Achieve Winning Business Communications: Play Four

PLAY #4 : Determine the best FEATURES available for your business to meet and exceed your expectations.

Now that you have your business needs roster complete, it is essential to find which plays (features) are most helpful to achieving success. Answering services offer many features, however, it’s up to you to determine which ones are best suited for you and your team.

Once you have outlined what you would like your answering service partner to accomplish for you and your callers, we have developed a list of critical questions to ask to help you determine what answering service will best represent your company when your staff is not available.

The questions are developed keeping in mind different features will be used for different industries. 

For example, a medical office may want to have a front-end greeting that answers all calls and explains that certain questions should be handled only during business hours and only emergencies are handled after hours.

Versus

An oilfield or offshore company needs a live agent answering because the callers may contact another provider if they receive an automated answer.

Which call handling software/equipment do you use? Why?

• You should do a little research of your own to get unbiased opinion.

Which features do you think will be of most benefit to my company?

• This can vary among different call service companies, even if they are using the same system. Yu can acquire a good comparison of how they can accommodate your current and future needs.
• Which features are part of the general service plan and which cost extra?
• Information provided will also help you determine which service best understands your specific needs.
• Ask for the pros and cons of each suggested feature.
• Mention anything you do not feel has been addressed.
• Make certain that features mentioned as cost-saving do not affect the call experience with your customers.

What is your back-up process? Will you lose data?

• It is important to understand each service’s back-up and levels of redundancy for telephony, data, and power.

How do you handle staffing during natural disasters and events like the COVID-19 Pandemic?

• Determine remote capabilities and security measure if agents are working from home.
• Agents using personal PC’s and not under direct supervision can cause quality control problems leading to unwanted situations that can be detrimental to your business.

It always a good idea to discuss what you think is best with your answering service partner because they have the experience of working of wide range of companies. Your answering service partner may offer some perspective of which you did not realize. You do not need a “yes” man who just says whatever you want to hear. 

An answering business communications consultant will offer advice from years of experience and help you succeed by providing solutions for the best possible phone experience.

Now that you have your roster and playbook in place, we next must find a good coaching staff with the KNOWLEDGE and EXPERIENCE (Play #5) to implement your plan.

Next week, we will look at how to select the best answering service staff for your industry.