- Why business calls are so important for your small business growth
- Imagine you’re waiting for a call from your biggest, most important prospect…
- How things change with a virtual receptionist
Q: Are business calls important for growing a small business?
A: Business calls are absolutely crucial to growing your small business. Incoming calls can be converted to customers or may present networking opportunities that can seriously boost profits. This article explores the best way to improve the quality of your business calls.
Small businesses are thriving.
Across the nation, entrepreneurs are launching their own small businesses, capitalizing on the ubiquity and widespread acceptance of remote work and e-commerce.
This surge of small businesses is significant for everyone. People are more empowered than ever to chase their dreams and pursue financial freedom, while consumers are met with innovation and a plethora of unique options.
But it isn’t all smooth sailing. There’s a learning curve for small business owners as they learn to handle things like business calls, marketing, accounting, and business registration.
None of this is insurmountable, but it can be relatively daunting. As a result, it’s tempting to put off finding solutions for these tasks.
Unfortunately, such procrastination seriously backfires, especially when it comes to business calls.
Having the proper business call etiquette can make or break a small business. It’s absolutely crucial to your business’s success.
This article explores why by exploring two different approaches to handling an important call.
Before we jump into the hypotheticals, let’s explore why business calls are so important to your small business.
Why Business Calls are so Important
According to Pew Research Center, 79% of Americans believe we have too little trust in one another.
We’ve grown skeptical about the authenticity and honesty of people’s claims.
This is especially true in business settings. Consumers are increasingly hesitant to trust.
Earning that trust is the key to winning them over and ultimately growing your business.
This is arguably even more true of networking opportunities. Other businesses have a lot at stake when they partner with you, meaning they need to trust you.
But building trust is a deeply personal thing. It requires both logical reasoning and positive feelings.
Business calls are one of the few ways to personally connect with someone. With so much of our interaction moving to text-based communication, hearing a person’s voice provides a rare touch of humanity.
A recent article by Forbes highlights this when it states that consumers still deeply crave human-to-human connection. Even in the digital age, we want to feel personally connected to businesses and their owners.
That’s why business calls matter. They forge the human connection that opens up new opportunities for your brand.
Try as you may though, it can be hard to nail every business call as a small business owner.
Life Gets in the Way Sometimes
As a small business owner, you’re responsible for a lot more than just your incoming calls.
You’re also dealing with:
- Marketing
- Accounting
- Packing and shipping
- Building your website
And the list doesn’t stop there.
All of that means when it’s time for a business call, things can go off-script. You might end up missing important opportunities, forwarding them to voicemail if you’re lucky, or missing them entirely.
You may also be stressed or unorganized because of your workload. While this is incredibly understandable, it still negatively impacts the outcome of your call and, ultimately, your business.
To highlight this, let’s look at an example.
You’re Waiting for a Call from Your Biggest, Most Important Prospect…
This could be a huge partnership, one that would not only move a ton of product immediately but set you up for a consistent increase in sales moving forward.
You’re sitting patiently by the phone, going over your notes in your home office, when the phone rings. You answer ready to put your best foot forward and close the deal.
The Kids are Too Noisy
Unfortunately, you aren’t home alone. The kids are in the other room. They’ve been quiet all afternoon, so you’re hoping you’re in the clear.
The prospect calls. You pick up the phone and give a cordial, polite greeting. Just then, the walls start to shake.
You can’t tell what you’re kids are doing, but whatever it is, it’s loud.
The prospect just asked you a question, but you couldn’t focus on it through the repeated crashes echoing through your office. You ask her to repeat the question.
She does, but you miss it again as your brain tries to analyze what the kids could possibly be doing. You deduce they’re throwing a basketball against the wall.
“Hello?”
You realize you’ve missed the question again.
The call continues like this, leaving you helpless to solve the problem. The prospect thanks you for your time and says they’ll be in touch.
But deep down, you don’t believe them.
They Call Early
Imagine instead that you’re at the end of the workday. You just finished up some work and you’ve left yourself 20 minutes prior to the call to brush up on the details.
You sit and begin flipping through your notes, ready to impress whoever is on the other end.
Then the phone rings 12 minutes early.
You’d barely scratched the surface. You don’t remember a few very important details about the prospect’s line of work.
You can’t not answer though.
You start to panic. The phone is on its final ring. You answer it, unprepared, and hoping for the best.
As the call progresses, your nervousness builds. You’re unable to maintain your composure, making it even more difficult to remember the important personal details you need to close this deal.
You stumble through the call, either answering too slowly or cutting the prospect off out of anxiety to answer.
They say they’ll get back to you, but you know what the actually means.
Now Imagine You Have a Virtual Receptionist
A virtual receptionist is a professionally trained receptionist that connects to your business phone from a call center.
This simple addition to your business can make a world of difference. Let’s revisit the above scenarios.
The Kids Can Be As Loud As They Want
The prospect is set to call, but you’ve ensured they connect with your virtual receptionist rather than with you directly.
You’re in your home office. You look down at your phone, see the time is 4 p.m. – right when the client was scheduled to call.
Suddenly a loud thud rings from the wall. You smile, lean back in your chair, and think about how stressful the call would have been if you didn’t have a virtual receptionist.
No Unexpected Calls
Let’s imagine you do have to speak to the contact directly. Your virtual receptionist has already worked things out so that the call happens when you’re completely prepared.
Using the scheduling software that comes with every virtual receptionist plan, you’ve scheduled the call at a time when you’ve been able to prepare and give yourself room to breathe.
The call comes in 12 minutes early, but it doesn’t matter. You’ve already had the time to go over your notes last night.
You answer the call confidently and proceed to land the deal.
Conclusion
At this point, it should be clear why a virtual receptionist helps you perfect your business calls. They free you up to handle calls professionally every single time.
What’s more, you provide the caller with a human touch, unlike most software or recording-based business phone solutions.
Best of all, virtual receptionists are a fantastic way to avoid burnout as a small business owner, as they keep you from unnecessary stress.
Nail your business calls and grow your business with a virtual receptionist from Alliance Virtual Offices.
Further Reading
