Does a Home Business Need a Virtual Receptionist?

As the owner of a home business, you may wonder if manning the phones while running the company is a good idea or not. There are a number of difficulties that come with running an office from your home, and using the phone is often one of the toughest issues.

But does a home business need a virtual receptionist?

Some home business owners would rather save the cost of a virtual receptionist and answer the phones themselves instead. This is one of the most difficult ways to run a home business.

Why being your own receptionist is difficult

Environmental noise, family phone needs, and the inability to be near the phone constantly (bathroom breaks, during meals, running errands, etc.) make it challenging to make and receive business calls as a home business owner.

Being your own receptionist is the most difficult way to run a business because it saddles you with daily tasks and responsibilities that take up a lot of your time without necessarily offering huge returns. This is why it’s important to delegate these tasks and responsibilities to a qualified person or provider.

You can’t stop answering the phones – those calls are leads and business opportunities – but you can avoid spending your time answering calls by working with a virtual receptionist.

Netting bigger cost savings

The cost of a virtual receptionist is well worth it for home business owners – some providers, like Conversational, offer a full virtual receptionist service starting at just $209/month.

That means your home business can hire a team of qualified virtual receptionists to answer the phones for you for less than $3,000/year instead of hiring a traditional receptionist to work in your home office for $35,000/year or more.

For just $209/month, Conversational’s virtual receptionist service offers:

• Call handling
• Basic customer service
• Appointment scheduling
• Calendar management
• Message taking
• Message delivery via channel of your choice
• Voicemails sent to email
• Calls recorded for quality assurance
• Accept and track collect calls*
• 30 day MBG up to 1000 minutes

Lending your business a more professional look

Ideally, the CEO of a company shouldn’t answer the phone. It’s not as professional and conveys that you’re either not very busy (not a good sign) or that some kind of problem is amiss (perhaps your whole team quit, leaving you to man the phones yourself).

Working with a virtual receptionist as a home business can lend your company a more professional look by letting your callers believe that you have an in-house receptionist covering your calls for you. Because a virtual receptionist always answers the phone according to your specific call handling and greeting requirements, you can ensure your company makes a great first impression on callers and clients.

Does a home business need a virtual receptionist?

Arguably, a home business needs a virtual receptionist more than any other type of business. The difficulties and drawbacks of acting as your own receptionist from home far outnumber the benefits. You can sidestep issues like environmental noise, family phone needs, and the risk of looking unprofessional by acting as your own receptionist by simply hiring a virtual receptionist for a low monthly cost of around $129/month.

Click here to start your 30 day MBG with Conversational Receptionists – that’s up to 1000 receptionist minutes including call handling, message taking, customer service, appointment management and scheduling!