Archive for the 'virtual assistant' Category
Answering service vs. Virtual Assistant
As a small business owner you will usually get advice form several quarters that go in for hiring a virtual assistant as that helps in many ways. She or he is sitting at home and doing work for you so no extra space for her and also they will handle usually all paper work and other miscellaneous work for you.
But the arguments against that are many especially when you begin to get business calls at any time during the day and if you have business spread across time zones then that means that you will always have to have a virtual assistant which in turn mans that the person cannot leave the desk at any time during the day or night. It will be a burnout case eventually and you will have to find alternative solution.
The best solution is to hire a fulfillment services or answering services. Make sure to ask questions like where are the companies employees located unless of course you do not care if the employees are located overseas. The other thing to know is if the employees are bonded in case you need to take orders and then they will have to take down the credit card numbers etc.
A lot of small business answering services companies have the best of the both worlds that is the customized voice prompted menus and followed by live support. They also offer live support after office hours and in various time zones. Also voice mail services are important and a lot of companies offer that too.
Think now in comparison to a virtual assistant you will never be able to get these plethoras of services plus the need for a professional tone is a must and these companies provide that with extensive training to their employees. And do not worry if these employees are located overseas as these overseas employees are also trained well in handling the calls.