5 Criteria to Find the Right Answering Service for Your Roofing Company

Roofing is a business that has a lot of different challenges, but it also comes with several rewards for those who are skilled and enjoy the work they do. You’re helping people keep their homes and businesses safe. As a roofer, you’re responsible for one of the biggest protective systems of the entire building. That’s not something to be taken lightly. 

Roofing is also a business that’s in very high demand. If you live in a seasonal climate, you’ve only got so many months of the year that you can get work done. In the meantime, you also need to field all those leads, take incoming client calls, and handle other communications—how can you do it all?

The answer is simple: you can’t, and you don’t have to. That’s where partnering with a reputable answering service can come in handy. Unlike the answering services of decades past, these modern providers have a host of solutions and usually work in the cloud, giving you plenty of places to build and scale a custom strategy to suit your needs. 

While you’re up on the roof performing an inspection or replacing shingles, how many calls are going to voicemail? How many callers are simply going somewhere else until they get a live person that answers the phone? When you partner with an answering service, these are concerns that you’ll never have to worry about because there will always be someone there to answer the call (and so much more!). 

In order to find the right answering service for your roofing company, here are some of the criteria that you’ll want to consider. 

1. 24/7 availability 

Roofing issues don’t know business hours. Leaks and damage can (and often do) happen at all hours of the day and night. Trees fall into houses on weekends. Loose shingles letting water in will inevitably make themselves known on a holiday. It happens. That’s why you need to be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Of course, it’s impractical for you, one person, to do that. Even with a partner or a receptionist, staffing around the clock can be exhausting (and expensive). 

When you choose a 24/7 answering service, you’ll know that you never miss a call, and it won’t matter what you’re doing in the meantime. 

2. Features and services

What kind of features does the answering service offer besides just answering calls? Believe it or not, a modern answering service or virtual receptionist can be just about everything your business needs regarding communications and admin tasks. Depending on the company that you choose to work with, you’ll find an array of available features and be able to see just how much you can get out of this investment. 

Even hiring receptionists won’t give you the level of service and consistency that you get from an answering service, nor will they be able to handle all the different features and solutions that you want. 

3. Customization options

In addition to all of the features, you’ll want to consider how much you can customize the plans and solutions available to you. Ideally, you’ll get a totally custom solution that is built to fit the needs of your roofing company. Even if you need support for seasonal overflow calling or scaled-up solutions during the summer, for example, you should be able to do that. 

The best answering services will ensure you get a solution that delivers exactly what you need, no matter what that means. You can even customize greetings, voicemails, and interactive voice response (IVR) menus if you use them, and so much more.  

4. Scalability

You will also want a partnership with an answering service that can scale and grow with you over time as the needs of your business change. Ideally, you’ll be looking to scale up for the sake of growth, but in some instances, you might need to scale back, such as during the off-season if you live in a region that has one. Thanks to the cloud, most modern answering services are capable of scaling and changing on a dime. 

You might not really understand what you need in terms of scalability, but the right company will discuss it with you and point out why it is such a valuable asset to have. After all, as the needs of your business change, so should the solutions that you use. 

5. Transparent pricing 

As a professional service provider, you understand the value of offering transparent pricing to your customers. The same is true for a professional answering service or virtual receptionist. They should have plenty of readily available information about their pricing structures, costs, and how they determine what to charge. If they really need your specific information to quote an accurate cost, they should at least offer starting rates and ballpark figures to help you find room in your budget. 

The good news is that compared to hiring a receptionist (or a team of them), outsourcing is possible at a fraction of the cost. Not only that, but for a fraction of the cost, you get a whole team of agents that are ready to help, no matter what your leads and customers need. 

Partner with Smith.ai for seamless, streamlined answering services and more

Smith.ai knows how important it is for you to focus on your business. We also know how much you value your customers and the people who reach out to contact you. Fortunately, you’re no longer alone to handle it all. In addition to a team of dedicated virtual receptionists to provide a 24/7 answering service, we can also assist with lead intake, appointment scheduling, and even outbound sales support if you need it. 

Plus, it all comes with a custom strategy to ensure all the details are covered so that you can get back to business and know your communications are taken care of. To learn more, schedule a consultation or reach out to hello@smith.ai. 

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