How to Choose a Live Answering Service

For entrepreneurs, a live answering service can be a valuable customer service tool. Popular with work-from-home business owners, coworking professionals, and micro-budget startups, these services offer many of the perks of a dedicated receptionist, but at a fraction of the cost.

But if you’ve decided to get a live answering service, you might be surprised at how many options exist. You can choose from a wide range of providers and plans with different features.

That’s even the case at Office Evolution. Our business center offers a telephone answering service with a range of baseline features, with the chance to upgrade your plan with added functionality. We also offer professional service packages that allow you to bundle phone answering with other services at our location.

Unsure which type of answering service will work best for you? Here’s a quick guide to help you find out.

Choosing the Right Live Answering Service

The Basics

If you’re looking for a telephone answering service, you might be surprised at the quality of basic plans. While these plans are a great starter service for a number of small business owners, they can be a great long-term fit in other situations.

At Office Evolution, our basic plans include 60 minutes of live to answer each month, a personalized greeting for your business, plus voicemail to email functionality. We also add in discounts on meeting room and conference room rentals at our business center.

Bells & Whistles

A basic plan is usually a good fit if you’re getting an answering service for the first time. But depending on the type or size of business you run, it might be worth upgrading for additional features.

With answering services at Office Evolution, for example, you can upgrade your plan for call forwarding to multiple numbers. That’s not something you’ll need if you’re a sole proprietor. But it’s valuable if you run a multi-person business.

Package Deals

Another consideration when you’re choosing an answering plan is whether it’s worth packaging with other professional services.

This is a popular option at our business center. Entrepreneurs who are operating a virtual office can bundle phone answering with a business address plan and a coworking membership. We also offer phone answering services as part of our office rentals, an ideal choice for small business owners.

Contact Office Evolution today to learn more about our live answering services!