What Kinds of Business Utilise Virtual Offices?

Technology has enabled many all kinds of different businesses conduct operations from various different physical locations, if necessary. While there are clear advantages that come with having all staff under the same roof during business hours, the ability for staff to be able to work from different addresses - or even different countries - has allowed for increased flexibility, efficiency and can also cut operating costs. This article will discuss the kinds of businesses that usually look to set up virtual offices and why.

What is a virtual office?

A virtual office is made up of any number of a range of different technologies that enable a business to conduct itself with staff and managers working remotely, rather than in one location or office. These services can include any combination of phone answering and transferring abilities between separate phone lines, voicemail services and an address that can be used for postal purposes. Often, a business will outsource some of this, having another company look after incoming calls and provide a virtual assistant.

An entity with this kind of business model may or may not have a permanent address. Often, it is not necessary at all and client meetings and the like can be conducted in temporary office space that is rented out, giving the appearance that this is the permanent office. To learn more about virtual office concept and what it can do to improve your business click here.

There are various benefits that come as a result of this. For one, it’s much more affordable and allows employees to work from anywhere in the world essentially. It can also ensure the business appears to be very professional and well-funded, when this may not necessarily be the case. Virtual offices are also quick and easy to set up whether you organise this yourself or go to a call service or virtual receptionist service provider in Australia.

Who usually uses them?

Virtual office scenarios naturally lend themselves to certain kinds of businesses and industries, predominately in the professional services. Small businesses and startups are generally more likely to go with a virtual office setup. Studies have indicated that the legal industry accounts for just less than one-fifth of businesses utilising virtual offices. Consulting firms also account for a large proportion, accounting for 15-16%. This is understandable, given that consultants will often work alone as sole traders. A virtual office can not only assist in the management of clients and the like but also give off the appearance that the consulting firm is much larger than it may be. The technology and finance industries account for 9-10% each; as mentioned many startup technologies and development companies will have a virtual office in place when they’re getting off the ground. Businesses in real estate and healthcare account for a further 6% and 7% respectively. Learn How Virtual Office Communication Can Help Boost Your Business.

Virtual offices are a good option for a lot of different businesses in various industries and are becoming more popular with technological improvements and the fact that professionals seem to have less time than ever before! If a virtual office arrangement sounds like it may fit your needs, get in touch with the team at Call Service today.

4 Tips on How to Make a Great Sales Call

Selling over the phone and cold calling, in particular, has become increasingly difficult nowadays. As unsolicited sales calls are at an all time high, potential customers are more sceptical now than they were even 5 years ago. This makes selling over the phone quite challenging with it’s a cold call or a warm lead, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done.  There is some feeling when it comes to sales that you either have it or you don’t, but in many cases, this is simply not true. Selling is something you can learn and improve over time and with experience, and knowing a few tricks and tips gives you a much better chance of success.

Introduce yourself confidently

Whether or not the prospective client knows you, it’s important and also professional to start strong with a confident introduction of who you are, your company and the reason for your call. Ultimately, this rule should be applied to any professional phone conversation.
 

If you have spoken to the person before, don’t assume that they’ll remember you straight off the bat, doing so can come off as a little self-entitled and possibly even cocky. If the customer has to ask you where you’re calling from, you may already be playing catch up. If you are making a cold call, you may mention the value that your service offers in your introduction and how you can help the prospective customers.

Offer times when organising a face-to-face meeting

 

People will always respond to decisiveness in this situation and you want to make it as easy for the prospective customer as possible. For many businesses, the goal may be to set up a meeting and discuss the terms, giving you a greater chance of converting the sale. In these cases, you’ll want to suggest specific times, rather than asking when the potential client is free or when suits them. You might say, “Are you free to come in a 10 am on Tuesday? If not, we can schedule a sit down for Thursday at 2 pm.”

This can also subtly convey that you are busy and have a lot of work and/or meetings to attend, which works in your favour.

Set realistic expectations

 
One of the biggest ways to give your company a bad reputation is to over promise with regards to what you are able to deliver. It’s always a good idea to be optimistic and positive both in the way you approach your work and when discussing future plans with a client, but knowingly misrepresenting the quality of your service is not a recipe for long-term success. By all means, putting a positive spin on your offering is highly recommended, but you should always try to be realistic and ensure that the customer’s expectations are reasonable and realistic. Recognise that one of the best ways to please a customer is to exceed the expectations they have, but set them too low and you risk not converting the sale at all.

Following up

The manner in which you follow up with your leads can be what gets the sale over the line when it’s all said and down. If you haven’t set up a meeting, potential customers will rarely agree to go ahead based on a single phone conversation, so following up in the right way is an absolute must. There is a fine line between being overly pushy and having the person forget about your discussion altogether. Obviously gauging their interest is a skill in itself, but as a general rule, an upbeat email or phone call a few days to a week after your initial conversation can give you an idea of where you stand.

 

Ensuring that you are available when the customer does call back is also hugely important. This can be the difference between closing or losing the client. A call answering service can help you ensure that you don’t miss an incoming call, allowing you to call back as soon as you can without upsetting the client. Speak to Call Service today for more info.

Why Your Business Should Encourage Complaints From Clients?

Complaints to a business are generally seen as a negative thing, given that they unnecessarily indicate that there is some shortcoming in the service provided. What many businesses don’t understand is a lot of the time that when complaints aren’t coming through, it isn’t necessarily a sign that things are going well. Obviously, a lack of complaints can be taken as a positive, but it really depends on context.

The point is that complaints can often be seen as a good thing and something that is necessary for a business to progress. Mistakes are going to be made from time to time, and it’s important to identify and correct them if the company is going to expand. Let’s take a look at a few of the main reasons you should see a complaint as a positive rather than a negative.

It Serves As Constructive Criticism

When it comes to running a successful business, the more information you have about your customers and how well you are serving their needs, the better. True, receiving a complaint can be stressful and can possibly put a business under pressure. However, there is no doubting the fact that it also serves as a wake-up call.

A business should always be improving, becoming more efficient and serving customers better. Complaints can serve an important purpose as they signal to a business which areas need to be improved and worked on. A good business will not only take them to heart but use them as constructive criticism and improve processes.

It Can Be A Signal Of A  Good Relationship

Good customer service means being able to establish a relationship and mutual trust between the two parties. Under such conditions, customers can feel comfortable enough to express their concerns with you about the service you are providing, rather than simply cancelling or going with another provider the next time around. 

Ultimately, having honesty in a customer relationship usually serves as a benefit to both parties. If you’re getting a complaint, it can be a sign that there are strong communication and comfort between clients and the staff. A personal answering service can be a good example here.

Allows You To Keep Customers Happy

Often, receiving a complaint is really a best-case scenario if you’ve made a mistake. If a customer mentions that something was lacking in your service, you are in a great position to correct this mistake and regain their trust. It gives you a chance to prove yourself to them as a provider as quickly as possible. 

Taking responsibility for a mistake and showing that you’re willing to make up for it is a great way to impress a customer and doing so ensures that they don’t leave a negative review online. If the problem isn’t dealt with, this is quite possible and even likely.

It Can Make Staff More Accountable

If you are receiving complaints on a regular basis, your staff will not only start to hold themselves more accountable and potentially take their customer service duties more seriously, but they’ll also be more in tune with what makes customers happy.

If you aren’t hearing feedback from customers, it can be difficult to develop an intuitive sense of what should be done in a certain situation. Having regular complaints from customers and responding to them can actually instil a positive culture into a business.

No matter what size your business is, good customer service is hugely important. If you are able to encourage your clients to complain and provide genuine feedback, you are in a much better position to properly serve them. Call Service provides a number of services aimed at ensuring good communication between the client and staff, ensuring that you don’t miss important phone calls. This is an important consideration if you are focusing on good customer service. Contact us directly for more information.