4 Reasons Your Home Business Needs A Virtual Receptionist

Published on: 08 June 2021 Last Updated on: 21 December 2024

If you’re the owner of a home business, you may often wonder if manning the phones while trying to grow your company is a good idea. Interestingly, using the phone can be one of the toughest issues involved with running a home business.

While some home business owners would prefer to try and do it all themselves, there are many benefits to hiring a virtual receptionist.

Being Your Own Receptionist is Tough

Family phone needs, environmental noise, and simply not hearing the phone make it a challenge when you work from home.

Being your own receptionist means you’re saddled with daily responsibilities and tasks that take up a great deal of time. This is why it’s important to delegate receptionist duties to a qualified person.

Here are the top four benefits of using virtual assistants for your home and business.

1. Enjoy Greater Savings :

The cost of a virtual receptionist is well worth the investment for home business owners. You don’t have to hire a person to sit in your home all day doing admin and answering the phone. What’s more, a virtual receptionist can manage a range of tasks, including:

Calendar management
Call handling
Message taking
Basic customer service
Scheduling appointments
Delivering messages whichever way you prefer
Send voicemails to your email
Record calls for quality assurance
Accept and also track collect calls if necessary

2. Make Your Home Business Look Even More Professional :

The CEO of any company shouldn’t really be answering the phone. It’s not professional, and it shows that either you’re not particularly busy or that there might be a problem like your entire staff has quit, and you need to manage the phones yourself. It’s just a poor impression of your business.

When you work with a virtual receptionist for your home business, you can give your company a much more professional look by letting callers, customers, and prospects believe you have a properly trained in-house receptionist taking care of the calls. A virtual receptionist is always available to answer the phone to your specific requirements, which also means your company is sure to make an excellent first impression on callers.

3. Provide Quality Customer Service :

Virtual receptionists have expert customer service training. So, they have the necessary skills and experience to fulfill the role to the highest of standards. Each and every phone call to your home business will be handled in a professional manner to ensure your customers are always happy with your service.

4. Never Miss Out on a Call :

While running your home business is extremely satisfying, it can also be stressful. A virtual receptionist can offer the support needed to ensure you never miss a work-related call and that your business is available at all times.

Does Your Home Business Really Need a Virtual Receptionist?

Many home businesses certainly need the assistance of a virtual receptionist. The drawbacks and hardships of trying to be your own receptionist from home tend to outnumber the benefits of hiring a virtual receptionist.

Read Also :

Benefits Of Hiring A Professional Bookkeeper

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Why It’s Important to Avoid Killing a Sale with Kindness

Salespersons are of two kinds- there are those who are smart enough to sell themselves and are charmers. Then there are those who know how to sell products and services. They might not be presentable enough, but they do know their business. Employers are often tempted to hire people with pleasing personalities, rather than people, who know how to do their job. While it’s always important to be polite, sometimes these basic niceties can get in the way of sales – it might even prevent people from closing sales. Feeling too pushy to pull the trigger will no doubt affect performance negatively. This kind of occurrence is called “Yielder Call Reluctance.” The first step in overcoming Yielder Call Reluctance is to understand what it is and how it could be affecting you. The following criteria may help you determine if you are too nice to close the deal: You are fearful of bothering people unless you’re given an explicit “ok” to talk brass tax You are afraid of being too pushy, intrusive, or manipulative while talking to a client or potential client You are afraid to incite conflict while talking about a sale and its specifics You are taking clients out for dinners and lunches, as well as other lavish outings, but you aren’t breaking even or haven’t actually made a big sale yet You have a number of relationships with clients set out, but your production goals have not been met If you answered “Yes” to three or more of the above questions, you may be suffering from Yielder Sales Call Reluctance. It’s important to raise it to the attention of the employee or candidate in question because a lot of people simply are not aware of their own awkward dispositions or they are trying too hard to be pleasant and gregarious. By taking them aside and letting them know about what their actual role is, you can help them take the first step towards making the necessary adjustments. This will also help them when it is time to interact with customers. If you want to see someone in action, you should always try one small trick. Try and listen to their phone calls. One of the best things about listening to a representative’s call is figuring out whether he is trying too hard to be nice and approachable. You should also ask them to assess or evaluate their performance for themselves. Always remember, self-learning is the best form of learning. Once the problem has been identified and the sales representative has narrowed down the issue at hand, it is your task as a sales manager to coach and changes their professional behavior. This is the stage where you provide your representatives with useful coaching, tips, self-practicing scripts, and sort their approach. In short, a candidate with too much potential for phony small talk and feigned joviality can help tell you how to spot an unsuitable sales candidate quickly and efficiently. After the entire process has been completed- reviewing, coaching, and on-field practice, you need to do a final assessment. This can involve listening to the representative talk over the phone with a client. It can also involve seeing them in action on the floor of the store. Read Also: Cold Calling Script For Successful Sales Persons 7 Ways Technology Can Help In Customer Management And Sales 5 Major Tips To Increase Employee Engagement In A Call Centre Industry Why Do Entrepreneurs Put Up Their Drop Shipping Websites For Sale?

Must-Have Accessories For The Modern Businessman

The tech revolution has brought with it a revolution in business dress codes. No longer does a tailored suit necessarily signify competence. In fact, were your tech guru to turn up in a shirt, tie and suit you’d probably feel very anxious that this person wasn’t the real deal. That said, that's ok in a Silicon Valley boardroom won’t necessarily go down well in the office of a New York financial advisor. The old dictum that ‘The more you deal with a client’s money, the more conservatively you should be dressed, ’still carries some weight. Dress codes are crucial, they are subtle, shifting communicators. Get them right and your client will feel confident in your competence, get them wrong and an impeccable pitch may leave your client with niggling doubts. Accessories are an important part of your appearance and the impression that you make: they have a practical function but are also objects which signify style and quality and reassure your client that you are successful and have good judgment. Times change and our times change fast and that’s why a touch of tradition is so reassuring. So, here’s a mix of old and new which will serve you well. An understated watch of quality It’s old fashioned technology, but so is the wheel. You’ve got the time on your phone and your tablet, but a watch remains the most convenient way to track time and when you are running to a tight schedule it is a crucial accessory. It is of course far more than a practical tool, it’s a stylish and attractive adornment. The simpler the better, a slim body and a clean face, uncluttered by knobs and dials. A diver’s watch is great for divers but not for the boardroom. A watch can also signify affluence, if you are wearing a Rolex, it is a clear indicator of both taste and affluence. That doesn’t mean that you need to spend thousands on a wristwatch, there plenty of great stylish watches out there for under $200 such as the Daniel Wellington Classic Cornwall or the Skagen Ancher. A Quality Pen There will be times when a pen is required and when an important document is being signed how could you possibly use anything other than a quality pen. A fountain pen is a wonderful thing but it’s for personal use and there’s always the risk of ink where you don’t want it, so a quality ball pen is an obvious choice. The Montblanc is unquestionably the Rolls Royce of pens but there are plenty of other pens which are pleasing to look at and a pleasure to use. Understated cuff links and a leather belt Details matter and although these accessories may only be glimpsed by your client, they speak volumes about your style and good taste. A Leather Bag The rise of veganism might persuade you that you should opt for some alternative fabric but if you are concerned about the environment then a leather bag, which will last a lifetime, is a better choice than synthetic material, full of toxic chemicals, which will need replacing in a few years. A leather bag is a thing of beauty and a practical and reliable accessory. A briefcase is unwieldy and outmoded, much better to go for something which allows you to be hands-free, such as the Messenger bags or Satchels from MAHI, both of which are big enough to take your laptop, electronics accessories and paperwork. A satchel or messenger bag also works well as a weekend bag or cabin bag, so they are great for those short notice trips. A Business Card Remember that scene from ‘American Psycho’ where the Christian Bale character reveals his new super stylish business card? Well despite a world of cyber-everything here’s a traditional business accessory that still has its place. A stylish small card is more memorable than a note on a phone or an email. There’s an important moment of human interaction when you hand that card over and the fact that it’s a physical experience makes it more memorable. Do not produce your card from the depths of some scatty, stuffed billfold but from a slim leather wallet. A Lint Roller Your presentation was outstanding, but all your client noticed were the fibers on your suit. A lint roller tucked away in that Messenger bag means that you can give yourself a quick once over and feel confident that you are spick and span. Dopp Kit In a global marketplace, travel has become part of a businessman’s working life. Trips abroad are often short and at short notice, so you need to be ready to travel at any time. A Dopp kit which you keep packed and ready to go means that you’ve only got one object to remember, instead of arriving at your hotel to discover that you haven’t packed a razor. A Dopp kit enables you to keep all your toiletries in one place and is a compact and convenient storage accessory. Electronics Organiser It’s undignified and unprofessional to be seen to be scrabbling about in your bag for a lead or a charger while everyone waits for your presentation. Make sure that you know where everything is by storing it in an electronics organizer, that way you won’t leave anything behind, and you’ll know exactly where everything is. Portable Charger Flat batteries have put pay to many a promising presentation. Can you really be trusted with a client’s account if you can’t manage to charge your laptop? A portable charger can be used on the go and buys you invaluable peace of mind. Compact Smart Projector Problem with the projector? Be the one who’s prepared and pick up instant brownie points by plucking a compact smart projector from your bag. It’ll interface with your phone or tablet and project straight onto a blank wall. New tech, which you know how to use, and which solves a problem neatly is a great way to convince clients that they are in safe hands. Read Also: Components Of A Successful Business Function Tips To Hiring Accounting Firms Rochester NY For Your Business

Here Are the Benefits Of Continuous Learning

Have you read a book since you graduated from school? Well, continuous learning is an ideal option for people who want to grow economically and mentally. Therefore, it’s essential to continue reading enlightening materials even after completing your exams. If you do some research, you will notice some essential things that would help improve your work performance that you didn’t know about. Imagine a situation where you're provided with the learning material, including a video that you can use to increase your performance. A coaching platform gives you access to virtual videos that can help you pick up subjects quite quick. The virtual practice allows you to acquire training on the areas that you missed. For example, if you're a doctor and you lack certain clinical practices, you can use a coaching platform. You'll have the tips that you require and shown practical virtual videos to help you understand. Reasons Why You Should Consider Continuous Learning via a Coaching Platform: 1. Business sustainability: Hiring a new employee who has the skills that your current employee lacks is costly. However, if you train your existing team, your company will have better productivity. This way, you’ll be retaining your employees’ talent in addition to the new skills they gather from a coaching platform. This is especially important because your company has constantly fluctuating needs, and therefore, require new skills in conjunction with the preexisting skills. 2. Increase in team-spirit: A group of people working together churns up better results as compared to people who work individually. Similarly, if you train your team together, they may understand the information differently but still work as a team to achieve the company's goal. Also, they will acquire leadership skills and know-how to deal with stressful situations as a team. 3. You are provided with resources: A coaching platform gathers information based on individual team requirements. So, if you're a team of doctors who need to know how to clean a kidney before transplanting, you'll find information prepared specially for you. The same is true for the sales team. So, virtual practices are specifically designed to help teach you how to reach the goal that you're trying to achieve. 4. Provide room for innovation: Business competition is growing rapidly. If you don't have innovative tips to help you stay at the top, other business will surpass your business, leaving it to fall or stagnate. However, if you enroll in a coaching platform, you'll learn practical innovation tips and effective methods of improving your business performance. This will lead to company prosperity. 5. Helps in decision-making and behavioral change: Every day, you make decisions that influence the future outcome. Unfortunately, you'll find some managers making better decisions that lead to massive company growth. So, unless you learn the tips that will work for your company, you might fail. On the coaching platform, you'll learn how to make decisions if presented with a specific situation. Also, it will help you change how you perceive and behave when presented with different situations. Conclusion: Knowledge is power. It's a propeller to better life performance. Therefore, ensure you book an online learning platform where your team will continually learn what is required to fill the business gap, thus, leading to prosperity. Read Also: 5 Key Leadership Skills For Entrepreneurs

4 Reasons Your Home Business Needs A Virtual Receptionist