Telephone Answering Service Call handling

Jet Virtual | March 21, 2013 - 10:42 am

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if you could answer the phone for your business every time it rang? Of course it would. Sadly however, many businesses, particularly smaller ones are miss valuable business calls on a daily basis. This means that they can’t grab their phone in time, and that isn’t professional at all is it? Thankfully however you can opt for a telephone answering service as your call handling solution.

When you opt for a telephone answering service for your company, any phone calls made to the number you select will be diverted to a professional virtual receptionist located i our London office. They will answer the telephone in your company name, which of course means you can maintain a professional image without having to shell out a lot of your precious cash on a full-time staff member. When you opt for a call answering service it will ensure that you never miss a phone call again, even if you aren’t in a position where you can answer your phone. After all, any sensible business owner knows that any phone call missed could cost you lost business. Whenever you receive a message, your virtual telephone answering service will make a note of it and pass it through to you as quickly as possible, which means you will be able to follow up on the call as soon as you possibly can.

It isn’t just about taking messages for your company though, in fact, having a call answering service has a number of other benefits in addition to this. For example, it helps to maintain a professional front for your company. After all, with the best companies, your phone call will be answered by some of the best in the industry, which means they will be handled in the most efficient manner possible. Nobody will even know that you have outsourced this particular aspect of your business. Of course, it is also cost effective, just imagine how much hiring a full-time receptionist would cost you! When you opt for a business answering service, you will generally be on a pay-as-you-go tariff which means you will only be paying for phone calls answered and not for time wasting.

Of course, there are plenty of companies out there offering a telephone answering service nowadays. You will therefore probably wish to do a little bit of research before you find the right company for your specific needs. For example, if you are based in the UK, you probably want to opt for a company which has receptionists based in the UK. You will also probably wish to choose a company who has experience and a personal approach, after all, you want to feel that you can trust the people handling calls on behalf of your business.

Why not look into a call handling service today for your business? You will be surprised at just how cost effective this service is, and perhaps more importantly, the professional image that it will give your company.

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The Benefits of Using A Live Answering Service

Jet Virtual | January 17, 2013 - 3:20 pm

Few things frustrate a client or turn off a potential client as much having to leave a voice mail message. However, there is a cost-effective solution that ensures your clients will never be met with the cold, robotic digital voice of an answering machine; a professional London answering service. This type of professional service provides you with your very own receptionists that are available to you, during the hours you desire.
When selecting a live telephone answering service, it is essential that you choose a company that is experienced and that has an outstanding reputation. Your reputation is dependent on how professional, courteous and helpful your front line is to those that call.

Live Answering Services Save Money

Instead of worrying about payroll, national insurance, holiday leave, sickness, lunch breaks and the equipment necessary for a full-time employee, choose a virtual receptionist instead. Receptionists are typically the most under-worked individuals in an organization because of the natural ebb and flow of calls that come in.
While an in-house receptionist must be paid for all hours they are onsite and on the job, a live answering service is only paid for the amount of calls that they receive.

Features Included In Virtual Receptionist Contracts

Today’s technology has given us access to our clients, colleagues, friends and family 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can reach people today by mobile phone, through text messaging or email. And now, virtual receptionists can easily and quickly relay your important messages to you through these technologies as well. After you receive a call and your professional answering service has taken a message, you can elect to be alerted via email, SMS, or by phone call. This ensures the timely delivery of all messages and allows you, from wherever you are, to stay in contact with current clients and answer questions of your potential clients.

A live answering service shows your current customers and potential customers, that you care and that you are readily available. In today’s hectic business environment, everyone’s time is of extreme value. When a customer wants to get a hold of you, it is vital that you have the processes in place necessary to make them feel appreciated and valued. A professional virtual assistant gives you the flexibility to outsource the position, saving money, while allowing you the freedom to pursue ways to increase sales and revenue.

Why not take a Live Answering Service Free Trial today? Call 0207 183 3788 today!

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Call Handling Service

Jet Virtual | December 13, 2012 - 2:51 pm

What is a Call Handling Service?

The world of business is an incredibly competitive place. You really do have to go the extra mile to secure the business of a customer. This means building up a rapport with your customers, or being there whenever they need you. However, this is a bit of a catch 22 situation as fewer companies have the finances to hire full time staff to handle their telephone calls. This is where a call handling service can come in useful. Let me explain what it is all about.

Let’s start by discussing a little bit about what call handling services are. Basically, when a client phones your company they will be routed through to a virtual receptionist employed by the call handling service. With some of the best services you will have your own dedicated receptionist so it adds a bit of familiarity to your company (something customers love!). When the call gets routed through to the receptionist depending on what you have chosen, it could go straight to the call answering service if you are engaged or if the phone is unanswered within a few rings. The choice is completely yours, and this gives you reassurance that your company is never unreachable.

Due to the sophisticated software utilised by UK Call Handling Services, the person answering the call will know exactly what company they are trying to reach. This means they will be able to answer with your own personalised greeting. What then happens to the call is up to you, you can either have the call transferred to you, or a message can be taken which will be emailed to you. This means you will never miss a call, even if you are out of the office.

So What Are The Benefits Of a Call Handling Service?

Well, there are many of them and I am sure you are already thinking about some of them. Here are the main ones however:
1. A Call Handling Service helps to enhance the image of your business. You have absolutely no idea how important the image of a company is nowadays. Yes, the economy has recovered a little, but people are still being cautious and choosing companies that they know they can trust. When you use a UK Call Handling Service there will always be somebody on the other end of the line, acting in a professional manner. This will do absolute wonders for the reputation of your company, and it will certainly help with customer retention, which of course is important as retained customers spend a lot more money!
2. Utilising a Call Handling Service can save you money. Many people turn their nose up at the costs of a handling service, however if you look closely you will find that it is incredibly cost effective. Imagine how much it would cost to have a number of people manning the phones. It would cost a lot of money, and there is still a chance the call won’t go through if all of them are tied up. With this type of service you only pay for what you use, and that is going to ensure that you are not spending more money than you have to. It really does help ease cash flow. In addition to this, as this type of service can help you retain customers, you will find that the profitability of your company will go up, and that means the call handling is going to pay for its self.
3. One of the biggest benefits however is that it allows you to free up time. There is no manager out there that wants to sit around all day answering telephone calls, after all, most of those calls are going to be completely useless. When you opt for a handling service you will have free time to do other things in your company, more important things such as allowing it to grow. Remember, no one person can do everything in a company! So why not use one of these services? It truly does allow you to focus on your priorities.
4. With a Virtual Call Handling Service you will be able to grow your company much quicker than normal. I suppose this fits into the other benefits that I mentioned above. This is because you have more staff to take phone calls, and thus generating new clients becomes far simpler. You also have to shell out less money for the person handling the calls, which gives more cash to invest into growing into your business, and since you won’t be answering the calls yourself, you will have more time to grow your business. In short, a call handling service is perhaps one of the best things you can opt for, regardless of business size. In fact, did you know that some of the largest companies in the world use similar services?

Choosing the Right UK Call Handling Service

There are a lot of UK Call Handling Services out there, and thus finding the right one for your needs may be a little tricky to start with. It is suggested that you take a look at a number of different companies and compare their pricing structures to see if it fits in within your budget. However, as a sensible businessman you will know that pricing is not the ‘be all and end all’ for finding a company. You will also want to look into the reputation to see how they answer telephone calls, after all, this is going to be one of the first impressions people get of your company. There will be a plethora of information out there available for all of the UK Call Handling Services.
Hopefully this has taught you just how a call handling service works, and how it can benefit your business. I suggest you go and test a company today by using one of their free trials. You will be surprised at how much it can benefit your company in such a short space of time, and this means increased revenues and customer retention!

You could take our Call Handling Service Free Trial today: Call 020 7183 3788

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Keeping Your Costs Down So You Keep Your Profits Up

Jet Virtual | November 22, 2012 - 4:48 pm

What Kills Businesses?

Probably one of the single biggest reasons why new businesses fail is due to unnecessary costs creating a negative cash flow.

Cash flow is the life blood of every business. Even if you don’t start making profit for the first few months (some even years), as long as you can keep afloat by covering your expenses each month, your business will survive.

Negative cash flow is simply not generating enough money to pay your businesses expenses. So many business startups make the same mistake. The first thing they do is SPEND MONEY! The website has to be perfect so they shell out a chunk of money on that. Then the logo has to be the right design … more money gone. The business owner needs a place to work so more money is spent on a nice swanky office fitted with a high tech telephone system and of course maybe someone to sit and answer any calls that might come through. Business cards and fancy stationary with the nice looking logo need to be designed and printed…

Very quickly the business is in negative cash flow before the first client has spent any money.

How To Avoid Negative Cash Flow

The simple answer is to spend as little as possible until the business is making enough to cover the costs.

Many of our clients are start up businesses that want to keep their costs down to a minimum but still need to look and sound professional. For example, rather than publishing their mobile number on their website or business cards they use a local or national virtual number. From as little as £5 month the business can look more established.

We save our clients a substantial amount of money by providing them with a telephone answering service instead of them paying a full time receptionist. This way they are sure to not miss any valuable calls whilst they are engaged in other business activities without having to break their budget.

Looking and Sounding Professional For Less

Rather than having to rent an office and pay a considerable amount of well needed cash, you can use a virtual office address. This way you can still look professional and have a place where your mail can be received and forwarded to you.

You could have a full virtual office service which would include a virtual number, live receptionist and Virtual Office for less than £70 a month! Compare that to what you would spend on office rent, receptionist, phone system, utilities etc

In these times especially, business owners need to work smarter.

Work smart, save money and take your business to the point where it’s profitable. Then keep going and watch your business grow. It takes time but it will happen. Just keep going and watch those £££

To find out more about the virtual services we provide to small and large businesses across the UK please call us on +44(0)20 7183 3788 we look forward to discussing how we can help your business thrive.

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24 hour Telephone Answering Service

Jet Virtual | November 20, 2012 - 4:01 pm

Could you be missing telephone Calls after hours? If so it may just be time to sign up to a 24 hour telephone answering service.

With a 24 hour call answering service your calls can be handled even after you leave the office. Studies show that businesses could be losing up to 29% of business due to potential customers calling after hours and getting to voicemail.

In this generation where most of us find what we want online using the internet, many businesses are expected to answer calls 24/7. It doesn’t cost much to use an after hours answering service and you never know how much you could lose from just one missed call.

24 hour telephone answering service: Which one?

There are many UK 24 hour answering service companies and therefore you need to make sure you choose the right one for your business. Some answering services only provide a very basic 24/7 message taking service and may not be able to cater to more specific requirements such as online bookings, diary management etc.

Peace of mind

With a 24 hour call centre you can have the peace of mind knowing that your business calls are being handled professionally whilst your’e having a well deserved evening out or even whilst your fast asleep.

Many business owners like to take off on weekends and therefore are not available to handle calls on Saturday or Sundays. This could mean potentially alot of missed opportunities which could be easily avoided with a 24/7 telephone answering service.

Overflow calls

There are also companies that require overflow calls to be handles 24 hours for busy periods. Some businesses are obligated by law to be available to answer calls 24 hours a day 7 days a week 365 days a year. Emergency services and Lift companies are just examples to name a few.

Bank holidays

In the UK there are eight bank holidays each year. With a live 24 hour phone answering service your business can handle any calls during bank holidays too. You never know when a potential client or existing client may need to get in touch.

After hours

Many people in fact are not able to make calls until after hours, as they are generally either too busy during regular working hours or they work for a company and are not allowed to make personal calls. Therefore the best time for them to make calls is in the evenings or over the weekend when they are not working. These could be potential clients looking for your product or service. If you don’t answer their call then maybe your competitor, who does answer calls 24 hours a day, will.

The advantage of using 24 hour telephone answering services, even if you may not necessarily need your calls to be answered after hours, is that during busy periods in the day, month or year you can always rely on your calls being handled.

Holiday Cover

Thinking of taking a holiday but are worried about how your calls are going to be handled whilst your away? You can use the answering service for holiday cover. Now you can truly relax and enjoy your holiday knowing that your business calls will be handled professionally. Now you don’t have to close for business every time you decide to take a well deserved holiday.

Staff sick days

Sometimes you may have a member of staff that calls in sick. You are suddenly understaffed and run the risk of missing important calls. With your 24 hour answering service always available within minutes you never need to fear for those days again.

Free Trial

Why not take our 24 hour answering service free trial today and see the difference for yourself.
Call us on 0845 381 0001

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Message Taking Service

Jet Virtual | October 23, 2012 - 8:26 pm

Message Taking Service: How to manage your business more efficiently with Virtual Receptionist services

It would not be wrong to say that the first impression of customers is indeed their last impression. Therefore, it is extremely essential that an organisation should do everything to satisfy its customers and should have a professional attitude to portray a terrific and respected image of its business. It doesn’t matter what type of business you own; it may be a retail store, medical practice, law practice or insurance agency, you can derive a number of benefits by using Message Taking Services.

For instance, if your customers need to contact you in case of any emergency at a time when you are not available, the Virtual Receptionist services can solve the problem professionally and efficiently. Message Taking Service London assures you that all your calls and queries from the customers should be taken care of with utmost expertise while you concentrate on your core business. You must be aware of the chaos that can come with the success of a business. Precisely, at these times, you realise that you need something more than just providing good services to your clients. You have to manage them efficiently. Most of the businesses solve the issue by employing a front office receptionist. At the beginning, these reception executives appear to be an ultimate solution as they guide your customers in the right direction and help them understand your business quite efficiently. However, soon you realise that these front office receptionists are inefficient in many aspects, such as they are not always available to handle all calls, you have to set up a separate department for them, and most importantly, you have to pay them hefty salaries. In order to avoid these complications and to make their customer support services available round the clock, many businesses think that buying an automated answering machine can solve all their problems. However, this is a totally wrong approach, even worse than employing in-house telephone answering staff.

Message Taking Service Benefits:

Studies have revealed that more than 75 % of people do not leave a voice message and always prefer to talk to a real human on the other end rather than an automated machine! So what should be the best alternative for managing your clients? The solution should be such that it would not only manage your clients much more efficiently, but also be a cheaper option. This is where Virtual Receptionist services come into the picture.

Virtual Receptionist Services:

Virtual Receptionist services are perfect for almost all types of businesses. In these times, space is at a premium, and it’s not feasible to set up an entire front office. On the other hand, the Virtual Receptionist and Message Taking Service would serve your business just like the in-house telephone answering staff but in a lot more efficient and the cost-effective way. Message Taking Service London performs general duties for you such as taking calls and answering general questions from the customers, among others. These questions may include, explaining your services to the prospective clients and assisting you in making appointments etc. Since your customers can get answers to their queries anytime they want, Virtual Receptionist services can offer you an ultimate way for retaining your customers. What’s more, Virtual Receptionist Services are highly flexible and scale-able. Therefore, you just need to subscribe additional services whenever you plan to expand your business. The bottom line is; with the help of Virtual Receptionist services it’s extremely easy to manage your business and retain your clients. They are not just efficient and quick, but they also help your business to cut down its monthly expenses substantially.

To get started with a Message Taking Service Call us today on 0845 381 0001

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Cheap Virtual Office London

Jet Virtual | September 11, 2012 - 4:27 pm

Have you ever considered using a London virtual office address for your business?

Wouldn’t it be great if you could enjoy the benefits that comes with having a prime London office address but without the ridiculous prices it usually comes with?

What is a London Virtual Office?

A virtual office is best defined by the types of services it can offer to small and medium-sized businesses.

* Mail forwarding – When your business is based in London, most people assume that it is because yours is a prominent company and they are thus more willing to pay higher prices. You can start enjoying this type of response from your target market by using a prime London office address – it is also great if you are looking to target the local London businesses.
* Meeting Rooms – You could even meet existing or potential clients at your London virtual office address for a small hourly or daily fee. No need to worry about having to meet clients at a coffee shop which may not be a great first impression.
* Virtual Receptionist Service – Alongside your virtual office address, Virtual receptionist services allow you to have your calls answered and handled professionally. Telephone calls can be patched through to you wherever you are or messages can be taken so you don’t lose a potentially big business opportunity.

Cheap Virtual Offices in London?

Although London tends to be expensive when it comes to most things. You can find Cheap Virtual Offices in London.

There are various factors that contribute to the cost of a cheap virtual office London address.

The location is always going to be the greatest factor in price. A virtual office address in Mayfair is clearly going to be more expensive then a virtual office address in Regent Street for example. W1 London virtual office addresses are more expensive than any other London postcode because of the prestige that a W1 London office address commands.

The best thing to do is find out if there are any deals to be had. Most Virtual Office companies offer deals throughout the year.

For more information on finding a Cheap Virtual Office London address: Call 0845 381 0001

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Call Handling and Message Taking Service

Jet Virtual | September 7, 2012 - 1:09 pm

A phone messaging service typically consists of call handling services and message handling services. If you are thinking of outsourcing your calls to this type of service provider, then you must be certain the individual assigned to your company would have the necessary qualifications to entertain the types of calls your business generally receives.

Customer issues, complaints and concerns

This can sometimes be the most frustrating type of call to take as customers experiencing certain problems with your business’ products or services may display an inordinate amount of rudeness and aggressiveness during calls. In spite of this, a professional call handling service must be able to guarantee that all their receptionists are fully trained to handle every type of call with unfailing courtesy and efficiency.

Handling Telephone Calls

With every type of call, the virtual receptionists that you hire should be comfortable in discussing the type of product or service you are offering. They must understand the fundamentals in order to ask intelligent questions during calls whenever necessary.

Message handling service

Professionals tasked to handle messages must be meticulous with their work to ensure that the message is complete and accurate as well as objectively and effectively transcribed. It would also be to your advantage if you can find a service provider that can guarantee your virtual receptionist has above average skills in reading and writing.

Poorly written messages, which may be characterized by typographical errors as well as spelling, punctuation, and grammatical mistakes, may end up misconstrued and lead to possible misunderstandings which can be very frustrating.

Now that you know what to expect from phone messaging service providers, here are a few questions you should consider asking to better determine which company is ideal for you to work with.

* Can they offer you flexible pricing packages? How much are they charging you for? Are the fees based on a per-call or per-minute basis or is there a fixed fee for a specified maximum number of calls?
* Can they guarantee that your virtual receptionist is fluent and a native English speaker so as not to cause communication difficulties between your business and other parties you are involved with?
* If necessary, will the company be able to provide transcripts for every call received or made by the service provider’s personnel? How long would it take for such transcripts to be completed?
* Can they provide you with a dedicated telephone number or fax number?
* Do they offer a full virtual office service? Can they manage and handle all your mail as well? Can they forward your mail to any address you wish? How long would you have to wait to receive your mail?
* Can they provide you with a consitstenlty professional service regardless of how many calls they handle for you?

Find out more by calling us on 0845 381 0001 or fill out a form if you want us to get in touch.

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Telephone Answering and Virtual Office Services

Jet Virtual | August 31, 2012 - 12:53 pm

If it is your first time to consider hiring a UK telephone answering service, then it’s understandable if you find yourself somewhat confused as to what exactly this kind of service can do for your business.
Generally speaking, UK telephone answering services should at the very least include the following:

* Receiving incoming calls – You will be assigned with a single receptionist (and a small team of receptionists for when they are busy, at lunch, sick or on holiday) to take all incoming calls made to your company while you are away or unable to take them for any reason.
* Making outbound calls – If you require outbound calls to be made, this may also usually be arranged with some answering service providers. However, additional fees as well as comprehensive training may also be required before this service may be made available. Such arrangements are necessary to ensure quality of service for your business.
* Forwarding calls – Calls may be forwarded to a specified number, depending on the instructions you have provided.

If you feel that your business has a need for services beyond just call handling then what you should probably be looking for is a full virtual office service. With this type of service, you are basically renting a virtual office address as well as having professionals handle your business calls.

A full virtual office service inlcudes telephone answering services as well as other virtual services such as the ones listed below.

* Virtual Mailing Address – this will be a prestigeous address that you can use on your letterheads, websites, business cards and any additional business stationary. You can also use this address to register you company and have it as a registered address.
* Mail handling and management – a virtual office will manage all incoming mail according to your instructions. You may also be provided with a prime business address – without any use of post office boxes -in London or any other area you prefer if this would make a more desirable impact on your clientele.
* Meeting facilities for hire – While all of the aforementioned services are usually offered on a monthly basis, meeting facilities from virtual offices are typically offered at an hourly or daily charge, depending on your needs. Such facilities also vary from one business to another. The best ones typically have a wide number of prime locations for you to choose from. They also usually offer services of a private receptionist in your package, together with refreshments, Internet and phone service, and other business communication services like faxing, printing, photocopying, and video conferencing.

In any case, if you are thinking of starting out with a UK telephone answering service provider, then you must at least make sure they can guarantee the following.

* None of your calls will be missed or incorrectly forwarded. Everything will be recorded in a verifiable manner.
* They must have professional and experienced staff capable of handling calls of any nature.
* Complete discretion must be offered with every call received and made.

For more information about telephone answering and virtual office services please contact us on +442071833788

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Costs of Using a Virtual Office London Address

Jet Virtual | August 29, 2012 - 3:45 pm

The costs of using a virtual office London address vary depending on location. Having a London based office address can always add a level of credibility and professionalism to your business. However, rather than having to suffer expenses that you may not yet be in the position to afford, you can always opt for a virtual office address in London instead.

Typical Costs for a Regular Office in London

* Rent -Expect rental fees or leases to be more expensive than you are used to. Moreover, you would also have to make do with smaller office space for twice or even thrice the amount that you would have typically paid for it.
* Utilities – This includes consumption for electricity, water, and perhaps gas and heating. You would also need to pay monthly for phone and Internet service.
* Employees – A full-serviced office can rarely run on its own or even with a single person. For a regular office to run smoothly there must be several experienced individuals operating it. Needless to say, you would have to pay them wages as well.
* Maintenance -You may either have to hire your own maintenance team, outsource them, or pay additional monthly fees to your building administrator. You may also have to pay additional fees in case of repairs, renovations, and replacements.

These are but some of the numerous and exorbitant expenses you must be able to pay every month if you do not want your business to lose its home.

Typical Costs for Virtual Offices London

With a virtual office address London, you won’t be charged a fixed monthly rate for services that you don’t need. What you do pay for every month would be for services that are essential to running your business and maintaining a high quality of customer service. These include the following:

* Virtual reception service
* Email delivery
* Use of dedicated number
* Optional Telephone Answering Service

The best companies usually provide a wide variety of packages so that you may enjoy discounted rates for services that are specifically designed to meet your business’ needs.

Another essential characteristic of a good UK virtual office service is when it can also offer you use of meeting rooms in London and other prime business locations in the country. In most cases, meeting rooms may either be hired on an hourly basis or you may be provided with daily or half-daily rates. Meeting rooms for hire typically come with the following services:

* Personal receptionist to welcome and assist you and your guests
* Refreshments to serve during the meeting
* Provisions for video conferencing and use of Internet

Additional fees may be charged if you are in need of other office equipment and services such as personalised stationery for your business. Ultimately, you can enjoy all these at the fraction of its original cost when you hire a virtual office address London.

So save money and go virtual! Get in touch for more information about our Virtual Office London Addresses.

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