MAP Communications offers professional call handling services for businesses. Learn more about live call handling techniques and best practices.
Pop quiz: what happens when your business phone rings?
Who answers the call? Is there a particular phrase you open with? Do you stick to a script, or are you winging the conversation? Do you know how to answer the most frequently asked questions, or are you reliant on colleagues to help guide client communications? Does the person who answers the phone route callers or do you depend on an automated system? What happens when multiple clients try calling at once? How are calls managed after regular business hours?
The answers to these questions can be incredibly revealing. While most business owners know the importance of answering their phones with consistency, many fail to carry their own plans through with regularity. When you’re spinning a million plates at once, it can be challenging to live up to your own professional expectations. That’s where call handling services come into play.
What is Call Handling?
Call handling is the process of managing telephone calls. This process can be incredibly simple or very complex, depending on your organization, your callers, and their reasons for calling. Call handling includes every step taken when a call comes in. This includes the decision to take a call or not, how the call will be answered, the way in which the representative speaks with callers, call transferring, message taking, and how high call volume is handled. It can make all the difference in the customer experience when call handling best practices are used.
Too often, businesses lack the resources necessary to deploy a quality call handling strategy. It can take a lot of manpower to carry out effective call handling with fidelity. Other organizations are simply unfamiliar with the do’s and don’ts of call handling procedures. Some don’t even realize they have call answering challenges until they fumble a client conversation or realize how many calls they have been missing. For these reasons, many companies opt to partner with a call handling service to manage their inbound calls.
Call Handling Best Practices
Call handling techniques vary from one business to the next. There are, however, certain procedures that make the process more effective. For starters, inbound calls should never be allowed to roll to voicemail. Most people hang up if they reach a voicemail recording. When a single missed call could mean the loss of major opportunities, it’s a good idea to prioritize call answering whenever the phone rings. Inbound call handling services ensure every call is answered by a helpful representative, which takes the pressure off your internal team so they can focus on their jobs. Good call handling also helps generate more leads, resolve issues faster, and streamline customer communication.
The most effective call handling best practices are those designed for your specific organization. Thankfully, it’s easy to tailor live call handling services to your specifications. Set up routing scenarios that allow you to send callers to reps based on their specialty or preferred language. Develop customized scripts to provide consistent, on-brand conversations with every caller.
Types of 24 Hour Call Handling Service
Just because the service is offered 24 hours a day doesn’t mean you have to use it constantly. Just use it when you need it whether that is after hours or as an overflow option during busy times. Here are some different types of call handling services:
- Traditional Telephone Answering Service – the representative answers the call, takes a message, and delivers that message to the appropriate person or department
- Call Routing – the agent answers the call, finds out which person or department the caller needs to speak with and routes the call accordingly either via a warm or cold transfer
- Virtual Receptionist – the receptionist can do both of the above call handling tasks as well as schedule appointments and answer FAQs
- Call Center Call Handling – the agent providing a full outsourced customer experience can help with more in-depth tasks like technical support, lead qualification, and lots more
Benefits of Call Handling Services
24 hour call handling services come with a number of benefits. For starters, increased availability will give you the chance to connect with callers on their terms. Traditional business hours are a thing of the past – callers want to be able to reach your organization when it’s most convenient for their schedules. As your team heads home from the office after a long day, agents at a call handling service can cover the phones in your absence. In many cases, callers may never realize they’re speaking with a third-party.
With a call handling service at your disposal, you’ll instantly gain more time to dedicate to the most important items on your to-do list. Inbound calls have a way of disrupting even the most focused of workers. When you’ve found the right outsourced partner to handle your inbound calls, you’ll instantly decrease the number of interruptions in your day.
Since call handling services are guided by customized call scripts, you’ll also gain a new opportunity to present a more professional image to callers. There’s no easier way to make sure every call is answered with the same greeting, language, policies and procedures. These carefully constructed scripts help craft a customer experience that encourages repeat business.
Call center call handling partners also help your business provide prompt, thoughtful service to customers. In the age when brand reputation and online reviews influence purchase decisions more than ever, it pays to put an emphasis on caller experiences.
Partner with MAP Communications Inbound Call Handling Service Today
The way a business handles their incoming calls says a lot. When you’re eager to win over customers and project a professional image, a partnership with MAP is essential. Our services reduce caller wait times, increase the availability of your organization, capture more leads, and streamline client communications. On the back end, your own in-house team will see greater rates of productivity and a healthier work/life balance. It’s a win-win for everyone involved.
If you’re eager to give an inbound call handling service a try, sign up for our free trial now. For seven days, you’ll be privy to all the benefits of an outsourced call handling partnership with no obligation to continue using our services after the week is over. It’s the best way to see how seamlessly MAP Communications can fit in with your organization. Try us today!
