Are you overwhelmed with your business’s growing call volume?
Whether you’re in the healthcare, legal, or e-commerce industry, answering service companies could reap plenty of benefits for your business.
Increased productivity is just the tip of the iceberg.
Read this guide if you want to hire an answering service company:
What is an answering service?
A phone answering service is a professional service that manages incoming phone calls on behalf of a business, person, or organization.
These services can range from basic call answering, where the operator takes messages and forwards them to the appropriate department.
Oftentimes an answering service can also schedule your appointments, process your orders, and provide your customers with technical support.
Answering service companies can operate live (with real human agents) or with automation (using interactive voice response systems).
Listen to Real Practitioners' Praise for VAs!
Benefits of an answering service
There are many benefits to hiring an answering service for your business:
1. Multiple language support
Did you know that 29% of businesses lose customers due to a lack of multilingual support?
Additionally, 40% said they wouldn’t purchase from a company that doesn’t offer support in their native language. This could mean significant revenue loss if you’re not careful.
The good news is many answering services offer multilingual support, allowing you to cater to a more diverse customer base. This can be particularly beneficial if you operate outside of your home country or serve clients who speak another language.
Remember that a customer’s native language is a deciding factor for undecided buyers. Your customers could become more loyal if you provide support in their native language, which can lead to repeated purchases and positive word-of-mouth referrals.
2. Business continuity
In the event of natural disasters, power outages, or technical failures, your phone answering service could save the day. Well, not totally — but they will at least make sure your business stays afloat amidst the chaos.
With a reputable answering service, you can keep your customers’ trust, extending their loyalty to your product or service. This is especially true if you have a legal practice, for example, where time could help you win or lose a case.
Having answering services helps you avoid missing critical legal deadlines or updates with your clients. This helps secure your reputation as a trusted legal practitioner.
3. Lead qualification
A survey by Gartner found that only 47% of sales-accepted leads (SALs) convert into sales-qualified leads (SQLs), with just more than half becoming won deals. This highlights the importance of thorough lead qualification methods.
One way to elevate your company’s lead-qualifying practice is by training your answering service provider to qualify leads on your team’s behalf. If you have prepared criteria, such as an Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), you can hand it to the phone answering service provider and let them start qualifying in phone calls.
This can ease the burden off your sales team or business development representative. A phone answering service could help filter out the less promising inquiries and direct the highly qualified leads to your sales team. Now, the latter can better focus on converting them into paying customers.
By just training your phone answering service provider to qualify leads, your conversion rates and sales efficiency could improve.
4. Employee classification
Research indicates that when employees can focus on core tasks that align with their skills and interests, they become more productive and engaged at work.
Moreover, a study from Oxford University found that happy employees are 13% more productive, emphasizing the direct link between job satisfaction and productivity.
Next to respect, meaning is the most important factor in an employee’s job satisfaction. This highlights the importance of helping your team excel at what they do best.
And this is where an answering service provider can just help you.
By offloading routine call handling to an answering service, your in-house team can focus on more complex or rewarding tasks. Your employees, in turn, are less bored by the monotony of repetitive work. This can lead to higher job satisfaction, lowering your company’s turnover rates.
5. Market intelligence
Answering services can give you an insight into how your customers behave.
Through call logs and reports, you can observe a pattern in their inquiries and peak call times. These data can shape your marketing strategies and help you become more understanding of your customers’ pain points.
For example, your call logs can reveal trends, such as the most common issues your customers face. This can also inform product improvements or targeted campaigns to address those specific problems.
As with peak call times, you can also optimize your resource allocation to ensure you’re meeting your customers’ demands in a timely manner.
6. Reduced training cost
When you outsource your answering services, you can eliminate the need to train your internal team on the best customer service practices, saving everyone’s time and energy.
Most answering services have seasoned customer service professionals who are well-trained in handling a high volume of inquiries.
When looking for answering service providers, you can gauge if their operators can clearly and politely communicate. It’s also important that they are efficient at call handling. One good way to test their training quality is if they can resolve issues during the first call, minimizing the need for follow-ups.
If you opt to do this internally, you could take up more time and lose focus on the core tasks that deserve your attention better. Truth is, training takes time and even multiple trial-and-errors. It’s much safer for your company and your pocket to outsource this to an answering service provider.
7. Customized service levels
If you’re operating a startup, unexpected things usually happen. Goes without saying, your needs as a growing business are almost always dynamic. This means you should partner with providers that are flexible and scalable.
Fortunately, many answering services offer customized service levels, letting you only choose particular services that align with you. Most offer tiered packages or pay-per-call — whichever suits your business needs at the moment.
This flexibility helps you avoid the inefficiency of unused services during slower periods. In addition, you can easily scale your core offerings without being bogged down by rigid contracts or unnecessary expenses.
8. Professionalism
Trained agents can handle even the most challenging customer interactions with professionalism and courtesy. They received training in conflict resolution, active listening, and emotional intelligence, which helped them to defuse tense situations with customers.
This kind of professionalism may be harder to achieve if you go the DIY way with your untrained internal team.
If you’re in the healthcare or legal industry, you can’t just risk your reputation by entrusting your call-handling activities to an untrained employee. Before you know it, you might be facing lawsuits left and right before you know it.
In fact, a study published in the Journal of Medical Practice Management highlights the risks associated with untrained staff handling patient phone calls. For example, they could mishandle sensitive information or share incorrect advice, which can lead to legal actions against the practice.
That’s why outsourcing to an answering service provider is the wiser option.
9. Brand consistency
It would be hard to establish trust if they hear a different tone every time they call your phone line. Studies show that a consistent approach boosts customer loyalty. That’s why a trained operator is paramount to maintaining an on-brand impression.
A good answering service can use customized scripts that reflects your voice and values. This ensures your brand is consistently represented, even if the service is handling your phone calls outside of your business hours.
Top telephone answering service companies
We considered pricing, key and unique features, and expert opinion in choosing these top telephone answering service companies:
1. AnswerConnect
AnswerConnect is voted the best answering by Forbes in 2024. They’re a 24/7 answering service that offers virtual receptionist services, appointment scheduling, live chat support, and customer service. This company positions itself as a reliable partner for small and medium businesses, offering a flexible alternative to hiring in-house staff.
Pricing
Depending on your call volume, AnswerConnect’s service can range from $1.32 to $1.75/minute. They also offer tiered pricing plans, starting at $350 per month for 200 minutes, with a setup fee of $49.99. Other plans include:
Growth Plan – $395 per month for 300 minutes, no setup fee
Standard Plan $575 per month for 400 minutes, with a $49.99 setup fee
Larger plans are available, going up to 49,950 minutes for $45,975 per month.
Key features
24/7 live answering services for small to medium businesses
Customizable scripting
CRM integrations
Mobile and desktop app
Live chat support
Bilingual services
Services
Virtual receptionist
After business hours answering
Appointment scheduling
Lead qualification
2. VoiceNation
VoiceNation is a leading live answering service provider that offers a range of services designed to enhance customer interactions and streamline business communications. They also cater to businesses of all sizes in industries such as legal, healthcare, real estate, franchising, automotive, finance, and more. They provide essential features like call forwarding, bilingual answering service operators, and customized call scripting.
VN company is particularly well-suited for businesses that need reliable and customizable small business answering services, with the added benefit of bilingual support and scalable plans.
Pricing
VoiceNation offers a 7-day free trial for new users to evaluate their answering services. They also offer flexible pricing plans, with options to suit different business needs:
Basic plan – $70 per month for 20 minutes. Additional minutes cost $2.99 each.
50 minutes plan – $135 per month. Additional minutes at $2.85.
100 minutes plan – $229 per month. Additional minutes at $2.65.
250 minutes plan – $525 per month. Additional minutes at $2.39.
500 minutes plan – $925 per month. Additional minutes at $2.09.
Key features
24/7 answering services for small to medium businesses
Custom scripting
Bilingual operators
Instant activation
Online dashboard
Call forwarding and practicing
No lock-in contracts
Services
Virtual receptionist
Call handling and messaging
Appointment scheduling
Lead qualification
3. PATLive
PATLive is a 24/7 live answering service that offers virtual receptionist solutions that support businesses by handling incoming calls, web chats, and various customer interactions. The service is known for its US-based receptionists, who provide professional and friendly answering services, making it an excellent option for businesses that need reliable call management.
This service provider is well-suited for small to medium-sized businesses looking for a cost-effective solution for managing customer communications. The service’s scalability and customization options make it easy to adjust according to business growth and changing needs.
Pricing
Starter Plan – $205 per month, includes 75 minutes with additional minutes at $1.82
Standard Plan – $360 per month, includes 200 minutes, with additional minutes at $1.56 each.
Premium Plan – $535 per month, includes 350 minutes, with additional minutes at $140.
Pro Plan – $825 per month, includes 600 minutes, with additional minutes at $1.30.
Key features
24/7 answering services for small to medium businesses
Customizable call handling
Bilingual receptionists
Mobile and web apps
Wide range of customer interaction handling services
No contracts
Services
Virtual receptionist
Web chat support
Lead collection and qualification
Scheduling and event registrations
4. Da Vinci Virtual
Da Vinci Virtual is a comprehensive virtual office solution that offers a range of services that give businesses a professional presence without the need for a physical office. This makes it ideal for startups, small businesses, and solopreneurs who want to establish credibility and operate efficiently from any location.
DVV is particularly beneficial for businesses looking to establish a professional presence in major cities without the associated costs of physical office space. Their service is flexible and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of industries such as legal, medical, and consulting sectors.
Pricing
Basic services start as low as $49 per month, which includes a professional business address. Additional solutions such as mail forwarding, live receptionist services, and access to meeting rooms can increase the monthly answering service cost. The setup process is straightforward but involves some steps, like submitting ID forms and completing postal forms, which might require notarization.
Key features
Virtual business address
Mail handling and forwarding
Live receptionist services
Meeting room access
Lobby greeter and directory listing
Flexible workspaces
Services
Mail receipt and forwarding
Telephone answering
Meeting room and day office rentals
Registered agent services
5. MAP Communications
MAP Communications is a US-based provider of answering services and inbound call center services. They offer a range of services designed to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes, with a strong emphasis on customization and integration with existing business tools.
Pricing
Pay-as-you-go – $49 per month, with customer calls charged at $1.37 per minute.
Business plan – $179 per month for 125 minutes, with additional minutes at $1.30.
Enterprise plan – $339 per month for 250 minutes, with additional minutes at $1.28.
Premium plan – $649 per month for 500 minutes, with additional minutes at $1.28 each.
Key features and services
24/7 live answering services for small to medium businesses
Bilingual services
Custom call scripts
HIPAA compliant
Scalable solutions
Integrations
MAP Communications integrates with over 3,000 apps through Zapier, including Google Calendar, HubSpot, Salesforce, and more. This allows businesses to streamline operations by seamlessly connecting their existing systems with MAP’s services.
MAP partners well with businesses that ned a high level of service customization and integration, as well as those that operate in regulated industries like healthcare. This makes MAP communications a strong option for companies looking for reliable, US-based answering services that can scale with their needs.
6. MoneyPenny
MoneyPenny is a leading provider of outsourced communication services, including phone answering, virtual receptionists, and live chat solutions. They cater to a variety of businesses, from SMEs to global organizations.
Pricing
Moneypenny offers a range of pricing plans based on the number of calls your business receives. Although specific prices are customized based on your needs, they provide a free 7-day trial for prospective clients to evaluate their services before committing to a plan.
Key features and services
24/7 live answering services
Dedicated receptionists
Custom call handling
Managed live chat
Contact center teams
Technology and integration
Moneypenny integrates with various CRM systems and communication tools, making it easy to manage customer interactions and track data in real-time through their online portal and mobile app. This ensures your operations run smoothly and you have full visibility over your communication processes.
7. Ruby Receptionists
Ruby is a popular virtual receptionist and live chat service provider, known for offering comprehensive solutions that cater primarily to SMEs. Their services help ensure your business is always responsive, with a strong focus on customer satisfaction and professionalism.
Pricing
Ruby’s pricing is based on the number of receptionist minutes you need. All plans include a full range of features, such as call routing, bilingual support, appointment scheduling, and more. They also offer a 21-day money back guarantee to test your services with minimal risk.
Call Ruby 50 – $235 per month for 50 minutes.
Call Ruby 100 – $375 per month for 100 minutes.
Call Ruby 200 – $680 per month for 200 minutes.
Call Ruby 500 – $1,640 per month for 500 minutes.
Key features
24/7 live answering services
Custom call handling
Bilingual receptionists
Appointment scheduling
Lead capture and screening
Payment processing
Robocall filtering*
FYI, robocall filtering is the process of automatically filtering robocalls — automated calls used by scammers — preventing them from reaching your live agents.
8. Abby Connect
Abby Connect is a highly rated virtual receptionist service known for providing personalized customer service, particularly beneficial for small to medium-sized businesses. They’re more popular among businesses that require a hands-on, personalized approach to customer service.
The dedicated teams, coupled with advanced features like Abby Intelligence (for proactive account management) and seamless CRM integrations, make Abby a robust option for companies that prioritize consistent, high-quality customer interactions.
Pricing
100 receptionist minutes – $299 per month, with additional minutes at $2.99
200 receptionist minutes – $549 per month, with additional minutes at $2.75
500 receptionist minutes – $1,199 per month, with additional minutes at $2.40
Key features and services
Dedicated receptionist team
24/7 live answering services
Bilingual receptionist
Appointment scheduling
Customized call handling
Mobile app (AbbyGO)
Integrations with CRMs
9. Specialty Answering Services
Specialty Answering Service (SAS) is a comprehensive and budget-friendly provider, offering a wide range of live answering and call center services. They are ideal for SMEs that need scalable answering services at a friendly price.
Their robust feature set, including HIPAA compliance and customizable call handling, makes them an excellent choice for industries like healthcare, legal services, and emergency response.
Pricing
Base plan – Starts at $38 per month with per minute billing. The exact rate depends on the plan chosen, with overage fees ranging from $0.90 to $1.20 per minute.
Per-call and flat-rate options – SAS offers different pricing models, including per-call and flat-rate options to fit the needs of businesses with varying call volumes
One-time setup fee – $50 setup fee for starting with SAS
Key features and services
24/7 live answering services
Bilingual service
Custom call handling
Mobile app
Omnichannel capability
Compliance and security
Choosing the best answering services
With a lot of providers today offering similar services, how can you find the best answering services that suit your business? Be guided by these steps:
1. Understand your business needs
Estimate your typical call volume to determine the number of minutes or calls you’ll need. For example, small businesses with low call volume might opt for a basic plan, while larger businesses may need a more comprehensive plan.
Apart from call volume, you should also consider your need for 24/7 coverage and strict adherence to your industry’s regulations. Businesses with global customers or those in healthcare might require round-the-clock service and compliance with HIPAA.
2. Evaluate features and capabilities
Look for services that offer custom call scripts to ensure that every interaction reflects your brand’s voice and values.
Additionally, your provider should be able to integrate with your existing CRM, calendaring systems, or other tools. This is crucial for maintaining consistency in customer service.
Meanwhile, if your business serves a diverse base of customers, bilingual receptionists can enhance customer satisfaction.
3. Consider pricing structures
Determine your budget and compare pricing models (per-minute, per-call, flat-rate). Services like SAS offer flexible options for businesses with different budget levels.
Be aware of additional costs for exceeding your plan’s minutes or calls. Choose a plan that provides a buffer for unexpected spikes in call volume. The best answering service is flexible.
4. Assess their quality of service
Some answering service professionals, such as Abby Connect, offer dedicated receptionist teams, which can provide a more consistent, personalized service. That said, make sure the receptionist team is well-trained and capable of handling challenging customer interactions with professionalism and courtesy.
One important question when assessing a provider is: do they align with my values and business needs? Many services offer free trials or money-back guarantees. Use this opportunity to test the service’s quality and responsiveness.
5. Look at their scalability and flexibility
If your business is expanding, choose a service that can scale with you, offering flexible plans that can adjust as your needs evolve. VoiceNation and SAS, for example, have scalable solutions that grow with your business.
Additionally, look for services that offer month-to-month billing without long-term contracts, giving you the flexibility to change or cancel the service as needed.
6. Do a background check
Dedicate time to doing background checks of answering services! This will help you take these company’s propositions with a grain of salt.
So, spend time reading a provider’s customer feedback to get a picture of the reliability and effectiveness of their service. Check out how they handle response times, complaints, and downtimes.
If providers publish case studies, you can also dedicate time to reading or scanning them. If they’re transparent about the results they made, then that’s a green flag.
7. Evaluate their customer support services
Make sure your provider has a robust set of customer support services, from phone, email, and chat options. The quality of support is crucial if you need assistance with technical issues or account management.
Some service providers like Abby Connect offer a dedicated account manager to help optimize your service and address any concerns.
Beyond services: Aligning values with your providers
The most important part of choosing a provider is knowing if they align with your values.
Since this is a customer-facing part of your business, it’s crucial that you choose a provider that follows business ethics and has real empathy for your customers.
But why is it important for you to align with such a provider?
Here are the key reasons:
1. Brand consistency
Your answering service acts as your brand’s extension, being the first point of contact for your customers. If they don’t align with your values, it could result in interactions that don’t represent your brand. This leads to dissatisfaction and then erodes customer trust.
You could lose money in the long run if you hire providers who can’t be consistent with your brand.
2. Maintaining ethical standards
If your answering service provider doesn’t share your ethical standards, they may engage in practices that could harm your reputation.
For example, mishandling sensitive customer information or providing poor customer service can lead to negative perceptions of your business. Worse, it could lead to lawsuits against your company. And that is why maintaining ethical consistency across all your business’s touchpoints is important.
3. Protecting your reputation
Any misalignment can lead to negative outcomes that might damage your brand’s reputation.
Say, a provider that doesn’t prioritize your data security can lead to breaches of trust, which can be difficult to recover from. Protecting your reputation requires alignment in values, ensuring your provider acts in ways that reflect well on your business.
Wrapping it up
Selecting the best answering services is not just about matching their operational needs with yours but also about ensuring alignment with your core values.
The best answering services will resonate with your brand’s ethos and represent your company consistently, maintaining customer trust and enhancing your reputation.
