July 11, 2024
Are you a mental health professional looking for ways to keep your overhead as low as possible? Maybe you want to set up your practice within your home, but are afraid you won’t appear as professional as the competition.
There are ways to keep your overhead down and still appear just as professional as your competition. Here’s a look at how a virtual receptionist can benefit a mental health professional working from home or an office:
Saving Time and Money
A virtual receptionist can answer the phone when you can’t. As a therapist, counselor, psychiatrist or any other type of mental health professional, you cannot just interrupt a session to answer the phone. In fact, you probably have it turned off or forwarded directly to voicemail.
Your competition, on the other hand, has a receptionist to answer the phone, even when they are with a patient. You don’t have to spend the money it takes to hire a full-time receptionist for your practice in order to keep up with your competitor. Instead, you can use a virtual receptionist to save you time and money.
How does a Virtual Receptionist Save You Time?
Have you ever been interrupted while preparing for a patient? Do you find it time consuming to book appointments and make follow up/reminder calls? Your virtual receptionist can take this burden away from you and save you time.
When you hire the services of a professional virtual receptionist, you won’t have to worry about answering your phone. They can screen all your calls and only forward the most important ones to you. Your VR will also schedule appointments, update your calendar and make all the follow up/reminder calls necessary.
How does a VR Save You Money?
On average, an in-house, full-time receptionist will cost you between $1,800 and $2,500 per month. However, when you hire a virtual receptionist service, you will only pay for the time they are on the phone with your clients. This can save you more than half the money you’d spend for an in-house receptionist.
Not only will a virtual receptionist save you money compared to an in-house receptionist, but they will also make you more money. You won’t miss calls because of breaks or because your receptionist is out for the day. With the right virtual receptionist, your phones will be covered 100% during your business hours, and can even be available in the evenings while you are out of the office. Even one missed call could cost you hundreds or thousands of dollars.
Along with saving you time and money, a virtual receptionist will provide the professional image you desire. They answer the phone professionally every single time and make you appear as if you have a full-time receptionist. Since they can cover so many tasks for you, the patients your VR handles will feel as if they are working with a very professional business.
If you’re looking for a way to keep your overhead low, yet provide the professionalism your clients deserve, one solution is the virtual receptionist. You can even use this type of service to run your practice from home without the worry of missed phone calls or lost money due to family obligations or obligations to clients.
Read more here on how we can help your counselling business.
