An answering service business is a major money spinner. It can be set up in a small area, and can service scores of companies. Even the arrival of mobile phones has not dampened the demand for an answering service business. On the contrary, there are more businesses today that need this service!
Target market: An answering service business serves a variety of customers. It is used by individuals like doctors, plumbers or electricians who are on call outside their homes or offices; it is used by small firms like real estate agencies, who want all calls to be answered; it is used by medium sized companies like transport firms; it is used by large corporations who get a large volume of calls. The service is used largely by professionals or companies who want calls to be answered after business hours or even during business hours as per the needs.
Investment: The investment on an answering service business depends on the scale of business. If you want to limit the number of clients to 10 ten then you should install separate telephone lines for each client. A telephone line will cost $200 each, and the monthly rental will be in the range of $35. If, however, you want to service more than 10 clients then it is advisable to have a switchboard installed. A switchboard with 100 lines costs around $25,000. This may be expensive but it has scale, and you can add business without worry about the infrastructure. Besides this, you need to dedicate a small room for the installation of phone lines. You will also need a comfortable chair, and a rack to store messages. You must think long-term when setting up this business because shifting of phone lines is an expensive process, and not advisable.
Qualifications: You should have a pleasing “phone personality”, that is you should be able to answer calls politely. You should also be able to take down messages accurately for passing to the client. Most important, you should be well organized, and ensure that no message is lost.
Kinds of service: The success of an answering service business depends on the number of facilities you provide. These include incoming message services, both during and after business hours; complete answering service where customers believe they are calling the actual business office; order taking service, where customers call in to place orders; call forwarding service; message delivery service, where you call people on behalf of your client; voice mailboxes, where you have lines that record messages; beeper service, where you take the call and then page the client; and computerized telemarketing, where you use a computer hooked to a standard phone to dial telephone numbers. You can also charge more for providing more services.
Scouting for business: You need to visit the offices of potential clients and make a pitch for business. For this, you need to carry a business proposal that outlines the benefits the client will get. You should also advertise in yellow pages and in the classified columns of your local newspaper. There is no shortage of clients for an answering service business. You can tap retail stores, credit agencies, restaurants, wedding services, modeling schools, furniture stores, employment agencies, collection agencies, financial service firms, dance schools, carpet cleaners, car washes, video stores, travel agencies pet services etc.
Funding: You don’t need funding if you plan to service less than ten clients. In this case, you can add telephone lines as your client list grows. However, if you plan to install a PBX then you surely need the help of a bank or Small Business Administration office. In this case you need to prepare a business plan to convince the funding body of your seriousness, and your confidence to make the service work.
Earnings: An answering service business that has 20 clients can easily make $100,000 a year. The money only grows as the client list grows.
