Terri Morgan cupped her coffee mug between her palms and looked across at her husband, Greg. Worry etched across his face.
Terri and Greg started their business, Greenways Landscaping, just nine months ago. They’d both put in long hours, but it was finally starting to pay off.
“Have you had any luck finding an accountant for our taxes?” she asked.
Greg scowled. “I’ve called at least a dozen CPAs. If anybody does answer the phone, the person is rude and makes me feel like I’m an inconvenience. I’m not going to pay somebody to treat me like that!
“I’ve called some places two or three times and all I get is an answering machine. I leave messages, but nobody calls me back.”
He paused for a moment and then resumed his tirade. “I don’t see any reason to leave any more messages. You’d think people would want more business.
“But no! I guess they’d rather just blow us off. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We must get some help; this is our first year with the business, but I’m running out of ideas.”
“I’ll be in the office, today,” Terri said. “Why don’t you let me see what I can do.”
“Okay, but don’t blame me when it ruins your day.” Greg fumed as he walked out to his truck.
By noon, Terri had enough. After lunch, she picked up the phone again. One online listing had caught her eye a few times, but she had passed it up. The ad was for an attorney who was also a CPA specializing in business.
Terri was interested, but she was afraid her small business couldn’t afford the services of someone who was both a lawyer and a certified public accountant. However, after a morning of voicemail and rude treatment, she was ready to pay the premium.
To her surprise, a friendly, professional voice answered her call. The cheerful voice introduced herself as Char and listened carefully while Terri explained what she needed.
Within minutes, Char had scheduled Greg and Terri for a meeting with Mr. Martell to go over their taxes.
Terri and Greg later learned that the professional services of Mr. Martell were in line with what the other firms were charging. At the end of their first meeting, Terri complemented him on their experience and asked him to thank Char.
Mr. Martell smiled. He told Terri that one reason he and his staff could concentrate on their needs was that they outsourced all their telephone calls to a virtual receptionist service during tax season.
He thanked them and said he would pass on their compliment to Char, his valued virtual receptionist.
Want an answering service that grows without burning out your team or your margins? In The Profitable Answering Service, Peter Lyle DeHaan draws on three decades of owning, running, and advising answering services.
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, has spent his career in and around the answering service industry. He’s owned, managed, bought, sold, and merged answering service businesses as well as consulted, written, and programmed for the answering service industry. Learn more at PeterLyleDeHaan.com.
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