Forum Discussion

Tdog1212's avatar
Tdog1212
Contributor 2
2 months ago

Best way to handle inbound calls to company line?

Curious yalls thoughts. Looking to not just grow, looking to scale and improve / continue to implement systems. Currently have myself, 1 outside sales rep, and field labor crew (fence install company)

current process: customer calls into company # (my cell phone). I try to answer as if it were  an office line to answer asap. From that, I confirm I can Text them, I then send a request form via jobber that has basic info / few questions to answer. If / when they fill it out, I add to the schedule for a confirmed day / time to quote on site. etc……

 

I feel this part is a lot of back and forth, and until I have an in house admin office worker that can answer these calls the first ring - I won’t be able to truly grow / stay efficient. (If I’m tied up, I don’t like calling them back 2 hours later, etc) but also - I love having them fill out the form bc the way I have questions on it, it turns it from a warm lead, to a warmer lead. 

Any way to streamline this, get more efficient, improve this current process?

ANY thoughts or advice - real thankful. 

ai
client communications
customer service & experience
fence services
quoting
software
  • KellyGuerrero's avatar
    KellyGuerrero
    Contributor 4
    2 months ago

    Hire a Virtual Assistant (VA). A VA can be a game-changer, especially when you're not ready for a full-time in-house admin. We’ve been using a VA through Upwork for three years, and she handles inbound calls, schedules quotes, and takes down all the job details. This allows us to provide immediate assistance, keeping potential clients engaged and turning warm leads into HOT leads because everything is handled on the spot. 

    Here’s how it works:

    • The VA answers the calls right away, acting as the first point of contact.
    • She collects all the information about the job and schedules the appointment for our sales rep to go out.
    • By taking this off your plate, it frees you up to focus on higher-level tasks and ensures no lead falls through the cracks.

    Plus, VAs can do more than just answer calls—they can handle customer emails, follow-ups, and other admin tasks, making them a super cost-effective solution as you scale.  Ours is now in a full-time role and she tracks our company KPIs, is in charge of billing and collections, as well as most customer service functions. 

    • Tdog1212's avatar
      Tdog1212
      Contributor 2
      2 months ago

      Super helpful. 
      is she paid per call handled or what does the comp setup look like?

      • KellyGuerrero's avatar
        KellyGuerrero
        Contributor 4
        2 months ago

        She's paid through upwork and it's hourly.  However, she's in the Phillipines so it's a much lower per hour cost than what we would get here in the US.  Right now I'm paying $10/hour but keep in mind we may be a much larger operation than what you have.  We have four field crews, 1 sales person, and two admins.  One is state-side and one is overseas. 

        There are also services that specialize in this type of data entry for Jobber that do charge per call.   Before we were with Jobber, we had utilized one of these services first and they were OK, but it was different.  It was more a process of, "we'll get the request information input and then someone has to followup with them".   I'd recommend going for a VA because it frees up much of your time, and empowers your sales person to do what they do best and you focus on what you do best instead of all the back and forth work.  Overall, I strongly believe that it will help you deliver a better customer experience. 

         

    • Tdog1212's avatar
      Tdog1212
      Contributor 2
      2 months ago

      I have considered, haven’t really looked into it at the “worry” of it not being professional or not being able to find a USA based company etc. 

      you have any you recommend?

      • judithvirag's avatar
        judithvirag
        Contributor 4
        2 months ago

        I am in Canada and I know that there are a lot of different companies or individual VA's out there.  I think if you develop a good training plan and you know exactly what you want them to do it can be very successful.  It is just like hiring your own staff.   I have my own office admin and sales rep.   I have hired VAs previously from other countries and they did help with what I needed. There are a lot of needles in the haystack :) 

  • TheProcessCEO's avatar
    TheProcessCEO
    Contributor 3
    2 months ago

    We used to have a full time admin at $22 per hour. We now have 2 VAs in the Philippines that we hired through NinjaVA. They vetted them and we trained them and we essentially have 2 for less the price of 1. But, aside from cost, the best part is they took the process I already had, and they made it better and documented it. They learned jobber and they are so much better than any admin we’ve ever had in house. My recommendation to grow would be to definitely hire an admin so that you don’t miss a call. And try the VA route! It’s intimidating at first and you may need to try a few before you find the right fit. But it’s worth it! 

    • Tdog1212's avatar
      Tdog1212
      Contributor 2
      2 months ago

      Really really appreciate the insight. Have a call with Ninja VA Monday. 

      do you / yall have a solid priced / features VOIP call software that you recommend?

       

       

      • KellyGuerrero's avatar
        KellyGuerrero
        Contributor 4
        2 months ago

        I'll jump back in here but I'm a huge fan of Google Voice - we're already using the Google Workspace anyway so it's a good fit for us.  I have the upgraded package Google Voice Premier, which includes an autoattendant and I can keep adding seats.  It can be used on a physical phone, computer, and any mobile device and it's super easy to separate out business and personal calls.  I also imported my number that I had previously through Vonage, and it's a pretty robust package that will handle our business needs as we continue to grow and evolve.