Okay, let’s paint a picture here. Your company gets a call from a big company that wants to contract you and your employers out for a rush job. You have the manpower, the time, and the fortitude to get it done and do it well. Because it is a rush order, the company is offering you big bucks too, and if you do well, then you will be the first company they call with other orders in the future. The only problem? You weren’t there to pick up the phone. Sure, they left a message and all, but do you think they are going to sit around and wait for you to call them back and accept the job? Probably not. In fact, there’s a good chance that they are going to move forward, call your competitors and hire one of them instead.
Yeah, this is definitely a worst case scenario, but for a contracting company especially, a missed call can be the difference between a big opportunity or a big failure. What you need, then, is a receptionist. Receptionists can be expensive though. You have to pay another full salary that will always need paying regardless of how many orders you have coming in. You will also need to buy or rent a space for your receptionist to work from. Not only that, but you also have to worry about benefits, vacation, hiring and firing, and training. After all of that, you are talking about a lot of expenses. It’s definitely important, but is it worth it?
Luckily, you don’t have to worry about answering that question. Instead of wringing your hands about whether or not to hire a receptionist, you can just get a virtual receptionist. A virtual receptionist works a lot like a traditional receptionist except with a lot less hassle. You won’t have to worry about paying a full-time salary, benefits, or any of that. Virtual receptionist services work on subscriptions and cost a whole lot less than a traditional receptionist would. Plus, because they are completely through the phone and digital, you don’t have to worry about putting all that money out for a physical office space. You also never have to worry about a virtual receptionist being away from the phone. Traditional receptionists might be gone for vacation or leave. They might have to quit their job and leave you without a replacement, or they might take long lunch breaks or be sick and miss that important call. None of those things are issues with virtual receptionists. Instead, you will have a team of receptionists dedicated to working for you. Because there are several people working for you, you can be sure that someone will always be there to keep you in contact with your employers, clients, and everyone else.
Surely there has to be a catch then, right? There’s no way a virtual receptionist can provide the same level of customer care that a traditional receptionist would, right? Wrong on both counts. Virtual receptionists are completely dedicated and focused on making your business run well and keep your customers and clients happy. You get to work closely with them to ensure they are providing the level of care that you expect. Plus, you can keep them informed so that they know just what to say and how to say it.
Virtual receptionists have other benefits too that make them perfect for contractors too. Say you’re have a job that day at a work site, but you’re also really waiting on an important call. A virtual receptionist means you have a number of options. They can transfer a call to your cell phone. They can also take a voice message or talk to the person on their own and then send you an audio file to your email or phone so you can listen at your own convenience. Virtual receptionists will also keep you up to date on your schedule. Never again will you be at one site and leisurely finishing up only to realize that you were supposed to be at another site 15 minutes ago. Virtual receptionists will keep track of your calendar and send you alerts on your phone about what you have coming up next and when to be there. Virtual receptionists are really great for a lot of different kinds of businesses, but if you are a contracting company, then a virtual receptionist is even more important for you.
