Why your small business needs Live Answering

The small business owner or sole trader must, by definition, be a wearer of many hats.

1. As the face of your business, you need to appear confident and effortlessly professional at all times, whether you're marketing, meeting clients or networking.
2. As the business' administrator, you need to factor in time for doing essential paperwork, scheduling and project management.
3. As the voice of your business, you must answer your phone like a world-class receptionist when your clients call, no matter what you're in the middle of doing or how little time you have to do it.

And there lies the rub. If you're running a successful business, any one of the above three roles has the potential to be a full time job. And that means your workload is humongous even before you've started delivering your service or products on time and on budget!

You probably made the transition from paid employment to running your own business thinking that, as your own boss, you'd be able to take time out to meet friends for coffee once in a while, pick up the kids from school, or whip up a gourmet dinner party mid-week, right? Wrong! In actual fact, you're probably now juggling 20 tasks at any given moment and wondering how you can squeeze a few hours extra out of your day to get more stuff done so you won't be slammed tomorrow.

When your business gets just a bit larger, you can afford to hire staff to wear some of your many business hats. But in the meantime, there's a simple, elegant and cost-effective way to cut down your workload by a third that you should know. Invest a small amount each month in Alltel’s 24/7 phone answering service..

From just $70 a month, a live answering concierge service can

• Increase sales and customer satisfaction. Did you know that 75% of callers say they hang up when they are answered by voicemail? Leverage these leads more efficiently to increase your bottom line.
• Increase productivity. Focus on important projects without the constant interruption of a ringing phone.
• Create a more flexible schedule so you can take time out to refresh and recuperate in between projects—Hello café culture and a wine after work!
• Make a better, more professional impression. With your calls answered by a professional Australian-based receptionist, your business will look bigger than it is. Plus you'll no longer sound harried and overworked on the phone, so your customers get a brighter, happier experience!
• Restore your work/life balance. Say no to only two modes of existence—working frenetically or sleeping like the dead. Enjoy your business and your life again.
• Stop worrying all the time that you'll miss important business opportunities while you're a) on the road, b) in a meeting, c) on another call, or d) having a minor meltdown when you can't get everything done because the phone keeps ringing.
• Save money. It's a fraction of the cost of employing a professional full-time receptionist!

How a live answering concierge service for Small Business Works

It's just like having your own receptionist:

• When a customer calls your business number, it's rerouted to a professionally-trained, Australian-based Alltel receptionist who answers in your business name.
• Your Alltel receptionist asks who's calling and attempts to transfer the call to you.
• If you can take the call, your virtual receptionist will connect the call.
• If you're busy, your virtual receptionist will take a message and call-back details, and then send you a text and email with the information. You can then call back at your leisure!

So, if you're feeling like there are just not enough hours in the day, maybe it's time to make a simple, affordable adjustment to your work processes.

Get more time to enjoy life and your business. Outsource your receptionist duties—check out Alltel’s phone answering service solutions for small businesses here.