A home based business is exactly that, a business that is primarily run out of an individuals’ home. Businesses that operate this way either answer their own telephones or let calls go to voicemail when they are unavailable. Many times, it is difficult to run a successful business and manage incoming calls at the same time. Also, if you are not available, letting phone calls go to voicemail can hurt your business by callers not leaving messages. If a home based businesses cannot handle incoming calls, it will lose revenue.

Inbound communication is vital to any business. It can foster strength in your brand as well as generate revenue by beginning new relationships with customers. And, it is vital that callers speak to a live operator. Many times, if your callers reach an answering machine or voicemail, they will not leave a message and may consider your service unreliable. If they don't leave a message, you are losing business. If they deem your business unreliable in emergency situations, you are losing business. An answering service offers a live voice to answer your calls when you are unavailable. A live voice will capture more leads then a machine.

If you are thinking that an answering machine or voicemail is great because it saves your business money, think again. Imagine yourself calling a business. Do you leave a message when a machine picks up or will you call the next available name. Chances are you will call the next business in the directory. In fact, studies say that callers are 5x more likely to leave a message with a live operator versus a machine. Even imagine yourself in a situation where you are calling a friend. If you get a machine, do you hang up and call back later? How many times do you actually call back? If you are thinking about your answers to these questions, you can see and understand why small businesses benefit from an answering service.

Live operators are great for businesses and many call centers are able to do much more than just take messages. If your business is product oriented, many services can take and process credit card orders. If you need help generating leads, many services offer outbound telemarketing programs. Whatever your business does, an answering service can assist by outsourcing many of your business needs so you can concentrate on growing your company. And, the live operators will make your callers feel more secure about your business and help spread the word of what you do to others.