Much like the legal sector, finance and accounting firms are under a lot of pressure to deliver a high standard of specialist, professional service to all clients. Whether that’s in person, through email or over the phone, clients expect the same level of service. Not to mention the importance of client confidentiality and data protection laws, which have to be respected at all times. So, how do busy accountants manage it all? By hiring a virtual receptionist or call answering service to take some of the strain.
Free Up Time
Time is precious for an accountant – and more importantly time is money. And when you’re working with something as complex as numbers, you will often need blocks of uninterrupted time to ensure everything is done correctly. That often means answering the phone becomes difficult, and you have to make a tough choice. Answer the phone, or complete your work? Phone answering services help protect that time by dealing with enquiries as and when they come in, taking messages and passing them on to you to deal with when you have the time. This allows you to prioritise where you need to, without sacrificing customer service. Or, as Colin from Need Financial Planning put it:
“Using the service, business is good. I was able to give up my paper round. You guys are doing a great job.”
Streamline New Enquiries
When handling new enquiries, accountants often have to go through a long list of questions and information gathering before they can determine if they can help. This is a time-consuming task in itself, especially if the wrong person is handling the enquiry. Using a telephone answering service, accountants can provide a standard list of qualifying questions to go through, so that call handlers can refer the caller to the right person within the team. This saves a lot of time bouncing around people until they find someone who can help, and makes the whole process of dealing with new enquiries a lot smoother. This also has a knock-on effect – each enquirer has an immediate human interaction and their query attended to immediately, all of which leads to better customer service and a stronger client experience.
Reflecting The Team
When it comes to hiring a call answering service, many accountancy firms are concerned about how it will reflect their business. After all, if a client calls and speaks to someone who obviously doesn’t work for the firm, it can knock their confidence in the business and potentially cause them to go elsewhere. So the trick is to find a service that can blend in with your team flawlessly, understand your business as well as you do and navigate difficult conversations with confidence. Rowena from The VAT Consultancy thinks we at Verbatim do exactly that:
“We have been most impressed with the quality of the service — they are very cheery, friendly, professional and efficient. It really does feel like they are part of our team, with a better grasp of where our staff are, their availability and key clients than our own in-house receptionists had!”
At Verbatim, we understand how difficult, if not impossible it can be to answer the phone all the time – which is where we can help. We work with professional services like accountants to help them manage their calls. From providing an overflow service when you’re too busy, to taking detailed call information from clients and candidates. Our services are flexible, professional, and exactly what you need to support your growing business. To find out more, just get in touch with the team today.
