What is the difference between a virtual assistant and a virtual receptionist?
March 14, 2009
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
When I tell people we provide off-site or virtual telephone reception services, I am often asked if that is similar to a virtual assistant (VA). Virtual assistants represent a growing category in business and can be a valuable addition to your virtual office. However, there are some significant differences between a virtual assistant and a virtual receptionist (also referred to as an off-site or remote receptionist).
The most significant difference is that virtual assistants typically are not interested in answering your business telephone calls in real-time. Instead, most prefer to do project based work that allows them the flexibility to work on their own hours. By contrast a virtual receptionist is standing by to answer your business calls when they come in, assist callers in real-time, and seamlessly connect the calls you want back to you on any phone number. Unlike a traditional telephone answering service, a virtual receptionist communicates with you in real-time throughout the business day and is usually equipped to connect calls, schedule appointments, register seminars, place orders and more.
Virtual assistants, on the other hand, often take on projects that may not be ideally suited to a virtual receptionist. With widely varied skill sets, VA’s may specialize in written correspondance, have software expertise, presentation development skills, organization, research, marketing or a myriad of other specialties.
Another difference to keep in mind is that a virtual assistant will often work on a project basis or a monthly retainer, while a virtual receptionist service looks to provide ongoing call handling from month to month and functions as the front-end for your business. While these off-site receptionists are sometimes capable of handling various administrative tasks, their skills are best used in handling business that needs to be conducted in real-time via the phone such as call connections or appointment scheduling. In fact, should you have a virtual assistant on your team, your virtual receptionist can easily route a call to them, if desired, in such a way that your caller won’t even realize both your receptionist and assistant work from a remote location.
Reason #5 – Why choose an off-site Receptionist to answer your business telephone calls? Schedule your appointments on the spot.
March 12, 2009
Reason #5 – Why choose an off-site Receptionist to answer your business telephone calls?
Schedule your appointments on the spot.
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A
Schedule your appointments on the spot. Last week we talked about the how an off-site or virtual receptionist could help you avoid viewing phone calls as an interruption. This week we focus on how your remote receptionist can actually convert those calls into the opportunity they should be to increase your business by scheduling your appointments on the spot.
If you’re in a service industry where you meet with a prospective client as a first step in them doing business with you, scheduling that contact is the first critical step in securing the business. If you are unable to take your calls in real-time because you are serving other clients, or out in the field on a job, an off-site receptionist can be a great solution for capturing new clients with appointment scheduling.
Unlike a traditional telephone answering service who might take a message you can return later, an off-site receptionist service can typically provide you with a web scheduling system and the oppotunity to train your receptionist on the key steps needed to schedule your appointments. Now, when inquiries come in to your business, the receptionist can give your caller a brief overview of your process and encourage them to schedule a time to meet wiht you or speak further by phone. Callers typically feel as though they have reached your office and are speaking with your receptionist allowing them to feel that they have accomplished their desired outcome by scheduling with you, instead of enagaged in a drawn out game of phone tag where you run the risk of them contacting other providers.
For your part, you simply log into your web calendar from any computer and see what your receptionist has scheduled for you. Of course, you can also block out times you are unavailable or limit your availability in whatever way you see fit allowing you complete control over your schedule.
Reason #6-Why choose an off-site receptionist to answer your business telephone calls? View phone calls as an opportunity, not an interruption.
March 5, 2009
Reason #6-Why choose an off-site receptionist to answer your business telephone calls?
View phone calls as an opportunity, not an interruption.
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
View phone calls as an opportunity, not an interruption. In our fast-paced, multi-tasking world, it is easy to get caught in the “phone interruption trap.” This occurs when you are concentrating on an important task, focused and on a roll. The creative juices are flowing and you are finally accomplishing something productive. Then, it rings. You know this could be a client or new customer calling, but you can’t bear the thought of answering the phone and losing your train of thought. “The voicemail will get it,” you think to yourself as if wishing clients would politely leave large orders with all their desired options spelled out concisely for you to retrive and process at your convenience.
The reality is usually a somewhat different picture where if you have ignored the interruption, you must now fight the urge to immediately retrieve the voice message and clear the intrusive light or icon displaying on your phone thereby derailing your thought train anyhow. Or perhaps, even worse, the dreaded voicemail hang-up where you are left to wonder interminably what opportunities have slipped away or make the anonymous return call to the unfamiliar ID stating, “Someone called me from this number.”
As an alternative, imagine shooting a quick e-mail to your off-site receptionist to say, “Please hold my calls until 11am this morning. If Mr. Roberts calls, tell him I am working on his project today and will e-mail him before day’s end. If Mr. Jones calls, please put him through to my cell phone.” Ahhh, blissful silence knowing your most important communications will be handled per your instructions without the unplanned interruptions.
An even more exciting scenario is one where your receptionist is actually taking your calls and capturing new clients or scheduling your appointments wihtout the need to interrupt at all. But you’ll have to wait for Reason #5 next week where we cover, “Scheduling your appointments on the spot.”
Top 3 Ways to Convert Callers into Clients
March 4, 2009
Top 3 Ways to Convert Callers into Clients
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
For all the time, money and effort you spend trying to get prospective clients to call your small business, how much time have you spent thinking about their experience when they call? When you factor dollars spent on advertising, time spent on marketing strategies, ad creation, networking, etc, it can easily cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars to get your phone to ring. The key question then becomes how to convert these callers into clients in the most efficient manner possible.
If you’re in the service industry, there are some simple strategies you can employ to convert your callers into clients. Regardless of whether you are an attorney attempting to secure a new client, a contractor looking for the opportunity to bid on a job, or a computer repair specialist trying to nab a service call before your competition, the steps are fairly straightforward. Read more
