Hiring the Right Team
By · CommentsWe’ve recently discussed preparing your business for growth and success, and you can read about that in our two blogs “Preparing for Growth” and “Cross off Time Consuming Tasks.” In order to execute your resolutions efficiently, you need to have a dedicated team. Hiring is one of the most important activities at AnswerNow, as we require a team that is educated, knowledgeable, sincere and ready to excel.
First we look at a candidate’s application to verify that they meet our minimum requirements. Primarily we are looking for those with a strong background in customer service, but we also take into consideration qualities such as typing speed, education, and any supervisory experience they may have acquired. We also make sure that the applicant’s availability is acceptable for the position they are applying for. As a business that is open 24 hours a day, it is important that our Team Members are able to maintain a flexible schedule.
For the applicants that meet the minimum requirements, they are then asked to complete a personality type profile test. The test we use provides us with insight into the applicant as a person, analyzing their levels of patience, sociability, and other characteristics that typically play an important role in their success here. The test also contains a section on verbal comprehension which is extremely crucial to a Team Member’s ability to fulfill their job duties successfully.
Once our Human Resources team has reviewed an applicant’s testing results, and the applicant appears to be a good fit for the position they are applying for, they are then scheduled for a phone interview. This interview includes a list of standard questions including information on experiences the applicant may have had, and what their approach would be to certain kinds of tasks. This information is generally used to see if a person’s problem-solving abilities are where we would like them to be, that they have a strong inclination to provide excellent customer service, and that there are no inconsistencies between what is on their application and the information that they provide while speaking to one of our interviewers.
The applicants who come across as professional, friendly, engaging and seemingly ready to work are then called in for a second interview. At this point, the individual in charge of the phone interview has already formed an opinion of the applicant, so another interviewer runs the second, in-person interview, in order to get a fresh perspective of the candidate. If both interviews go well, the two interviewers will compare notes and make a final decision. If an applicant is selected, they must then pass a drug and nicotine test, as well as a background check.
Unlike many other businesses with a tangible product, it’s the quality of work and the dedication of our employees that makes our customer service exceptional. Do you have what it takes to join our Team? Give us a call today or fill out our online application!
Preparing Your Business for Growth
By · CommentsYou have probably seen some improvements in your business so far, but how will it thrive and become much more successful this year? Growth can definitely be stressful and bring many new challenges, but growing is a necessity for your business’s survival and your economic well-being. How prepared are you for growth? Do you know how hard you are going to have to work? Are you ready and willing to do what it takes?
Ways to Grow
More than likely, you have many repeat customers, and they stick around because you have developed and maintained strong relationships with them. Use this to your advantage and ask for referrals! Ask your satisfied customers if they know anyone else who would be interested in your products or services. Getting new customers is just another approach to growing your business. Another fantastic way to grow your business is to find innovative ways to promote new uses for your products and services. This is a great way to keep your existing customers interested and an even better way to attract new customers! AnswerNow understands the importance of building trust with clients; we study their product which enhances the services we provide for them. We go above and beyond for our customers, and that gives us the opportunity to confidently seek and retain referrals.
Most importantly, take care of your people. It’s your team that keeps you successful; recognize and respond to the hard work your employees do. Create an environment in which people want to work. Also, take care of everyone who can have an effect on your operation. The typical turnaround for call center jobs is 90-120 days; here at AnswerNow it’s 6 years! We value our people by giving them respect and providing them with enjoyment in their job.
How AnswerNow Can Help
AnswerNow would love to help you grow your business by becoming a part of your team. We make sure our Team is up to date on all your products and services. We also handle every call and customer inquiry in an efficient manner and are available at all times of the day. To eliminate any confusion, we assign each customer with an account manager as the point of contact. With our extensive training and management skills, we guarantee your customers will experience only the best service.
Do you feel your business is devoting a lot of time scheduling appointments? Let AnswerNow manage this for you! We can schedule incoming appointment requests, as well as make outbound calls to schedule appointments. Not to mention we also offer automated appointment reminders that integrate with any scheduling software, reducing no-calls and no-shows!
Let AnswerNow help your business grow and become successful; call us today for a custom quote!
Cross Off Time Consuming Tasks!
By · CommentsLet’s reminisce for a moment; your mom just put a plate of steamy, unappetizing food in front of you for dinner, and instead of inhaling the stinky mess, you swirl it around on your plate to make it look as if you’ve at least tried a few bites. Did it work back then? That sneaky trick definitely doesn’t work in the case of a long to-do list. Aside from answering hundreds of emails and returning call after call, you also have clients to communicate with, orders to place, assistance to provide, and possibly appointments to set. That’s a lot of tasks to accomplish on what seems like a long, daunting list, so instead of swirling them around and making a mess, it’s time to cross them off!
AnswerNow Can Help!
The Team at AnswerNow is highly trained to handle the tasks you and your staff just can’t find the time to accomplish; we like to think of our team being an extension of your own. Our call center services include order entry so we can process orders over the phone, as well as help desks and hotlines to provide answers and technical assistance. We can also help you gather leads and serve customers more efficiently with our custom database services.
AnswerNow understands the importance of your business, and we want to help you grow. Give us a call today to build your customized answering service! 1-800-226-0491
2012 Business Planning
By · CommentsBelieve it or not, the New Year has finally arrived. Are you ready? We recently wrote a blog titled, “Preparing for the Holidays“, which discusses preparation tips for the busy holiday season and your business. In this blog, we will discuss preparations for the New Year. A successful business plan is a comprehensive, written description of your business and what better time to make this plan than right before the New Year? You’ll need to make sure this plan includes detailed reports on products and services, marketing strategy, human resources, organization, financing requirements and sources and uses of funds.
How can AnswerNow Help
Our answering services will help your business maximize efficiency and productivity. Our Team makes sure there is always someone available to you and your customers. We will handle an overflow of phone calls, manage order entry, and we even offer automated appointment reminders and scheduling. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By choosing AnswerNow to help with your business plan, we allow you to outsource your customer service needs to a team of qualified (and bilingual) professionals who can process telephone orders, answer pre-sale questions, and even respond to routine customer support inquiries. This saves you time and assists in increased productivity!
Contact us today to begin your customized plan!
Benefits of Using a Call Center
By · CommentsYour business is gearing up for another busy holiday. Your desk is lined with paperwork, emails seem endless, and your phone lines are ringing like crazy! Is your business growing faster than you can handle? When you feel you’re drowning in paperwork, emails and phone calls, your customer satisfaction can dwindle, and the ability to keep your business growing at a desired pace seems almost impossible.
For years, we have refined the process of providing services for a wide range of clients with a variety of needs, each requiring a unique and customized approach. A few examples of unique businesses we provide services to are The Health & Wealth Raffle, Phoenix/Valley Transit Metro Rail, Wow! Enterprises and Deer Valley Unified School District.
AnswerNow is committed to making your business as successful as it can be through the use of our highly trained and experienced staff. Our call center is extraordinary, and we guarantee AnswerNow will have services to fit your unique requests. We offer 24-hour phone answering and messaging services, order entry, telemarketing, reservation and appointment scheduling, bilingual call centers, essentially any service a business would need to keep operations running smoothly!
Set up your customized plan today! Call us at 1-800-226-0491 or contact us using our online form!
Preparing for the Holidays
By · CommentsThe holiday season snuck up on us quickly this year, so it’s a good idea to be sure that you and your business look your best for the next couple months. Face it; problems arise at the most inopportune moments. Will your office be closed for days or even weeks? Who will answer phone calls and communicate with your customers? We want you to kick back and enjoy your hot cocoa, so let AnswerNow handle all your calls!
There are times that some of our clients don’t plan ahead, and as a result, they do not have enough employees in the office to answer phones. During this time, our phone lines seem to be ringing off the hook with frantic clients asking us to step in and help, which of course we do. They are always very grateful to know that we provide the highest level of customer service to their clients, even during holidays.
AnswerNow doesn’t require management, we never take vacation, we do not call out, and most importantly, we are always on time and ready to answer our clients’ calls during holiday hours! We are an extension of your business, and your customers will never know they are not directly calling into your office if you choose. Most businesses experience a larger call volume during the holiday season, and additionally, allow employees to take some time off. As you get busier, we simply schedule additional Team Members to cover your calls. It’s easy for us, and saves you the time and money it takes to hire on a new employee.
Call us at 1-800-226-0491, or contact us today using our online form, and let us get started helping you plan for the holiday season!
AnswerNow is Thankful For…
By · Comments“Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; to the honest man it comes as frequently as the heart of gratitude will allow.”-Edward Sandford Martin
The holiday season is always a busy time for us at AnswerNow. Our Team is committed to working holidays, allowing our clients to spend holidays with their loved ones. Even during our busiest times, we still take time to reflect on what we’re grateful for. We asked each Team member “What are you thankful for?” and received a variety of great responses.
What Are You Thankful For?
- Nancy R: Thankful for good health, her job, her family and their health.
- Darla: Thankful for her daughter not being sent to Iraq.
- Catherine: Thankful for her son’s well-being, her job, friends, new kitchen, health.
- Vanessa: Thankful for her family and her life.
- Keri: Thankful for her great friends and family.
- Leah: Thankful for her health and her healthy children.
- Leslie: Thankful for her family, her job, books and video games.
- Rachel: Thankful for her health.
- Cassandra: Thankful for her family, friends and good health.
- Wesley: Thankful for his family, and his puppies, his life, security systems.
- Dorian: Thankful for her kids’ health, her job, everything, for being alive.
- Dennis: Thankful for his family that has his back.
- Maranyeli: Thankful for her family.
- Mayra: Thankful for her family, her kids.
- Rebecca: Thankful for her husband.
- Alan: Thankful for his family and health.
- Karissa: Thankful for her job and her dog.
AnswerNow would like to send out a big thank you to all of you who have showed us support and compassion; without that we wouldn’t be the company we are today. We wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving, and it is our hope that everyone enjoys this holiday with their loved ones. Feel free to share with us what you are thankful for, we would love to hear it! Join our Team and share with us what you’re thankful for on our Facebook page!
Telephone and Switchboard History
By · CommentsAndroids and iPhone’s, believe it or not, are still new, even though we probably can’t think of a time before them. Does anyone remember the first Motorola cell phone? Better yet, does anyone remember when the first telephone was invented? To show you just how advanced times have gotten; we created a little timeline for you. Enjoy!
- 19th Century – Tin-Can Telephone (lover’s phone).
- 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell invents the telephone, creation of “Bell Telephone Company.” *Side note: There are many other inventors who also claim to be the inventor of the first telephone. People named Charles Grafton Page, Innocenzo Manzetti and Charles Bourseul to name a few (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_the_telephone).
- 1878 – Invention of manual switching board. The first switchboard was located in New Haven Connecticut. *Side note: The first operators were boys, who turned out to be impatient and rude when dealing with phone customers. Their rudeness made them extinct within only a few years, replaced by females who were, “calm and gracious.” The 1960s saw the return of male operators (http://www.telephonymuseum.com/telephone%20history.htm).
- 1885- The start of AT&T – more commonly known then as the American Telephone and Telegraph Company.
- 1889 – “The Strowger Switch” – A switch that could connect one line to any of 100 lines by using relays and sliders.
- 1896 – The rotary dial replaced the button on telephones.
- 1921 – Automatic switching of large numbers of calls was made possible using “phantom circuits,” which allowed three telephone conversations to be conducted on two pairs of wires. More people could use the same circuit so telephone companies did not have to build more switching stations.
- 1960s – Videophones became more affordable and practical. People could now see who they were talking to.
- 1972 – Motorola demonstrates the cellular telephone to the FCC. People could call each other without wires.
- 1985 – FAX machines become popular. A printed sheet of paper can be sent across telephone lines and received whole on the other end
- 1989 – “Pocket” cellular telephone is introduced by Motorola.
- 1995 – The first clamshell cellular phone. Also one of the first display screens featured on a cell.
- 1996 – The first smartphone series, driven by an Intel 386 CPU.
- 2002 – First camera phone.
- 2007 – The original iPhone was released.
Technology has come a long way since the 1800’s, and we’re very happy to say we’ve kept up with all its changes! AnswerNow opened its doors 13 years ago as a comprehensive, full-service answering company and has grown tremendously since then. Our facility is equipped not only with state of the art technology but a very comfortable and fun environment for all of our employees.
We have moved from Hardware Base Switchboards to Software Based Switch which has allowed us to accommodate more phone lines and accounts. Each of our Team Members has dual monitors at their stations to allow for better call continuity so Team Members don’t have to toggle between screens or applications while assisting callers – they can see multiple programs at the same time. This assists with better call flow for the caller, and streamlines the amount of time required to complete calls. They are also now using what is referred to as “Thin-Clients”. This will allow for growth and expansion, all while maintaining security and effectiveness for each phone call answered.
AnswerNow is fully prepared, extensively trained and eagerly waiting to be a part of your business. It’s time for you to sit back and relax, let us take the calls!
Contact us today!
World Hello Day
By · CommentsNovember 21st is World Hello Day! Saying “hello” to someone new is a great way to demonstrate the importance of personal communication for preserving peace, especially when said to strangers. People all over the world celebrate this day and AnswerNow wants to get in on this action! For the entire day of November 21st, AnswerNow challenges you to say hello to 10 different people. Bonus points for different languages used! Say hello via text messaging, phone call, email, social sites and good ol’ face-to-face.
How World Hello Day Started
World Hello Day started in response to the conflict between Egypt and Israel in the “Fall of 1973.” Since then, World Hello Day has been observed by people in 180 countries.
People around the world use the occasion of World Hello Day as an opportunity to express their concern for world peace. Beginning with a simple greeting on World Hello Day, their activities send a message to leaders, encouraging them to use communication rather than force to settle conflicts.
As a global event, World Hello Day joins local participation in a global expression of peace. For more information visit http://www.worldhelloday.org.
We would love to see you in action! Post pictures and/or videos of you giving “hello’s” on our Facebook page!
