Annoyed by the Automated Telephone Attendant? You’re not Alone.
August 13, 2011
There seems to be no shortage of things we find annoying these days, and you certainly don’t have to look far to find them. Recently, Consumer Reports was nice enough to survey Americans on just what bugs us the most.
Among the top responses was Not Getting a Human on the Phone. Now when it comes to live telephone receptionist services, appointment scheduling and great customer service, we’re not the most objective. That’s why I’ve included the complete list below (just so you can see what else annoys you) or you can click here to read the original article.
Revenge of the Receptionist
August 6, 2011
Revenge of the Receptionist
How your unanswered telephone translates to an overflowing inbox and what to do about it.
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
It was not much more than a decade ago that e-mail was just coming on the scene and, “You’ve got mail,” was music to your ears. How times have changed. Now the very thought of sifting through your inbox is enough to provoke anxiety in even the most well-tempered business professional.
If you were in business a decade ago, you may recall another change that started sweeping across the business world about that time: the demise of the telephone Receptionist. With the advent of email, the phone was ringing less often, and with voicemail becoming ubiquitous it was easy to tell clients and customers to just, “email it to me or leave me a voice message.” Read more
Top 3 Qualities to Look for in a Telephone Receptionist.
November 4, 2009
Top 3 Qualities to Look for in a Telephone Receptionist.
by Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
There are many benefits to having a live, professional receptionist answer telephone calls for your small business. Among them are enhanced professional image, improved customer service and the ability to manage your workload more effectively. As with anything, there are certain people who are naturally predisposed to doing certain work and the receptionist is no different. When it comes to telephone reception, whether you are looking to hire a full-time receptionist for your office or outsource your telephone answering to a virtual receptionist service (sometimes called off-site or remote receptionist), there are several key qualities you will want your receptionist to posses.
1) Strong telephone personality – As effective a communication tool as the telephone can be, it is a somewhat narrow channel. By this I mean that messages and meaning can only be conveyed verbally and are only received using one of our five senses. The result of this is that the caller must rely solely on the voice coming through the phone line to interpret the communication effectively. This necessitates having a receptionist whose natural speech pattern is animated and friendly. Without the benefit of the non-verbal cues that dominate so much of face communication, meaning can easily be misconstrued if not delivered articulately and with appropriate emotion. Read more
Why a Remote Receptionist May Be More Intelligent than a Traditional Office.
October 19, 2009
By Victor Mataraso, MBA
If you’re in business for yourself and have considered hiring staff or leasing a traditional office to grow your small business, there may be a more intelligent way to enhance your professional image, improve customer service and manage your workload more effectively. Unlike a traditional telephone answering service, a remote receptionist (also known as a virtual receptionist or off-site receptionist) can provide you many of the same benefits as a traditional receptionist without the need to hire an employee.
Having a live receptionist answer your business telephone calls is one of the best ways to inspire confidence in your callers and maximize your professional image. With recent advances in telephone technology, it is no longer necessary to lease office space and hire staff just to have your phone answered professionally. A remote or off-site receptionist has the ability to answer your business phone calls at their location, assist callers as you’ve trained them to do, then privately announce and seamlessly connect only the calls you want back to you on any phone number. Read more
Do I Need a Call Center, Answering Service or Remote Receptionist to Answer Telephone Calls for my Small Business?
October 6, 2009
Do I Need a Call Center, Answering Service or Remote Receptionist to Answer Telephone Calls for my Small Business?
By Victor Mataraso, MBA
If you need help answering the telephone for your small business, there is a dizzying array of choices available. From massive call centers in distant countries to locally-based remote receptionists and telephone answering services, there is no shortage of companies willing to answer your phone.
The process of choosing a service provider can often be frustrating and confusing, which is unfortunate because, let’s face it, you’re already pressed for time. To streamline the process, it is helpful to determine what type of service you need and the experience you want your callers to have with your company. Although there is some cross-over among service providers in this rapidly evolving industry, the following categories have emerged. Read more
Top 5 tips to build, develop, and maintain a strong business relationship with an off-site receptionist.
September 23, 2009
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A
In light of our current economic state, outsourcing parts of business has become a popular option. Many small business owners have discovered the many benefits an off-site receptionist can bring to handling the front end of the business as they continue to maintain the back end. When answering the phone lines, the receptionist is often the first point of contact for your callers so it is vital to build, develop and maintain a strong business relationship with your off-site receptionist. Here are the top five tips to sustain and maintain a lasting partnership. Read more
3 Key Steps Every Small Business Should Follow to Create a Positive Telephone Experience.
July 8, 2009
3 Key Steps Every Small Business Should Follow to Create a Positive Telephone Experience.
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
Good customer service is not rocket science. Most of us know it when we experience it. However, as small business owners, many of us overlook these fundamental strategies in our own business, often to our detriment. Here are a few simple ways you can inspire confidence in your callers when they contact your small business.
1) A live, professional greeting.
For all the time, money and effort you spend getting prospective customers to call your business, it only makes sense to answer the phone when they call. The statistics on this are clear. Some 75% of first-time callers to a business will hang-up without leaving a message if greeted by a voicemail or automated attendant. If you are not personally available to answer your calls during business hours, hire a receptionist or outsource your telephone answering to a remote location. Read more
Don’t Answer Your Phone to Grow Your Business.
May 28, 2009
Top 3 Strategies for Small Business Owners to Increase Productivity.
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
Now, don’t answer your phone is not to be confused with don’t have your phone answered. Making your business accessible to prospects and clients is essential to your success. But in this world of information overload and instant access, it is increasingly difficult to find time to actually accomplish anything. Yet, as a small business owner it is critical that you find time to focus on your genius and plan strategically for the growth of your business. Here are a few strategies you can use to reduce interruptions and increase your productivity. Read more
The True Cost of Hiring a Receptionist vs. Outsourcing Telephone Answering Services.
April 1, 2009
The True Cost of Hiring a Receptionist vs. Outsourcing Telephone Answering Services.
By Victor Mataraso, M.B.A.
An increasing number of savvy small business owners are recognizing that outsourcing their telephone answering services in the form of an off-site receptionist is an excellent way to control costs and enhance customer service without the headaches of hiring an employee. However, before taking this step it is important to assess an accurate value for such a service so you can budget realistically.
Unlike an old-fashioned telephone answering service, a modern-day off-site receptionist (sometimes called a virtual receptionist or remote receptionist), provides a wide range of services including live telephone answering, real-time call connections, appointment scheduling, order placement, seminar registrations and more. In fact, the core philosophy of these companies differ from an answering service in that they consider themselves YOUR employee for that phone call, and not the third-party service associated with after-hours calls to the doctor’s office.
So, what is the true value of an off-site receptionist and how does it compare with hiring a receptionist to work at your location? Here are some estimated costs associated with hiring that employee including some not so obvious ones you will want to consider. According to Salary.com, the median cost of hiring a receptionist is as follows: Read more
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.
