4 Huge Benefits of an After Hours Answering Service
Many small businesses live and die by their ability to connect and make a good impression with customers over the phone – so it’s integral that all channels are open for contact night and day. An after hours answering service can help you grow your business by creating memorable experiences 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – and even on holidays.
1. Offer the Best Support After Hours
PATLive virtual receptionists are an award-winning team of experienced customer service professionals, who know all the ins and outs of providing excellent service over the phone. Part of our ethos is providing exceptional service on every call, and treating your callers like they’re our own.
Beginning with recruitment, potential new hires are screened for all the soft skills that make the difference between a mediocre interaction and a memorable experience. Our virtual receptionists are trained not only in process and procedure, but also empathy and understanding. They’re able to quickly and easily assess a caller’s intention, and perform as if they’re a part of your in-house team. Throughout their tenure as a PATLive virtual receptionist, every employee is graded, coached, and continually provided the training they need to provide stellar service on every single call.
If you’re in the market for an after hours answering service, that means that you have in-house representatives fielding calls during the day. Our mission is to provide service so good that your callers can’t tell the difference between speaking to one of your in-house employees and speaking with a PATLive virtual receptionist – so we truly are an extension of your own team. That’s reflected in our onboarding, throughout the process of building your call handling instructions, and in every single call we answer on your behalf.
2. Maximize Sales 24/7
PATLive virtual receptionists don’t just provide an after hours answering service solution, but they can act as a true extension of your sales team. All our virtual receptionists are provided ongoing training to help you maximize sales and grow revenue.
By tapping into your sales system, we can provide more information and support regarding products that you offer. We can provide product descriptions, answer questions about your products, process sales, and more. We offer integrations with all the top eCommerce platforms including:
- Etsy
- Shopify
- SquareSpace
- Wix
- WooCommerce
- And more
3. Capture More Leads After Hours
With PATLive, you have the option to either allow our team to build a form for lead capture, or provide access to your own CRM. We offer integrations to a number of top Customer Relationship Management platforms, including (but not limited to):
- Agile
- Hubspot
- FreshSales
- Salesforce
- SugarCRM
- Zoho
We also offer custom and industry-specific (like legal or real estate) integrations and can onboard new systems quickly and easily, allowing our team to work directly within the software you’re already using.
Working with an after hours answering service means there’s never any down-time between your team answering calls and ours jumping into the mix, so you’ll never miss a lead, and your business’ growth potential is never hindered by limited availability.
4. Build Up Your Client List & Schedule More Appointments
Business opportunities don’t just happen Monday through Friday, 9-5. A potential new client can call at any time. If you’re working to fill your schedule, an after hours answering service can help you book appointments with callers you may otherwise have missed. Considering that over 80% of callers won’t leave a voicemail, you’ll want to ensure they’re able to speak with a live, professional agent at all hours.
With PATLive, it’s easy to integrate your scheduling tool into call flows. As mentioned above, we can collect all the information needed prior to scheduling. By tapping into the scheduling platform you’re already using, we’ll have direct access to your availability, so you never have to worry about being double booked or scheduled for appointments when you’re out of the office. Easily integrate top scheduling platforms including:
- AppointmentPlus
- Calendly
- Google Calendar
- MindBody
- Schedulicity
- SetMore
- And others
How to Get Started with an After Hours Answering Service
Giving up the reins on your business’ phone calls can be a slightly traumatic affair – but with PATLive, we make it easy, and ensure that your callers will receive the highest level of service, and never know that they’re speaking with an answering service. We work 1:1 with every client to craft the perfect call handling experience for every type of interaction, and we can even adopt your language so that your callers’ experiences are authentic to your business. If you’re ready to get started with an after hours answering service, here’s what you need to do:
- Sign up for your 14-day free trial today
- Provide the information we need to know about your business (location, hours, etc.)
- Tell us about the types of calls you typically receive (sales, support, scheduling, etc.)
- Determine whether you’d like to activate any integrations on your calls, or if you need bilingual support
- Review and approve call handling instructions
- Start forwarding your calls our way (or establish a new business phone number with PATLive)
Once you get going, you’ll receive an email with detailed information about every call, including any information that we captured on your behalf. You can also access call details in the PATLive web app, or download the PATLive mobile app so that you have access to call details from anywhere. With the mobile app, you can also set up notifications so that you can easily access call details in real-time.
Hiring an after hours answering service should make your life easier – not more difficult – and help you focus on growing your business. That’s why choosing the right partner is of such massive importance. Get started today with a 14-day free trial.
