20 Ideas to Build Your Small Business Virtual Office in the New Year

Thanks to innovations surrounding the internet, mobile phones as well as email and messaging services, many people are now finding it easier than ever to leave their office and create their very own virtual office at home or on the move. We are one of the oldest and trustworthy virtual office service providers in Australia and we believe that there are myriad of products or service ideas on the market that can make your business life simpler by offering you multiple ways to send files, take calls and make those important deals go through smoothly. Here are some worth sharing ideas:

1. Cloud Services 

When the idea first came about for cloud services, many people saw it as a little fad for a way of backing up their work with some online storage. But the cloud has moved on since then, offering Microsoft Word, Google Apps, Photoshop and a host of other applications that no longer rely on installation on a single computer, which makes cloud computing service great for businesses. So, why don't you move to cloud services and enjoy its multiple benefits?

 

2. VOIP telephone services

Many businesses now see the benefits of setting up VOIP services and cut the costing in their landline telephone system. These Voice Over Internet Protocol services allow for massive amounts of traffic to your network which is handled by a single computer at a time. Automated switching and voice messaging is one place that has taken off in a big way with virtual offices around the world.

3.Combined scanner, fax, email and photocopier

Storing your paperwork can always be a bit of a hassle when it comes to high turnover businesses, so keeping a record that can be easily accessed is a great way to keep on top of your finances, clients and overheads. Combined scanners, faxes and photocopiers allow you to backup all of your important paperwork, name the individual files by date and time and place them in multiple safe storage locations to make searching for important documents easier than ever.

4. Use virtual meeting software

Need to call a meeting with your other virtual office workers around the globe? Then take advantage of the host of virtual office software out there that can set up video calls, share software over an Internet connection and work on files and projects together in real time. These services have taken off in a big way for the creative industries where collaboration is a key factor in everyday working environments.

5. Use a VPN service for an intranet

Whilst most static offices have intranets that allow for workers to connect to databases to perform their duties, you can start using VPNs for workers outside of the network to connect to. If you are a virtual office business you can also create a virtual intranet to host your databases, files and documents on several different platforms, allowing your workers to connect directly to your company network.

6. Virtual offices need a virtual storefront

If your business is a public-facing entity that offers services to the public or clients, then having a place for your clients to visit is a must. But having a virtual office means that you may have no physical offices at all which is why taking your internet site, blog or page must be done seriously. This is the single place where outsiders will find you and interact with you for the first time, so creating a user-friendly design will set you in good form for the future business. 

7. Add a personal touch

Even though the majority of your business may be concluded in a virtual realm, on the phone, via email or virtual network it is often a great idea to meet new clients and customers in person for the first time. This will give new customers a personal touch that they will notice and take you more seriously. It is far easier to cancel a deal via email, but when meeting face to face it gives a personal touch to every appointment you make.

8.Be as organised as you can

One thing can be said for virtual office advantages and disadvantages and it is that you simply must be super organised. Getting things done right can be a pain even when you are in a physical office where you can talk face to face with people, so putting distance between you and your co-workers can sometimes be a nightmare. This is where good virtual apps and video calls come in to save the day, ensuring that everyone is working to the same beat.

9.Ensure everyone has a dedicated workstation

Making sure that everyone working for your virtual business has at least one dedicated workstation is a great way to ensure some form of work ethic will remain as your workforce may be more fluid than a stationary office. Virtual office space is important, so work with your colleagues to find a professional solution for their requirements.

Virtual office pros and cons come into force when workers are spending the majority of their time on the road or interviewing people, so allowing them to come back to a dedicated location to “sign in” on a regular basis will preserve good working practices throughout your virtual business.

10.Use instant messaging services for live messaging

Instant messengers are one of the best virtual office solutions for new companies, as getting in touch with workers and colleagues when you need them most is one of the great advantages of working in a virtual environment. The virtual office definition is such that you won’t need any face to face communication with clients or colleagues so long as they are always reachable.

11. Shop around for your services

Many businesses don’t shop around for their virtual office services as often as they should, so the next time your billing comes in for virtual call services or messaging systems, be on the look-out for special deals. A virtual office doesn’t have to cost a small fortune, and in fact creating a virtual office with free services is possible for those start-ups that do not have masses of capital.

12. Use group chat services to your advantage

Organising group meetings and messaging services can seem like a nightmare to set up initially, but by creating a live chat system for your entire workforce you are able to cut down on the complexities that could leave you scratching your head. There is a lot of reasons you should consider to use live chats and leave them open to organise your teams and allow the free flow of messages to help your workers have organic conversations about your business - a must for creative industries.

13. Use document sharing services

One of the best ways to keep up to date about the projects happening in your business is to use the services of online document sharing solutions. With virtual apps like Google Drive, Dropbox and Microsoft OneDrive you are able to store a large amount of data for free - with terabytes of storage available for a fee if you need the space.

Doing so will free up space on your worker's computers, and allow them to access the files and folders from any device on the road - be it a mobile phone, tablet or another computer in another office.

14. Create an office telephone number for your small business

Many small businesses and working at home companies still rely on their home phone number for contact with their business. This can be a cheaper option for some but will leave your personal and working life open to difficulty if not taken care of.

Many virtual office workers create a private business line in their home or use a host of services to give you a virtual number on which to take calls.

15. Set yourself strict office hours

Even though you may not work in an office, you still have to work! So setting yourself strict office working hours and keeping to them will be an important test on how your working life balance will hold up. If you are having problems with sticking to a routine, why not choose a different location to work from or create a permanent office environment in your home to keep you on the right path.

16.Hire a virtual call service to take your calls

One of the best ways to ensure that you are always available for your clients without leaving them hanging on busy phone lines it to hire a virtual call service to take your calls. Virtual call services will be able to route your calls to a specific mobile device if your home or office number is busy, as well as greet your customers with a customised message and take voice messages for you.

You will be notified of calls, numbers, who is calling as well as having voice messages forwarded to a mobile device. Call logs will be handled in a professional manner and you will sound and feel like you have moved up the professional small business ladder overnight!

17.Professionally handle paying your employees

One thing that many freelancers and virtual office workers suffer from is an unreliable system of payroll. One great way to handle paying your workers is to automate your payroll system based on a number of factors you can customise such as working hours, days missed, the volume of work produced as well as holidays and overtime on projects.

Handling your payroll professionally will ensure that your workers and your clients will remain happy and that they see the virtual business as a professional, trustworthy company and not a virtual company run from a back bedroom in another country.

18. Host regular team meeting events

Although you may all work virtually from home or another office, taking the time out on a regular basis to get the whole team together will work wonders for morale, as well as being able to oversee projects with a personal touch.

Use team building exercises and days out to get together with your team of co-workers and you will find that your workers may work better together in the future and allow them to understand each other better when working on new projects.

19. Be flexible in where and when you work

Sometimes taking time out to clear your mind can be a great idea when working long hours, which is why so many people prefer working in a different environment rather than a dull, grey office. But taking too much time out can start to have a negative effect. Try different locations to work from and see which suits you best.

You might find that you get more done in a coffee shop than your back room home office, whilst others might work best pulling up a workstation in a client’s office. Either way, test out your surroundings and be more flexible with the location of where you perform the majority of your work.

20. Travel and see your clients environments

One of the great things about being able to work in a virtual office is that it gives you enough time to travel to see what your business actually does. Travel and meet your clients in their own environments and understand the local market more.
If you offer services that relate to a specific town or region then having the chance to visit, research and find out more about the target audience is a great tool in boosting your virtual office sales and will help create new clients in an already-tested market.


Fantastic opportunities are out there for your small business, so why not move all of your office applications to the cloud. Hire a call service that can handle your calls efficiently and professionally and move your daily tasks to a virtual world to compete in the fluid markets of the future. This time next year you could be a completely virtual office that runs things more efficiently and more effectively than ever before.

How can a Live Answering Service Help you During the Holidays?

The summer holidays are obviously a busy time of year for just about everyone mainly because of the Christmas rush but also due to the fact that it’s the time to get things done that you didn’t get a chance to complete during the year. It’s a nice time to go on a holiday, spend time with friends and family and generally just reset for the year that is coming.

While the majority of workplaces shut down over Christmas, there are those that become even busier. Particularly for sole traders and small businesses, people can find it hard to find time for all these other things when work is so flat out and the business needs so much attention.

That’s part of the reason live answering services can be so beneficial in the holiday months, as they have the effect of helping you manage. These services are provided by company’s that effectively look after all of the incoming and/or outgoing calls to and from your business. If the call is important or the customer needs to book a service, the company working on your behalf can book them in for a service, give advice, or have you contact them depending on the requirement.

Let’s take a look at the benefits in more detail.

1. Frees up time

If you run a successful seasonal business that is particularly busy during this time, you can be looking at several calls per day and the requirement to set times and appointment can be rather cumbersome and time-consuming. The most obvious advantage is that outsourcing your incoming calls saves you having to handle them yourself and you can find time to duck away and spend time with your family around Christmas!

2. Appeals to Busy and Quiet Businesses

As discussed, if things are out of control on the phones then there are obvious advantages to a call service. However, if things quieten down over the holidays and you want to lay low for a few weeks, a live answering service can be beneficial too. The company can simply man the phones for you and book in any customers that do call for an appropriate date when you’re back at work - meaning you don’t lose the business altogether.

3. Less pressure on employees

The summer holidays should be a time of rest for employees to recharge for the year ahead. The trouble is, when it’s busy not everyone can take time off. With a call service, you can lessen the load so to speak, and have greater means to give employees a break than you otherwise would.

4. As Professional as Ever

The staff at these companies are trained to deal with people on the phone and will ensure your business is represented in the best light possible. You train them on how your business operates and what you need from their end, and they take care of the rest.

 5. It can be temporary or permanent

These services are highly flexible and no long-term contract is required. You can get some help for them over a short period and once things calm down a bit, you can go on as usual. However, if things work well with this arrangement you might even decide to stick with them for good!

Many businesses all over Melbourne go down the live answering service path over Christmas. If it sounds like something that might help your business, don’t hesitate to contact Call Service today. For more information about live answering service click here.

Top Greetings For Your Business To Get A Positive Customer Response

                                       

Business Greetings are extremely important regardless of your impressive facilities, extensive credentials and fantastic equipment. Greeting your customers with a genuine smile and sincerity holds the key to setting a foundation for a positive customer response. The customer calling you want to feel connected and cared for. They want to feel like they can trust themselves in your hands so it is important that customer greeting is correct at the very initial step. If you don’t get it right, it raises questions in the customer’s mind whether or not your services will be reliable.

Naturally, if staff are on the phones all the time they probably talk to a lot of people every day, so it’s important to guard against becoming hard and careless to the problems of the people and general conversation. Customers need to feel and hear that we care first. So we have developed an “I CARE” method to help you with greeting customers in the most appropriate way.

• I - Initiate warm, personal greeting
• C - Confirm their appointment 
• A - Answer their questions
• R - Repeat their name 
• E - Explain next steps

The “I CARE” Method

The following steps will help you send a positive message to your valuable customers. The essence of I CARE method is to make your customers feel that they are your top priority and you are glad that they have called. Practices like this will help you develop a base of loyal customers who can’t wait to tell their friends about the great experience they had with your business.

1. Initiate a warm, personal greeting - Be empathetic towards your customer and pay 100 percent attention to what your customers have to say. Understanding, being sensitive and aware of the feelings, experiences and thoughts of your customer is the most essential element for developing a great service mentality.

It is wise to address customers by their preferred name if you know them. Try and create a bond which would send a clear precise message - You are my first order of business here and I am here to serve you.

2. Confirm their appointment - Next important step is to confirm the appointment. Confirm the date, the time and the reason for the visit or call. Particularly for someone who has an appointment and this should be the time to let them know whether there may be a delay and if the person they seek is available or not.

3. Answer their questions - Now it is time to answer all their queries one by one. Assume the customer wants to know about your product or service offerings - “How can I purchase your XYZ service/product?” Or “Is Mr X available?”

4. Explain the next steps - As you bring your transaction to a close, repeat the customer’s name to personalise the full process. If you have conducted a business transaction, so summarise what you will do and explain what they need to do from here.

The Forbidden Phrases You Should Never Use

1. I don’t know - Use of such negative statement is a terrible approach and will inevitably frustrate the caller. You cannot afford to use such statement if you represent the organisation. While it is almost impossible to have all the information at your fingertips at once, it is better to use phrases like ‘I’ll try and find out’ as it shows that you are willing to go that extra mile for him/her. The best solution to such problem is, using positive words & phrases - “That is a good question, let me check.”
2. We can’t do that - You should always avoid such negative statement. Don’t tell your customer what you cannot do instead turn the tables and tell them what you can do to help. The best solution to this problem is - “Let’s see what we can do for you.
3. It is a company policy - Customer doesn't care about the company policy, rather they would ask for an exclusion of such stratagem. It is better to use an alternative statement such as “Mr X we have a better scheme or place we can offer. Would you like to see or hear about it?”
4. That’s impossible - Another negative that will cost your organisation may be even losing you, potential customers. Portray the positive side i.e. what service or product can be available for that particular customer. The valuable client didn’t call you to solve your problems but they expect you will resolve his, do not overburden them with such negative phrases.

Courtesy Rule - Telephone Skills

•  Answer the phone promptly within three rings if possible.

• Remember to ask for the caller’s name and address them by their name.

• Use clear positive messages and remember not to use any sort of slang words.

• No insider jargon words such as Res no. - Reservation Number, ASAP - As soon as possible. Sometimes a shortcut takes a long time to explain.

• Avoid monotone and adapt to varying tone when possible.

• Don’t hurry or speak too fast. Garbling hinders audibility and customers will lose track of the topic.

• Stay focused and avoid distraction like looking at your phone, chewing gum etc.

• Listen to your customers attentively and do not interrupt the caller - respond only once they have finished and then make your suggestions.

• Repeat back information to avoid misunderstanding.

• Be specific while providing the information. Ask for detailed information which would help to determine their needs.

•  Acknowledge the transfer requests.

• Let transferee know what to expect so that it helps prepare your colleague before receiving the call.

• Let the caller speak before you place them on hold.

•  Offer the caller a choice before putting them on hold or ask them whether they would love to leave a  message.

• Always remember to take a thorough message.

•  Listen, empathise, apologise, solve the problem and follow up.

At last but not the least, remember to take a coffee break because you deserve it.
The first impression is everything. Remember to develop a rapport and treat your valuable customer like you want yourself to be treated. Don't build your relationship with products or services but with the customers and clients that lead to trust and long-term fruitful relationship.

Key Factors to Achieve Positive Customer Response in Any Business

Having a professional answering machine service is essential for your business in many aspects, no matter if you are a large international firm or a single tradesperson. Your customers are your next pay cheque so taking good care of them is the most important part of the business.

The inevitable fact that you are not available for certain periods of time during your working day means that having a system in place to direct your customers to leave a message is essential to keeping your customers coming back.

Build your business relationships

Making a great impression on a new customer is always an important part of your business, so if a customer is not able to get through to you immediately, having a 24/7 professional message answering service is necessary for keeping client’s good opinion for your business.

Greetings are one of the most important parts of any kind of relationship within the business as that first impression can really make an impact on how you are judged by your customers. Great first impression sticks in the mind of potential clients, and a bad first impression can mean they search elsewhere.

Every Call is Important!

It's very important to never miss a business call to make a great impression on your customer. When organising your personal message answering service, there are certain things to avoid. Being unavailable in the first place is obviously the first roadblock for many people, so not having a professional answer machine message is one of the biggest mistakes you can make.

Leaving a message such as “we take your call seriously” is overused and often reminds your customers of all the other times they’ve heard this message and prompts them to immediately hang up, but there are other things you can do to start building relationships with your clients immediately!

Call Service tools for business

There are a number of tools you can use to help you out in this situation and help avoid missing those important business calls. One of the best ways to avoid a message machine in the first place is to use a Call Service to outsource your call answering services for you. This is often much more cost effective than hiring a personal assistant, though the services work in the same way.

With a call service, you can have a real person answering your calls, taking the caller’s information and have the call information sent to you via text or email, making it one of the most powerful tools for trades-persons out working in the field.

Making a great first impression is a key factor in helping you win new business. Some of the best tips to help create a good impression are:

• Try to avoid giving out too much information in a single message, keep it simple with an optimal voice message of around 25 seconds max. 
• List the available alternative options to your potential customer in ways of getting in touch with you. For example email, alternative numbers etc.
• Let the customer know exactly who they have reached, and instruct them on whom should the message be left for, such as which department, employer and the reason for leaving the message. 
• Ensure to apologise for not being able to take the call. 
• Speak clearly in a friendly and inviting tone.

Be clear, concise and friendly

Leaving the perfect message answering service for your business doesn’t have to be complicated or difficult. Simply try to cut down on the amount of information you want to pack into the message and offer alternative options for getting in touch for you. Making a great impression is a simple case of speaking clearly and using a friendly tone.

As long as the customer knows that you are sincere about being sorry for not being able to take their call, and most importantly, apologizing for not being able to take their call when you do finally get in touch with them will often make a great first impression on a customer as a friendly company to do business with in the future.

Lone Worker Safety Situation in Australia

As many companies and employees know, a healthy working environment that employs good workplace safety is what many of us strive to achieve on a daily basis. But when working in a number of different environments as a lone worker, workplace safety is made more difficult to achieve due to a lack of oversight or emergency needs that the lone worker may have.There are a number of safe work practices and aids that lone workers can use to help out even in the most hazardous of situations.

Keeping tabs on oversight

Without oversight, keeping up a safe and healthy working environment as a lone worker can be tough going. It is near on impossible to safety access processes that you are performing whilst on the job, especially in more hazardous environments. If something goes wrong such as an accident and there is nobody at hand to help, lone worker safety aids can kick into action when otherwise tragedy might strike.

Businesses are required to comply with specific regulations relating to lone worker safety in Australia and need to be accredited to comply with health and safety representatives (HSRs) regulations. As a country that has a huge land mass that is relatively unoccupied, Australia one of the countries to suffer from lone worker safety accidents over many decades.

Conforming to government regulations

Official government regulations have come into aid businesses and employees reach their health and safety targets, by requiring many businesses to take safety assessment tests based on official regulations for both the businesses and the workers.

Certain lone worker dangers are greater than others, so a full assessment of a specific lone worker environment must take place to assess all of the dangers and good working practices for that particular worker. The regulations depend on a few different factors but require the assessment to be taken place when dangerous or hazardous working environments are involved, such as:

•     Working at heights
•     Working with Electricity
•     Working with materials under extreme pressures
•     Working with the public with a potential for violence
•     Working in confined spaces
•     Working with hazardous substances and materials

In March 2012, the Australian government updated the lone worker safety policy to become mandatory and not legally optional as was a loophole found in the past. Contact with the outside world for these workers working alone is of great importance, which is why many companies have taken these hazards or risks and found a solution.

Take advantage of the latest technology

Businesses that employ lone workers to carry out their tasks are seeing the benefits of utilising a monitoring service for their workers. These types of services offer GPS tracking, radio communication as well as traditional phone tower communication.

Many services offer a panic or emergency alarm system which can then identify an emergency and notify the police or ambulance or fire services and direct them to a specific GPS geo-location site where the alarm was raised.

This is a great option for small to medium sized businesses and allows the company to raise the level of workplace safety for lone workers and individual safety solutions on a personal basis. Call Service provides a comprehensive lone worker support service for Australian businesses to ensure the safety of the employee.

Getting things right when it comes to safety the first time around is of paramount importance to the well-being of workers, whether they are a courier, mobile crane operator or a farmer. Safety saves lives.

The Benefits of an Answering Service for Small Business

A small business possesses fewer employees and relies heavily on its loyal employees and customers. Often small businesses have faced many challenges to survive in the marketplace and compete with larger organisations who have much more capital to support their growth.As we know, a good and first impression can make all the difference and clever small businesses should always try to give the very best service to their clients at the very first contact.

New businesses also have to work very hard to gain customer’s trust, and established businesses should always be working on maintaining trust in their company. If the business is unable to gain customer loyalty, the small business may find it hard to grow and develop.

Running a successful small business means utilising different methods to stay in contact with customers. Whether the business is small or big; it can’t afford to lose any clients or customers, and one of the strongest mediums to keep the customers engaged with the business is to use a long time experienced and upright telephone answering service.

Answering services are used in various types of industries because it is one of the easiest methods for customers to contact a business regardless of the time and number of other customers waiting on the line. There are many benefits of using a telephone answering service for small business.Let's have a look at some of those benefits:

No Chance of Missing a Sales Call For The Second Time

Sales calls are the foundation of many businesses and being accessible is key to engaging customers and making sales. Though the services can also be given online, a telephone answering service makes clients feel as they are important and that they are not neglected. Many customers feel that talking to a human rather than a machine means they are more likely to return to the business.

24/7 Available Even if The Business is Closed

Customers will probably be interested in contacting a business whose services they need outside of business hours, to catch all these extra calls and possible sales, having a 24/7 answering system is the perfect solution. The clients or customers are free to enquire and get information at any time and will, therefore, be more likely to engage with your business and view your services as reliable.

Answering Calls Promptly Even when it is Busy

 

Being able to answer all calls, even if it is just to secure a return phone number on which the business can call back on, is a huge advantage for businesses. Unanswered calls are lost opportunities and by having someone always available to attend to your customer's needs will build trust and make customers feel well taken care of.

Recording a Call For Future Queries

It is very advantageous for a small business to record calls for future queries. As small businesses have fewer resources to track all their work, recording calls will help the business to cover such issues.

 

Direct Buying Through Telephone Service

 

Some small businesses sell products directly to the customers so having a secure telephone answering service will be the best medium for the customers and the business to process transactions and send any news in a timely manner.

Instant Feedback and Solutions

 

Call answering services are one of the best ways to deal with clients’ problems instantly. This will help the business to keep records of what problems clients are having, which means they will be able to avoid the same problem in future. This way the clients never feel neglected and are motivated to stick with the business.

For small businesses, having an answering service simply make sense, there are more opportunities for the business to find new clients and it makes it much easier to retain the old ones as well. Having someone on the other end of the phone gives customers peace of mind and confidence that the business is going to answer them regardless of the clock. Contact Call Service today for professional phone answering service for your small business.

Pros and Cons of Working from Home and Office

Some prefer to work from home rather than office because they find they are more productive when working in a comfortable, relaxed environment. Working to tight schedules and having time restrictions may not be their cup of tea. Often many people who work from home are freelancing and are liaising directly with clients and the flexibility is necessary for them to conduct their business. Those who are already office workers and are thinking of shifting from the office to working at home and those who are thinking of starting a new home business have several things to consider before making the jump.

Got the basic idea right? Now let's have some more information on it:

Advantages of Working from Home:

• People are able to spend more time with their family
• Able to take more frequent breaks as needed
• Working at home may provide fewer distractions
• Can avoid traffic
• Save on travel expenses
• Savings on office space and other facilities
• Less stressful environment 

Disadvantages of Working from Home: 

• It can be difficult to manage home workers and monitor their performance
• Higher risk of information security problems
• Must maintain health and safety standards while supplying suitable equipment
• Initial cost of training can be huge
• It may become difficult to separate home from work because probability to engage in household matters is very high
• Dangers of being overlooked for promotion because of staying away from the office. Those working in the office may get promoted earlier
• It will take a lot more dedication and self-control to achieve self-discipline while working from home

One should consider all the many factors which play an important role while working from home. Some may select office as the best place to work from. Working in an office environment may give them more comfort and flexibility compared to home environment. Here are some of the good and bad factors of working at the office.

Advantages of Working in an Office:

• Easier to define boundaries between home and work
• Dedicated work computers and other devices.
• Developing relationships with co-workers in your work environment. Meeting people you normally would not.
• Can learn how to behave in a work environment
• Learn to maintain punctuality and discipline

With many more other advantages like this, lots of people give first priority to working in an office environment. But there are also problems they could face being an office worker.

Disadvantages of Working in an Office: 

• Distractions including co-workers and noisy office spaces.
• Salary is set and often not based on a performance, unlike freelancing.
• Very few breaks can affect people’s physical health.
• Eye-straining watching computer all day.
• Difficulty getting on with co-workers may create difficulties in the job

There are pros and cons to working in an office and a new working environment will always present challenges you must adjust to. Deciding which one suits you best is a matter of personal choice and comfort.

To Make Working from Home Easier, here are Some Useful Tips:

• Set aside a specific place exclusively for work 

If a place at home can be reserved specifically for work there will be less interaction with household issues and more concentration on the tasks at hand.

• Create a daily work schedule 

Creating a regular schedule will be very helpful to avoid laziness and maintain discipline as there is always a need of punctuality for any kind of work, no matter how big or small it is.

• Remain networked as closely as possible with peers and leaders 

Continuous connections and regular feedback from your peers and leaders will sound like a professional environment. Creating healthy relationships can definitely result in more motivation and productivity.

• Be an extrovert 

Extroverts enjoy a much larger social circle than introverts. It is important to be able to bring out the creativity and confidence of the people working around you and encourage innovation. 

• Network electronically

Communicating electronically can save a lot of time and can produce instant feedback. New creative technology helps businesses grow faster and collaborate with each other to achieve their goals. If you run your business from home and your business demands continuous communication with clients then hiring a professional phone answering company is a must. At Call Service, we are providing phone answering service for last 60 years.We have helped much Australian businesses to grow.

7 Useful Australian Online Phone Directory

Having the right phone number for the right person or service when you need it in an emergency is a lifeline for many people, whether it is getting in touch with a local school, an emergency plumber or a power company, the internet is a great place to find all of the numbers you need in a single click. Whilst the big old phone books of the past are handy to keep at home, online directories are searchable and are much easier to navigate in an emergency than a bulky old phone book.

With access to the internet now available on most smartphones, these websites and their numbers have proven immeasurably important to many people across the nation, especially for those in an emergency. More and more local businesses are taking advantage of these online directories to offer their products and services directly to customers to the benefit of the community.

At Call Service - The Telephone Answering Service, Australia wide, we’re constantly researching and looking at new phone directories on the web – not just because we’re interested in the field, but because being in the service industry for a long time, we always look to help our clients.Here are some of the best online telephone directories currently available:

PersonLookup

This website specialises in finding people based on their names and locations. Advanced searches can be carried out and the majority of the time you will find the person you are looking for in a matter of minutes. It is a lot quicker to use this online service than trying to browse the local telephone book, as many people like to list their mobile numbers and are therefore not automatically entered into the telephone or address book in your local area.

WhitePages

The White Pages have become synonymous with finding businesses, services, government organisations as well as important numbers such as your local gas, power or electrical company, street lighting, ambulance and doctors numbers. This online directory should be the first port of call whatever your emergency or if you wish to find a local business or government organisation.

YellowPages

The Yellow Pages is a great online directory that offers you the ability to find all of your local businesses in one place. With an easy search facility, you can search by business type, the services they offer and the local community and region they supply. The yellow page is a popular site which seamlessly puts you in direct contact with the companies around you.

TrueLocal

This online phone directory is a unique take on a phone book service, as they offer great access to holiday related services such as car rental, taxis and booking companies. True local offers a search by your postcode to put you in touch with the businesses and companies around you, offering you a chance to take advantage of possible local offers that are not provided by national services.

LocalBlue

Local Blue is a newer online telephone directory service that offers a range of searchable companies and businesses. With more in-depth information about the companies listed on their site, Local Blue also puts you in contact with the company or businesses website, contact details, email and any other related information you might need so you can pick a company with all-around great service.

DLook

D Look is another great service that puts you in touch with all of your local companies and national services that are easily found with a simplified search engine. D Look features over 1.5 million local and national businesses in its archive, which is regularly updated with the latest phone numbers and contact information for speedy service.

Nationwide

Nationwide lists a large number of companies and businesses on a national scale, with local companies taking precedent when searching via postcode. You can also search by service type, such as plumber, electrician like the other main sites, so you will be familiar with the search functionality and will be able to find your local company with ease.

If like us you are always in search of a directory that provides useful phone numbers that may be of importance, please mention them in the comments section and share them with others. Important numbers and directories are what gives companies and businesses new clients, as well as boosting the visibility amongst the local community.

Improving Telephone Answering Skills for Your Support Staff

Speaking directly to customers and clients is a great way for your business to thrive in a busy marketplace. Being able to make a deal and gather new customers is always something that smaller businesses are looking for.In our previous post about answering service, we have discussed this issue in detail.However, improving telephone answering skills to your staff is an integral part of boosting your business.So let's have a look some of the important answering skills that your organisation's staff need to master:

First off, why not gather your staff around and talk to them about the importance of each and every call that comes into and goes out of your office. Talk to them about the importance of the middle, and crucially the end of the call as a way of allowing your staff to know where parts of the deal could be made or broken.

Take Notes Throughout a Single Call Journey

Take your support staff through a single call from beginning to end and write down all of the information that is given and taken during the call. This can be an easy way to figure out what faults were made during the call, what can be improved on and what was done well during the call - it is important to recognise the good things that your staff are doing right!

Guide your support staff how to use vocal pitch and pace while dealing with a customer call. If they speak too fast, information might get lost or misunderstand during the call, making your job more difficult at the end of the call. Use a friendly tone and be sure that you are not condescending to your clients and customers, this is especially important if you deal with debt or hardship issues in your business.

Pinpoint Improvements to Work on

Make an effort to pinpoint the improvements that are necessary across your support staff, and make sure to highlight the improvements that they may have already made. Take notes during the calls about possible annoyances that the callers may face, such as long pauses, umming and erring as well as not having enough readily available information for your customers at hand - callers hate waiting on the end of a silent phone.

Ensure that your Staff knows their Own Business

Prepare your support staff for every question asked regarding your business. This is considered as one of the most important aspects of training your support staff to make better calls for the success of your business deals and customer interactions are to ensure that your staffs know what they are talking about.

Even if your company sells state of the art rocket ships, it is always a good thing to know that when a customer asks a question, that they are not met with silence, no comment or are forwarded to someone who might know the answer to that question.

Train your staff in the business they work in and use all of the available resources in making your support staff fully aware of the products and services you offer. Even if they never get asked those tough questions, it is always favourable to train your staff for each eventuality that may arise. You may be thanked for it in return business in the future.

Answering Service: A Key to More Profitability for Start-up to Large Enterprise

Whether it’s a start-up business or a fully furnished large enterprise, communicating with clients and other business associates is equally important for both, regardless, the size or financial portfolio. Because of the globalization, the business is expanding beyond its origin country and moving to overseas. As the time zone varies country to country, you might expect a call from potential customers or business partners at any hour of the day! But for natural and other constraints, it is not possible for owner to communicate 24/7, again, keeping permanent employee is somewhat very expensive.  An experienced and reliable Phone Answering Service is the ultimate solution for these problems.

 

24/7 Communication with Stakeholders

Keeping in touch with all business-associates is very important to succeed and more profitability for any type of enterprise. A potential investor, might call at the eleventh hour of day for a big investment or a customer to buy bulk products; but if they get you unreachable, they might look for your competitors as an alternative option. So by hiring this service, you will not miss any chance of potentials money-inflows.

 

Lower Cost

Hiring permanent employee for 24/7 answering is very expensive as you need to pay full along with other benefits, leave and financial allowances.  So if you plan for having your own receptionist, you might need to hire multiple people to be live 24/7, which will increase your cost a lot. So if you can hire someone who will provide your desired service with a very low cost, it will cut down overall cost of your business. Only a telephone answering service can provide you such facilities. Here is why live telephone answering service is important for business.

 

Professional Answers

The employees of Phone Answering Company are professionally trained to answer all types of calls with full professionalism. They will answer all calls, exactly you instruct them. So the chances of getting exact information of caller is much higher than your own appointed receptionist, which might get you a big financial deal! You want to know why? Because first impression counts!

 

Availability

Call Answering Service assures you to answer all calls at any time and any circumstance, which you might not get from your own personal receptionist, as if one employees go on break, there are others to take-over the job. So there is zero-chances to miss any of your call, which helps you to be connected with all the business associates!

Despite having few disadvantages as, inconsistent information & following-up difficulties, Phone Answering Service, is surely a key to business growth and noticeable profitability!

Melbourne based Call Answering Company, Call Service, successfully providing answering services to small, medium and large enterprises in Australia with dedicated professionalism since 1951.

How You Can Outsource The Communication Requirements Of Your Business

For any small business, new customer creation and old customer retention are the most important factors to be considered as a profitable business strategy. Customer service on the phone is a huge part of that. If a client is looking for help with something and can’t reach you on the phone, they’re considerably more likely to go with your direct competitor.

Without proper communication with customers and other stakeholders, it’s going to be very difficult for you to be successful. However, it’s also true that you can’t stay connected with your business phone 24/7. Luckily, there are ways to overcome this.

 

What are live answering services?

Live answering services are provided by a third party business who receive all your incoming calls from clients and stakeholders on your behalf. The service can be offered 24/7 a week and transfer messages between both parties. In case of emergency they will forward calls to your personal or business phones as well.

How important are these services to small business?

As you can imagine, it’s not possible for a single person to deliver the service and take all incoming inquiries when things are busy. Taking phone calls all day can greatly reduce efficiency when you’ve got a job to do or when you’re trying to take some time for yourself. If you’re on a holiday for instance – on the one hand you want to take the call because you care about the business and need the job, but on the other hand you’re trying to relax.

This is one of the big reasons office staff are so important. But this isn’t always a cost-effective solution for some providers.  Phone answering service for small business, are a handy solution to these problems, making them a very good option for certain sole traders and other kinds of businesses.

Other kinds of businesses

It’s not just small businesses that might require call services. Certain kinds of service offerings can also benefit because of the nature of their work. Some doctors for example are often too busy with patients to receive phone calls or provide advice over phone. By using this service, one can easily communicate and provide assistance via a third-party to the potential callers.

 

Business Viability 

Depending on the kind of business in question, it can be quite important to have a specific business address and phone number to help create a good impression and give a reason for prospective clients to trust you. 

But suppose you are an entrepreneur or a freelancer working on an innovative product/service from your study or guest room. It might not be applicable to lease an office building just yet, and you don’t want to put your home address. Virtual office services allow you to give the appearance that you are an established business by providing a viable mail address and landline telephone number. This can have the effect of making the service seem more credible and trustworthy, which is crucial to business success.

If you are looking for an authentic and reasonably priced Live Answering Service provider contact Call Service or visit our website for more information.