How a professional answering service can help solo practitioners

Peyton Duplechien • 08 May 2019 • 3 min read

As we’re sure you’re well aware, when running your own business being efficient and managing your time correctly is more important than ever. And, the one thing that is certain is that you’ll always need someone to answer the phones.

For instance, almost all clients who contact a legal office will do so via telephone, which makes it vital that you answer each and every call. But, with almost 50% of attorneys practicing solo, as reported by the American Bar, this can be a tall order. Unless you have a Live Answering Service to hand!

Take a look at the various benefits we’ve listed below to see what a Live Answering Service might be just what your practice needs.

Client retention

While most people don’t particularly want to have to make repeated use of an attorney, for those that do, they’ll often choose to go back to the practitioner that offered them the best service. And this includes the sort of phone service they recieved initially.

By making use of a Virtual Receptionist to take caller information and notes, new and returning customers alike are more likely to feel confident that you will call them back and help take care of their issue. And more clients equals increased growth and income for your firm.

Increased availability

As a solo practitioner, you are likely going to be handling all the interviews, cases, depositions and hearings required by an attorney service, which means you’ll likely be unable to answer the phone for several hours at a time each day. Which in turn will result in many missed calls and potential clients.

However, by hiring a Live Answering Service, you’ll be able to ensure someone can answer your calls any time of the day or night, even when you’re on holidays. You simply won’t have to worry about what’s happening on the phones while you’re taking care of clients; your hired receptionist service will handle all of that for you.

Call customization

One of the main benefits of running a solo practice is that you’re in control of your own company. And that means you get to decide how your calls are answered and handled by you or your receptionist.

With VoiceNation, you get several answering options to choose from when our receptionists answer the phone, and most are included at no additional charge, meaning you are able to design an answering program to fit your needs.

This can include deciding which calls require forwarding and which ones can simply have messages emailed back to the caller, as well as what you want done if calls are answered late at night or over holidays.

You can even choose to have your appointments scheduled by the receptionist, which will allow any legal assistants working with you to complete their other assignments instead of managing your schedule.

Call fielding

As we’ve already mentioned, we know that your time is valuable, even more so when you are the only lawyer in your firm. Which is why having an answering service to field phone calls is such a sound investment.

Simply put, an answering service means less time wasted on conversations and details that don’t pertain to the current case. In other words, you can get the information you need without anything you don’t. Our receptionists can even field phone calls so you can avoid being bothered by any sales calls or other solicitors.

Cost savings

Finally, one of the biggest keys to the success of your firm is how well your funds are managed. And while hiring a direct receptionist who can perform all the tasks and functions an answering service handles can help, it can also be extremely expensive.

But, by choosing one of VoiceNation’s many options for plans, you can select only what you need your answering service to handle and avoid paying for anything extra. This means you’ll not only increase your profits through client retention but you’ll also save the money that you would’ve had to pay for a receptionist.

As you can see, there are plenty of benefits you can make use of by investing in a Live Answering Service. But which is the best phone answering service for a solo proprietorships?

Well, we might be biased, but VoiceNation is currently ranked as the number one Virtual Receptionist Service in America. Our team of experts are on hand 24/7, 365 days a year to meet all of your customers’ needs, leaving you time to focus on what’s more important.

Get in touch today to learn more about what we can offer your business, including our live chat services, and don’t forget to inquire about our 7-day free trial options.

We also have plenty of similar articles to this one which you can browse, including whether an answering service is better than a call center, and how to hire a temporary answering service to cover your calls.

1 comment

Comments are closed.