Answering Service??

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sparky76

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So Cal
We're a small shop. Just me at the moment due to slow economy. I want to give the impression of a larger company to help us grow and get some bigger jobs, i.e., small to medium TIs, etc. If I'm out in the field, then there is usually no one around to answer my office phone. I don't want my cell phone listed on my business cards, website, etc as my primary contact #. That should be the office #. I can't afford/justify a full time secretary, but I want a professional female voice to answer the phone. My wife can rarely be around to do it.
What are my options besides an answering service? What do some of you guys do short of forwarding office calls to cell phones? I'm looking for serious ideas here. Thanks guys.
 
Welcome to 1990

Welcome to 1990

sparky76 said:
We're a small shop.
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YOU are a small shop.

A few assumptions:
99% of the GC's you are likely to be subing with are also small shops.
Most of your total business is directly with the person who will pay you.
Few of them will really care that you are a one man show.
On their jobsite they would be surprised if you didn't get 10 calls a day.

(Most of the above will still be true when you have 3 trucks rolling fulltime)

You can't afford to not be talking **immediately** with whoever may call YOU. Have your land line calls forwarded to your cell or just give up the notion that anyone believes you are really the CEO of some large company.

Get another cell for your personal life if you have that many of those calls.
 
BryanMD said:
Get another cell for your personal life if you have that many of those calls.
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That's what I did; I actually got a different cell for the business, and got a local landline telephone number for it. I was able to request it at the cell phone store. They let me look through every number available and pick just what I wanted. Even shows up on the caller ID as the name of my business.
 
Just forward your office number calls to your cell phone, remember cell phones are not listed with information, so it's a waste of money to get a business number for them, you will loose more business then you gain, your yellow book ad's are what bring in the business, not who answers the phone, the mid size and larger companies usually run a credit check on us to find out our size and experiences, the credit reporting companies like D&D and most of the others report all the basic facts from date formation all the way to current conditions, not the phone call. Just call information and see if they have your phone number on file, my bet is they don't and will not, because cell companies are not on the national information list, if it is not then get it fixed before you loose what little information you have listed, one of our locl locksmiths used his cell phone for business, no one could reach him by calling information, he went out of business in Jan this year.
 
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satcom said:
Just forward your office number calls to your cell phone, remember cell phones are not listed with information, so it's a waste of money to get a business number for them, you will loose more business then you gain, your yellow book ad's are what bring in the business, not who answers the phone, the mid size and larger companies usually run a credit check on us to find out our size and experiences, the credit reporting companies like D&D and most of the others report all the basic facts from date formation all the way to current conditions, not the phone call. Just call information and see if they have your phone number on file, my bet is they don't and will not, because cell companies are not on the national information list, if it is not then get it fixed before you loose what little information you have listed, one of our locl locksmiths used his cell phone for business, no one could reach him by calling information, he went out of business in Jan this year.
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I agree with forwarding your office phone to your cell. My wife is my secretary, but if she takes the day off or is sick that's what I do. If you do get an answering service make sure they are a good one. Another EC I know had one and they were giving out mis-information (i.e., telling people he offered free estimates when he did not).
 
sparky76 said:
We're a small shop. Just me at the moment due to slow economy. I want to give the impression of a larger company to help us grow and get some bigger jobs, i.e., small to medium TIs, etc. If I'm out in the field, then there is usually no one around to answer my office phone. I don't want my cell phone listed on my business cards, website, etc as my primary contact #. That should be the office #. I can't afford/justify a full time secretary, but I want a professional female voice to answer the phone. My wife can rarely be around to do it.
What are my options besides an answering service? What do some of you guys do short of forwarding office calls to cell phones? I'm looking for serious ideas here. Thanks guys.
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Nope, I checked, it's still 2008 we haven't gone back to 1972. :D
 
Simple answer,forward your office phone to your cell.I have had my office phone forwarded to my cell for four years even when I am in the office. Rarely am I out of cell range so 98% of my calls are answered by me and after all that is who the customer was calling.Business is Booming!!!
 
If you transfer your office calls to your cell, make sure you have a cell phone plan that makes it economical. I have unlimited incoming calls on mine, so I don't have to worry and 'watch the clock'.
 
I know how many calls I miss due to hang ups when they get my machine and it is not many. My machine calls me when someone has left a message. I don't answer that call I simply call my machine as soon as I have a chance retrieve the message and call them back. My message tells the caller that their call will be returned within 15 minutes. This has worked great for me due to the fact that when you are working in the field it is difficult to always answer the phone and what is the point if the person calling gets a message on your cell instead of the office phone. THis works great for me and I am busy busy busy.
 
bikeindy said:
I know how many calls I miss due to hang ups when they get my machine and it is not many. My machine calls me when someone has left a message. I don't answer that call I simply call my machine as soon as I have a chance retrieve the message and call them back. My message tells the caller that their call will be returned within 15 minutes. This has worked great for me due to the fact that when you are working in the field it is difficult to always answer the phone and what is the point if the person calling gets a message on your cell instead of the office phone. THis works great for me and I am busy busy busy.
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To me one missed customer is to many.It use to be a pain fumbling for my phone but I bought one of those ear piece things that make you look like a Borg and now I do not have that issue less than 1%of my calls go to voicemail.I wish all my competitors would use answering machines and wait 15 minutes to call back customers.
 
Rewire said:
To me one missed customer is to many.It use to be a pain fumbling for my phone but I bought one of those ear piece things that make you look like a Borg and now I do not have that issue less than 1%of my calls go to voicemail.I wish all my competitors would use answering machines and wait 15 minutes to call back customers.
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My signature here says striving to be the best electrical contractor in Indianapolis, because that is what I try to do I am not going to beable to take care of everyone, and if I am with a customer I am not going to answer my phone because it "might" be a customer, I am with one who is paying me so I will give them the attention they deserve. One way or another if you are forwarding your calls some people are going to get voice mail. People have become accustom to it. A pretty voice who answers the phone but can't answer the questions of my callers is not worth paying for. I get a lot of praise from people about how promtly I returned their calls. I climb ladders go in attics, crawls and basements I can't take all the calls if I had them forwarded. We have to do what works for us I am still working "in" my business as well as on it so for another year or so this will continue to be my approach.
 
I also forwarded mine to the cell, till I was able to hire a full time secretary. My friend used an answering service and many times when I call him it will ring 7 -10 times before they pick up. A very successful Washington DC contractor once told me after the 3rd ring they are calling the competition.
 
sparky76 said:
We're a small shop. Just me at the moment due to slow economy. I want to give the impression of a larger company to help us grow and get some bigger jobs, i.e., small to medium TIs, etc. If I'm out in the field, then there is usually no one around to answer my office phone. I don't want my cell phone listed on my business cards, website, etc as my primary contact #. That should be the office #. I can't afford/justify a full time secretary, but I want a professional female voice to answer the phone. My wife can rarely be around to do it.
What are my options besides an answering service? What do some of you guys do short of forwarding office calls to cell phones? I'm looking for serious ideas here. Thanks guys.
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Cell phones are in now. People are even geting accustomed to seeing a different area code for their local area.
Scheduling is my biggest problem, that's where a secretary would help.
My cell phone has a record mode on it. That's helpful for adresses , names and numbers. So I don't have to write every thing down.

I can also send and recieve emails on my cell phone.
Lot's of my active customers are using text messages now, thier great.
 
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