The Importance of Answering Service Call Demeanor

When you’re selecting an answering service for your company, you’re going to be bombarded with factors that you need to consider.  Cost is probably the most obvious of these, and the level of service that the answering company can provide is a close second. However, while keeping in mind that you typically get what you pay for, it is important that you don’t overlook the general demeanor and phone manner of the agents working at the answering service you select.

Why is Agent Demeanor So Important?

Even though an agent for an answering service is going to be investing most of their time taking messages and relaying them to you or your team, they are still a first line of contact with your clients and potential future customers. That means that even though your company does not directly employ them, it is their words and actions that your callers will be hearing. You need to think of them like any other representative of your company, as public perception of your company will inevitably get connected to the manners of your phone agents.

What to Look For

There are a few things that you need to look for in call manner when selecting an answering service. First of all, strong English and Spanish skills are a must for most businesses. English doesn’t need to be an agent’s first language for them to be effective, but they must speak English and/or Spanish clearly and in a manner that can be understood by any of your clients or customers that may call in.

Second, callers should sound polite and courteous at all times. There is a chance that a less-than-happy customer may get relayed to your answering service at some point in time. You need to have agents dealing with these types of callers who can remain cool and collected no matter what type of vitriol they may receive from the other end of the line. In fact, if your agents can remain calm, they may even end up calming down an irate caller who would likely only get more frustrated if they had to leave their a voicemail.

Finally, you want to find an answering service that focuses on the listening skills of its agents. A good agent should be able to make a caller feel like their message has been received, their concerns heard, and then be able to relay that message clearly and concisely to your or your organization. If you can find these three factors within the agents at an answering service, you can be sure that it will be an asset for your company.