5 Criteria to Find the Right Answering Service for Your Construction Business

In the business of construction, communication is everything. Leads are your bread and butter and missing even one phone call could cost you some great jobs and potential contracts. Therefore, you must take the time to find an answering service that can assist you. These services come in all shapes and sizes and can do everything from answering calls to scheduling appointments and beyond. 

Choosing the right answering service makes a difference, of course. While the “right” solution might be different for everyone, we’re going to cover five criteria your construction business should keep in mind. That will guarantee that you get the best answering service so that you never miss a lead, no matter how busy you might be. First, though, let’s look at the benefits of hiring an answering service. 

Why should I hire an answering service? 

Several different perks come from having an answering service available. For starters, it ensures that you get every single call that comes through, no matter the time of day or what you might be doing. Someone is always there to field the calls with the professional expertise required. And when calls must be directed to you, they’ll make sure that happens. 

Some of the biggest benefits of answering services include:

• Expanded hours
• Lower cost solutions
• Improved quality and consistency
• Can function as an extension of your construction company

To make the most of these benefits, you’ll want to make sure that you choose the best solution. Here are the five elements you should look for in any answering service you consider. 

1. 24/7/365 availability 

The first thing that any business needs is an answering service that’s available around the clock. 24/7 service will not only guarantee that you never miss a lead, but it will ensure that you’re getting the contacts others aren’t when they’ve got limited hours of operation or availability. In doing this, of course, you’ll want to make sure that the support comes from real humans. Interactive voice response (IVR) systems and AI are great, but nothing matches a real person answering the phone when one of your leads decides to reach out. You might not think that having around-the-clock availability is that big of a deal but watch how fast your lead intake grows once you hire an answering service. Being available when people need you is a big deal. 

2. Professional representation for your business

Not all answering services are created equally. Choose a professional company with experience that can deliver a professional image and represent your business so that callers never question whom they’re talking to. Answering services are designed to deliver a custom solution and that’s going to make it even easier for you to generate leads. No matter what you’re doing or how busy you might be, a professional will always be there for your leads and other calls. 

If an answering service has a poor reputation for their professionalism or a lot of bad customer service reviews, those are red flags that should warn you that they won’t be able to deliver the type of professional representation that you deserve.

3. Personalized caller experience 

Answering services and professional virtual receptionists can customize the caller experience to your business and your audience. It’s easy to ensure that callers feel like they’re talking to your company directly, even when you’re working with a third-party answering service. That’s where working together to create a customized caller experience can come in handy. 

You can pick and choose the types of services that your receptionists offer. They might just take messages. Perhaps you’re going to have them schedule appointments. You can personalize their interactions with each call and create an experience that delivers an unmatched level of service for your audience. 

4. Other features and services 

Answering services offer tons of different features and solutions. Being able to utilize as many of them as possible will improve your callers’ experience in more ways than you can imagine. It can also improve your communication and administrative services, allowing you to combine them into a single package, managed by a team of experts. Some common features include:

• Customized greetings 
• Text message notifications
• Live answering
• Appointment scheduling
• CRM integration
• Lead intake data collection
• Customer service/support
• Call forwarding
• Customized plans tailored to your business needs

Essentially, you’ll want to think of all the ways that you can put an answering service to use for your construction business. Then, you can combine the best features to create a custom solution that ensures you never miss a lead or opportunity, no matter what you’re doing. 

5. Industry experience 

This is a bit of a two-for-one because we’re talking about both answering service experience and their particular experience with the construction industry. They don’t have to be experts, by any means, but they should know enough to take calls, schedule consults and estimates, and handle anything else that you need. The best way to get this, rather than hiring a standard answering service, is to hire a dedicated virtual receptionist service. They will know how to handle all the communication and admin tasks that you need so that you can focus on the jobs at hand. 

Speaking of virtual receptionists, ask about a partnership with Smith.ai

If you’re ready to take your construction business to the next level, a partnership with the dedicated virtual receptionists at Smith.ai is just what you need. In addition to offering a 24/7 answering service, we can also assist with lead intake, appointment scheduling, live website chat, outreach campaigns, and even overflow calls, plus so much more. 

And it all comes with a customized strategy to make sure that your calls are answered and routed properly, and that you get all the other solutions that you need from our repertoire. We’re here to handle the leads so that you can get back to business. 

To learn more, schedule a consultation to discuss what the virtual receptionists at Smith.ai can do for your construction business. You can also reach out to us at hello@smith.ai.

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