Voicemail Vs Live Person

Recently I’ve had some discussions with one client, who so appreciates my services he thinks I should start planning to “scale up”. It’s a move I’ve considered, but don’t think I’m ready for just yet.

One concern I have, for example, is that this particularly client mentioned that he’d prefer someone was always available to answer the phone for my company, especially if he were to refer certain types of business to me. I currently only answer the phone very occasionally, as my workspace is not always conducive to professional business calls (got to love those noisy children!) I always respond promptly to phone messages and other than initial consultations my clients generally correspond with me via email anyway.

But I do worry that my phone setup is holding me back, not only from eventually scaling up, but from simply achieving my current goal of a busy one-person virtual legal assistant practice.

Do YOU prefer to speak to a live person the first time you call a business? Do you avoid leaving messages and just move on to the next person if you can’t reach someone? Would reaching a live answering service be enough? Alyssa Gregory had a post not too long ago about exactly this, and she recommended answering your phone as often as possible, with some very valid points noted.

I’ve taken a quick look at a couple of live answering services, and they aren’t too expensive, but in all honesty right now I get maybe 1-2 calls in a month from prospective clients. Most of my contact does come by email, even from possible clients.

I’d love to hear from other solo business owners how they handle the telephone issue. Are you able to answer your phone most of the time? Do you think voicemail is enough of an option when you aren’t free? Can’t wait to see what you think!

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Laurie Mapp, Owner

Halo Secretarial Services

Contact us for more information on virtual legal assistance!