Selecting an Answering Service for Your Real Estate Investing Business

Here's how I have my real estate investing business call system set up and what I look for in an answering service.

First, I have all different types of my marketing out to find motivated sellers. I use things like classified ads that have my toll free 24 hour recorded information line telephone number on it. I use different extensions for each type of marketing. So, my classified ad in the weekly free newspaper has a different extension than my post it notes that I have delivered door to door in my farm neighborhoods.

When a motivated seller sees my advertisement and wants additional information they can NOT call me directly. They must go through my 24 hour recorded information line to listen to a pre-recorded message that is about 5 minutes long and explains to them in my best presentation voice, the benefits of them working with me and having me buy their house.

Once they have listened to the message, I give usually give them two options: go to my website and submit a form or call me directly.

If they decide to go to my website, they fill out a web based property information form which is directly loaded into my Real Estate Investor Database contact and business management account for me to deal with when I am ready to talk to motivated sellers.

If they decide to call my office directly, they actually do not call me. They call my 24 hour answering service. Here are some things I look for in an answering service.

First, I must be able to forward my phone number to them. I have my system set up so that the 24 hour recorded information line actually forwards the call to the answering service instead of having the seller hang up and call into a separate number. I prefer this and it requires that the answering service give you a local number (not a toll free number) because, as I understand it, you can not forward one toll free number to another toll free number.

Second, they must be willing to input the leads into my Real Estate Investor Database for me directly. Imagine getting over 100 leads in a few days and having to manually add each one to your contact management system. It is a real pain, so the service must be willing to add the new leads directly into my contact management system (which is web based).

Third, they must be reasonably priced. What is reasonably priced? I think less than 50 cents per call is reasonable. If they are going to charge a monthly fee it should be a monthly minimum against calls and not a monthly fee in addition to a per call fee.

Fourth, they must have reasonably good response time. You do not want your motivated sellers on hold for 10 minutes waiting to get through. You want them to wait no more than 2 minutes and most times they should be able to get through immediately.

Those are the qualifications I look for in a live answering service for my buying system.

James Orr is a professional real estate investor and marketing expert.

You can subscribe to his real estate e-newsletter and access audio downloads, articles, marketing materials and educational real estate videos at his Real Estate Investing blog.

Common Answering Service Services Your Business Can Benefit From

Are you a small to medium size business owner? If so, has your business expanded alongside with the increase in your customers or clients? Unfortunately, many business owners are unprepared for the success that their business brings. You are urged not to be one of those business owners. If you are unable to hire additional staff or you do not want to at this current point in time, you are advised to seek assistance elsewhere. This assistance could come from an Answering Service.

An answering service is an operation that is run by an individual or company that specializes in offering common business services to business owners just like you. Using the services of an answering service is often referred to as call center outsourcing. The term answering service outsourcing is used because you are actually outsourcing your work instead of hiring another onsite employee. Despite what you may have heard, answering service outsourcing is not a bad thing. In fact, answering service outsourcing may make it possible for your business to thrive and become the success that it should be.

Although it is important to know exactly what an answering service is and how they come about, you may be wondering what type of services are offered. In all honesty, the answering service services will all depend on the answering service in question. That is why it is important that when using answering service outsourcing to your advantage, you choose your business service partner wisely. Answering service jobs are highly sought after, that is why a large number of individuals apply to them. For the best success, you are advised to work with an answering service that only offers answering service jobs to well-trusted and qualified individuals. Remember, these answering service job workers will be assisting your customers; thus giving your customers an impression of your business.

As stated above, the answering service services offered will vary. Despite variations, there are many answering service services that are commonly offered. One of those services is the answering of inbound calls. An answering service can answer the phone calls of your clients and customer before, during, and after your business hours. In some cases, your calls will be directed to the appropriate person in your establishment. If that person isn?t available, a message will be taken. In a way, that makes an answering service an answering service service as well.

In addition to answering your clients? telephone calls, many answering services will actually answer your clients? questions if they are able to do so. This may save you time by eliminating communication with customers or clients who have simple, easy to answer questions. Also, depending on the type of business you run, your answering service may be able to take orders or schedule your clients? appointments. Perhaps, this is one of the most important answering service services offered. Thanks to answering service software your answering service and your office can all be on the same page. Most answering services have answering service software, but it is best to ask first. In fact, you may even want to request a brief overview of the answering service software being used.

The above mentioned answering service services are just a few of the many that are offered. For more information on the services offered, contact an answering service to learn more.

Rob Porter is president of 1-800 We Answer Answering Service, a nationwide provider of virtual office services including Answering Services, Mail Forwarding Services, Voicemail Services, and Fax Services

What Is An Inbound Answering Service And How Can It Help You

Are you a business owner who feels as if you have gotten in over your head? When it comes to business owners getting in over their heads, we often associate it with failure, but that isn?t always the case. If you are a business owner, you may be in over your head due to quick, unexpected success. If you recently started your own business, whether it be a few months ago or five years ago, you may need to seek assistance. Of course, you can always make the decision to hire other onsite employees, but did you know that isn?t your only option? You may want to examine Inbound Answering Services and what they can do for you.

Before examining the benefits of Inbound Answering Services, it is best to quickly examine Inbound Answering Services, namely what they are. Inbound Answering Services are like most traditional Answering Services. The word inbound is used because phone calls from your customers and clients will be sent to the Answering Service of your choice, the one that you choose to work with. Once those phone calls are answered, an Answering Service employee will do their job. This often involves answering general questions about your business, taking customer orders, scheduling appointments, forwarding the call on to the correct person, or the taking of a message. No matter what the next step taken is, a real person, not an automated machine, will answer your customers? phone calls.

Partnering with an Inbound Answering Service will not only benefit your clients, but you and your business as well. In fact, there are a number of ways that an Inbound Answering Service can benefit you and your business. One of those ways involves saving you and your other employees time. How many phone calls out of the day have you received from your customers that had a simple question; a question that you felt someone else could have answered? If that is the case, an Inbound Answering Service could definitely help you. As stated above, in addition to answering questions, an Inbound Answering Service representative could also take your customer orders, provide technical support, or even schedule appointments. This will free up a considerable amount of time for you and your staff: time that could be used to complete other tasks.

The productivity in your workplace can also improve by using a professional Inbound Answering Service. In addition to freeing up time for your staff, an Inbound Answering Service may limit or completely eliminate interruptions. This means that your employees can work on the projects that they were assigned without having to take a break and possibly answer multiple phone calls from your clients. It is known fact that individuals often perform quicker and produce better results when they are able to complete their tasks without interruption. In most cases, you will find that your staff only needs to handle customer calls when your Inbound Answering Service is unable to provide your customers with what they need.

As you can see, there are a number of ways that subscribing to an Inbound Answering Service can help you and your business. That is why you are urged to examine Inbound Answering Service today. The sooner you get the started, the sooner you can begin to see results.

Rob Porter is president of 1-800 We Answer Answering Service, a nationwide provider of virtual office services including Answering Services, Mail Forwarding Services, Voicemail Services , and Fax Services

Does Your Business Need An Answering Service

Have you recently started a business within the past few years? If so, how is your business going? A large number of business owners start out small and expand overtime, but some business owners get lucky and see success right away. If you are one of those business owners, were you or are you prepared for that success? If you are understaffed, you might not be. As business owner, you owe it to your clients to be available and able to take their calls. Unfortunately, as long as your business is understaffed, that may be difficult to do.

Answering Services are operations that are operated by trained individuals. In most cases, you will find that Answering Service jobs are filled with bright, educated, and trained individuals. This is important because those individuals will be speaking with your clients, often on a daily basis. As the name states, an Answering Service is where your clients? calls will go to, instead of to your office or to your place of business. Once that call is received, a number of things can happen. These things will all depend on the Answering Service services that are being offered to you. Common Answering Service services include the taking of incoming calls, the recording of messages, the scheduling of appointments, the taking of customer orders, the answering of common business questions, or technical support.

The most obvious sign that you may need the assistance of an Answering Service is if you are unable to provide your customers with what they need. For instance, have any of your customers reported that they are unable to get through on your phone lines during peak business hours? If so, you may need the assistance of an Answering Service service. A Answering Service will take your call when your system is too busy to take anymore. This is often referred to as the handling of overflow phone calls.

In addition to handling an overflow of incoming calls, an Answering Service can also answer your phone calls before and after business owners. In a way, this type of service is also referred to as an answering service. Having your before or after business hour client inquires directed to an Answering Service will allow you to continue on with your activities outside of work, without necessarily having to worry about your clients. If you work in an important industry, such as healthcare or law, you and your Answering Service can reach an agreement where your important messages will be forwarded to you at home, right away, especially if they need immediate attention.

If you are interested in making sure that your customers and clients are taken care of, at any hour of the day, you are urged to inquire about Answering Service outsourcing. Answering Service outsourcing is often used to describe using the services of an Answering Service. This is because you are choosing to outsource your work to an Answering Service, instead of hiring onsite employees. Answering Service outsourcing is the perfect way to make sure that all of your clients needs are met.

Rob Porter is president of Rob Porter is president of 1-800 We Answer Answering Service, a nationwide provider of virtual office services including Answering Services, Mail Forwarding Services, Voicemail Services , and Fax Services

How A Phone Answering Service Can Get You New Clients And Help You Keep Your Old Ones

Have you heard of Phone Answering Service services before? If not, you are urged to familiarize yourself with them. Phone answering services, which are also often referred to as business answering services, are when an outside company assists you in answering the phone calls that you and your staff cannot personally answer. What does this mean for you and for your business? Essentially, it means that your clients? phone calls will not go unanswered. In turn, this may result in an increase of new clients, as well as the retention of your old ones.

A phone answering service or a business answering service is often compared to voicemail, such as the voicemail found on a cell phone. Although similar purposes are served, they are two completely different things. With traditional voicemail, your clients will be speaking to an automated machine. With a phone answering service, your clients will be speaking with a real person. That person is usually employed by an individual or a company who runs a business that delivers needed services, such as a phone answering service, to business owners just like you.

As stated above, a phone answering service or a business answering service allows your customers to speak with a real person, when you or your other employees are unable to take their phone calls. Most phone answering services will speak with your client, record their message, and then forward it on to you. The way that message is forwarded on to you will all depend on the phone answering service that you choose to do business with. Despite different methods of operation, many phone answering services will forward your clients? messages to you by email. In cases of an emergency, you may be contacted on your personal cell phone or home phone. This is often something that is discussed as soon as your account is set up.

Although you are a business owner, you are also a consumer as well. After all, you do need to purchase food, clothing, office supplies, and other necessities. This also gives you an edge as a business owner, because you know how you like or do not like to be treated. Therefore, you likely already know that there is nothing worse than trying to contact a business and having your calls go unanswered. In fact, some consumers dislike this so much that they decide to take their business elsewhere, of course after giving a firsthand account of their experience to anyone who will listen. This in turn may cause you to lose a customer of yours, as well as prevent you from acquiring new customers. It is amazing, but the simple voice of a real person can work wonders for you and your business.

To help increase your client base, you are urged to inquire about a phone answering service or a business answering service. In the end, you will likely be pleased with your decision to do so.

Rob Porter is president of 1-800 We Answer Answering Service, a nationwide provider of virtual office services including Answering Services, Mail Forwarding Services, Voicemail Services , and Fax Services

Using Answering Services for Your Business

Companies that specialize in taking and recording missed calls from the subscriber to the service are known as answering services. These services essentially perform the function of the basic telephone answering machine. Like an answering machine, answering services usually offer their customers the ability to record a voice message. This message plays to callers after a given number of rings. The service holds the voice message, and any recordings left by callers. The costumer can play back these messages and other recordings by using through a simple phone call and password log in.

If you actively use a cell phone like most people these days, then a description like the one given above isn't necessary for you. Your messages are recorded by answering services because cell phones clearly cannot hook up to a traditional answering machine. This service is typically part of the contract users agree to with your service providers.

If you have tried to order something on the phone before, then you are probably familiar with answering services. You will usually be redirected to an answering service when you call a business whose operators are all busy with incoming calls. You are not normally prompted to leave a message in these cases. Instead, you will be kept on a 'hold' like status until the next operator is free to take your call. The service will often play music or verbal encouragement so that you will stay on the line.

A lot of modern businesses are now turning to the use of a live answering service. The usual and often obnoxious music playing ones to encourage customers to stay on the line for the next operator are no longer popular. It has been suggested by recent studies that these live answering services have better results in keeping potential customers on the line.

A business that employ a lot of workers will rely on the use of an answering service, even if it does have customers that call. There?s no sense in using a physical answering machine in an office environment with dozens of cubicles and as many employees. The business as a whole usually subscribes to an answering service. Each of the employee's phone line is connected to the central service.

Hospitals, government facilities and other establishments also rely on answering services to take their missed calls. Any organization with a large number of incoming phone traffic will rely on an answering service. This is especially true in a medical or political environment when disastrous results can be caused by a single missed call.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning Answering Services. Visit our site for more helpful information about Answering Services and other similar topics.

The Easiest and Cheapest Way to Start a Telephone Answering Service from Home

Even though business people increasingly rely on mobile phones, the fact remains that the smart ones know that being at the beck and call of every prospect and client is inefficient. They know that every job takes longer and mistakes are far more likely if they allow themselves to be constantly interrupted by a ringing phone.

So the smart operators would rather have their phone calls answered by someone else. The problem for small businesses is that paying for a full time telephonist or secretary is just not economic. What they need is a telephone answering service manned by human operators. And it is this need that presents an ideal business opportunity to those who want to set up a business at low cost.

Operating a telephone answering service from home on behalf of local small businesses is one of the simplest and least expensive home businesses to set up. It is very suitable for those who are housebound for whatever reason. It's also a business that can be operated by people with a disability who either find it easier or have no choice but to work from home.

Large office based telephone answering services use sophisticated and expensive computer equipment. When the phone rings, the software knows from the dialled number which client is being called and displays the client details on the operator's computer screen.

In the past the only way a home-based answering service could compete was by having a separate phone line for each client so that calls could be answered in the client's name. This was not only cumbersome but meant that only one call could be answered for each client at a time. And the only way to expand the customer base was by buying more phone lines.

But now there is another way made possible by the recent introduction of virtual switchboards. These are phone systems that are an integral part of the telephone exchange and that offer the same facilities as expensive switchboards but without the attendant cost. In fact, many virtual switchboards are often offered for a small fee and many, especially in the UK, are free to the user.

Each client is allocated a virtual switchboard phone number that is used by the client as the main business number. Alternatively, the client can use call forwarding to send calls to it from an established number.

Calls to the virtual switchboard number are answered automatically and placed in a queue. Each call is then immediately forwarded to the landline number of the telephone answering service. For those just starting out in the telephone answering business, this could even be their home telephone number. That's because each call is announced. When the operator answers a call they hear "You have a call for ABC company. Press any key to accept".

The virtual switchboard doesn't just send calls to one number. It can send them to several in succession if they are not immediately answered or are engaged. This is great for those starting out who can either install more lines as needed or outsource overflow calls to others they recruit to also work from the comfort of their own home.

Of course, virtual switchboards include other features such as voicemail messages delivered by email and notification of missed calls by email. But it is the essential ability to have calls announced and sent to multiple landlines that mean it has never been easier or cheaper for the home worker to start offering a telephone answering service to businesses.

Author Michael Soliatis writes about telecom issues and offers a free 0870 virtual switchboard facility.