9 Tips to Hiring the Best Phone Answering Service

Published by Magellan Solutions at September 7, 2021

Get the best 24 7 phone answering service for your business through these nine tips

Phone answering service is a pretty straightforward service. This is where your outsourced company answers phone calls on behalf of your business.

While this still depends on the solutions you prefer, it just means you pay someone else to pick up the phone for you.

3 Kinds of Phone Answering Service

These are the major types of 24 7 answering service but it also depends on your set up. As this could be tailored during office hours or after to receive inbound calls.

Phone Answering Service

Pros

Cons

Works Best For

Interactive Voice Response Systems

These are often called “autoresponders” and “robots”

It’s core feature is the self-service and transfer options

Easy to scale because of their interactive component that is very simple for customers to use

Disadvantageous if it is to be used as a stand-alone to talk to customers

Removes the human element on the business side of the phone call

Unable to understand context, tone and can’t deal with questions or requests they are not programmed to answer to.

Businesses that receives calls 24/7/365

Businesses that receive more calls than an in-house team can handle

Business with customers that often need quick but relative basic support

Call Centers

This is the traditional phone answering service

Often less personal than a virtual receptionist but still a live agent

This is often large in operations that specializes in sales, marketing and customer service

This is built for size and speed

Able to handle a high volume of low complexity calls at once

Works with pre-written scripts

Often works best with outbound calls

Large B2C companies

Businesses with thousands of customers

Business in high scale verticals such as retail, automotive, insurance and telecoms

Virtual Receptionists

This is a live agent that manage a business phone answering service, albeit virtual or that they don’t work onsite

Often indistinguishable from an in-house employee

Works conventional receptionist that answers and transfers calls, schedule new appointments, take messages, collect caller information, and answer basic queries from customers

Too many customizations often take time before the onboarding itself

SMEs, startups, and B2B companies

Businesses in high-touch industries such as healthcare, real estate, law and financial services

Businesses that prefers to differentiate their customer support

9 Tips to Hiring the Best Answering Service

In order to ensure you get the best 24 7 answering service for you, you must keep these in mind. This way, you can find a phone answering service that fits your exact needs.

1. Look for a provider that works with clients in the same industry

It is ideal to work with a phone answering service provider that works in your industry. It is best to look for a provider that has experience with a company similar in size and customers.

2. Consider their core values

Even if you outsource your 24 7 phone answering service, it is best to work with a provider that shares your core values. This is important as your chosen provider represents your business to your customers.

3. Zoom in on their industry experience

You ought to look for a provider that understands your niche and your industry. Asking about their experience can help you determine if they are the right provider for your requirements.

You can ask these questions to gauge their industry experience:

Years of experience they possess in your niche/industry
Skill set of agents working in that niche/industry
Does agents speak and understand the industry speak or jargons
Current or past clients

4. Location is important

This affects the service cost and therefore must be taken into account when choosing a phone answering service provider. It is a fact that hiring nearshore is costly in comparison with top outsourcing destinations like India and the Philippines. Pros and cons exist for both cases though.

5. Compare pricing models

You don’t have to choose a provider that you first see. That is why it is best to get at least 3 to 5 options. It is not good practice to rely on pricing models you see on the provider’s website.

It is best to ask for a direct quote with your requirements clearly listed.

This is to ensure you will get the service that will suit your needs, at the right price point you are willing to spend.

6. Confirm items in their base charges

This is to make sure you are clear with service expectations from the get-go. You can verify the services you are paying for and identify which is not for you like hidden add-on services.

7. Identify calling processes and functionality

You must understand what functionality you will need to develop an effective phone answering service.

This means you identify the support services you need. This way, you will know which proposal suits your needs, is compatible with your business, and can handle customers or callers with ease.

8. Confirm service availability

You should verify if your chosen provider can manage calls during your required schedule. Especially if you require round-the-clock phone answering service. As this offers more robust services and flexibility.

9. Data security is a must

Data and information security is critical for any business. As this includes your customer’s personal information.

Which means you are responsible for it and means doom for you when you lose their data. Data breaches impact 90% of small businesses and cost more than what you think.

That is why it is best to review your provider’s cybersecurity capabilities. Keep in mind the following:

Places high priority on security
Strictly follows your protocols and procedures
Compliant with international standards such as ISO 27001 and HIPAA

Magellan Solutions for the Best Phone Answering Service

As an SME-focused provider with 18 years of industry experience, we provide the best 24 7 answering service for any industry vertical. We have the best technology to ensure our service delivery will definitely suit your requirements.

Our live agents are well-equipped with the necessary skills and talents to ensure we can represent your business at best. We assure that they can build a professional and courteous connection with your customers every time they reach your business.

Magellan Solutions take pride in our ability to provide quality service with the best security protocols. We are ISO 27001-certified and HIPAA-compliant.