How Can A Virtual Office Solution Help Your Business?

According to the Gartner Group, a 5% reduction in operating costs has the same P&L impact as a 30% increase in sales. Setting up a virtual office is a great way to reduce your operating costs without sacrificing customer service. Our Virtual Office Services combine our live operator answering services with world-class voicemail capabilities. Your customers are greeted on the first ring by an announcement with your name and are given several options to choose from. Calls can be transferred to a live operator where callers can leave a message or be patched through directly to you or they can leave a voicemail. We also offer answering services, call center services, order taking services, customer support solutions and messaging services.

Whether you're looking to avoid the overhead associated with paying a full-time receptionist or trying to establish multiple locations our full suite of virtual office services can be tailored to fit your needs. Call or contact us today for more information about going virtual.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Office, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

"While I was out to lunch, one of your operators took a message from a Robin S. at the State Attorney's Office in Lake City. I returned her call and she ended up telling me how impressed she was with our answering service - she said what a great answering service we had and how very friendly the operator was."

Lisa C., Legal Assistant
Fritz, P.A.
Attorney at Law

AnswerFirst Provides Answering Services, Call Center Solutions and more...

Answering Services and Contact Center Solutions
Our main services include answering services, virtual office solutions, order entry, customer & client care, technical support, appointment scheduling and reservations. Other important components in our range of services are messaging, e-commerce solutions, dispatching, information gathering, class and seminar reservations, fulfillment, catalog order taking, literature fulfillment, inventory control and credit card processing. Whether your needs are as simple as collecting the necessary personal and product information from your callers or as demanding as sales and support for a nationwide advertising campaign our customer service support representatives can field calls transparently as though they worked directly for your company. No matter what your needs may be, we can help make support available to your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Answering Service
Messaging services are a cost effective way to handle after hour calls. Our professional staff can be available when your’s is not. We are more than just someone answering your calls... to your callers, we are your business. Insuring all your callers are greeted by a courteous and helpful voice can make a difference.

Virtual Receptionist
Adds the benefits of a world class IVR to your Live Operator services. Urgent or emergency calls can be quickly transferred to a Live Agent. Voice Mail messages can be e-mailed to you avoiding lengthy calls to retrieve messages. Custom greeting for each announcement or voice mail box.

Order Entry
Our skilled and experienced agents can quickly take your orders. Use your current e-commerce website or use our internal order systems. Up Selling and Cross Selling available as part of our suite of services. Voice mail announcement can be added to eliminate “shoppers”.

Call Center Solutions
Adds the benefits of a world class IVR to your Live Operator services. Urgent or emergency calls can be quickly transferred to a Live Agent. Voice Mail messages can be e-mailed to you avoiding lengthy calls to retrieve messages. Custom greeting for each announcement or voice mail box.

Technical Support
Our staff can alleviate some of the burden 24 hour support places on your staff. Our agents can log in to your trouble ticket system to process calls or open tickets. Priority clients can be transferred directly to your technical staff 24/7 when needed. Routine questions can be answered via an FAQ list.

Scheduling & Reservations
We offer cost effective solutions which can free your staff from these mundane tasks. Use of Online Calendar available to synchronize the scheduling of appointments. Reservations can be made based on the total number of attendees for each event. Confirmation calls can be made to insure appointments are kept.

Contact us today for more information about our call center solutions and answering services.
1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

"Thank you so very much for responding to me in a quick, professional manner. This is why I love using your service and am truly grateful of the nice people who work for you (us). Thanks again!"

Dan
Dan's Bail Bonds

Contact us today for more information about our call center solutions and answering services.
1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Try Client Web Access for Free

Client Web Access (CWA) is a new an exciting way to integrate your business with our answering service. CWA allows you to use your web browser to log in securely to our web access area to view information regarding your account in real time. We offer a variety of functions through our web access interface including message review, report generation, voice log access, web form submissions as well as the ability for you to view your account screens. Client Web Access service is included FREE with every Live Operator account. We have a demonstration account set up for your review to demonstrate the convenience of this service. Click here to try out our free demo account.

Features:

• View, e-mail, export, add notes or print your messages
• View, e-mail, export add notes or print your web form submissions
• Listen to recordings of calls to your account
• Generate a variety of reports regarding your account activity
• View your account screens just as our operators see them
• Access news and bulletins for our clients

At the top right corner of each of our web pages, you will find the log-in area for access. Please notice the example to the right, then bring your attention to the top right area of this web page to see the login area. You simply click the link to go to the CWA log-in page, then enter the username and password we provide for your account to gain access to the many features and useful information client web access provides.

If you would like a walkthrough of the various features available to you, please contact one of our sales professionals and we will happily demonstrate the functions. If you would like to add this service to your account, please call 1-800-645-2616.

Answering Service Client Testimonial

"I wanted to tell you that your service is working out very well. We are pleased with the courteous nature in which your reps take calls and work with the callers. It was a good match for what we needed."

Steve
Tech Support

Contact us today for more information about our call center solutions and answering services.
1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

We LOVE the service. Everything is going so smoothly so far! Thanks so much, have a great weekend!

Jodie
Bonita Bee Airport Express

Contact us today for more information about our call center solutions and answering services.
1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

I just had a call patched through and the customer had this to say about her experience with the girl who answered the phone:

"She couldn't be any sweeter. I talk to receptionists all day every day and yours is by far one of the nicest and most helpful I've ever spoken to."

I just wanted to pass that along. The caller was Karen Gilbert. I'm not sure who took the call but figure your records will show that. Anyway, thank you and good job!

Karen B.
PAHCOM Association Director

Who is AnswerFirst?

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc. has provided quality answering services since 1985. Our newest center was built from the ground up in 1999 specifically for AnswerFirst and this operations center provides a safe and comfortable environment for our CSR agents. Located along historic Kennedy Boulevard, the center is close to downtown Tampa. Tampa was chosen as the corporate site because of its growing demographics & centralized location in Florida. With its beautiful white beaches and wonderful climate, Tampa is a great place to work and live.

Weighing heavily in the design process of our new center was the desire to provide maximum security for both our agents and client data. Our commitment to protect the integrity and secrecy of our clients' data along with our desire to ensure the safety of our employees was paramount in selecting appropriate security measures. Twenty four hour camera monitoring, electronic key pad access and extensive password protection are just a few of the security measures we employ. Server redundancy, data archiving, the logging of all voice conversations, surge protection and emergency power generation are utilized as well for client's data protection.

Our work environment plays a primary role in the health and happiness of our operators. Happy agents equal more productive agents, not only for us, but more importantly, for our clients. Ergonomically correct seating, injury prevention training, and state of the art workstations all add up to reduce the possibility of repetitive strain.

Our facility is also home to our state of the art computer and telephony hardware. Designed to blend our technological capabilities with our human resources, our center offers both an efficient and productive atmosphere. We're excited about our work environment and look to provide our quality telephone answering services to the public for the next 100 years and beyond.

Contact us today for more information about our call center solutions and answering services.
1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

"Thanks for your email. I noticed that your staff wasn't really booking any clients but instead referred me to talk with them. So, I took a moment to listen to some calls and commented online -a section I think was designated for complaints, but I left some positive feedback instead. I was very impressed by how professional and sincere your call staff was. Simply put, the nature of the calls didn't lend themselves well to getting booked, or the questions asked were over your staff's heads. So, I'm very thankful for your service and for the time your staff has put into my business. My business is slowly, but steadily growing, and part of the success is because there is a professional person answering every call that comes in."

Brian Sanders
Sanders Hypnosis Center

Contact us today for more information about our call center solutions and answering services.
1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How can you sign-up for answering services with AnswerFirst?

There are two choices, use the online sign-up or complete and return a written sign-up form.

• To sign up online, please click here to go to our main website online sign-up form.
• To sign up using the printed forms please ask your sales representative to forward a copy.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

What payment methods do we accept?

We currently offer two payment methods, credit card billing and standard invoicing (pay by check). In the near future e-check / ACH type services will also be offered. Please inquire, if interested.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Is there a setup fee to start my answering service account?

Currently we include one hour of free set-up time ($100 value) which is enough for most accounts. If a complex account requires more than one hour of set-up we bill for additional set-up time at the rate of $100.00 per hour.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Do I have to sign a long term contract?

No, the initial contract period is 12 weeks or 3 billing cycles. The commitment over these 12 weeks is the three base rate charges plus whatever usage is incurred. Should it be decided that the service is not working out, simply provide 28 days written notice at any time to cancel. An account may also be deactivated at any time, which is like turning off the switch so no further calls will be received.

Please contact us for more information about answering services:

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How soon can I be up and running with your service?

Signing up is easy and can be completed online in just a few minutes. Once you've signed up you will automatically be assigned an account manager. Your account manager will contact you, often the same day or during the next business day to provide new account information and to gather additional setup information. At that time they can also answer any additional questions. After that, most accounts are ready for live calls within 24 - 48 hours, depending on the complexity and any necessary agent training.

Please contact us for more information about answering services:

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Do I receive a discount if my call volume increases?

With our call center you do. Most services offer discounts for prepaid packages; these packages are very difficult to utilize because they require you to forecast your incoming calls. If you buy too many minutes or calls then nothing rolls over and you wasted money paying for services you didn't use. If you purchase too few, then you end up paying exorbitant overage fees. For example, if you sign up for 1000 minutes and only use 400 minutes, you'll have 600 unused minutes that don't rollover. If you sign-up for 1000 minutes and you use 1200, the additional 200 minutes are billed at a much higher rate than your package minutes.

Our billing system automatically discounts your rate EVERY billing cycle when certain thresholds of call volume are reached. For example, if 1000 minutes are used in a billing cycle your invoice will be automatically discounted to our 1000 minute package rate; there is no need to commit to anything. The higher the volume the larger the discount and you are not obligated to use any amount of minutes per billing cycle. Just pay for what you actually use.

Please contact us for more information about answering services:

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How reliable are your systems?

Our IT staff takes extraordinary means to insure our call center stays operational. Our telephone answering service was designed and built to function both during and after a category 5 hurricane. On premise we maintain our own power plant and utilize redundant telephony, including multiple circuits from different providers. Software and hardware are protected by the use of redundant servers, switches and routers, including both physical and virtual machines.

The other area of concern is employee reliability and attendance. To combat this, our center uses a mix of both in-house and remote virtual receptionists, insuring we always have agents with access to our systems. In short, our systems and center are very reliable, however we also understand the need to communicate should something happen. In the event of an emergency we are able to quickly notify clients via e-mail or fax through the use of our robust automated communications platform. In addition we encourage our clients to follow us on Twitter and Facebook as important updates also may be found there.

Please contact us for more information about answering services:

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Is privacy important to you will my and my client's information be protected?

Yes, our answering service takes privacy very seriously. All employees sign a confidentiality agreement which remains in effect indefinitely. Our call center utilizes the highest data encryption and firewall technologies to insure the integrity and security of our network. We are HIPPA compliant, employing the highest standard of customer data and information protection. Clients can rest assured that information is safe and secure.

Please contact us for more information about answering services:

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Do you have an online management portal where I can access my account?

Yes, it is included at no additional cost. Our online account management portal is called Client Web Access and it was developed in-house with suggestions about design and functionality from our clients. By using CWA clients can access a wide variety of account information. Messages, performance reports, billing reports, average ring, average talk reports, recordings of all calls and much, much more is accessible 24/7 from anywhere via the internet. Data may also be queried by account and date range and if desired may be exported as a .csv file. While logged into the portal clients may also manage on-call after hour schedules or escalation protocols. Account screens and data may also be viewed and updated

Please contact us for more information about Client Web Access: 1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Will Your Callers Ever Be Placed on Hold?

Once an agent answers a call, it will never be interrupted. This provides a much nicer experience for callers, as opposed to being repeatedly interrupted with, "Will you hold for just a moment? I have to answer another call." At our answering service the only time a caller is ever placed on hold is if the account instructions are for an agent to patch through a call. In this instance an agent would have to place the caller on hold while they attempt to connect the caller directly to a staff member at your office.

The only other scenario where a caller would not immediately speak with an agent can happens when the call first arrives. Our call center agents answer 85% of our calls on the first ring, at which time an agent stays with the caller until completion. An additional 10-12% of inbound calls are still answered by a live virtual receptionist, who takes the caller to completion, however they are answered on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th ring. The remaining 3-5% of inbound calls will complete the 4th ring, at which time a custom announcement, in your company name, will play to let the caller know all representatives are busy and that someone will be with them in less than 15 seconds. The caller is then placed in a hold queue where professional music is played until the call is answered by the next available call center agent. Our average hold time in this queue is 15 seconds or less. Again, because of how our answering service bills, we do not want callers in the hold queue. If they hang up, you miss a call and we don't earn revenue.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How Do I Know That Your Operators Will Answer My Business Calls Quickly?

This is a matter of motivation; how critical is it for us to make sure this happens? You only need to look at how our answering services are billed to determine whether or not we are highly motivated to answer your calls quickly. With many services you pre-buy a block of calls or minutes, in which the call center receives payment prior to answering any of your calls. We don't offer these types of rate plans, so it's easy to see why we are motivated to answer your calls. With our answering service rate plan only the base fee is guaranteed to us, we earn additional monies only when we answer your phones and help your callers. This rate structure provides a tremendous amount of motivation to answer calls quickly and professionally. Frustrated callers, who hang up in a hold queue, are lost revenue for us. You can rest assured that we pay a lot of attention to proper staffing and timely responses to your incoming calls.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How Can I Be Assured That Friendly, Intelligent People Will Answer My Business Calls?

Our hiring and training methodologies insure that professional agents answer your calls. Potential new agents are first subjected to a battery of computerized testing to gauge their cognitive and physical skills. Typing speed, spelling, grammar and comprehension are all measured.  Once the best candidates have been identified they move to our interview process, which focuses on communication skills and attitude. We are always looking for "can do" attitudes and energetic agents who share our company focus towards quality and friendly service.  After agents complete the interview process they move on to our training program which requires them to take classes that educate them about our company, our clients, our software and hardware systems.  After agents successfully complete our training courses they are moved to the call center floor where they work under other agents for several weeks before they are allowed to take calls on their own.  Our agents answer and end calls with a smile.  Through strict selection criteria and intense training programs we guarantee that our agents are the best in the industry.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How Will AnswerFirst Know How To Answer My Calls?

As part of our set-up process, we ask for certain information regarding products and services, as well as general information about the business. This includes, but is not limited to, a company address, phone and fax numbers, web site address and directions to locations. If a client so chooses, it can be made to appear as if our agent is actually the office receptionist. Any information a client wishes us to disseminate may be provided. This includes everything from pricing information, FAQ's to emergency contacts. Very quickly agents will begin to "learn" more about your business, simply by answering calls. How quickly agents become knowledgeable is a function of how busy the account is and how long the client has been with our telephone answering service.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How Does AnswerFirst Charge Clients?

Our call center charges a low base rate each billing cycle, much like an access fee. The base rate provides 24/7 access to our agents, a provided phone number and an unlimited web portal through which instantaneous account information is available. The low base rate is the only commitment, after that you only pay only for what is used.

Accounts and services are billed for the time actually used. Because all usage is billed in arrears, there is never a reason to worry about changing rate plan size nor is there ever any concern about paying for unused calls or minutes. There are also never any unexpected "overage" fees.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

How Does An Answering Service Work?

Every account is provided with either a local or nationwide toll free number, which may be called directly (may be used in client's advertising) or be forwarded to, typically from a client's existing business lines. In some instances a client may do both, forward office lines when they need us to answer and they will also advertise (web site, postcards. etc.) the provided number.

Accounts are custom built and configured to exact specifications. Calls will be answered using a client's preselected custom answer phrase and will be processed according to the client’s instructions. Different types of calls may be processed. For example, new sales and support calls may be expected. In this case client's account screens may have instructions such as, for all support calls, go to page 2. For all new sales calls, go to page 3. On each page specific instructions will be given for processing that type of call. In the support example the agent may be instructed to e-mail that information to 5 separate e-mail addresses. For a sales call, perhaps the instructions are to gather up certain information and patch the caller through to a salesman. Any combination of delivery methods may be selected for any type of call. For example, maybe certain types of calls need an e-mail and a text message, while others are held until a scheduled e-mail or fax summary is sent the next morning. Alternatively, certain call types may require that information is provided to callers, such as, offering up-sell information while an agent completes a script. Other times agents may simply be relaying information, such as, business address, providing directions to your nearest location or supplying information on the types of services you provide.

These are but a few examples of available services and how they work.  Please contact us for more information:

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

Hey Jim,

You do a great job working on our account.  You make every situation very understandable.  It's obvious that you've done this kind of thing many times before.

We love your answering service!

Steve
Mensa Technology, LLC

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

What is an Answering Service?

Did you know one third of callers to your business will not leave a message if the call is answered by a voice mail? In our ever-changing world, the ability to access newer technologies can give your business the competitive advantage you need over the competition. Our commitment to constantly leverage these new technologies enables us to provide our clients with the advantage they need in today's business climate.

Our business telephone answering services provide cost effective ways for businesses to handle after hour calls or when staff are unavailable - live operator telephone answering service, virtual office and voicemail service are key components of our call center solutions. An answering service is more than just someone answering your calls, to your customer, we are your business. Our professional staff will insure your callers are greeted by a courteous and helpful voice and will insure you receive accurate messages in a timely manner.

Whether yours is a professional, blue collar or internet business, AnswerFirst has a rate plan designed for your specific needs. Each account is custom tailored and our commitment to providing high quality service at a fair price is why we are one of the fastest growing services in our industry.
All rates are 24/7 and include toll free access.

Live Operator clients may additionally add voice mail options to either enhance their messaging capabilities or minimize their live operator costs. As soon as we receive the signed contract, setup forms and payment, your account will generally be activated within 72 hours. Emergency setup is available - additional fees apply.

Messages may be delivered in a variety of ways: hold for call in, call out (to cell phone, home phone etc.), digital page, alpha-page, e-mail, fax each as taken, voice mailbox, fax summary and e-mail summary..

Do you have questions about our answering service? Please call 1-800-645-2616 or contact us for assistance.

AnswerFirst Offers More Than Just Answering Services

Our main services include answering services, virtual office solutions, order entry, customer & client care, technical support, appointment scheduling and reservations. Other important components in our range of services are messaging, e-commerce solutions, dispatching, information gathering, class and seminar reservations, fulfillment, catalog order taking, literature fulfillment, inventory control and credit card processing. Whether your needs are as simple as collecting the necessary personal and product information from your callers or as demanding as sales and support for a nationwide advertising campaign our customer service support representatives can field calls transparently as though they worked directly for your company. No matter what your needs may be, we can help make support available to your customers 24 hours a day, 7 days a week!

Answering Service

Messaging services are a cost effective way to handle after hour calls. Our professional staff can be available when your’s is not. We are more than just someone answering your calls... to your callers, we are your business. Insuring all your callers are greeted by a courteous and helpful voice can make a difference. Read More...

Virtual Receptionist

Adds the benefits of a world class IVR to your Live Operator services. Urgent or emergency calls can be quickly transferred to a Live Agent. Voice Mail messages can be e-mailed to you avoiding lengthy calls to retrieve messages. Custom greeting for each announcement or voice mail box. Read More...

Order Entry

Our skilled and experienced agents can quickly take your orders. Use your current e-commerce website or use our internal order systems. Up Selling and Cross Selling available as part of our suite of services. Voice mail announcement can be added to eliminate “shoppers”. Read More...

Call Center Solutions

Adds the benefits of a world class IVR to your Live Operator services. Urgent or emergency calls can be quickly transferred to a Live Agent. Voice Mail messages can be e-mailed to you avoiding lengthy calls to retrieve messages. Custom greeting for each announcement or voice mail box. Read More...

Technical Support

Our staff can alleviate some of the burden 24 hour support places on your staff. Our agents can log in to your trouble ticket system to process calls or open tickets. Priority clients can be transferred directly to your technical staff 24/7 when needed. Routine questions can be answered via an FAQ list. Read More...

Scheduling & Reservations

We offer cost effective solutions which can free your staff from these mundane tasks. Use of Online Calendar available to synchronize the scheduling of appointments. Reservations can be made based on the total number of attendees for each event. Confirmation calls can be made to insure appointments are kept. Read More...

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

More Reasons to Choose AnswerFirst as Your Answering Service

Value

• Pay Only For What You Use
  Our rate insures you only pay for exactly what you use. Didn’t have any calls this month – pay nothing in addition. Don’t get stuck prepaying for a package and paying for unused calls, minutes or units. Never worry again about the higher “overage” fees you have to pay because you exceeded some guessed at number of calls, minutes or units included in your package. With AnswerFirst, you pay only for what you use.
  
  
• Value Added Services
  Are other services offering access to your call recordings as soon as a call is finished? Can you run reports about your account activity any time YOU want? Can you export all your critical message data in .csv format for import into your database? Are your messages archived? Can the call center also process inbound e-mails just as they process inbound calls? Can you do all of these things for no additional cost? These are just a few of the many value added services we offer every client at no additional cost. Give us a try to experience what true value in a call center is.
  
  
• Price Guarantee
  We can offer most any type of rate and usually can match or beat anything our competitors offer.
  
  
• Transparency
  With the ability to access so much your account information in real time through our included Client Web Access web portal, our clients have a unique opportunity to see how we are performing on their account. It need never be a mystery to you again. Our willingness to be open and frank with this information speaks loudly of our desire to forge long term relationships with our clients. While others may snicker at the thought of providing this information to clients, we say give us a try and you too will discover the AnswerFirst difference.

Answering Service Client Testimonial

I have to confess that I called in to our AnswerFirst line around 5:15 PM on last Friday and posed as a vendor.  Kimberly answered the phone on the first ring and left me VERY impressed with her pleasant and professional disposition!  I now must congratulate myself for selecting a great answering service!

Thanks again for writing, and IntelliTek Systems looks forward to a mutually profitable business relationship with AnswerFirst!

Chief Project Engineer
IntelliTek Systems, Inc

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

More Reasons to Use AnswerFirst as Your Answering Service

Reliability

• Equipment
  We have redundant equipment for every infrastructure process and requirement.
  
  
• Power
  With a 45KW diesel generator sitting out back, our entire facility has full power for an extended period of time for any type of power interruption. Full UPS, Lightning and Surge protection systems are also provided for all of our equipment.
  
  
• Telephony
  With multiple SIP, Fiber,T-1 and PRI circuits routed from different providers down different routes, you can feel safe we will be there when you need us.
  
  
• Internet
  With redundant ISP connections, clients who rely on our ability to access the World Wide Web can rest assured we will have access. These are very fast connections with automated roll-over capabilities in the event of an outage.
  
  
• Facility
  Our two story facility was built by us specifically for call center usage. It is fully compliant with Category Five hurricane standards and can withstand all but the most serious of natural disasters. Hurricane shutters, GFI circuits, lightning protection and more was all incorporated in the planning of this facility.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Why Should You Choose AnswerFirst?

Performance

• Our Motivation
  Because all of our billing is in arrears and our clients only pay our $20.00 base rate up-front, we have to answer your calls to earn any additional money. This makes us HIGHLY motivated to answer every one in a timely and professional manner. Services that make you pay upfront for a package of calls, minutes or units are already paid and do not have this same level of motivation. A lost call from one of your customers tired of waiting in a hold queue means potential lost revenue for you and guaranteed lost revenue for us. When paying for services not yet rendered, the motivation to answer is not the same.
  
• Quick and Professional Response Time
  We do a terrific job of insuring proper agent staffing. 85% of our calls are answered on the first ring with a live agent and another 10-12% on the 2nd, 3rd or 4th ring with a live agent. Only 3-5% of calls go to our hold queue where professional music is playing and our average hold time is less than 15 seconds.
   
• Superior Experience
  We never place your callers on hold. Once our agent answers your valuable call, they take the call to conclusion. We never interrupt your call to answer another client's ringing call. This results in a much more pleasant experience for your callers. This requires additional staffing on our part, but our clients and their callers agree it is a far superior way to answer calls.
   
• Dispatch Operators
  Every new message an inbound agent takes is sent to our dispatcher queue for delivery. Our highly trained dispatch agents insure every message we send is a professional message. Dispatch operators are also our most experienced agents and since they only deliver messages, they are very good at it.

Affordable Answering Service - About Us

Affordable Answering Service is a division of AnswerFirst Communications, Inc. and is based just outside of downtown Tampa, FL. Our newest operations center was built from the ground up in 1999 specifically for AnswerFirst. The center's layout and design provides a safe and comfortable environment for our CSR agents. We believe that our agents' work environment plays a primary role in their health and happiness. Happy agents are more productive, for us and you. We provide our agents with ergonomically correct seating, flexible scheduling options, injury prevention training, and state-of-the-art workstations.

Our operations center is also home to our state-of-the-art computer and telephony hardware that serve as the technological “heart” of AnswerFirst. We've used current technology standards to create an extremely efficient and reliable backbone to our operations. With our thorough attention to redundancy, efficiency and reliability you can be sure that your customers' calls are answered promptly by a crystal clear voice every time. We use this same technology to log and save all calls and provide you access to all these logged calls and your up-to-date account information via our Client Web Access solution. You can listen to your calls, check your messages, make account changes, check your billing data and more from anywhere with an Internet connection, your username, your password and a few clicks of your mouse.

http://www.affordableansweringservice.com

Affordable Answering Service

A Quality Answering Service That You Can Afford

If you're looking for an affordable answering service that offers quality communication solutions then you've come to the right place. Affordable Answering Service has been providing clients with discount answering & messaging services, call center solutions, order entry service, customer care, scheduling & reservations services and virtual office solutions for more than 20 years.

Why Should You Choose Affordable Answering Service??

• Free Set-Up (a $100 value)
• Free 24 Hour Secure Web Access to Your Critical Account Data
• Automatic Discounts for High Volume
• Professionally Trained Operators
• 20 Years of Experience in Our Industry

You can expect quality service from our professionally trained agents and experience the benefits of or Client Web Access interface. Client Web Access allows you to log-in to your account from anywhere with an Internet connection. Your username and password give you full access to all of your account information including up-to-date billing information, audio files of your customers' phone calls, copies of your messages, the ability to edit account settings and more. With all of this for low discount rates, you really can't beat the value that we offer here at Affordable Answering Service. Outsourcing the management of your phone calls & messaging can save you thousands of dollars in overhead every year, and with our discount rates you can save even more

http://www.affordableansweringservice.com

Answering Service Client Testimonial

Hi Jim!

Thanks for having me back. I have missed out on the great service, and realize now that you guys are a good fit for me.

--
Roy A. Morock
The Office of Roy Morock
Computer Support

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service FAQ's

Q. In what ways may I receive my messages?

A. The choice is yours and we do not charge any additional fees for any specific type of message delivery method. Some methods may take a bit longer for our operators to deliver and thus will use slightly more operator time each month. For example, it is much quicker for an operator to deliver an e-mail message as compared to calling you on your cell phone and reading you the message while you jot it down. Here are a few of the ways we can deliver messages for you:

• Hold For Call In
• Call And Give You Message
• Call And Leave Message in Voice Mail For You
• Alpha-Page
• Digital Page
• Text Messaging
• E-Mail
• Fax

While it is generally a matter of which method is most convenient for you, we sometimes can make suggestions to you for alternative methods.

Q. I have several people in my office who will receive messages, are we limited to all using the same delivery method?

A. No. You can use a different method for delivery for each person, the choice is yours.


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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Client Testimonial

I wanted to let you know that A. Roy is doing a phenomenal job.  As with any change their will be growing pains.  We are having our fair share as we try to implement Answer First into our office.  Overall it is going extremely well and AF employees are doing an exceptional job with helping us schedule new patients.  A quick glance shows me that over 75% of phone calls from New Patients are being booked by AF employees... that is INCREDIBLE!  That is freeing up office staff and making our lives so much easier.

When we do experience a setback, Aimee handles it.  She does it with grace and a pleasant demeanor.  No matter how detailed or potentially insignificant (to the outside eye) my requests are, she takes care of it quickly and correctly.  I truly feel that she is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure AF provides our office with the service we need.

Thank you so much for having her as a part of your team!

Sincerely,

J Kaszer, DC
www.whatisnucca.com

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Virtual Receptionist Services

Our Live Operator Virtual Office Services combine the benefits of an answering service with a sophisticated IVR (voice mail system). Virtual office accounts are typically answered on the first ring by the IVR system where the caller hears an announcement. The announcement directs the caller to one of several choices available to the caller, one of which is transferring to a Live Operator. Other options include leaving a message in a mailbox. The mailbox can then call or page you with a notification of a new message. Callers who transfer to the Live Operator are greeting in your company name and any of the services and delivery methods available with our Live Operator service can be implemented.

In our ever-changing world, the ability to access newer technologies can give your business the competitive advantage you need over the competition. Our commitment to constantly leverage these new technologies enables us to provide our clients with the advantage they need in today's business climate.

AnswerFirst Call Center services are the perfect compliment for small or large businesses who find the cost of providing 24/7 live support prohibitive. Each of our CSR representatives has direct access to the Internet allowing access to your on-line problem tracking system, FAQs, knowledgebase and account information.

Whether yours is a professional, blue collar or internet business, AnswerFirst has a rate plan designed for your specific needs. Information gathering, class and seminar reservations, scheduling, catalog order taking, literature fulfillment, inventory control, order entry and credit card processing are all important components in our range of services. Each account is custom tailored and our commitment to providing high quality service at a fair price is why we are one of the fastest growing services in our industry.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Information About Our Answering Services

Did you know one third of callers to your business will not leave a message if the call is answered by a voice mail? In our ever-changing world, the ability to access newer technologies can give your business the competitive advantage you need over the competition. Our commitment to constantly leverage these new technologies enables us to provide our clients with the advantage they need in today's business climate.

Our business telephone answering services provide cost effective ways for businesses to handle after hour calls or when staff are unavailable - live operator telephone answering service, virtual office and voicemail service are key components of our call center solutions. An answering service is more than just someone answering your calls, to your customer, we are your business. Our professional staff will insure your callers are greeted by a courteous and helpful voice and will insure you receive accurate messages in a timely manner.

Whether yours is a professional, blue collar or internet business, AnswerFirst has a rate plan designed for your specific needs. Each account is custom tailored and our commitment to providing high quality service at a fair price is why we are one of the fastest growing services in our industry.
All rates are 24/7 and include toll free access.

Live Operator clients may additionally add voice mail options to either enhance their messaging capabilities or minimize their live operator costs. The setup fee for Live Operator accounts is $100.00 per hour (1 hour min). As soon as we receive the signed contract, setup forms and payment, your account will generally be activated within 72 hours. Emergency setup is available - additional fees apply.

Messages may be delivered in a variety of ways: hold for call in, call out (to cell phone, home phone etc.), digital page, alpha-page, e-mail, fax each as taken, voice mailbox, fax summary and e-mail summary.

Do you have questions about our answering service? Please call 1-800-645-2616 or contact us for assistance.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service FAQ's

Q. My business is not in the same state as your answering service, does this mean I will incur long distance fees or toll charges when using your service?

A. No. Although many answering services do not follow this same policy, at AnswerFirst, you will never have any long distance fees or toll-charges associated with your account. This includes not only providing a toll-free number for your incoming calls, but also any outgoing calls we make on your behalf. Delivering messages via fax, alpha-pager, digital pager, telephone and text messaging will all technically be long distance calls from our service to you but, because we do such a high volume of "long distance" calling every month, the price we pay for long distance is virtually the same as a local call for us.

Q. I need to use the phone number you supply for my account, but I need a number that is local in my community. Does this mean I have to use an answering service in my area?

A. No, but you certainly will need to make some additional arrangements if you are to use a service outside of your local area and need a local area code for your clients to call. You will have to secure your own phone number from your local provider and then forward that local number to the toll-free number we supply to enable us to answer your calls. One of the more economical options is to secure what is known as a "switch-based" phone number from your local provider. A switch-based local phone number is different because it only resides in the telephone company switch and must always be forwarded to another phone number, such as the toll-free number we supply you. Costs for switch-based numbers are generally less than a traditional phone line, usually about half the cost. The other option is to use an answering service located in your area who can supply you a local phone number.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service FAQs

Q. How do I get you to answer my calls?

A. For most businesses, this means answering calls placed to your existing office phone number. In this case, your office phone will need to be "forwarded" to the phone number our answering service has assigned to your account. Another scenario involves clients who wish to use the phone number we assign to their account as their main "business line" . In this case, no forwarding is required as callers will be directly dialing the phone number we have assigned to your account. 

Q. How will you answer phone calls to my account?

A. Everything about your account will be customized specifically for your needs. This includes the "answer phrase" we will use when answering calls, the information we collect from callers, information you may want us to provide to callers (your address, fax number, etc.) and how we are going to deliver the messages we take for you. A typical "answer phrase" go something like this: "Good morning, thanks for calling ABC Services, this is Jim, how may I help you today?"

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

About AnswerFirst Communications

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc. has provided quality answering services since 1985. Our newest center was built from the ground up in 1999 specifically for AnswerFirst and this operations center provides a safe and comfortable environment for our CSR agents. Located along historic Kennedy Boulevard, the center is close to downtown Tampa. Tampa was chosen as the corporate site because of its growing demographics & centralized location in Florida. With its beautiful white beaches and wonderful climate, Tampa is a great place to work and live.

Since the invention of the telephone, answering services have been helping businesses meet the needs of their clients. While many predicted answering services would go the way of the horse and buggy with the popularity of cellular phones, text messaging and newer technologies, answering services have become more prevalent than ever. There are several underlying reasons call centers have continued to flourish in this environment. First and most obvious is the fact people like doing business with other people. If you were looking for a product or service, would you rather speak with a live person or leave a message in a voice mail? The vast majority of the people prefer speaking with a live person, in fact, 33% of people will not even leave a message when reaching a voice mail. It only follows businesses looking for a competitive edge would see this behavior as a means to increase their bottom line.

Our work environment plays a primary role in the health and happiness of our operators. Happy agents equal more productive agents, not only for us, but more importantly, for our clients. Ergonomically correct seating, injury prevention training, and state of the art workstations all add up to reduce the possibility of repetitive strain.

Weighing heavily in the design process of our new center was the desire to provide maximum security for both our agents and client data. Our commitment to protect the integrity and secrecy of our clients' data along with our desire to ensure the safety of our employees was paramount in selecting appropriate security measures. Twenty four hour camera monitoring, electronic key pad access and extensive password protection are just a few of the security measures we employ. Server redundancy, data archiving, the logging of all voice conversations, surge protection and emergency power generation are utilized as well for client's data protection.

Our facility is also home to our state of the art computer and telephony hardware. Designed to blend our technological capabilities with our human resources, our center offers both an efficient and productive atmosphere. We're excited about our work environment and look to provide our quality telephone answering services to the public for the next 100 years and beyond.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Client Web Access Gives You Online Access to Your Answering Service Account

Client Web Access (CWA) is an exciting way to integrate your business with our answering service. CWA allows you to use your web browser to log in securely to our web access area to view information regarding your account in real time. We offer a variety of functions through our web access interface including message review, report generation, voice log access, web form submissions as well as the ability for you to view your account screens. Client Web Access service is included FREE with every Live Operator account. We have a demonstration account set up for your review to demonstrate the convenience of this service. Click here to try out our free demo account.

Features:

• View, e-mail, export, add notes or print your messages
• View, e-mail, export add notes or print your web form submissions
• Listen to recordings of calls to your account
• Generate a variety of reports regarding your account activity
• View your account screens just as our operators see them
• Access news and bulletins for our clients

At the top right corner of each of our web pages, you will find the log-in area for access. Please notice the example to the right, then bring your attention to the top right area of this web page to see the login area. You simply click the link to go to the CWA log-in page, then enter the username and password we provide for your account to gain access to the many features and useful information client web access provides.


1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

10 Fascinating Facebook Facts

Facebook’s astronomic rise, staggeringly large user-base, and world’s youngest self-made billionaire CEO make it one of the most fascinating companies around today.

While everyone knows the basics about the service’s Harvard dorm room origins, we’ve delved a little deeper to find out more interesting snippets of info.

Here are 10 facts you might not know about Facebook, click here to read the article.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Launches New Website to Feature Information About Their Answering Services

AnswerFirst Communications, an international telephone answering service and customer service solutions company specializing in answering & messaging services, virtual receptionist and contact center solutions, announced this week that they have launched a new website that features information about their telephone answering services.

Jim Smith, AnswerFirst's Director of Inside Sales said, "Previously, we were using one main website to feature information about all of ours services but it was a lot of information to pack into a single website because we offer a wide array of services including basic answering services, call center solutions, technical support, customer care, appointment scheduling, order entry and voice mail solutions and more. We decided that featuring each service on its own site would be a more effective way of marketing all of the services.  Clients can get more detailed information about the specific service that they are looking for and we can also optimize each site to rank well for search terms that are related to the service that is featured on that particular site.  This method of optimization will make it easier for our potential clients to find information about the services that they are shopping for.  The first site we’ve developed focuses on our core service, telephone answering service, and was developed under the domain name www.answeringservice.org.  We’ve retained our corporate site for providing a basic overview of our services and in-depth information about our business so clients can still access information about AnswerFirst at our main domain.”

James Cass, Director of IT at AnswerFirst, stated, "We’ve implemented a new hosting environment to support our new Internet marketing approach.  Our infrastructure and equipment are configured to handle the new websites and the traffic that they’ll produce.  This new multi-site approach to marketing will allow us to publish a lot more information about our suite of services to the web and will provide our clients with more information about what we do.  We’re looking forward to development and implementation of this new marketing strategy. "

AnswerFirst is based in Tampa, FL and provides answering services, appointment scheduling, reservation taking, technical support, customer care, order entry and contact center solutions to businesses in any industry throughout the world.  For more information about their services visit their website.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

5 Online Tools for Answering Your Small Business Questions

Running a small business is filled with unknowns and crash course lessons. You’re always going to have questions about hiring, acquiring customers, raising money, and building viable products.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

5 Rules for Professional Social Networking Success

Professional networking has been made exponentially easier with social media. Years ago, networking meant asking a friend at another company to submit your resume to his HR department...

Click here to read the rest of the article.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Weekend Answering Service

The weekend is here! Use an answering service to handle your weekend calls: http://ping.fm/Nqskw

HOW TO: Build A Twitter Strategy for Your Business

You know your business can’t just wing it on Twitter, you need a strategy. But how do you get there? A lot of social media advice revolves around confusing, high-concept buzzwords...

Click here to read the rest of the article.


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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service uses YouTube Channel To Provide Tutorials for Client Web Interface

AnswerFirst Communications, an international telephone answering service and customer service solutions company specializing in answering & messaging services, virtual receptionist and contact center solutions, announced this week that they are utilizing a YouTube channel to educate their client base about the functionality of their proprietary client web interface known as Client Web Access.

Every AnswerFirst answering service, messaging service, call center and virtual receptionist account is coupled with a free Client Web Access (CWA) account.  CWA is AnswerFirst's client web interface that allows their clients to securely log-in to AnswerFirst's servers from any web browser to view and update real-time account data.  Clients can review their messages, check their invoices, make changes to their accounts, check web form submissions and more.

Jim Smith, AnswerFirst's Director of Inside Sales stated, "CWA offers an extremely robust set of features and functionality. The interface is very intuitive but we don't want to limit usability by not providing clear and concise instructional materials.  Using screen capture software we have created a series of videos that are instructional walkthroughs of the most useful features of CWA.  The video tutorials are available from within CWA as well as on our AnswerFirst YouTube channel.  We launched the YouTube channel for the sole purpose of featuring our CWA tutorial videos because YouTube is easily accessible to users around the globe and it is integrated with Google's search engine which makes it easier for users to find the videos. We plan to release several videos each month and, because we are always upgrading CWA features, there will always be new functionality to feature in these videos."

Steve Smith, owner of AAA Appliance Services and an AnswerFirst client, said, "Client Web Access is an account feature that you won't get from any other answering service. I've used it to review my invoices since we first set-up our AnswerFirst account but, I had no idea I could listen to all of my calls until I browsed AnswerFirst's YouTube channel and saw a video about this feature of CWA.  I'm looking forward to using the AnswerFirst YouTube channel more and learning more about the features of Client Web Access."

AnswerFirst is based in Tampa, FL and provides answering services, appointment scheduling, reservation taking, technical support, customer care, order entry and contact center solutions to businesses in any industry throughout the world.  For more information about their services visit their website.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Celebrates 12 Years of Providing Contact Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Communications, a U.S. based telephone answering service and customer service solutions company specializing in answering & messaging services, contact center and virtual receptionist solutions announced this week that they have been offering clients services for 12 years. 

Jim Smith, Director of Inside Sales at AnswerFirst stated, "We are very pleased to have reached this milestone. We're thankful for the support of our clients and for the effort of our employees, both current and past, who have all contributed to our success.  As part of our celebration, we are currently offering a special rate to new clients.  We are including free set-up (a $100 value) with any new answering service account from now through June 25, 2010.  All new clients will be offered this special rate when they contact us for service.  We're looking forward to another 12 years of providing our clients with reliable answering services and contact center solutions."

Dr. Jason Quintal, a current AnswerFirst customer, said, "I have been very pleased with the level of service that AnswerFirst has provided us. Their operators are always professional and we like the fact that we can access our account via the internet to check our invoices, listen to our calls and update our account. We've tried other answering services but AnswerFirst offers superior service and account management options that can't be found anywhere else."

Matt Herron, President & CEO of AnswerFirst said, "We have worked very hard to reach this 12 year mark.  The support of our clients and the dedication of our employees have played crucial roles in our success and we're grateful for both.  Our focus on constantly refining our business model along with our strong belief in adopting new technologies have also contributed to our ability to reach this achievement.  A lot of other services have fallen off the map because they aren't willing to embrace technology and integrate it into their daily operations.  We've invested a lot of time and energy into utilizing new technology to offer our clients better service while improving our efficiency.  We'll continue to make these investments as well as investments in our community and green business practices."

AnswerFirst is based in Tampa, FL and provides answering services, appointment scheduling, reservation taking, technical support, customer care, order entry and contact center solutions to businesses in any industry throughout the world.  For more information about their services visit their website.

5 Ways Small Businesses Can Leverage LinkedIn’s New Features

LinkedIn recently introduced more functionality to their site.  How can you utilize the new features?

Click here to read the article.

Click here to visit AnswerFirst on LinkedIn.  Don't forget to follow us!

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

Answering Service Partners with Mailing Service to Target Heating & Cooling Industry

AnswerFirst Communications partners with Modern Inserting & Mailing to target potential answering service clients in the heating & cooling industry.

Read the answering service press release here.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist, Call Center & Contact Center Solutions

5 Simple Tools for A Paperless Office

There are many software solutions that can help you reduce the use of paper while increasing efficiency.

Click here to read the article:  5 Simple Tools for A Paperless Office

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Answering Service Offers More Affordable Service Package for Property Management Companies

AnswerFirst announces new cost effective answering service plan for new and existing property management client base.


Read the press release here:

New Property Management Basic Answering Service Package

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Communications Welcomes New IT Director

AnswerFirst Communications announces the acquisition of a new IT Director.

Click here to read the press release.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Answering Service Customer Testimonial

"I just wanted to take a moment to thank all of you for the excellent professional service that you provide to us.

Yesterday I received a nice compliment from yet another client telling me how efficient the service is.  I have used answering services for almost forty years and usually when people call about our answering service it is to complain.

It is very reassuring to know that when we leave the office our phones are in good and capable hands."

Brian D. Miller

Miller Security

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Facebook Etiquette for Businesses and Brands

Is your business using a Facebook page?  Here are some tips on proper Facebook etiquette for your business:  Click here to read the article.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Communications Welcomes New Operations Manager

AnswerFirst Communications welcomes Lauren Sands as Operations Manager.

Click here to read the press release.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Free Marketing Resources

Give your business a boost with these no-cost marketing resources!

Click here to read the article.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Business Tips: 5 Tips for Nailing A Sales Visit

Click here to read the article.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Answering Service Customer Testimonial

"We continue to be impressed by AnswerFirst's ability to provide a level of support that is above and beyond other services that we've used."

David Gray

Confirm Solutions

How Can Your Business Benefit from the Use of a Telephone Answering Service?

We've discussed the importance of first impressions in a previous blog post.  Making a good first impression is, no doubt, an important consideration for any business owner and a good reason to utilize an answering service or virtual receptionist to handle customer phone calls.  However, there are many other benefits to using an answering service.

Benefits of using a Telephone Answering Service

• A business answering service can free up your time so that you can focus on selling products and meeting with customers without missing important phone calls.
  
• One third of callers will not leave a message in a voice mail.  Turn off your cell phone and allow an answering service to pick-up your calls instead of sending your clients to voice mail. 
  
• An answering service is an important part of a contingency plan.  Did your receptionist call in sick or is there a power outage at your office?  An answering service can handle your incoming calls until you are able to answer them again.
  
• Using an answering service offers significant savings over hiring a full-time receptionist.  Most answering services only charge when they answer your calls.  You can save up to 70% versus hiring a full-time employee to answer your phones.

Telephone answering services or virtual receptionists offer you more freedom in your schedule because you aren't tied to your phone, they offer cost savings versus hiring a full-time receptionist and they provide your clients with a higher level of service and  better first impressions. Contact us today for more information about what we can do for your business.

1-800-645-2616
www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Social Media Tip: 3 Things You Should Never Say On Social Media Sites

Does your business have a Twitter, Facebook or Linked In account?  Social media marketing should be part of any modern marketing program, but business owners should be careful about how they use social media outlets.  Click here to read about 3 things that you should never say on social media sites.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Switches to Google Apps for Business

Click here to read the press release.

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www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Smartphone Apps Fuel Business Growth

Attract new customers, improve customer service and create new revenue opportunities with smart phone apps.  Read the article here:  Smart Phone Apps Fuel Business Growth

Contact us today for more information about how we can help you reduce your monthly overhead by outsourcing your phone answering service.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

15 Small Business Tax Deductions

Click here to read the article: Tracking expenses consistently and accurately can help you shrink your tax bill.

Contact us today for more information about how we can help you reduce your monthly overhead by outsourcing your phone answering service.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Answering Service Customer Testimonials

"We are still happy to report that we LOVE this service.  Thank you!"

~ Cathy

Office of the State Attorney

"I just wanted to say that it has been hard to find an answering service that can cater to our needs, and Jim and Aimee has been a great HELP and that is an understatement. Anything I asked she has moved on it quickly to resolve it that same day no attitude and no questions asked. I can’t stress enough how much it means to me to have this type of customer service. Very Hard to Find. Not once has she made me notify someone else in support she has handled our account on her own with ease. Even catering to the Credit Hold list I have applied to the account and changed a couple times. Again thank you and I just wanted to let you guys know you have a great employee in your hands."

 ~ Amy Davis

Reliable Elevator

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

The Advantages of Using Remote Live Telephone Operators for Answering Services

In early 2009 AnswerFirst began testing hardware and software configurations that would allow our operators to work from home.  After a year of testing, our remote operator program is officially in place and the majority of our operators now work remotely. 

There are many advantages to this program including our ability to hire better talent because our employment market extends beyond our locality, reduced fuel usage and carbon footprints because our employees don't have to drive to our operations center to perform their job tasks and overall improved employee morale.  We've also reduced our in-house energy costs and upgraded to more stable and efficient IT hardware solutions to support the remote operator program.  Our infrastructure is more reliable and efficient than ever which allows us to keep our prices low while providing consistent and dependable services. 

Contact us today for more information about our telephone answering services.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

5 Ways to Grow In Any Economy

Learn to keep your company moving even when things are stagnant: 5 Ways to Grow In Any Economy

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

Answering Service Rates and Pricing Packet

Are you shopping for answering services, call center solutions or virtual receptionist services??  You can receive more information and rates via the home page of our website: AnswerFirst Answering Service

Looking for discount rates?  Check out one of our affiliate sites:

Discounted Answering Service
Affordable Answering Service
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AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst "Goes Green" with Remote Operators

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc. announced this week that they are now encouraging all of their telephone operators to work from home.  Beginning in early 2009 AnswerFirst began developing a remote operator program by utilizing high-speed internet, IT virtualization methods and strict security protocols.  After 12 months of solid testing, AnswerFirst has gained enough confidence in their infrastructure and new procedures that they are now encouraging all operators to work from home after they complete a 60 day in-house training program.  Matt Herron, President of AnswerFirst commented, "Our operators enjoy the convenience of working from their own homes and, since they aren't using their cars to get to work every day, they are conserving fuel and reducing their carbon footprints. During the implementation of our Remote Operator Program we virtualized several parts of our infrastructure which means that we are now running less physical hardware and that we are more energy efficient as a whole. This change in our daily operations required a significant investment in technology and implementation but the benefits to our employees and the environment are the ROI.  We are committed to being a environmentally conscious business and our Remote Operator Program is just one more step towards achieving our goal."

AnswerFirst began focusing on more environmentally sound business practices in early 2007 by implementing the use of energy efficient lighting throughout their corporate headquarters and switching to a "paperless office" model.  Jim Smith, AnswerFirst's Sale Manager, said, "Our Paperless Office initiative has actually streamlined our sales process which provides our customers with a better experience while saving us money and helping the environment." 

AnswerFirst will continue their "Go Green" efforts throughout the coming year by looking into new heating and cooling solutions at their corporate headquarters.

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc. is based in Tampa, FL and provides answering services, virtual receptionist and call center solutions to customers internationally.

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Press Release - 2/12/2010

AnswerFirst is utilizing social media as part of a revised marketing strategy.  Find out more here: Answering Service Turns to Social Media

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

New Customers and First Impressions

First impressions are important.  Psychologists, seminar leaders and other experts estimate that you may have less than 30 seconds of interacting with a new customer before he or she forms an impression of you and, by proxy, your business.  When a customer calls your business telephone number... what impression are you leaving?  If no one is available to take the incoming call is it sent to voice mail, simply not answered or do you send them to one of those frustrating automated menus?  Statistics show that 33% of callers will not leave a message in voice mail and 45% of callers will not call back if their call goes unanswered.  It is obvious that not managing inbound calls appropriately can result in a loss of potential customers and leads.  An answering service can offer you assistance in handling these inbound calls.  Answering services assign real live operators to answer your calls in a professional manner with your company name and a greeting.  The caller doesn't even need to know that they aren't speaking to someone at your location.  Live telephone operators can take a message, provide callers with basic information about your business, schedule appointments, make reservations, enter orders or even patch calls directly to another phone number like your cell or home phone.  Your client will be left with the feeling that his or her call is important which will also leave them with a positive first impression of your business.

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Answering Service, Virtual Receptionist & Call Center Solutions

What Types of Businesses Use Answering Services?

We've posed this question before in our blog... What types of businesses use answering and messaging services??  And, the answer is... every type.  As a supplement to our previous post, here are a few AnswerFirst clients:

National Public Radio - NPR
ADP Business Solutions
Bayer
Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - NOAA

AnswerFirst provides answering services, messaging service, call center solutions and virtual receptionist services for over 1200 clients from every industry imaginable.  If your business has a telephone then you can benefit from our services.  Call or contact us today for more information.

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

1-800-645-2616

www.answerfirst.com - Business Answering Service, Live Telephone Operator & Call Center Solutions

Free Set-Up and Reduced Rates Are Still Available

We are still offering reduced rates on our professional answering services, virtual receptionist solutions and live telephone answering service.  Take advantage of free set-up, a 10% reduction in our Live Operator per minute rate and a 20% reduction in our Automated Rate.  These special rates won't be around forever so call us today 1-800-645-2616.

Are you looking for more information about our services??  Click here to visit our website for a detailed description of our full suite of answering services, call center solutions and virtual receptionist services.

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

www.answerfirst.com - Business Answering Service, Live Telephone Operator & Call Center Solutions

AnswerFirst Answering Service YouTube Channel Features CWA "How To" Videos

Every AnswerFirst answering service, messaging service, call center and virtual receptionist account comes with a free Client Web Access (CWA) account.  CWA allows you to securely log-in to our web access area from any web browser and view real-time information about your account.  You can review your messages, check your invoices, check web form submissions and more.  Since CWA offers such a robust set of features we have decided to create video walkthroughs and post them to our AnswerFirst Answering Service YouTube Channel.  We post at least one new video every week, so make sure you check back often for the latest tips and tricks on how to use Client Web Access.

If you'd like more information about CWA and what it can do for your business, then call (1-800-645-2616) or contact us today for more information.

AnswerFirst Communications, Inc.

www.answerfirst.com - Business Answering Service, Live Telephone Operator & Call Center Solutions