Communication is the key to quality customer service. No matter your industry, offering a quick and easy way to get in touch with your organization is a must in today’s competitive business landscape. Of course, staying on top of inbound calls can be incredibly challenging. Even with your team pitching in to answer calls and address questions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the constant ringing of the telephone. For this reason – and so many more – business owners are frequently turning to call screening services for support.
What is Call Screening?
Just what is call screening, you might ask? It’s the process of deciding whether or not to take a particular inbound call. You’re likely already doing some form of call screening in your workplace. For instance, if you’re in an important meeting and see a client call coming in, you might opt to send the call to voicemail and get back in touch with the caller later. Call screening services elevate this process, providing stellar customer service while saving you and your colleagues valuable time.
While sending calls to voicemail is indeed one way to screen your calls, there are more effective ways to do so. After all, you only get one shot at a first impression, and if you miss out on your opportunity to connect with a new client, your voicemail message is unlikely to win them over. A phone call screening service allows you to set parameters for which calls to take and which to follow up on later.
Our dedicated team of virtual receptionists can answer calls on your behalf, using the information you provide to determine whether to handle caller questions and concerns themselves or pass the conversation onto you or your colleagues. Say you’re eager to bring in new clients and want to impress them with your customer service offerings but prefer to speak with them in a formal consultation. A screening calls receptionist can set up such an appointment while answering many of the most frequently asked questions callers might have about your organization.
This is just one example, of course. The criteria for screening calls is entirely up to you. No matter your preferences, our call screening service can prioritize the types of inbound calls you want to handle yourself while handling other kinds of conversations ourselves. This is the best way to communicate with your callers without interrupting your workflow or tying up your phone line. Of course, that’s just one of the many perks associated with our live call screen offerings.
How Call Screening Works
Once you’ve decided to partner with a call screening service, you’ll want to do some thinking about the kinds of calls you’d like to handle personally and the kinds you’d prefer virtual receptionists to tackle. Our team can automatically answer calls, determine the person’s reason for dialing, and make decisions about where to send them next. Caller intent is what drives telephone screening.
Let’s say you’re a busy realtor who is hoping to connect with local buyers. You’re rarely at your desk – from open houses to client lunches and meetings with your colleagues, you’re likely running your business from your cell phone. The problem? Your phone rings incessantly, with spam calls and legitimate business conversations interrupting your productivity in equal measure. With a call screening service at your disposal, you can stop those spam calls from ever reaching your cell, while ensuring that high priority conversations with homebuyers are sent directly your way. Lower priority calls with those just dipping their toes into the house hunting process can be handled by an agent well-versed in your schedule, policies, and procedure.
What does it mean to screen a call, after all? At MAP Communications, we believe in prioritizing the customer experience at every opportunity. We work from customized call scripts that allow us to present the very best first impression on your behalf. In many cases, callers have no idea they’re speaking with a third-party call screening service. No matter your industry, your callers will be treated to polite, professional conversation with a knowledgeable agent who can find them answers, book appointments, and, when necessary, connect them with you or your team.
Benefits of Using a Call Screening Service
There are a number of important
benefits associated with using a call screening service. For starters, consider how much time you’ll save with spam calls eliminated from your day. Once you set up call screening, you can pick and choose which conversations to have at any given moment. Every time your phone rings, a receptionist will answer and decide whether the conversation fits your particular criteria for patching through. If it’s someone you want to speak with, we’ll forward the call to you. If your criteria for patching through isn’t met, on the other hand, we’ll handle the conversation without interrupting your day. This can include answering frequently asked questions, taking messages, and scheduling appointments.
If you’ve ever felt inundated by the sheer number of incoming calls you receive each day, you’ll marvel at how much more you can accomplish once you’ve partnered with a screening calls receptionist service. There are many ways to improve business efficiency, but few strategies are as quick or as effective as call screening.
24 hours a day, seven days a week, our team works hard to answer your calls, leaving you and your colleagues to focus on important operational duties without being constantly interrupted. Professional virtual receptionists handle calls skillfully, with an eye to your organization’s specific language, policies and procedures. You’ll never have to worry about your brand standards being watered down with MAP on the job.
Your customers can benefit from a live call screen, too. Telephone screening actually makes businesses more accessible. Rather than sit through an endless phone menu of recordings and options, callers will be greeted by a friendly professional with answers to many of their most burning questions. This approach is ideal for first impressions, forging the foundation for a successful, long-lasting professional relationship.
How Call Screening Impacts Productivity
Workplace interruptions are often seen as a necessary evil. There’s always another new email to reply to, another phone call to take, and another question from a colleague to address. These interruptions might seem harmless on the surface, but they can actually throw off your productivity in significant ways.
According to research from the University of California, it takes an average of 23 minutes to completely refocus after being interrupted. While it’s true you can’t prevent 100 percent of such interruptions, you can take steps to eliminate the most common types. A phone call screening service can do wonders to mitigate the impact that a constantly ringing cell phone can have on your day.
Even if you believe yourself to be an expert multitasker, you and your team could probably stand to benefit from a partnership with a telephone screening service. The reality is that switching back and forth between two or more tasks leads to reduced rates of productivity. Forcing yourself to multitask day in and day out can lead to high stress levels and even memory issues.
By setting boundaries with your phone – and by outlining your call screening preferences in advance – you’ll finally be able to focus on a single task without being interrupted. It’s something that many professionals dream about but never manage to achieve – at least until they partner with a call screening service like MAP Communications.
Try MAP’s Call Screening Services Today
The benefits of a partnership with a telephone screening service are obvious. By curtailing interruptions, you and your colleagues can gain untold hours of productivity. In return, your callers will be treated to polite, professional conversations with experienced virtual receptionists and call center workers who know the ins and outs of your organization’s policies and procedures. It’s a win-win for everyone involved. Look to our testimonials page for evidence of just how impactful such a partnership can be on your business.
If you’re ready to give call screening a try, why not partner with MAP? We’ve been taking calls, scheduling appointments, and addressing caller questions for more than 30 years. In that time, we’ve built quite the reputation for ourselves. If you’re eager to work with an organization that prides itself on crafting the ultimate customer service experience, MAP is the answer.
We’re offering a free week trial of our live answering service. Reduce stress and gain more free time for seven days with zero obligation to continue using our services after the week is over. We think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at the value we can bring to your business. Click here to sign up!
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