conversation personal by introducing your name. The caller has to be very friendly, personable, trained and professional.

Companies employ or outsource different telemarketers. They use three different methods of doing this. They may outsource people based solely in a call centre, they may employ people in house, or they may work with freelancers working  at home.

Many charitable organisations use telemarketing as a source of finding funds for their charity as their salespersons can help to convince people to give money to the charity, connecting them with people who are sympathetic to the cause.

When the phone rings we never really think about the correct way of answering it, we just pick up the receiver and talk.  But the calls that we receive in buinesses every day must be answered correctly and professionally.  The telephone is usually the first point of contact with your customer or potential customer in your business relationship, it can be the difference from getting the business or losing the business, something in today’s climate no company can afford to do wrongly.

How many times have you missed calls because you are busy, on the other line or just out working and can’t take the call?  Your customers are then left to leave a message on an answering service or a voicemail.  A recent survey suggested that when a caller is left to leave a message they are more than likely hang up the phone rather than talk to a machine, most of the time they will not even call back. Instead, they prefer to find another company to take their business, which is lost business for you and your company.

One of the most important roles in business today is customer services, and because the phone is the first point this is where it must start.

Who needs a telephone answering service?

You might be a plumber who works on his own, and  is finding it difficult to answer  calls, especially if you are working all the time. On the other hand, you might be someone just starting out in businesss and you can use the telephone answering service while your business grows.  You might also be a larger company who needs  to look at their outgoing costs and will find a call centre is more cost effective than employing the extra staff.   You may just need some help taking calls in your overflow period.

By outsourcing your business calls to a telephone answering service your calls will be handled by a very professiional team of experienced operators.  The staff at a telephone answering service are carefully picked from local people and are trained in the correct way to answer the phone, and how to handle difficult callers.

Who answers my calls?

Every call received by a telephone answering service will be answered by trained operators, usually within a couple of rings, and no caller will be expected to hold.  Because the operators are fully trained they will always answer your calls with your company name or what ever greeting you desire. The greeting can be just a generic response simply saying your company name and a courteous greeting, or possibly to reflect a specific sales campaign where the wording can be more precise to support whatever the promotion might be.  Because the call centre operaters are live human beings, the wording can be changed and amended whenever required, businesses are always changing  so the greeting can reflect this.

The call centre also operate a 24 hour 7 day a week 365 days a year service, so any calls that happen to come in out of office hours, or weekends there will always be someone available to answer it. It might be home time in the UK , but somewhere in the world someone is just starting work. 

Whether you require someone to answer your calls for just an hour a day, or all the time, the telephone answering service will be able to offer you a package to suit, and you only pay for the time the  call centre is taking calls for you. 

Who looks after me?

If you decide to outsource your calls to a telephone answering service you will be allocated your own Account manager who will go through everything you need to know, and together you will find the best package available for your business needs.

Calls taken by the telephone answering service can be diverted straight from your office or business premeses without the need for additional technical equipment or costly computer software. The calls are just diverted from one line to the call centre as your telephone service alsoenables a call divert service.  Most businesses find they already have this service available.

What about if I am never by my office phone?

If you are a mobile phone user, calls can also be diverted to the call centre service. You can also remember that the divert features on a mobile phone can be turned off if necessary by just dialling a few keys.

As calls are received at the telephone answering service, messages will be taken and can be relayed to you immediately either by email or text message. If a call is urgent they can be transferred to you just in the same way as a receptionist would transfer the call. This will give your business a much more professional feel and the customers feel they are getting a very good service.

What else?

If you decide to outsource to a telephone answering service the whole set up process can be completed within two or three hours.  The majority of the call centre services also offer a “storing” facility of all you calls from the previous six months making them available to the operators and can be accessed anytime you call.

A virtual office is an ideal solution for start-up businesses or medium sized businesses who want to keep costs down whilst also giving a business a highly professional edge.

A virtual office is also an excellent way to present a bigger company presence. Many larger companies don’t want to deal with home based companies, even though they are perfectly capable of handling the workload.

With a virtual office, you can become a large multi-story office building in the prestige business districts of your city - rather than a 5x5foot spare room in your house.

A virtual office gives your company the professionalism it needs to succeed to work for the bigger companies. This is because a virtual office facility will provide quality meeting room facilities so you can avoid the embarrassing situation of telling a client to meet you at your house where you will conduct a meeting in the kitchen or lounge. This just doesn’t appear professional and makes your clients think twice about dealing with you again in the future.

Businesses of all sizes are realizing the benefits of utilizing virtual offices, because this means that work is no longer restricted to the office premises (or the home, if working from home).

With a virtual office you can utilize conference rooms to give your business the professional edge. Parking might be difficult to accommodate in your home’s road if you work from home and you will also need to provide restroom and beverage services which is also difficult in a home office environment. However, a quality virtual office facility can provide all of the equipment and facilities needed for you and your important business meeting whilst also making your business meeting appear more professional and prestigious.

Virtual offices can save you lots of money, too. This includes money travel expenses, food, dry-cleaning and overhead costs can also be reduced, like rent, furniture and so on.

A virtual office can also give you access to receptionist services like call handling. With call handling, your business calls can be answered on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year basis. All of your calls are important to you and every call could be potential business for your company so utilising this service would be a benefit to many.

Most assistants are the people that spend time in the office and whom provide administrative support to business owners. However, virtual assistants are not required to perform these services in the owners’ offices which is how a virtual assistant is made 'virtual.'

Virtual assistants work with a wide variety of different businesses and clients from across the country and some even venture further, to around the world. Due to the work – most of the time – being virtual this makes the job accessible and limitless in regards to the location. You have no need to worry that your business cannot hire an assistant because they are based far away, because they still work for you efficiently wherever they are based.

Virtual assistants may work as freelancers or as part of a larger call centre. They will charge for their work on an hourly basis at their own rates. Some may provide a package that has been set up which provides a flat hourly rate for a variety of services provided. The clients, like many employers, will pay them for the given period of work which can also be defined by the virtual assistant themselves.

Due to this service being virtual, many virtual assistants work from home or in a larger call centre, which allows flexibility to work. However, the job does require persistence, productivity and dedication and virtual assistants are very skilled in what they do. Call centres only hire people who are fully qualified to do the job in hand and who have experience in this line of work.

There are a vast amount of virtual assistants that focus on the administrative aspects of work, providing work in areas such as, data entry, word processing, proofreading, editing, scheduling, file organisation and many other small tasks. This is very useful for any business that needs administrative help but does not want to hire a full time assistant in house.

Many one man band businesses decide to use the services of a virtual assistant because they are based from home and do not want a real assistant to come into their home based office every day. Outsourcing a virtual assistant means they stay in their location and work for you as and when you need the help. You may just want a virtual assistant to help you in times when you are extra busy.

Other types of virtual assistant can undergo administrative based work but can also understand the systems of running an online business, which is often helpful to businesses that operate websites. The tasks required for this role are; setting up a shopping cart, maintaining the website – keeping it up-to-date, blog posting and other requirements that surround an online website/business. For this type of work, virtual assistants usually charge more for their rates in comparison to those who are solely administrative virtual workers as their skill set is much more varied.

In fact, there are various types of skills required for a virtual secretary role:

• Most assistants would have knowledge of office based software programs such as; Word, Excel, Outlook and Power Point.
• There are many other skills required for this role such as communication and the ability to be punctual and manage time efficiently. In a lot of situations for virtual assistants, customers will be emailing and enquiring over the phone, therefore having a good speaking manner and communicating clearly and efficiently is vital.
• Focusing on the job is also key as for many, working from home may be a luxury but it is also a chore as you are more inclined to find difficulty in managing the structure of your day. The virtual assistant is therefore a very committed member of your team.
• For higher level virtual assistant roles you virtual assistants have a broad spectrum of newer skills, for example, web design or copy-writing. Virtual assistants also learn on the job as they are essentially their own boss, so it would be beneficial to them and to the client to continue to learn new skills.
• Knowing the ins and outs of a computer is now a specific requirement and you won't fail if you don’t know lots of different computer programs. However, it is beneficial to the company if you are willing to learn more.
• A virtual assistant will know how to prioritize in the job. The assistant will know how to conduct efficient time management in order to meet the deadlines of their client and not fall behind.
• Having a good working knowledge of different industries is also something which many assistants have as sometimes they could be working for several clients at once. With experience, a virtual assistant can apply in their role what they have learnt in other industries.

This job is never the same and it is always changing as the client has new demands and requests. Outsourcing a virtual assistant makes sound business sense for any SME or freelancer that wishes to have the organisational and professional skills of an assistant, but without paying the salary of an in house assistant.

There are various ways to handle calls effectively and efficiently which will help companies retain their customers and gain new ones at the same time. Below lists a few tips at giving the best telephone answering service possible for anyone that calls you;

1 - 

Set the amount of rings that you receive before you are able to deal with the call adequately, most companies pick two to three rings and this is acceptable for callers.

2 -

Before answering the call the employee should be well informed of the contact information and the demands of that customer, this requires the right technology. The call handler should be sat at a well equipped desk with access to the information. A recording service can also be put in place so that employee's are able to check past conversations of a customer and what the conversation entailed, gaining a further knowledge of the customer.

3 -

When answering the phone it is essential you answer in a relaxed manner and tone however busy you may be. Answering the call in a rushed and harsh tone will immediately be identified by your customer and may be the difference between landing a deal and losing one.

The customer has every right to have their individual amount of time with you, their provider, therefore your diligence is most important and will affect the outcome. If you are busy at the time of the call try answering the call with a smile, this will be translated through the call and make your tone of voice appear less harsh and will sound friendly and approachable, which is needed in the call.

4 -

Never consider putting the customer on hold for too long even if you are trying to deal with their enquiry, this will make the customer restless and will be lead to believe that the results are unresponsive from the employee. It will be much more polite for you to take the details of your customer and say that you are dealing with their enquiry and you will phone back with the relevant information. This ensures that they can expect reliable results from you.

The more efficiency you show, the more will be communicated to your customers showing a sense of brand loyalty.

5 -

When it comes to a sales call, it may be a challenge to convince the customer who already knows a great deal about the product. This means you may have to offer elaborated information, providing the caller with other available products that they may want to purchase. Make sure all callers are trained and well versed with the product information, this is important as they are representing your company. If this is proving too expensive, you can always outsource the service to a call centre who can manage all your call handling on your behalf.

6 -

The communication level between caller and employee should be at the most comfortable level without being too informal, where you can both understand one another’s demands and communicate with no worries. It is also a good way to suggest to them other products according to their particular requests and situation.

Selling over the phone is a difficult task as it is much easier for the customer to decline because they are not having to deal with you face-to-face. Therefore a telephone handler with strong communication skills is key in gaining a high success rate.

7 -

When making an order over the phone: The informative points should always be short and directly the point, you should provide your client with the order information and reiterate their details so they can confirm, the quote should then be given to him/her.

8 -

Always ensure you have a follow up procedure ensuring everything is right on your part and during the order process, making sure you and the customer are at the same level and all the correct information has been exchanged.

9 -

Do not hang up until you have received positive feedback from the customer ensuring they are happy when the call has ended.

10 -

Be consistent. Your performance on this phone call is important as it reflects the company, so every action you take will be reflected on the company you work for. This means you should ensure you are doing everything you can to make the customer happy with their purchase.

Tips to help;

• Speak clearly.
• Do not rush.
• Open with a happy welcoming, 'Good morning 'name,' how may I help you?'
• Remember their name (shows the customer is everything.)
• Slow your speech for easier comprehension.
• Provide your name.
• If necessary, when putting caller on hold, ask them if this is ok, however judge the the situation first to see if they will agree to this as they may deny this.
• Do not put them on hold for long, if so tell them politely you will call them back.
• Take their details.
• End the conversation politely, 'Thank you for calling 'name,' I hope I have been of some help.’

2012 is meant to be an iconic year and despite speculation, it is very unlikely that the world is going to end this year! There are many things that are happening this year though. Take the London 2012 Olympics, for example. This looks like a great opportunity for businesses in Britain.

However, all we ever hear of is bleak news about the economy. This should be the year to gain financial traction and rid the predictions of further economical failure. This will be the year for businesses to save when and where they can, a year for learning how to function more efficiently and how to outsource.

The key will be enabling your business to run as smoothly and effectively as possible on a tighter budget. This does not mean cutting staff and reducing everyone’s wages; there are plenty other cuts to consider first without letting go of staff that need their jobs.

Before diving toward the last resort too early, make sure you use the start of this year to measure your finances, keep your head above water and remind yourself that there are many greater things you can do  in order to cut costs, keep your staff and keep to the same wage without letting go of valuable team members.

Below are five cost saving techniques to consider to keep your business charging forward in 2012:

Move out of the Big City:

Believe it or not offices in the City are considerably more expensive than those on the borderline of the Cities.

Staying put in your high rent area when the rental prices are likely to rise more and more over this year could be highly damaging for your business. This can all be very draining for the company's budget when considering the monthly costs.

One idea could be to get a virtual address by working with a call centre. This enables you to up roots to a less expensive area (smaller businesses could even operate from home) but you still give the professional image to your clients that you are standing tall in a city area. It can also give a geographical feeling of being present in more than one large city.

A virtual office could also be used by working with a call centre. This is a way of further showcasing your professional business but without the costs of actually renting an office space. You can outsource a virtual receptionist rather than a real one, who will conduct the same workload for you but works remotely.

Walk to Work:

Commuting is expensive, stressful and very tiring after a long day at the office and with an 11% rise in rail costs along with petrol prices remaining high, now is the time to avoid commuting and start walking.

Most times working in an office on a computer is work that is likely to be done on a home computer, therefore consider working from home where you can incorporate your work to a flexible schedule which can cut travel costs.

You can try initiating greener schemes in your company to encourage everyone to do the same.

If this is not an option then consider changing the time you head into work, if you miss the peak time commute, this will save a considerable amount of money. Beating the queues by travelling in at a more cost effective time will save money for you and the company.

This is very important for times like the Olympics this summer, when everything is likely to be very costly and busy in the mornings.

You could also encourage your staff to commute into work by bus.

Managing existing debt:

A call centre can help with debt management services. You can organise your debt in a coherent and thorough way, to avoid any nasty surprises through 2012 which you are unprepared for.

Call centre answering service:

Consider a call centre service; using a call centre enables your high volume of calls to be answered for you. This means you and your staff can focus on the job at hand instead of constantly handling phone enquiries. This is highly cost effective, as a call centre employs hundreds of staff that can handle each call professionally.

A call centre is sometimes also known as a customer interaction centre. The call centres can provide a professional telephone answering service, ensuring calls are always answered by a 'real person' in a friendly and courteous manner whatever the time of day. This makes working with other countries a breeze, as calls from them can be answered in the middle of the night by the call centre.
 

Other services from a call centre:

A call centre doesnt just handle calls. There are some establishments that have additional services provided for them such as assistance with their help desks, retail financial support and sales support. Generally, the choice is up to you which route your business would most benefit from. Whatever you choose, a call centre can save you money which is why many larger businesses and public organizations like town councils are choosing to outsource major business functions as a way of saving money, rather than conducting that work in house.

It is often difficult to find the right opening line when answering a call, to make your clients and customers feel they are dealing with a professional business. Here are some tips to help you.

ONE;

Answer the phone promptly with your name if a call is being transferred to you directly, this will enable a personal and friendly greeting so that the client/consumer will gather who they are talking to straight away. This is a great way of establishing the right tone as it also sounds highly professional.

TWO;

If you are telephone answering as a receptionist, you should answer with the company name as well. For an approachable and friendlier opening line use a greeting such as, 'Good Morning/afternoon, You have reached Global Company Ltd, this is ....... how may I help you?'

Using such lines will provide a welcoming service that will ensure the customer is at ease and comfortable to talk to your staff members. Also, it will ensure they know they have reached the right company from the offset.

THREE;

It is essential that you speak clearly to your caller ensuring that they can understand and hear what you are saying, if you talk quickly this will represent unease and may make the caller feel as though you are rushing them when this is not the case. Speak appropriately and slowly for easier comprehension.

FOUR;

Often the caller may offer their name as a starter to the conversation, 'Hello this is, ….... calling', by providing their name this will be a good way for you to remember who they are throughout the call, making it personal and again making the caller feel comfortable with you. It makes the caller feel like they are being listened to, as well. If the caller does not provide their name, show an interest and ask for it in the first few sentences of the call.

FIVE;

By the first minute you should have learnt the caller’s name, company and their organisation as well as their purpose. If they do not provide any of this information it is your duty to ask for it and get all the information you need, this will ensure the call is short and the problem or query is being dealt with efficiently.

SIX;

If during any point of the call you have to put them on hold, use their name to get their attention, showing you remember their name,  then notify them that you are putting them on hold, 'Miss …...., I am just going to put you on hold whilst I look for the right information.'

Some companies may require you ask permission to put them on hold as this shows politeness toward the caller, either way make sure you notify them first before putting the caller on hold.

Ensure you tailor your dialogue appropriately as some may deny you to put them on hold because they feel their call might get cut off. Be aware of the way the conversation is going and how comfortable you both feel during this conversation and act appropriately.

SEVEN;

You should only place the caller on hold during situations where you need to pay close attention to a file or another colleague, both of which the caller does not need to be a part of. This will allow you time to focus on the job at hand instead of half-heartedly conversing with the caller whilst shuffling through files.

Only put the caller on hold when completely necessary otherwise stay with the caller.

EIGHT;

If you are unable to resolve the issue or situation over the telephone conversation then provide the caller with relevant contact information for an estimated time line of how long this enquiry will take to solve. You will want the caller to feel as though their time on the phone has not been wasted and that you are doing your utmost to find the relevant information. Either provide them with your contact information or take down their information so you are able to contact them when the information has been located, showing that you are consistent and reliable.

NINE;

Before ending the call make sure you do take down their information and any other necessary contact details. After this, confirm you both have the correct details, spelling out the words for the client so they are able to confirm. This again will show you are interested in this client and are dealing with any issues appropriately.

TEN;

Use the correct signing off message, be polite and appropriate. 'Goodbye, thank you for calling.'

You may want a call centre to take on this phone answering service on your behalf; telephone answering services are cost effective and high quality. Each call service operator will be able to employ all of the above tips and are professional trained to handle calls appropriately. Telephone answering is time consuming for you and your staff, so allowing a call centre to do this for you will save you time AND money. This is a high valuable service in the current climate where quality is vital but keeping costs down is also important.

Answering your calls is important and is harder than you think. You have to have various skills to be a call handler, which is why some companies outsource a call handling telephone answering service to conduct the task on their behalf.

Here are some basic tips for phone answering:

1 -

Before answering the call the call handler should be well informed of the contact information and the demands of that customer. The call handler should have up to date technology in order to access information quickly whilst on the call.

2-

When answering the phone it is essential you answer in a relaxed manner and tone but maintaining utmost professionalism.

If you are busy at the time of the call try answering the call with a smile, this will be translated through the call and make your caller feel at ease.

4 -

Never put the customer on hold for too long because this shows poor organisation and wastes the caller’s money. It will be more polite for you to take the details of your customer and call them back.

5 -

The communication level between caller and employee should not be too informal, but you need to establish a boundary where you can both understand one another’s demands and communicate with ease.

6 -

Always ensure you have a follow up call with the customer to ensure everything is right on your part and during the order process, and that they are happy. Make sure you and the customer are on the same page, and all the correct information has been exchanged. This is the stage where you can clear up any concerns.

7 -

Do not hang up until you have received positive feedback from the customer. Sign off in the right way, politely and professionally.

8-

Your performance on this phone call is important as it reflects the company, you represent the company so make sure you do it professionally.

Here are some tips to help you:

• Speak clearly and don’t rush.
• Open with a happy and professional welcoming, 'Good morning 'name,' how may I help you?'
• Remember their name
• Also provide your name

What is a virtual assistant?

Virtual Assistants are the key to allowing small businesses to thrive without spending tons of money. A Virtual receptionist offers administrative support, but not at your location. They work virtually. They use the internet to connect with you and conduct their work.

The International Virtual Assistant Association says a Virtual Assistant is "an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional Virtual Assistant assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis."

A Virtual Assistant is a new term and an all encompassing title, a virtual assistant will conduct many different tasks but most virtual assistants will specialize in specific tasks. Each Virtual Assistant has his or her own skill set and services and will strengthen your business in many ways. Many virtual assistants have strong and established connections with other Virtual Assistants and this means that they will contract out specialized work if they are not appropriate to deal with that themselves. This means you don’t have to worry about anything as the work gets done for you, leaving you to get on with other things.

Many virtual assistants focus on specific areas like the following:

• Inventory
• invoicing
• bookkeeping
• web design
• marketing
• document preparation
• correspondence preparation
• ghostwriting and editing services
• event planning

As a company you should search for an assistant that will work in your best interest. This means that they need to be specific about your needs and know what your expectations are from the very start. This gets the relationship off to the best start.

One size does not fit all when choosing a virtual assistant for your business. A virtual assistant adapts flexibly to your needs, and every business is so different. This makes it truly bespoke and you can discuss then from the start.

How do I choose a virtual assistant?

You should always think with the main objective for your company in mind so never think about what would be nice, but essentially what you need. You should determine what your goals and needs are with the assistant. This is a job for them and they will want to fulfill it to the best of their abilities in order to gain a long standing contract with you.

Benefits of a virtual assistant

There are many benefits to a virtual assistant. Firstly, if you are a one man band or a work from home business person then there is no doubt that no physical office outside of your home you will have no employees and you do not want a physical member of staff in your home with you.

For the business person, all it takes is a little time and planning to decide what you want to be delegated to the virtual assistant and wherever they are working. A virtual assistant will use many different methods to contact you and other clients, this includes the most popular methods email and telephone. However it is not uncommon for a virtual assistant to use other communication channels like facsimile, courier, and postal services.

Another benefit is that a virtual assistant saves you money. There are no taxes, compensation, paid leave, hidden costs or anything like that to worry about with  the virtual assistant. You ONLY pay for the time the assistant is working for your business.

There are no equipment costs either, as the virtual assistant provides all of their own equipment. This includes computer, printer, software, etc.

The Virtual Assistant takes care of their own expenses which might include things like office space, equipment as mentioned earlier, computers, any necessary software, and so on. A virtual assistant has a stake in your company and so will want to work as best as they can. If you don’t succeed then they won’t succeed and they will need to look elsewhere for work. This makes them highly efficient and co-operative people to work with.

Who are these virtual assistants?

Most Virtual Assistants have many years administrative experience working in admin and as such, they can handle a variety of tasks. Some work for a larger company like a call centre. Others are freelance. Many work from home which means they can operate outside of business hours to your benefit.

A further benefit is that the virtual assistant will save you time. As a busy manager of a business there are probably a lot of things that you need to do like make sales, attend appointments and so on. Admin and answering calls is probably not part of your billable hours and are very time consuming activities. The virtual assistant can save you this time.

Overall, a virtual assistant is a very beneficial asset to any business. Saving you time and money but adding value and organization to your business is a great advantage to any medium or small business. You can count on the virtual assistants to provide you with a high quality service, which you will wonder how you ever survived without!

It is far more important to experience the quality of the consumer’s call centre than quantity. Quality is important in this day and age where every business opportunity must be seized.

For the majority of companies the aim is to move away from the sort of customer service that is gritty and an unpleasant experience for the customer, as this is defining the company as a poorly managed and uncaring brand.

On the other hand, if your business offers very positive customer service interaction then you will have an enhancement in brand value and customers will offer loyalty and repeat business.

However, to achieve this requires a considerable amount of time, strategic planning and effort working with a call centre.

Those embarking on the contact centre service journey should focus on five essential key areas in order to source the best call centre for the company to work with.

You don't have to look close to home.

Call centres can be located anywhere. You should extend your search across the country. You can communicate through channels like Skype or instant messenger, and follow these up with bi-annual face to face visits. Look on the internet for a call centre located within your country.

Research . Make sure you do your research thoroughly when looking at these call centres online.

An average contact centre will constantly develop their staff and want to hire full time employees, not students or part time workers. Research into the company and find out about the staff that will be answering your calls.

The training that the staff in a call centre will receive is not about making sure the staff are up to date with the recent technological changes (although this is a crucial part of the job), it will also focus on creating a sense of positivity, productivity and progression within the company. If you can, go and visit the call centre and see the staff in action.

Research in other ways too. Find out whether the call centre has worked with companies similar to yours. If you’re a freelancer and they’re used to working with multi-national companies, then maybe you’re not a good fit with each other.

The call centre’s Technology -  

Having an up to date system is a 'must-have.' Make sure you work with a call centre that has the right software and technology to handle your workload. Not only this, the call centre is likely to have several clients so the technology needs to be able to cope under great pressure and use.

Single engine communications are the only system that are able to integrate all the performance and reporting aspect involved for any modern business that works within a real-time framework. Make sure your call centre can talk you through their system.

You will want your call centre to have a consolidated system which will ensure all of the information processed is streamlined, in order to be able to cope with fragmented communication channels. It should be able to cope seamlessly with record keeping regulatory requirements and it should also offer access to a range of fully customised reporting variables. You should be able to ask your call centre for access to this to track progress and record data.

If you don’t know much about technology, don’t worry. Ask the simpler questions, such as “how will you handle the calls that come in for my business in the middle of the night?” and “what will you use to help track the amount of calls you answer for my company?”

Many predictions for 2012 suggest that there are going to be more financial and economical downfalls for businesses than 2011 saw.

With the constant unemployment rates increasing each week, higher costs of living, reluctance for banks to lend and interest rates soaring, many businesses could fear for the worst for 2012.

However, if you face these problems head on and you will survive the difficulty of the current state of the economy and retain business, even growing your business in some instances.

Saving where and when you can is vital. The key will be running your business on a tighter budget and re-thinking your business plans.

One way you could stay afloat in 2012 is by outsourcing the services for a call centre.

A call centre can work with you to give you a virtual address or virtual office. If your current office is located in the City, you will find it is considerably more expensive than other places out of the City.

Rental costs are likely to keep on rising, as well as electricity bills, water bills, gas prices, hydro costs and other additional costs incurred by a business.

If you worry about not keeping that professional address then there are ways around this by using a virtual address. This gives the illusion of a professional location when you are actually working at a different location, even from home.

You could even work from home and use the call centre to handle your incoming calls, receptionist duties and mail forwarding needs. Commuting is an expense that is not needed for you or your company, so in order to cut the costs why not consider staying at home and operating your business from there.

There is also software called 'The cloud' which doesn't require a leading central office to house it and allows people to work from home and access the software anywhere. This allows you and your staff to work from home.

You should also consider a telephone answering service, using this service enables you to answer the high demand of calls by letting staff at a call centre do it for you. This is highly cost effective, as a call centre employs hundreds of staff that can handle each call professionally by answering in your company name and script.

A call centre can conduct many other cost saving services on your behalf too.

What Is A Virtual Assistant?

Virtual Assistants are the key to allowing small businesses to thrive without spending tons of money. A Virtual Assistant offers administrative support, but not at your location. They work “virtually” from a remote location. They use the internet to connect with you and conduct their work.

The International Virtual Assistant Association says a Virtual Assistant is "an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional Virtual Assistant assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis."
 

Tasks Of The Virtual Assistant

A Virtual Assistant is a new term and an all encompassing title, a virtual assistant will conduct many different tasks but most virtual assistants will specialize in specific tasks. Each Virtual Assistant has his or her own skill set and services and will strengthen your business in many ways.

Many virtual assistants have strong and established connections with other Virtual Assistants and this means that they will contract out specialized work if they are not appropriate to deal with that themselves. This means you don’t have to worry about anything as the work gets done for you, leaving you to get on with other things.

Many virtual assistants focus on specific areas like the following:

• Inventory
• invoicing
• bookkeeping
• web design
• marketing
• document preparation
• correspondence preparation
• ghostwriting and editing services
• event planning

 

Choosing A Virtual Assistant

As a company you should search for an assistant that will work in your best interest. This means that they need to be specific about your needs and know what your expectations are from the very start. This gets the relationship off to the best start.

One size does not fit all when choosing a virtual assistant for your business. A virtual assistant adapts flexibly to your needs, and every business is so different. This makes it truly bespoke and you can discuss this from the start.

You should always think with the main objective for your company in mind so never think about what would be nice, but essentially what you need. You should determine what your goals and needs are with the assistant. This is a job for them and they will want to fulfill it to the best of their abilities in order to gain a long standing contract with you.

 

Benefits Of A Virtual Assistant

There are many benefits to a virtual assistant. Firstly, if you are a one man band or a work from home business person then you will likely have no physical office outside of your home, no employees and probably do not want a physical member of staff in your home with you.

For the business person, all it takes is a little time and planning to decide what you want delegated to the virtual assistant and wherever they are working. A virtual assistant will use many different methods to contact you and other clients, this includes the most popular methods email and telephone. However it is not uncommon for a virtual assistant to use other communication channels like facsimile, courier, and postal services.

Another benefit is that a virtual assistant saves you money. There are no taxes, compensation, paid leave, hidden costs or anything like that to worry about with the virtual assistant. You ONLY pay for the time the assistant is working for your business.

There are no equipment costs either, as the virtual assistant provides all of their own equipment. This includes computer, printer, software, etc.

The Virtual Assistant takes care of their own expenses which might include things like office space, equipment as mentioned earlier, computers, any necessary software, and so on. A virtual assistant has a stake in your company and so will want to work as best as they can. If you don’t succeed then they won’t succeed and they will need to look elsewhere for work. This makes them highly efficient and co-operative people to work with.

 

Who Are These Virtual Assistants?

Most Virtual Assistants have many years administrative experience working in admin and as such, they can handle a variety of tasks. Some work for a larger company like a call centre. Others are freelance. Many work from home which means they can operate outside of business hours to your benefit.

A further benefit is that the virtual assistant will save you time. As a busy manager of a business there are probably a lot of things that you need to do like make sales, attend appointments and so on. Admin and answering calls is probably not part of your billable hours and are very time consuming activities. The virtual assistant can save you this time.

Overall, a virtual assistant is a very beneficial asset to any business. Saving you time and money but adding value and organization to your business is a great advantage to any medium or small business. You can count on the virtual assistants to provide you with a high quality service, which you will wonder how you ever survived without!
 

A virtual office is an ideal solution for start-up businesses or medium sized businesses who want to keep costs down whilst also giving the business a highly professional edge.

A virtual office is also an excellent way to present a bigger company presence. Many larger companies don’t want to deal with home based companies, even though they are perfectly capable of handling the workload.

With a virtual office, you can become a large multi-story office building in the prestige business districts of your city - rather than a 5x5foot spare room in your house.

A virtual office gives your company the professionalism it needs to succeed to work for the bigger companies. This is because a virtual office facility will provide quality meeting room facilities so you can avoid the embarrassing situation of telling a client to meet you at your house where you will conduct a meeting in the kitchen or lounge. This just doesn’t appear professional and makes your clients think twice about dealing with you again in the future.

Businesses of all sizes are realizing the benefits of utilizing virtual offices, because this means that work is no longer restricted to the office premises (or the home, if working from home).

With a virtual office you can utilize conference rooms to give your business the professional edge. Parking might be difficult to accommodate in your home’s road if you work from home and you will also need to provide restroom and beverage services which is also difficult in a home office environment. However, a quality virtual office facility can provide all of the equipment and facilities needed for you and your important business meeting whilst also making your business meeting appear more professional and prestigious.

Virtual offices can save you lots of money, too. This includes money travel expenses, food, dry-cleaning and overhead costs can also be reduced, like rent, furniture and so on.

A virtual office can also give you access to receptionist services like call handling. With call handling, your business calls can be answered on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year basis. All of your calls are important to you and every call could be potential business for your company so utilising this service would be a benefit to many.

A virtual office is an ideal solution for start-up businesses or medium sized businesses who want to keep costs down. Money is tight for everyone at the moment, which is why this solution is especially relevant in today's business world.

Typically, Virtual office services have options as there is no “one size fits all” approach. This is because each business is different. This means that you purchase just the services you need to enhance your business.

Examples of these packages include:

1. Virtual Office Address Only – This would include things like the use of a professional business address, receiving mail, handling and receiving shipments and also signing for mail when authorized so you don’t have to use your home address.
2. Full Virtual Office with Live Answering – This includes all features of the package above but also live personalized telephone answering and call handling by virtual receptionists.
3. Full Virtual Office with Live Answering and Conference Room Time – This includes all features of the package above plus conference room time which is very handy for any business owner who wants to meet with clients but doesn’t want to take them “back home!” which can seem unprofesional.

A virtual office will provide you with a low investment solution. Because the start up costs aren’t huge, you can feel secure in your decision to choose a virtual office.  A virtual office is an ideal option for the small home companies looking for a professional company image. The company saves money and the clients feel they are dealing with a prestigious company, too.

A virtual office is also an excellent way to present a bigger company presence. With a virtual office,  suddenly you can become a large as a multi-story office building located in the prestige business districts of your city rather than a 5x5foot spare room in your house. Nobody wants to deal with a company that might work out of a house, as although the services might be top quality, it feels unprofessional.

Businesses are realizing the benefits of utilizing virtual offices, because this means that work is no longer restricted to the office premises (or the home, if working from home).

Offices that work virtually rely on technologies like broadband internet, private networks, VOIP telephony and video conferencing.

Utilizing a virtual office can save you money in various ways.

The first is that you can save in travel expenses, food, dry-cleaning and other related expenses. Overhead costs can also be reduced, like rent, furniture and so on. There is also a minimal capital outlay, because you only pay for a limited number of services, the services that you use. This might include things like call or mail handling. There is also no need of a physical office space with your presence is required in a virtual office.

A virtual office can also give you access to receptionist services. With mail handling, clients feel they are posting correspondence to a professional business or PO BOX address while you are still working from home. If you need to, conference rooms can be booked from time to time when you need to meet with clients face to face.

With call handling, Your business calls can be answered on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year basis for you if required, so you will have no worries at all because all your calls will be answered quickly, politely and in a friendly manner. All of your calls are important to you and every call could be potential business for your company and, in the present climate you cannot afford to lose business because a call wasn’t answered.

Similarly, it is well known that customers would rather talk to a real person than to leave a message on an answering service with recently published research has found that 80% of people will hang up rather than leave a message.

A virtual office also saves a significant portion of your time, which you would otherwise spend on more important things. Instead of conducting admin or answering calls, you can focus on making sales.

A virtual office gives your company the professionalism it needs to succeed.

A virtual office facility will provide quality meeting room facilities at an economical fee when compared to hotel conference room rates. This means you can avoid the embarrassing situation of telling a client to meet you “back at my home” where you will conduct a meeting in the kitchen or lounge. This just doesn’t appear professional and can make you feel awkward.

The conference rooms are fully equipped with everything you need. The availability of white boards or audio-visual equipment to support the meeting might be limited at your home office but in the outsourced conference room you can appear professional and well equipped. Also, parking might be difficult to accommodate in your home’s road and you will also need to provide restroom and beverage services which is also difficult in a home office environment. A quality virtual office facility can provide all of the equipment and facilities needed for you and your important business meeting.

Virtual receptionists work for your business virtually. They use the internet to connect with you and conduct their work. They are a popular choice for many small and medium sized businesses in need of extra help without spending lots of money and using up valuable time.

A virtual receptionist will conduct many different tasks for your business, including :

• Inventory
• invoicing
• bookkeeping
• web design
• marketing
• document preparation
• correspondence preparation
• ghostwriting and editing services
• event planning

A virtual assistant adapts flexibly to your company’s needs, and with every business working so uniquely this is an essential service in this modern world.

There are many benefits to a virtual receptionist. The main ones include saving you TIME and MONEY.

It only takes a little time and planning to decide what you want to be delegated to the virtual receptionist wherever they are working. A virtual receptionist will conduct all of the tasks listed above, and more. This means you can focus on other things. As a busy manager of a business there are probably a lot of things that you need to do like make sales, attend appointments and so on. The virtual receptionist can save you time from doing the more mundane tasks.

Another benefit is that a virtual assistant saves you money. There are no equipment costs, as the virtual assistant provides all of their own equipment. The Virtual Assistant takes care of their own expenses too which might include things like office space

Most Virtual receptionists will save your business time and money. They have many years administrative experience and as such, they can handle a variety of tasks leaving you to get on with growing your brand.

Overall, a virtual receptionist is a very beneficial asset to any business. Saving you time and money but adding value, administrative management and organization to your business is a great advantage to a business of any size.

Many companies are finding what the benefits are from using a professional telephone answering service.

They fully understand the importance of every single telephone call and that is why every call will be answered quickly, usually after no more than 3 rings, and every call is answered by a fully trained member of the team, who has been fully briefed on your business.  First impressions really do count and by letting a message taking service answer all your business calls your customers really will get the right impression from the very first call.

The telephone answering services can answer your business telephone calls either by the call being diverted from your existing telephone number or from a new telephone number that the message taking service will allocate you. 

The professional call operators will answer promptly using your company name; it is like having a Personal assistant working for you acting on your instructions.  The customers calling you can be transferred to you directly or a message can be taken and will be passed onto you immediately through an email system.

Your customers’ calls are very important and your customers will have the impression they are talking to your switchboard or your receptionist. 

The message taking service works a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year system so even when you are out of the office all your calls will be answered and messages taken for you to pick up at a more convenient time. You can be assured all calls will be answered by a real person.

In this age of the internet you may be called at any time of the day or night from different time zones, if a call is missed it could be a business opportunity missed! No business these days can afford to miss any business opportunity.

Running a business isn’t easy, and one of the most important areas is customer services, so by allowing a professional message taking service to handle all your calls you will have a telephone service to be proud of.

Running a business is tough at the best of times but the challenges facing at-home businesses can also be difficult.

You are probably running a business from home because of the cost benefits. This means there are no overheads on renting office space, etc. However, it can prove to look unprofessional to clients. When they see a home address on your correspondence, how do they feel? What does it look like? Many people may feel it looks unprofessional and might even consider not dealing with you in the future.

This perception needs to change. You know that your business is no different from others; in fact, you consider your business to be even more valuable because you put extra time and money into your business because of the fact you don’t waste money on office space. But how do you get other people to hear your message?

Hiring a virtual address is something many at-home freelancers and business people decide to do. This is because your fictitious, but very professional looking address that you hire, enables your company to give across the right image. Clients will think they are dealing with a much bigger company with a profound presence in the industry.

All of your correspondence will be delivered to the address which is then re-routed back to you. All of your outgoing letters can look far more professional with a PO BOX address in the corner of the letter, or perhaps an address which includes a well known business park location.

Some companies decide to set up several virtual offices and addresses to give off the impression of a widened geographical presence.

Your virtual office can also include a telephone answering service, so your callers are routed to a call centre where professional operators answer the call and take bookings or orders. You might also consider a virtual PA or receptionist to manage your diary; this is particularly handy for people on the go, always in meetings, or travelling the country!

Many companies are finding that there are huge benefits to outsourcing their telephone calls to a telephone answering service. 

Businesses are realising that they don’t need the expense of employing a full time member of staff just to work as a receptionist and answer telephone calls.  Outsourcing is fast becoming normal for many businesses and has proven to be very cost effective.

The telephone answering service is an extension to your business and when calls come into the call centre one of the highly trained operators will answer in your company name. They can also take messages for you and then pass these directly onto you, or if necessary they can put the caller directly on to you or a member of you staff. They can act like a virtual receptionist for your business.

Missed calls account for a vast majority of lost business for companies, in a recent study it was found that if your customer calls and they are asked to leave a message on an answer phone or voicemail most will hang up and are never likely to return the call.

With a telephone answering service all the calls will be answered quickly by fully trained call centre staff, who will be well versed in your company business and they will answer in your company name.  Customer service is so important and the staff at the telephone answering service are fully trained to deal with any situation.

The staff at a telephone answering service are carefully picked and will spend hours of time training to make sure they are able to deal with a variety of callers.

All the calls will be answered in a polite and friendly manner, whether it the first caller of the day or the last caller every caller will be handled in a very professional way.

Because the call centres are staffed 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year there will always be someone available to answer calls, so even when you and your staff go home for the day, all your calls will be answered. It might be home time here in the UK, but elsewhere in the world it will be the start of the working day. 

Whatever service your business requires  there will be a service that can be tailor made just for you, whether it’s all of your business  calls or just a few in an overflow period, it will be entirely up to you.

So, a new year has struck and 2012 promises great things for the UK. But what will your business achieve this year? It is time to renew your business plans and give your company a much needed boost.

The experts are saying 2012 is the year for customer service. More than ever, customers are demanding a high level of service and response – it is what sets your business apart from the many others out there. To avoid giving your competitors the upper hand, you must distinguish what makes your customers service meet your customers’ needs.

One area which many companies must consider is telephone answering. This is a basic customer service requirement; having your calls answered and your query dealt with effectively means your business can come across in the best light.

Outsourcing the services of a call centre like alldayPA would allow you to deliver this high level of customer satisfaction; call operators can take bookings, orders, general enquiries and even act as a virtual receptionist, diverting calls or taking messages where appropriate. This means you can focus on other areas of your business, like lead generation without worrying about who is answering the phone. Despite modern day technologies, the phone is THE first point of contact for most businesses. Don’t miss opportunities because you are too busy to answer your office phone!

2012 might also be the year for investing in marketing or advertising. By outsourcing an outbound call centre, effective telemarketing can be conducting to reveal quality leads and genuine interests without you having to lift a finger. Appointments and meetings can be made on your behalf – all you have to do is seal the deal.

Making the decision to use a call centre can add great value to your business, and set your 2012 off with a bang.

An inbound call centre need to have many of the following traits to be successful:

1. They operate flexibly. A good call centre must adjust to rapid changes within a business and also be able to anticipate new demands especially after a new product lunch or service introduction. They should also be flexible in terms of day and night coverage of calls, they should expect to operate at any time of day or night to suit business time zone differences.
2. They should communicate very well. Call centres need strong communication channels which should include web, IVR, and social media applications.
3. They should have trained staff. Staff in poorly managed call centres will likely be students looking for part time work, unskilled or untrained staff members. The staff in a good and well managed call centre will be well trained and also work full time. You will often find that one staff member will be dedicated to a specific client so that they can get to know this client and work closely with them.
4. Good management. Without professional management a call centre could be unskilled and unable to handle and deal with your contact needs.
5. They need to have good values. A good call centre will have good values. It will respect its clients and customers, and will not try and con them or misinform them. They should take time learning about the business at hand and improving communications so that they are able to focus on generating leads. A poor call centre will be focused on one level such as to “improve revenues” or “boost client satisfaction” and nothing else. This is unproductive and poor service. However, good call centres will instead they to focus on aligning their resources to deliver maximum value.

Whether you are a small, medium or large business you will find by outsourcing to using a contact centre service it will prove to be very cost effective. The contact centre services are not just a telephone answering service, they are a 24 hour 7 days a week coverage for all your inbound calls. They can also off a fully integrated web ordering service that can handle large volumes of calls. They can act as your very own virtual office, while you can go about your core business.

The staff will be fully briefed in your business requirements and they are fully trained in all the software which will ensure an excellent and good quality service at all times.

Customer service is a priority for every company; if you don’t give your customers a first class service then they will go elsewhere. The staff at a contact centre are fully trained in all aspects of customer service and your customers will always be spoken to in a friendly and polite manner when they call, meaning that you will gain your customers’ satisfaction and loyalty.

Contact centre services can provide a frequently asked questionnaire which will enable your business to hear your customers’ queries and any concerns which will enable you to act upon these and improve your service if necessary.

Combining the customer services with customer ordering will increase the efficiency of your business and the effectiveness of every call.

Every email received will receive an immediate response whatever the time of day, as part of the contact centres services there will always be staff available 24 hour a day 7 days a week and 365 days a year. With the internet available to everyone whatever the time zone, business never stops.  With these services in place, your company will be set apart from the rest.

As most people has access to the internet, the contact centre services can also provide and interactive live web chat, which also increases the customer service quality your clients receive.

Unfortunately, the year ahead looks bleak for businesses – despite hope that 2012 would be a year of recovery.

Whether you are a small, medium or large business you may struggle in 2012, so you need to plan ahead and invest in quality services for your business.

By outsourcing to a call centre, you can ensure your customer service is high, attracting new and maintaining old clientele. This gives your business a cost effective solution.

The call centre services include many different features which can help your business through 2012.

1. A telephone answering service which operates a 24 hour a day, 7 days a week coverage for all your inbound calls. This is crucial in this tough business climate.
2. A call centre can also offer a fully integrated web ordering service that can handle large volumes of calls.
3. They can act as your own virtual office, giving a professional image
4. A telemarketing and outbound call centre is also an available service

There are many benefits to this service:

1. The efficiency of your business and the productiveness of your staff will be increased with this service.
2. Keeping exiting clientele. This is very important; you must maintain existing clients to enable a successful turnover for the year ahead.  Offering good customer service will encourage many of your existing clients to stay loyal to you.
3. You can adapt accordingly if you keep your finger on the pulse and listen to what your customers want, to keep up with trends and changes in the industry.
4. You can operate a 24 hour business which means you can efficiently trade between time zones – this is essential if you wish to expand your brand around the globe and get recognised by other big cats out there.

Smaller or medium sized companies could benefit from a virtual PA. You may not realise you need a PA, but in order for your business to stay organised, embrace customers, callers and contacts, and conduct efficient administration and telemarketing, you may need a virtual PA as opposed to a physical PA.

A physical PA, which you would hire yourselves from an agency or other form, would conduct this workload for you but at a much greater cost. You have the cost of their salary to worry about, as well as the office rental space, the cost of covering their absences, holiday cover and so on.

With a virtual PA, however thin you are on the ground, the virtual PA can adapt accordingly so you always have the level of cover you require.

At any time of the day or night, a virtual PA, who is based in a larger call centre, can answer all of your calls so you don’t miss a business opportunity again. This means you can trade internationally, without worrying about different time zones.

The PA can also ring customers or potential customers for telemarketing purposes to enable your business to learn more about your customer base.

The cost savings and valuable benefits you receive from hiring a virtual PA in the long term will outweigh any initial set up costs or ongoing fees. This is because a virtual PA can make bookings, take orders, appointments, and keep your business running even when you’re out of the office.

This means the level of customer service you deliver is also of great value to your business, ensuring each and every call is answered and each caller has their query answered.

Whether or not you think you need a PA or not, looking into further benefits may encourage you to ask for a quote. You will be surprised by the level of commitment, flexibility and high quality service your business can receive, which has a knock on effect to your business service.

A call centre is a term for an office where a company's inbound calls are received or outbound calls are made.

Call centres employ many staff members in customer service, sales and support roles. If your company works with a call centre, you are likely to work with a dedicated account manager.

Some call centres are larger than others. Some also focus on answering inbound calls, wheras others focus more on telemarketing or sales.

There are many advantages to a call centre. By centralizing telephone-based services in one location, companies can become better organised and easily adjust their staffing levels.

Call centres can be located almost anywhere, but the caller need never know their location as they will think they are just calling the company. This allows companies to take advantage of time zones and trade internationally.

Many call centres use various technologies to help improve their performance and track customer service and experience. The company can then analyse these results effectively.

Inbound call centre uses automatic call distribution, this is where incoming calls are assigned to representatives in the exact order they are received.

Other call centres work differently, they utilize call monitoring. This is where customer calls are randomly monitored to ensure that phone representatives are working properly and fulfilling quality standards.

Call centres have become increasingly popular as companies look for ways to save money, rather than hiring an in house call answering team. Investing in up to date call centre equipment and staffing can be expensive for a company, so some companies choose to outsource as a way of saving money. Some say it can save the company thousands and thousands of pounds a year. Larger corporations can save even more money by outsourcing a call centre service.

Message taking is important, as information could be vital and taking a message incorrectly could prove embarrassing, unprofessional or lazy for your business. This is not a reputation you want to have!

1. Answer the phone professionally. Answer with your company name and say “how can I help you?”
2. Allow the caller to speak. Don’t interrupt as this can seem rude.
3. Don’t allow there to be long silences. When the caller has clearly finished speaking, speak back. Don’t leave long pauses between sentences as this can appear awkward on the phone!
4. Help if you can. But if you can’t, don’t try and offer advice that could be wrong. Wait for the person who can deal with the enquiry to come back into the office and if they are out all day, take a message.
5. To take a message, you should email and write the message down. This means if the note gets lost on their desk, it doesn’t matter. They still have an email copy. Take the note clearly, ask for the person’s name, where they are calling from, and specifically what their question is.
6. Ask for contact details!! Too often, the person forgets to ask the caller for their telephone number. This is embarrassing as it means you will never be able to call the person back and they will be kept waiting.
7. Finish the call with how long you expect it to be before their call is returned. Be honest, and you will get a better reaction. If it won’t be today, say so.
8. Say thank you for calling and hang up after they have hung up. This ensures that any last minute questions can be addressed.

Message taking is an important part of business operations; get it right and you will have better customer service.

There are many benefits to outsourcing your telemarketing services; whether your company is small, medium sized or a large multinational company. The telemarketing service will put in place an effective and disciplined marketing strategy.

Once one of the fully trained operators has engaged in a conversation with your existing customer or potential new customer and because of their knowledge and expertise gathered, they will have an excellent opportunity to make that all important sale. They can also book an appointment for one of your team to either follow up with another call or call round in person for a meeting to discuss further.

Setting up your own telemarketing service can be very expensive. For example, you would possibly need to install a whole new telephone system to accommodate the extra staff you would probably need to employ.

The additional staff would need to be trained in telemarketing and there would be the expense of all the extra salaries. In addition, there would be the additional office space that would be needed. It is all further expense that you could do without especially at these difficult financial times when a considerable amount of companies are cutting back.  It is so much cheaper to outsource to a professional telemarketing service.

The telemarketing services have in place qualified and knowledgeable staff, they already have a customer base and a record of customers on a telemarketing service list and they will have listings in place of customers to call who have in the past been interested in similar products to your own products.

The telemarketers are trained to get the attention of potential customers and obtain their interest, making the leads that will be passed onto your company for you to follow up.

Telemarketing has gained a little bit of a bad reputation over the years, but many companies have found out that by outsourcing to a good quality telemarketing service, they have a quality service they can trust and help build their own good customer base for their business.

Have you ever thought if your business would benefit from using a call centre? You might be a one man business or a large company and a call centre could definitely benefit you. 

You might find it difficult to answer calls when you are working so have to rely of an answer phone system or voice mail.  A recent survey suggested that callers would rather talk to a real live person than leave a message and with a call centre working on your behalf, all your calls would be answered in a quick and efficient way by the polite and friendly staff at the call centre.

You could be a business that is finding it difficult to handle a larger volume of calls maybe at busy times of the day, such as lunch times, staff sickness or in holiday times, or you may just need someone to answer the calls in out of office times or at weekends and Bank holiday.  A call centre could do all of this.

On the other hand you might be a business that is trying to cut down on unnecessary costs; the call centre is proving to be a very cost effective way of doing this, when you consider the extra salaries and equipment that is needed to employ extra staff.

It doesn’t matter where you are based or where your office is, a call centre can operate anywhere in the UK. They are usually based in the larger cities and the operators are local people.

A Call centre is a place where customers’ calls are answered by fully trained operators, a successful call centre depends very much on the staff it employs, so all call centre staff are very carefully selected. They are continually monitored in order to make sure all the customers receive an excellent customer service.

You may have heard of the term “virtual PA.”Smaller or medium sized companies could benefit from a virtual PA, also sometimes called a virtual receptionist. A virtual PA is more cost effective than a physical PA that you would hire. A virtual PA can also add a great deal of value and level of professionalism to your business.

With a physical PA, you have the cost of their salary to deal with, as well as the cost of office rental space, the cost of covering their holidays and sick cover, computer equipment, training and development, and so on.

With a virtual PA, they can adapt to your business accordingly, with a flat business rate per month, so you always have the level of cover you require. They are also fully qualified so you don’t have to worry about training them or trying to figure out how you will afford the latest technology they need to do their job.

At any time of the day or night, a virtual PA can answer all of your calls so you don’t miss a business opportunity again.

The PA can also act on behalf of your company for telemarketing purposes which enables your business to learn more about your customer base and then react accordingly.

A virtual assistant can make bookings, take orders, appointments, and keep your business running even when you’re out of the office, like travelling or in a meeting.

The level of customer service you deliver to your customers is second to none because of this professional service.

Many companies don’t think they need a PA. However, you will be surprised by the level of commitment, flexibility and also the high quality service your company will receive by hiring a virtual PA.  You can save money, and give your business the professional edge all in one go.

If you are the owner or manager of a company that may be in need of some advertising to boost your business, one way you could do this is to outsource to a telemarketing service.

A telemarketing service is able to help advertise and represent your company. 

Some businesses might not have the resources to advertise their own business, but by outsourcing to a telemarketing service they have the up to date equipment and are fully up to date with the current trends in the market. 

Because the business world is always changing the telemarketing service is designed to change along with them.

Some companies use the TV or radio to advertise their company, or an advertisement in a newspaper. These are fine in some cases, but by using the telemarketing service the fully trained telephone salespeople that work in a call centre will use scripts that can be changed easily at any time to suit the campaign.

Because the operators are speaking to customers on the phone they can generate instant feedback and customers know that their comments are being heard by a real live person.

Recent statistics have shown that customer would rather talk to a real person rather than an automated message, it is friendlier and the customers have the comfort of knowing the company is concerned about its clients and their comments.

A call centre can offer many services not just telemarketing, they can also be used to take orders, and process orders, answer the calls even provide a technical service assistance. They can also produce invoices and provide a debt recovery service.

Whatever service you may require the telemarketing service can provide a tailor made service to fit in with your companies needs, and as your business changes the telemarketing service can adapt accordingly.

Call centres operate on a 24 hour, 7 days a week 365 day a year basis. They are large offices usually based in the larger cities in the UK and are staffed by locally trained staff.  Call centres offer a wide range of services.  You might only want the call centre to answer your calls for a couple of hours a day in your busy times, or in out of office hours at weekends. Whatever you require the call centre can make a tailor made service for you. 

You will be allocated an account manager and you can discuss your requirements with them and these can change as your business changes.

All the staff are fully trained in telephone answering and will always answer in a polite and friendly manner, they can answer with your company script. 

Calls are answered quickly usually within a couple of rings and no caller will be put on hold or will be left waiting.  In a recent survey, customers said they would rather speak to a real person than leave a message on an answering service or voice mail.  Many callers will hang up the phone and contact another company rather than leave a message. How much business do you lose through not being there to answer the phone?

Customer service is a very important role in business today, and the first point of contact is usually the phone. A call centre can offer and excellent customer service relationship, which will give your customers the confidence to deal with you again and also recommend you to other potential new business.

By outsourcing your telephone calls to a call centre it will take the pressure off of you especially in the present economic climate, leaving you to get on with the more important matter of running your business.

Call centre operative spend many hours in training before they come in contact with the customers.  You can feel rest assured that each operator is professional and handles your company’s calls properly.

There are also many jobs in a call centre, you could work as a Customer Service operator or you could join the Technical service team. 

Every call centre has a number of Supervisors who look after a small team of operators, the list goes on, all these people go to make the call centre run smoothly.

One of the main responsibilities of a call centre is to answer inbound telephone calls, and the operators can answer hundreds of calls a day. All calls must be answered quickly in a polite and friendly manner and the operator’s job is to do this and solve any queries the customers may have.  It is essential therefore that an operator can work well under pressure.

The call centre operators are representing a company so when a customer calls, the operator is the first point of contact and they must create a good first impression. This could be the start of a long business relationship so it is very important that the customer gets the correct information from the start.

The customer will then go away with the feeling they are dealing with a very professional and efficient company.

Call centres employ full time staff, not part time employees. This means everyone is dedicated to a full service and each operator gets to know the company well.  It’s not always a 9 to 5 job as most call centres operate a 24 hour, 7 days a week service, so call centre operators will usually work in a shift rota. This means you will always have someone covering your business’ calls.

A person working from home could find that by outsourcing to a virtual office system many problems could be solved. 

You may be receiving hundreds of calls a week, maybe daily. By outsourcing you leave all the telephone answering to the virtual office staff, which will leave you to get on with the important issues of running you own business.

If you are working from home you can’t always employ extra staff. If your business starts to expand to rent office space can be a very expensive business, along with all the other expense that goes with hiring staff and all the extra equipment that would be needed.

Customer services is a very important role in business, you can’t always be on hand to answer all your calls and recent reports suggest that customers would rather speak to a real person, rather than leave a message on an answer phone or voicemail. 

With the virtual office all your calls will be answered, and the staff at the virtual office work a 24 hour 7 days a week shift system, so no callers will be left waiting. 

The operators are all fully trained local people and they will be fully briefed on your business, and all your customers will be treated by polite and friendly real people. 

Customer Service is one of the most important roles in business, and customers need to feel that there is someone on the other end of the phone who cares, from the very first phone call to the closing of the deal; customers will always feel important to your company and more likely to return again and again.

Nothing is worse than losing potential business because the telephone wasn’t answered whether it is your existing customers or potential new business trying to get hold of you. Outsourcing to a virtual office will mean no telephone call will ever be missed again!

A call centre provides professional telephone answering services making sure all your business calls are answered quickly and in a friendly and courteous manner by a real person.  Based here in the UK they can offer a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year service.

Whether it is just a telephone service with your messages being taken or if you require the full virtual receptionist, the call centres will be able to provide a tailor made service for your company, depending on your needs and requirements.

The call centre staff are all fully trained telephone operators and will be able to offer an affordable and cost effective service.  You might be just a small one man band business or a large organisation and a call centre will be able to offer you a bespoke service especially designed around your company.

A call centre can offer much more than just a telephone answering service, they can become a virtual office and they are the first point of contact for your customers, taking orders on the telephone or online they can be a sales support desk and emergency response.

The call centres have invested highly into some of the most high end and innovative computer systems so are able to provide a simple answering service right the way through to some of the most complicated 24 hour 7 days a week service, providing all the time and excellent customer service for your clients.

Customer services is probably the most important role in the business world, if you don’t give a good service then your customers will go elsewhere - so you need to get this right from the offset. A recent study showed that when a customer calls and is greeted with an automated system asking them to leave a message 80% will hang up rather than stay on the line. How much business has been lost because of this? In the present climate no business can afford not to get their customer service right, and by outsourcing to a call centre it takes all of this worry away so core business activities can be focussed on.

Many companies cannot justify hiring a full time receptionist to sit around in the office waiting for the telephone to ring. Small businesses owners or professionals need to be out working to generate more work.

You can’t always be near the phone when it rings, so many of your calls might go unanswered, this will give the wrong impression to your customer. It is well known that customers would rather talk to a real person than to leave a message on an answering service, and recent research has stated that 80% of people will hang up rather than leave a message.

However many calls you receive a day, whether this is a few or a few hundred, call handling services from a virtual PA will be there to answer every call your company receives. It will be entirely up to you as to what service you require and a call handling service will be tailor made to suit your business. You might just require calls to be answered in your busy times, at weekends or in out of office hours. A call handling centre can also provide other services, such as order taking, planning engineer’s visits, brochure requests; it is like having your own Personal Assistant working for you!

All calls are important and every call could be potential business, in the present climate you cannot afford to lose business because a call wasn’t answered. All the call centres are staffed by fully trained individuals and work on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year, so you will have no worries, all your calls will be answered quickly and in a polite and friendly manner. This will also promote your company in a good light with an excellent customer service, which will set you apart from your competitors.

How much time will you be saving yourself by letting a call handling service take the worry out of answering your calls? You won’t have the extra expense of recruitment, with the extra salaries and equipment needed either, so you can just get on with your core business.

Many people believe that in as little as ten years time the offices as we know today will no longer exist, they will be replaced by the virtual assistant.

More and more companies are finding this to be a much more cost effective way of moving forward in the tough business world.

Businesses are always looking for a more productive and cost effective way of handling their telephone calls and administration, by switching to a virtual assistant this can be all done remotely.

Using the virtual assistant, your company will be in the safe hands of fully trained staff, and they have all the latest communications and information technology to make your business run smoothly and in a truly professional way.

It is so important in the current economic climate to have an excellent customer service; the virtual assistant staff will always answer the phone quickly in a friendly and polite manner. No calls will be left waiting on hold and no customers will have to leave messages on an answer phone system. 

In a recent report customers would rather talk to a real person than leave messages, in fact customer will probably hang up the phone. This could mean you may have lost business to one of your competitors.

The virtual assistant can be based in any part of the country, and with the experienced staff in place and the technical equipment needed for the use of audio and video conferencing it will mean all parties can take part in meetings. This also saves the expense of transporting members of the team to one location which can run into hundreds or thousands of pounds.  Once the meetings have finished, the member of the team can be disbanded just as quickly as they were formed.

When outsourcing your telephone answering service to a call centre you probably wonder who it is who actually answers your calls. These are usually highly trained and efficient call operators.

Within an average call centre, there may be around 50 operators. Each may have slightly different roles. When a call comes in that is intended for your company, their phone will come up with the necessary information. This allows the operator to answer the call in your company name.

Of course, this person would have been professionally trained beforehand so they know the nature of your calls.

On answering the call, the caller explains what they would like. The operator uses their knowledge of the company and their training to determine what to do with the caller next. In some cases, they may have been directed to transfer the call to a person within your company. In other cases, they may have been told to take down messages. Either way, the operator is friendly and professional, dealing with the request properly and giving the best impression of your company.

Sometimes an operator may also take a booking for your company, or book an appointment. It really depends on what you would like from your call centre as to how the operator handles your calls.

The operators are all full time staff, so they will get to know your callers when they ring. The more they work for you, the more they can adapt to your changing needs and understand your full requirements.

A call operator will also answer your calls within a few rings, in order that your callers never have to wait or be put on hold. You can ask your operators to answer calls when you’re particularly busy, like in summer holidays when your staff may be running thin on the ground. In this case, several operators would work for your company and the call centre would adapt to your changing demands. This means you can achieve the best telephone answering services possible with a professional call centre.

The telephone is generally considered to be the first point of contact for customers when they are calling your business. How you answer the phone will form those initial and all important first impressions.

Just some of the benefits of a telephone answering service are that;

1.  All the operators are fully trained on the correct way to answer the telephone and all the incoming calls will be answered quickly usually by the third ring.
2. The operator will answer your customer’s calls with your company name and there will always be a warm and friendly voice leaving your customer knowing they are speaking to the right company!  This is the very first impression so the initial call is extremely important.
3. Operators are fully trained. Experts are of the opinion that keeping the voice at a moderate level and speaking clearly is very important, so the callers are able to understand more easily, and the operator won’t have to keep repeating their conversation.
4. Operators are polite. Being polite at all times and never using slang or jargon is important.  For example, they are trained not to say “OK” or “No problem” instead they will project a more confident response like “Certainly” or “Very well” and they are trained that on even days when they are feeling  low, they will answer the phone with a positive attitude.
5. Any telephone messages will be taken accurately and passed on timely and if, for example, the operator cannot understand the message being given, then the caller will be asked to repeat the message and ask to spell any words making sure the entire message is correct before finishing the call.

A telephone answering service is for all your business calls where they will be answered by first class operators, giving your company a first rate customer service.

In the UK, telemarketing is also known as telesales or inside sales and is where a member of the sales team deals with the process of direct marketing, by seeking possible or potential clients to purchase or use their services initially over the telephone.

If the telephone call is successful, the next step could be a follow up face to face meeting or by using cutting edge technology via a web conferencing call.

There are various forms of telemarketing, one of the more regular ones being a recorded sales pitch that automatically plays when a call is answered.

After some positive marketing called outbound telemarketing, the sales team directly contact potential or existing customers. Similarly, inbound telemarketing is conducted by receiving incoming sales calls generated by an advertising campaign.

Telemarketing can be used as a sales tool by convincing customers to use their service or product or talking to customers and gathering information.

Much of this process is handled from a call centre by experienced operators and can be one of the most effective ways of marketing your business.

If handled correctly your call centre can produce between 5% and 10% of positive responses which is much higher than direct cold calling and also considered to be more effective than producing a mail shot with fliers.

When using a call centre for your company’s telemarketing requirements, you are able to make direct contact with your potential customers. Customers that will bring much needed revenue to your business, where similarly you can find out immediately what their opinions are on the services and products your company provides.

Furthermore, they can detail how you can improve your business and services as the call centre operators are in direct contact with your target customers and are sufficiently experienced to ask the right question at the right.

Once you have used the call centre service for your telemarketing requirements you will wonder how your business ever succeeded without it!

Call handling is becoming a common term in business.

Traditional call handling meant employing a full time receptionist, which is now a luxury for most businesses that many companies are finding hard to justify. This is mainly due to the expense of it all. This is the case especially if it is a small business where money can be tight but call handling is such an essential part of the business.

We can all understand that it is impossible to be near the phone all the time when it rings so call handling is vital. By not having a telephone receptionist, many calls can go unanswered. This is not good as it leaves a poor impression to your clientele or callers. All of your calls are important, you cannot distinguish what you need to answer and what you don’t. In the present climate you cannot afford to lose business because a call wasn’t answered.

Every business is different, with come receiving just a few calls or a few hundred calls per day. This means a call handling service which isn’t expensive is required.

Luckily, many call centres offer call handling services for just this reason. They will be there to answer every call that your company receives and the service can be tailored to suit your business so if you have periods of heavier calls then this is managed accordingly.

A call handling centre can also provide other services too. This includes things like order taking, planning site visits, brochure request and so on. Many compare it to having your own Personal Assistant working for you.

Call handling centres are staffed by fully trained professional people who can work on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year basis.

The additional benefits are that this will also promote your company in an excellent light with an impressive level of customer service, a professional service which will set you apart from your competitors.

There are a considerable number of benefits that a call centre can offer and numerous companies are starting to appreciate and recognise the enhancement to their business. This also assists their clients who are now looking to apply on a longer term basis.

The modern business world is currently an extremely difficult environment to trade where businesses are increasingly looking to reduce their costs, by seeking to outsource their call services as an immediate way to make some savings.

By outsourcing, companies can reduce their levels of staff that are conventionally needed to control their business. This can be from just receiving calls in the form of a telephone receptionist through to a large and varying range of services.

Precise and detailed capabilities can be made available when outsourced which really can add value to your companies requirements as the skilled staff can advise of the current business trends from your business sector. They can also review how other companies, which are your competition, have succeeded in specific areas which is invaluable information in this day and age where you must compete successfully.

The particular level of support required is a key area in today’s modern working environment when the day can become chaotic. Any exact specifications your business may require can be fulfilled, like a straightforward telephone answering service or the support of a complete section.

The level of participation can be modified at specific moments when you are extraordinarily busy.

For example, this may be the daily lunchtime periods, when regular staff falls ill at short notice or for cover over the summer holiday period.

There is a huge flexibility by using the services of a call centre. You can literally be travelling the world, attending a business meeting or even spending the day relaxing at home but your much valued customers will always see your online presence. This is where call centre staff are professionally responding to their telephone enquiries.

Using the services of a call handling centre is like having one central office that handles all your business calls, or just like you have your own receptionist or personnel assistant (PA) just for your company, without all the additional expense.

All the calls are answered by fully trained staff; the call centre is usually based in the larger cities in large open plan offices where the operators work from work stations within the office space.

There is an increasing number of companies that use the servicers of a call handling centre, the typical business can include utility companies and mail order catalogues retailers and customer support. They can handle large volumes of calls, at any time of the day or night as they work a 24 hour 7 day a week shift pattern. Because of the different time zones throughout the world when one country closes for business another one opens, your business cannot afford to miss out on calls and by using the services of a call handling centre no calls will be missed.

All the telephone calls are answered promptly and always by a real person and in a friendly and courteous manner, so no customer will have to leave a message on an answering machine again.

The call handling centre is also known as the central point of your business from which all your customer contacts can be managed, our call centre staff can build up an excellent relationship with them that will improve your customer services.

At a call handling centre they can offer a wide range of services not just telephone answering services. They can offer customer enquiries on products and can even include debt management and telemarketing and many more.

Your company will be allocated an account manager who with you will build a custom made service to suit your business requirements that can be changed at any time as your business changes.

Over the last twelve months there has been a significant increase in the demand for companies using a virtual office. They are becoming increasingly popular for small to medium sized businesses, particularly in today’s economic times, outsourcing to a virtual office is proving to be a very cost effective method. You won’t have the added expense of additional staff, and the extra equipment that would be needed.

One of the main benefits of a virtual office is that it can be used in the early days of a business as it grows, even before the company has established itself to a permanent address.

The virtual office is an office based outside your business, with professional fully trained staff working for you. 

The staff will be fully briefed on your business and can be available for just telephone answering services to more of a receptionist role. They can be the face of your business, giving your customers an excellent first impression of your company, which in turn will make your customers happy and more likely to return to you again and again.

You might only need the services of a virtual office for a couple of hours a day. Whatever your requirements are the virtual office can be rented on an hourly, daily, weekly or monthly basis. You only pay for what you need.

Many companies that run the virtual offices are based in various parts of the country so no matter where you are there will be a virtual office available for your business, staffed by locally trained staff.

Most companies are always seeking out new ways to make their businesses more productive and cost effective; one way of doing this is to swap your expensive offices to a virtual office run in a prime location.

One of the many services of a call centre is a telemarketing service, the operators are fully trained to be able to conduct these interviews over the phone for you. They can be cold calling which will mean that the person being called has not requested the call, or they can be made from your own customer lists as an after sales service.

The call centre operators will always be polite, courteous and are similarly fully qualified and skilled in telemarketing services. This means you can gain the feedback you need on your business but your time is not consumed doing so.

One of the advantages of using this service is that your customers can be made aware of the other services your company has to offer as it is a very common misconception that you can only provide the specific service that you did previously, but in reality there can be many additional services offered.

If you don’t get a sale immediately it is something that your customers can come back to and you may make that potential sale at a later date; it also provides your customers with a more interactive and personal sales service.

By calling your existing customers you can also answer any practical questions the clients may have regarding their products, and this can be a more in-depth way of explaining any technical or specialised issues they may have. Attention is given to the operators building up a rapport with your client, giving a first rate and personalised customer service.

The telemarketing services can also provide your company with more sales and generate appointments that you can follow up and make a personal call to them.

Making calling from the telephone can be an advantage as the telephone can reach more people in a day than having a sales person on the road making cold calls or visiting existing customers.

There is also a significant cost involved by running a sales person ‘on the road’; these sales people can concentrate on making quality visits to customers. 

The telemarketing service can be a very effective way for your business to increase your profits and to promote your company.

Many companies are deciding to outsource message taking services because they feel they cannot conduct this efficiently and professionally in house. It is a service that is hard to get right, but with the right qualified operators in a call centre, and a bespoke message taking package, you can enjoy a cost effective message taking service which means you never have to miss out on a business opportunity again.

A telephone answering service is managed in a large call centre. All of the operators working within this call centre are fully trained and qualified, able to answer unique telephone calls from a range of your clients any time of the d ay or night. This means you can also trade internationally.

You may have a range of clients calling you for different reasons. This may include taking bookings, dealing with emergencies, or other general enquiries.

As the call centre gets to know your business, the operators will also get to know your clients and this can help to represent a professional brand image for your company.

The high quality telephone message taking service means that your business answers and deals with each and every caller quickly and effectively, so your customer service is in top top condition.

After each message is taken, the operator will either email this to you or phone you directly with the caller if the nature of the call is urgent. You can then deal with the caller in your own time and when you are ready. This is very useful for business people who are always on the go, travelling or in meetings and who often miss business calls because they cannot always get to the phone.

The high quality service encourages your customers to come back and deal with you time after time. This is because they know they are getting a good quality service. In these difficult economic times, it is the small things like message taking which make all the difference.

A recently published survey stated that 58 per cent of UK workers were of the opinion that today’s offices would not actually exist in ten years time, so where are they vanishing to?

A virtual office seems to be the way forward for many businesses, allowing staff or your virtual secretaries (as they will become known), to spend increasing amounts of time working remotely due to the impacts of modern technology.

Company bosses are continually searching for increasingly effective and productive ways of handling their business and at ways of changing from their expensive offices to a virtual workforce, working from their virtual offices with most of their business activities being conducted remotely.

A virtual secretary is an employee that remotely depends on communications and information technology tools to their full impact to help assist you to run your business.

However, there are business managers that still do not know how to run a virtual office with many staff not having the necessary skills to automatically be on their game from the first day of employment. This is because they do not have a clear understanding of the requirements of working as a virtual PA or virtual secretary.

Your virtual secretary can simplify some of your day to day tasks by creating your virtual office and will firstly automate the everyday tasks linking and interacting them with your online systems.

It is important to focus initially on the time consuming processes or the jobs that seem more prone to operator error, which is where your virtual secretary will be in their element.

In addition, they will standardise all your internal forms, company reports, contracts, approval forms and make them available to all other virtual secretaries within your organisation if applicable so all that is required to complete any of these would be a computer.

Many of today’s companies know that they need to be forward thinking, and telemarketing is part of this process. Conducting this in house can be time consuming and requires expertise. You may not have the time or knowledge to conduct your own telemarketing and it can also demand certain recording equipment or technology.

A company must remain focused on their target market and current business activities, adapting to industry changes whenever necessary. Without doing this, you will trap your company in the past and you will not be able to compete with other, similar companies.

With virtual receptionists, whom you can obtain from a service in a call centre, your business can conduct effective lead generation and telemarketing, telephone as well as letter and email campaigns.

These campaigns are designed to update existing or dormant clients on your database on your new products or services or any discounts you are running. You can inform clients of what you’re about, and why they should choose you to do business with rather than anyone else.

 The virtual receptionist will also conduct appointment setting, stimulating existing or inactive customers which allow you to focus on your other business requirements.

The virtual receptionists are highly trained and qualified operators, who are adaptable and flexible because they have worked across many similar campaigns in the past.

The experienced virtual receptionists strive to increase your client base and, in turn, your sales and profits. They can create high quality leads with the local or corporate decision makers for you to follow up. They can make appointments for you to attend as well, giving you more time to plan.

They can also amplify your brand awareness, something vital in this competitive world for company recognition.

As the call centre virtual receptionists know about your services and your products, they will be instructed to present the agreed brief knowing exactly what you aim to achieve.

The call centre has come a long way from where it all started years ago, it is no longer just a telephone answering service. A call centre can provide a bespoke service that will cater for the individual needs of your company.

One of the main services is to provide your company with an excellent customer service. The telephone is the first point of call for most customers so first impressions are so very important. If your customers are happy with the service they are getting they are more than likely to return again and again.  

The staff at a call centre will be fully briefed on your entire business requirement and will be able to offer a full telesales service which could include taking customer orders over the phone or via the internet.

A technical support function can also be applied that will go hand in hand with the telesales service, this service would offer assistance with the products that are being supplied and any technical support needed  this can be an ongoing service.

Once an order has been placed the next stage would be to despatch the product to the customer, or arrange for the customer to collect, this can also be arranged through the call centre.

And finally the invoicing and the collection of the money for the product; the call centre can probably offer a full debt recovery service.

So whether your company needs all the services a call centre has to offer or just an overflow service, if your regular switchboard staff are otherwise engaged, then calls can be transferred seamlessly to the call centre and messages can be taken by the call centre operators. These will then be sent back to you or your staff by email or SMS text for you to follow up. What could be easier?

The old idea of a call centre is something of the past. A UK call centre is a large building, based in a town near you with perhaps around 50 operators in them. A call centre can add a great deal of value to a business.

The old stigma of call centres is that they are based abroad, with an unhelpful team of low paid staff and a poor telephone line quality. However, this is no longer the case!

Each operator may have slightly different roles. The operators are all highly trained and qualified, working full time for the call centre.

When a call comes in the call centre that is intended for your business, the operator’s telephone system will come up with the necessary information so that they can answer the call properly and professionally.

On answering the call, the caller explains why they have called and the operator uses their knowledge of the company and their qualified experience to determine what to do with the caller next. This may involve transferring the call or in some cases, the operator can take a booking or appointment.

It really depends on what you would like from your call centre as to how the operator handles your calls. It is a flexible, bespoke service.

A call operator will also answer your calls very quickly, so that your callers never have to wait or be put on hold. This is something many callers can get frustrated with when calling other companies.

You can ask your operators to adapt the service and answer calls when you need, this may be in times like the summer holidays when you have less staff in the office. This means you can achieve the best telephone answering services possible with a professional call centre.

Telephone answering is one of the most important roles in your business; here are 10 advantages to telephone answering services.

1. The telephone is the first point of call for most companies so it is very important to create the right impression. A telephone service will create this first impression professionally.
2. All of your telephone calls can be outsourced to a telephone answering service; so no business opportunity is missed.
3. All staff in the call centres are fully trained staff, friendly and polite. They are dedicated to your business. All the staff will be briefed and will answer with your company name.
4. The call centre operates a 24 hour 7 days a week service, so every incoming call will be answered quickly even in the middle of the night – great for trading between time zones. Business never sleeps so as one country closes for the day another one is just beginning to open. You can be on hand even when it is night time!
5. No caller will have to leave a message on an answer phone or voice mail.
6. The telephone answering services can offer many other services for your business, not just telephone answering. They can offer a full receptionist service or Personal Assistant (PA) too, as well as marketing and telemarketing or data collection.
7.  The telephone answering service can make a tailor made service to fit in with you and this can be changed as your business changes. This means it is highly flexible.
8. It is cost effective! Many companies are finding that the telephone answering service has become such a cost effective way of handling all your business calls, much cheaper than employing someone in your own office to take calls as you don’t have the added expense of extra salaries and the extra equipment that would be needed.
9. You can get on with your business, without worrying about answering calls.
10. Everyone else is doing  it, so make sure you improve your business this way, too!

Telemarketing is an important part of any business. Many smaller companies fail to conduct sufficient telemarketing, because they simply do not have the time. It may seem time consuming, but telemarketing delivers results and gets you thinking about YOUR customer base, and how YOUR business can meet their changing needs. 

You also may not have the time or knowledge to conduct your own telemarketing within your company and it can also require certain recording equipment or technology, again an additional expense you might not consider.

However, with a call centre that has virtual receptionists; your business can conduct effective lead generation and telemarketing.

These campaigns, which you have full control over, are designed to help your business update its existing or dormant clients on your database. 

The operator working on your telemarketing campaigns are highly trained and qualified, and are experienced because they have worked across many similar campaigns in the past.

 The virtual operator will call the clients and update details, informing them of your current deals, new product line, or a popular service they might be interested in.

Some of the best clients are those you already have done business with, but many companies fail to take advantage of this.

The operators at the call centre can also conduct other services, such as appointment setting for your business. This enables you to focus on sealing the deal and making the sales whilst the appointments are stacked up for you.

The telemarketing campaign can amplify your brand awareness, something vital in this competitive world for business recognition. By learning what your customers want, you can strive to meet their needs.

As the call centre works with you and begins to know about your services and your products, they can suggest further campaigns which they believe will work for you.

Employing a full time receptionist is a luxury that an increasing number of companies are finding hard to justify, as often they are just waiting for the telephone to ring. This is the case especially if it is a small business where the professionals are busy generating more work.

It is impossible to be near the phone all the time when it rings so, by not having a telephone receptionist, many calls can go unanswered leaving a poor impression to your existing clientele or potential new customers. Similarly, it is well known that customers would rather talk to a real person than to leave a message on an answering service with recently published research has found that 80% of people will hang up rather than leave a message.

All businesses are different and your business may receive just a few calls or a few hundred calls per day so a call handling service will be there to answer every call your company receives and the service can be tailored to suit your business.

Your needs may just require calls to be answered in your busy times, at weekends or in out of office hours. A call handling centre can also provide other additional services, such as order taking, planning engineer’s visits, brochure requests; it is like having your own Personal Assistant working for you.

All of your calls are important to you and every call could be potential business for your company and, in the present climate you cannot afford to lose business because a call wasn’t answered.

Call handling centres are staffed by fully trained professional people and can work on a 24 hour 7 days a week 365 days a year basis for you if required, so you will have no worries with all your calls being answered quickly, politely and in a friendly manner.

The additional benefits are that this will also promote your company in an excellent light with an impressive level of customer service, which will set you apart from your competitors.

Many people use the term “contact centre” and “call centre” but both provide similar kinds of services. A contact centre can manage all of the client’s business through a variety of ways such as the telephone, faxes, letters, email and online chat.

All the staff working in a contact centre are experienced and fully trained, not just in answering the telephone but in all aspect of customer services and they will be fully briefed on your business. As the contact centres work twenty four hours a day and seven days a week, you will never miss another business opportunity again.

Many large companies are using the facilities of the contact centres, letting them handle and manage all their customer accounts. They can offer a range of services such as the help desk; where customers can call in and ask questions concerning technical issues with regards to their equipment or software, and obtaining immediate answers.

A contact centre can also  offer an excellent customer service facility,  customers can ask questions on certain issues regarding their account or payment and billing, this service can also be extended to responding  to customer complaints and general queries.

An additional service that the contact centres can provide is in the sales and marketing division, these can be through cold calling, live web chat and mail shots.

Even if your company is a small one man business, you can hand over your clients account to a contact centre and let the friendly staff take over for you, enabling you to be able to get on with your core business without the worry that you are missing calls and potential business opportunities.

Many companies whether large, multinational, small to medium, small or just a one man band they have found the enormous benefits of outsourcing to a contact centre, they don’t have the worry of calls not being answered and they know their customers have received an excellent service. This is vital in this modern world where reputation is everything.

Many of today’s companies and organisations are aware that they need to be forward thinking, remaining focused on their current business activities but at the same time remaining acutely aware that they must not allow the channel of future leads and potential customers to dry up.

There are outbound call centres where their services include the benefits in their core business of qualified lead generation and telemarketing, telephone, letter and email campaigns to update and reactivate existing or dormant clients on your database, following up on direct mail and sales marketing campaigns, appointment setting, and stimulating existing or inactive customers which allow you to focus on the current business requirements.

The outbound call centre employ very highly trained and qualified operators who are adaptable and flexible having worked across many similar campaigns with equal effectiveness bring with them

The greatly experienced and highly skilled operators all strive to increase your client base and amplify your companies brand awareness, following up on mail shots, targeted marketing campaigns and new product launches, market research and database cleansing, maximizing your business's Return on Investment, generating high quality leads with the local or corporate decision makers utilizing the existing or targeted databases, canvass potential customers to arrange appointments on behalf of your sales representatives,  converting sales leads into actual business which includes cross selling and up selling together with identifying and delivering new markets for your products and services.

It is a well known business fact that the success of any sales campaign is generally measured by actual results. Therefore a telemarketing company will deliver these results through their state-of-the-art technology together with their industry knowledge, management expertise.

By using skilled and professional telemarketers across every client campaign that they work on will help your business achieve these results.  

As the call centre operators know about your services and your products and they will be instructed to promote and present the agreed brief knowing exactly what you aim to achieve. Keeping dialogue open, they will take full advantage on your return on Investment and the positive prospects for your business.

A new year brings in fresh ideas, a clean slate and new business plans. So how does your telemarketing rate for this year? Telemarketing is vital for business progression and forward thinking, keeping ahead of the competition and helping to form a brand’s identity.

Conducting telemarketing in house can be time consuming and requires expertise. Your staff may not have the time or even the knowledge to conduct your own telemarketing. What’s more, it can also demand certain recording equipment or technology which not every company has.

Telemarketing is vital so a company must remain focused on their target market and current business activities, allowing you to adapt to industry changes whenever necessary.

With outsourcing a call centre to conduct telemarketing, your business can conduct effective lead generation through telephone as well as letter and email campaigns.

The call centre will conduct appointment setting, stimulating existing or inactive customers which allow you to focus on your other business requirements. They can also amplify your brand awareness, something vital in this competitive world for company recognition.

These campaigns are designed to your company, and are bespoke to your needs. It means you can update existing or dormant clients on your database on your new products or services.

With telemarketing, you can inform clients of what you’re about, and why they should choose you to do business with rather than any of your competitors.

The experienced operators at the call centres strive to increase your client base to boost your sales and profits.

They are experienced in creating high quality leads for you to follow up. They can make appointments for you to attend as well, giving you more time to plan and focus on the actual meeting.

Telemarketing should be your business’ priority for 2012!

As a small or freelance sized business, you may not have the professional headquarters to your business that your customers expect. Indeed, you may be based at home!

This can be difficult, as you want to showcase the most professional image of your business. This encourages more customers and repeat business too.

A company must remain focused on their target market, adapting to industry changes whenever necessary. Customers are more and more wanting to deal with larger companies, as they trust them more and think they have a more reliable and solid reputation. This isn’t the case; smaller businesses can deliver just as well as larger ones!

With virtual offices and a virtual address, which you can obtain from a service in a call centre, your business can give off the professional image you desire and your customers need never know you are based from home.

All correspondence will be sent to the PO BOX address, or the business park address, and then forwarded to you. This means you can head all your letters, emails, invoices, etc, with the business address and not your home address.

With a virtual office, you might also have a virtual receptionist work for you. This person will conduct appointment setting, bookings, and general answering of calls to give your virtual office the extra professional touch you need.

The virtual receptionists are highly trained and qualified operators, who are adaptable and flexible because they have worked across many similar services in the past.

The experienced virtual receptionists strive to increase your client base and make your business succeed. They will always answer in your company name, and make your callers feel like they are dealing with a really professional company. This is just what you need to survive in the current climate!

Many businesses in the UK realise that in order to compete properly in the marketplace, and especially within the current economic situation, companies have to operate through the night in order to gain sales and complete workloads.

This can be very difficult especially if you are a smaller company. Staff are hard to come by and you may not even be able to afford to hire extra staff to work through the night on your behalf. Some businesses decided to outsource certain services from a call centre. Call centre services involve anything from answering the phone at any time of the day or night, to making outgoing calls, to taking bookings, to providing lone worker protection, to setting up an emergency hotline.

Some businesses have managed to make lucrative deals by trading internationally. This is very valuable and can help your brand on a global scale. However, when working within different time zones it can be very difficult to ensure that you always on hand to answer your client or suppliers’ calls. You do not want them to think that you do not care about their calls or them, but equally you cannot stay up all through the night waiting for them to contact you. A call centre service can ensure that every one of your important calls is answered and any messages are responded to promptly.

When you return to the office in the morning, any important or outstanding messages will be waiting for you. This means that you know who has called you and when. This allows you to schedule your work day properly, and deal with any urgent matters instantly. This can build stronger relationships with your overseas partners and encourages a healthy business overall.

Our world is fast becoming a 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks year business. Whether you like this or not, you need to change and adapt your business in order to cater for the growing demand of business opportunities that may fall into your lap when you're not in the office.

Telephone answering is one of the most important roles in your business; if you get this wrong you could lose potential business opportunities. This is something no business can afford to do in the present economic climate.

The telephone is the first point of call for most companies so it is very important to create the right impression.

All your telephone calls can be outsourced to a telephone answering service; this will mean that all your business calls will be answered in a polite and friendly manner by one of the call centres fully trained staff. 

All the staff will be briefed in your business and will answer with your company name. The call centre operates a 24 hour 7 days a week service, so every incoming call will be answered quickly, and no caller will have to leave a message on an answer phone or voice mail.

Because the telephone answering service operates the 24 hour service they are able to take calls from all over the world, business never sleeps so as one country closes for the day another one is just beginning to open.

The telephone answering service can offer many other services for your business, not just telephone answering. They can offer a full receptionist service or Personal Assistant (PA) too.

 Whatever service your business requires the telephone answering service can make a tailor made service to fit in with you and this can be changed as your business changes.

Many companies are finding that the telephone answering service has become such a cost effective way of handling all your business calls, much cheaper than employing someone in your own office to take calls as you don’t have the added expense of extra salaries and the extra equipment that would be needed.

A virtual assistant is something more and more companies are deciding to invest in. A virtual assistant can give the business the edge you need to deliver a high quality customer service whilst also projecting a very professional image of your company.

Anyone calling your business will think they are dealing with a competent, first class service. For you, you have the benefits of knowing every one of your calls are answered and any messages, bookings or appointments are also taken and put onto your diary.

For a small business, or even a one man business, this means you can get on with running your company whilst the virtual assistant takes care of administration and details.

You also have the benefit of knowing that the virtual assistants are answering every call and email, where required, so you don’t have to worry about missing a business opportunity.

Many calls to a business are also time wasting. Cold callers or sales calls waste your time and this is valuable time which you should be spending on other things. A virtual assistant can quickly and politely eliminate these time wasting calls so that you don’t have to be bothered by them. Of course, if the virtual assistant, who gets to know your business well, thinks that an opportunity may interest you then they will let you know at a more convenient time.

Virtual assistants adapt to the changing nature of your business. When times are quieter, or busier, they can anticipate this and step up their level of service accordingly.

One business based in Manchester said, “I decided to use a virtual assistant for answering my calls to take bookings. I couldn’t lose business opportunities and my virtual assistant ensured I always received the appointments I needed by answering each call and following up where necessary. They even make outbound calls on my behalf when I am running discounts, to ask previous clients if they would be interested. All of this adds up to a really professional, worthwhile and cost effective business decision.”

A telephone answering service isn't a new idea. In fact, many companies are deciding to outsource this particular service. Many companies across varying industries decided to outsource a telephone answering service as a way of saving money and time in a business. However, these same companies are quickly realising that the telephone answering service provides their business with a top quality service which can help to build their brand into something reputable and professional.

A telephone answering service is managed in a large call centre. There may be as many as 50 operators answering your incoming business calls. All of these operators are fully trained and qualified, able to answer unique telephone calls from a range of your clients on a daily basis. The nature of these calls may range from, taking bookings, dealing with emergencies, complaint hotline, or other general enquiries. As the call centre works with your business, the operators get to know your clients and as such, help to represent your brand image.

An answering service isn't just about saving money. The high-quality service that your business receives will ensure that each and every caller as they call answered within a few rings. This means that your answering service act is a bit like a personal assistant, taking your calls, dealing with enquiries when you're busy, sending you important messages, and giving your company a professional feel.

Flexible and professional answering services can be sourced from a wide range of outsourced companies and calls centres. You should look for customer testimonials and a strong client repertoire in order to make the best decision about which answering service would work best for you and your business. Together, you can build a strong brand and a competitive product which your customers will love. This encourages customers to comeback and shop with you time after time, because they know they are getting a good quality service in which the company cares for and caters to the changing and growing demands of its consumer base. In these difficult financial times, where businesses are struggling to survive, and answering service may help to keep your company on top.