Do you remember business before cell phones? Not that long ago, it was common to see some business people with HUGE cell phones. They didn’t even call them cell phones. They were bag phones or car phones or Motorolas. Bringing it to the cell phone nomenclature is fairly recent.
Back then not every 12 year old kid had them. Most people did not have them. Many people thought they would come and go like a fad. Many businesses relied on landlines and answering machines just as many businesses relied on brick and mortar stores.
Oh how times have changed.
Or have they? With a landline you were committed to either an office or subject to missing calls. You had to run back to your office and check your answering machine, tape and all, to find out if any customers called. This resulted in a lot of wasted time. What has changed? You now have the convenience of a cell phone, on your hip even. Only now you still fail to answer it.
Was that a vibration I just felt?
The convenience and availability is there, but you still seem to fail at one huge factor. That factor is simply that your potential customers also have the convenience of cell phones. Smart phones even. So when they look up a number for a service you provide they are given choices. Let’s take a moment to fire up your phone and go ahead and Google what you do.
Are you the only company that shows up?
If you are, that may be a good thing. Or you still fix typewriters and everyone else is out of that business. More than likely a dozen or more of your closest competitors show up. So let me ask you a simple question. Is it easier for your potential client to leave you a message and hope you call back or just hang up and dial the next company in line?
You know the answer, and customers want one.
But you would love to believe that of course these potential clients will leave you a message. And wait. You are better than all of your competitors, right? Don’t these potential clients know this?
No, they don’t. And they don’t care.
Because if you are the best at what you do and no one can get a hold of you that puts you in a place of obscurity. You may be the fastest runner, but if you never enter a race, who wins? Not you.
So what is the solution?
Get your phones answered. All the time when a potential customer expects an answer. 10:35am on a Tuesday? I would expect an answer from anyone but a bar. You may be thinking that in your industry it is standard practice to not answer your phone. Is that acceptable to you? More importantly is that acceptable to your clients? How easy would it be to grab business from your competitors if all you had to do was answer your phone?
Easy money. And that is the best kind, isn’t it?
If you would like to know how Calls On Call can help get your phones answered, call 608-210-3110 or email hello@callsoncall.com. Or hire a fulltime receptionist. Or something else, just get your phones answered.
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