Before diving into a start up company there are many things to consider that could otherwise cause a financial disaster in a short period of time.
Statistically, about one and every three businesses will fail within the first two years. Often times it's just a matter of poor planning or lack of funding. The bottom line is that while the money may run out the bills wont and the employees will still expect their wages. The entrepreneur should take a close look at the cause of this alarming statistic before launching into to new venture. Naturally it is important to know your industry and your competitors but it's just as important to know how to save money on the every day costs.
One commonly overlooked investment is the use of call center services, and specifically telephone answering services. These services can literally help a company to save money and make money at the same time. Here's something to consider along the journey. When hiring a new full time receptionist a company can have payroll and taxes to the tune of about two thousand dollars a month. Additionally the employer will take on the cost of benefits, health insurance, and paid holidays. Further, if she's like most people she will call out sick, run late and when the phones aren't ringing she's still on the payroll.
An answering service is usually open twenty-four hours a day and every day of the year. They never close, call in sick, or complain. More importantly, with the exception of a small monthly fee, a good service will only charge for usage. When you are only charged for usage that means you are only charged when calls are being taken on your behalf. Phone answering services usually only run about one dollar per call which means you could literally have a service take one hundred calls a month and still only spend about a twenty five dollars a week. It's not even possible to hire a part time employee for that little amount of money.
The fact is most start ups can not afford the cost of a full time receptionist, but they know they really need one because they realize that an answering machine or taking your own calls says we're a tiny company and we may not be big enough to serve your needs. Bottom line, image is very important, and we naturally tend to think the small guy is unsuccessful or not able to handle our needs. While that may not be true, perception is everything. A service creates the image of having your own live secretary and dramatically improves the overall image of the business.
A final reason to consider using call center services is time. Most new business owners are extremely busy and are either with clients, up to their neck in paper work or need to focus on a big project. Being enslaved to a telephone is not an option and it just slows the entire work day down. Let's face it, you can't carry on twenty phone conversations a day and work at the same time. Further, if you're in a business that bills it service at an hourly rate it's just not right to spend time with other clients while your current customer pays for it. Let a service do it for you and you'll save time, money and create the image of being a big successful business owner.
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In this industry call center customer satisfaction (Csat) is king. If you are not focused on customer satisfaction then you're dropping the ball. Call center certification is your first step towards improving your Csat.
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