Almost every successful business leader can recall a time when their phone was ringing, but they were too busy to pick it up. Maybe they were on the other line with another important customer, or perhaps they were in the middle of a task that required their full attention.

Being too busy to answer the phone is a relatable situation, but if it’s happening often it could be costing your business a lot of money. Many customers will hang up and move on to a competitor if someone doesn’t answer, which leads to lost revenue. With that said, many businesses of all sizes and types opt to partner with live answering services.

Below we will answer and discuss the following questions to give you an idea of how a call answering service can help if you’re too busy to answer your phone.

• Do phone answering services still exist?
• Who needs a call answering service?
• How much should you pay someone to answer your phone?

Do phone answering services still exist?

The quick and easy answer to this question is, “yes!” Phone answering services are alive and well in the present day, and they’re more sophisticated than ever. Today’s live answering services can do much more than pick up your phones and greet callers. Your trained live agents can answer general questions about your business, such as whether you provide a specific service or operate in a certain location. If appropriate, your live agents can transfer calls, help qualify leads, schedule appointments, take detailed messages, and much more. The best part is that answering services often operate around the clock, which means your customers can reach a person even after your office has closed for the day.

Who needs a call answering service?

At first glance, it might seem like only a few types of businesses need call answering services. However, you may be surprised to discover that a wide variety of businesses find answering services useful. Here are some of the most common types of businesses that partner with answering services, and the reasons that they do:

• Doctors’ offices and healthcare businesses partner with medical answering services that are HIPAA compliant to provide faster and more compassionate care to patients.
• Lawyers and attorneys work with legal answering services to improve lead intake and be accessible to clients 24/7
• Service contractors such as plumbers and HVAC technicians spend a lot of time on job sites, and answering services free them up to get their work done.
• Real estate agents also spend a lot of time away from the office meeting with clients and showing properties, and they get a lot of calls outside of business hours. A real estate answering service helps them provide great service even when they’re not available.

Other businesses that can benefit from an answering service include insurance agencies, hotels, funeral homes, schools, universities, and any other kind of business where missed calls mean lost business.

How much should you pay someone to answer your phone?

Hiring an in-house team of receptionists or customer service representatives requires you to pay for their hourly rate salaries, benefits, training, equipment, and more. When you partner with an answering service, you only pay for the minutes they spend handling your phone calls.

These cost savings are, without a doubt, the best aspect of outsourcing phone answering. That being said, here are some of the ways an answering service helps you lower overhead while increasing revenue:

• Fewer missed calls will likely translate into more revenue. It doesn’t take a lot of extra business to pay for the service and boost your bottom line.
• A 24/7 service effectively increases your availability to current and potential customers, making them feel valued and happy.
• When you’re busy on a job site or in a meeting, an answering service frees you up to focus on what you need to do.