Running a business on your own can be a liberating experience. Being your own boss, and not having other staff to worry about can mean you are extremely flexible and plan your working day as best suits you, only having to think of potential deadlines and customers when you make your plans, with everything in between totally up to you.
However, it does throw up a few problems as well. When calling for services, quotes or information customers are often loathed to leave a message and will usually choose to simply call back. If you miss their call a second time there is a good chance that your potential client will go somewhere else, if they have not already done so that is.
And yet, if you are the only member of staff your company has it is impossible to be on hand 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to answer calls, never mind the issue of two potential clients calling at the same time. Since you never know when customers might call employing a new member of staff is not feasible as the chances are they will not be needed for a large majority of the time.
Call handling services offer you the chance to have a receptionist only as and when you need them, being able to answer as many or as few calls as is needed, and with you only paying them for the work they do. The only drawback with a call centre service is that on the whole they will take information and pass it onto you, but not be able to give out any information. Customers reaching this call centre service may still be none the wiser than when they started the call and may well still go elsewhere before you have chance to return their call. So, wherever possible, chose call handling services who will act as PAs too, giving out pre-disclosed information as well as taking it.