How many sales calls do you miss?

If you are like most small business owners you are always trying to get more sales. You spend money on advertising campaigns or you attend networking functions. In fact, you probably do dozens of things to grow your business. Like most small businesses you probably miss a few phone calls a month, maybe the occasional call goes to voicemail. You took the time to record a message that says “Your call is important to me. Please leave a message.” because you really want them to actually leave one.  If you are honest with yourself though, do you always leave a message when you call someone and get voicemail? Your potential clients do the same. In some cases they call the next business on the list and you have just lost a sale.

Have you ever considered what those missed calls add up to in lost business?  Millions of small businesses lose billions in lost sales opportunities every year just because they did not answer the phone in time and because the caller did not leave a message.  In today’s competitive sales environment you need to be available 24/7, but that is not always practical. You have a life outside of business. What if you knew that it could cost you as little as $1 to save that lead? Would you spend it?

This is where an answering service could increase your sales opportunities. Imagine a live operator answering your calls after hours or just when you can not get to the phone. Wouldn’t that make a much better first impression to have real person answer your calls than a message saying you are closed?

An answering service can filter your sales calls and forward those to you or your staff day or night. We can act like a receptionist right in your office taking messages and directing calls to the correct department in your business.  Best of all, having a live person answering your calls sends the right message to your current and potential customers.  It says that they are important.

The next time you consider spending more money on advertising, consider using an answering service to get more bang for your buck.