Never miss a call with 24/7 live receptionists.

In the solar energy industry, business is booming. But more growth means more tasks to handle. Solar energy installers, wiremen, and managers can hardly be expected to answer every call that comes in or schedule every appointment that needs booking, let alone provide the quality customer support that'll set them up for future lead generation opportunities. Luckily, with a trustworthy answering service, solar energy businesses can answer calls, set appointments, nurture leads, and intake new clients without ever sacrificing a moment of their work day. Live virtual receptionists work around-the-clock to help solar energy professionals get everything they need done so they can get back to focusing on more important projects and still manage growing demands. Among others, here are just a few of the benefits solar energy businesses experience when outsourcing to an answering service like Smith.ai:

• Expand availability

With a phone answering service that’s available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, your clients will always have a real person to talk to, whether your team is busy, your office is closed, or you're simply unavailable. Your clients will always receive a thoughtful response, day or night.

• Increase leads captured  

Missed calls mean missed opportunities. Don’t lose out on leads just because you’re not always able to pick up the phone. Answering services provide nighttime, weekend, and after-hours availability so you never have to miss another call or another potential client.

• Boost work productivity

With our outbound call back service, you'll be able to spend time where you need it most and focus on the more important work designed to build your solar energy business.

• Enhance client satisfaction and business reputation

At Smith.ai, we know great customer service and how to deliver it for a range of business types and industries. Our virtual receptionists are trained in customer service and hospitality, so let us put best practices to work for you and deliver an exceptional and professional response that represents your business well every time.

• Save money and time

No need to allocate limited time and money towards hiring an in-house receptionist when you can get all of the services you need and then some with an 24/7 answering service for a fraction of the price. On average, customers who use Smith.ai save upwards of $30,000/year.

• Stay up-to-date with leads and clients

Phone answering services can provide you with detailed call summaries after each call and even provide your clients with chat, social media, and text messaging so you can stay in contact with your most valued clients.

A solar energy answering service can provide your business with much needed relief, whether your team is on a budget, overwhelmed by overflow calls, or simply looking to enrich your company's customer service. With Smith.ai's bilingual answering service, your solar energy business can receive even more benefits to help your company accomplish its goals, whatever they may be.

Smith.ai’s answering service can provide solar energy businesses with…

24/7 availability

After-hours & overflow answering

Bilingual answering

Outbound call-backs

Spam blocking

Appointment scheduling

Sales development

Payment collection

CRM Integration

Lead development

And much more…‍

With plenty of useful features and resources, Smith.ai's answering service is guaranteed to grow your company's productivity, revenue, and outreach. Smith.ai has offered quality service to solar energy businesses for years and our clients trust Smith.ai to provide their business with premium support. Read our 5-star reviews to learn why solar energy businesses prefer Smith.ai.

The price of a receptionist is one of the most important factors to consider when deciding on whether to hire an answering service or a traditional, in-house receptionist, but the more affordable option may not be the one you expect. So let’s look at the average price for an in-house receptionist.

The average salary nationwide for an in-house receptionist is about $37,000 and they often come with hefty, additional fees, such as:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance, costing about $11,000/year
• Life and disability insurance, costing about $2,000/year
• 401K’s, retirement and pension plans, costing about $2,000/year
• Paid sick leave, holidays, and vacations, costing about $5,500/year
• Commuting reimbursement, costing about $5,000/year
• Child care subsidy and parental leave, costing about $3,000/year
• Health and wellness programs, costing about $1,000/year
• Bonus pay, costing about $2,000/year
• Company retreats, team bonding events, and employee outings, costing about $4,000/year
• Free lunch, snacks, and drinks, costing about $3,500/year
  

Total Cost, Including Salary: $77,000/year

If your solar energy business happens to be located in a fairly well-populated area, that final total will most definitely be higher, especially when you add in all the time you'll have to spend onboarding and training your new hire. Over time, these costs tend to pile up. Your dollar won't stretch when your in-house receptionist inevitably comes in late, calls in sick, requests time off, takes personal leaves of absence, goes on vacation, etc. Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can complete the exact same amount of tasks as an in-house receptionist can, and then some, barring coffee runs, of course. With virtual receptionists, you simply get more bang for your buck, making Smith.ai the smarter investment in the long run.

Smith.ai’s answering service costs as little as $255/month, with no hidden fees. Ever. By hiring an answering service instead of an in-house receptionist, your business could save over $33,000/year on salary alone, and possibly up to $40,000/year in benefits beyond salary payments. Not only will you save big time, but you'll also witness a humongous improvement in your overall productivity, lead conversion, and net profit. Unlike in-house receptionists, virtual receptionists can answer calls outside of regular business hours, enabling you to capture and covert nearly 27% more leads. Smith.ai’s agents can even respond to live chats, texts, and social media messages, which is how 46% of customers prefer communicating with businesses, thus opening the door to an entirely new world of potential leads you may have never known existed.

Virtual receptionists can provide additional sales assistance as well by making outbound calls to capture potentially interested leads, satisfying the over 67% of clients who base their decision to hire a business on the initial responsiveness to their call or email. With potential clients receiving the timely, professional responses they expect, the amount of leads your solar energy business will be equipped to convert will drastically increase. When you trust Smith.ai’s solar energy answering service, you can guarantee you'll be getting the absolute most for your money. Read our article to learn more about the differences between an in-house vs. a virtual receptionist.

There's no doubt that solar energy experts have their hands full. With urgent project after urgent project, issues tend to sneak in, and with a never-ending list of appointments to make, repairs to address, and supplies to restock, solar energy teams can have a tough time addressing those issues internally while still managing to get everything done. Of course, businesses are bound to need a little help every now and again, and for moments like those, a virtual receptionist service can be the most affordable and reliable answer. For instance, some of the most common scenarios that solar energy businesses have used virtual receptionist services for are:

• I can’t afford to hire staff, but still need “front desk” support

"Front desk” support, in some way, shape, or form, is a must-have for any business, no matter the industry or size. Handing off your administrative duties to trained professionals can be a life saver for a busy solar energy business. Unfortunately, many teams don't have the budget for an expensive in-house receptionist, which means they lose out on that invaluable administrative support their competitors might not be able to afford.

• I need time to focus without constant interruptions from calls

Calls come in whether your team can get to them or not. When professional solar panels installers and technicians repeatedly have to take time away from appointments and projects to answer the phone throughout their day, getting back to work can be a huge obstacle. When it takes, on average, about 23 minutes to get back to a task after being interrupted by a phone call, businesses watch as productivity dwindles away.

• My business is growing and my team can’t handle it all

Businesses grow and while that growth can be great for a business's profit margins, increasing demands can be a considerable hinderance for smaller solar energy businesses. Growth means more: more calls to answer, more appointments to schedule, more customers to take care of. To-do lists can become overwhelming overnight, making workloads absolutely grueling for beyond-busy solar teams.

• I can’t offer around-the-clock availability to answer calls

When the work day ends, solar installers want to go home and enjoy their free time away from clients, but calls don't stop coming in and leads can often be missed, as over 27% of leads call outside of normal business hours. Solar energy companies may not be able to provide after-hours availability, but may still want to offer accessible customer service.

If any one of these scenarios sound familiar to you, an answering service might be the resolution you've been searching for. By relinquishing your administrative duties and allowing trained virtual receptionists to take over on your behalf, your team will finally receive the support they need while your customers, new and old, will receive the superior responsiveness they've been desperate for. Smith.ai's virtual receptionists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to assist you and your clients any way they can. So whether your solar energy business could profit from a little extra help screening leads, sending out invoices, or responding to social media messages, our staff of highly-trained receptionists can provide the specialized support you need to keep your clientele expanding and your business thriving.

While it is unfortunate, it's rare that any business can tackle every single problem that comes their way internally. Inevitably, sticky situations require you seek out external support. Some of the most commonly reported issues we've seen countless solar energy businesses outsource to virtual receptionist services for are:

• I can’t keep up with incoming calls and messages from clients

Jam-packed schedules and intense workloads leave many solar energy businesses with little time to respond to potential customers' questions. Responsiveness has proven time-and-time again to be of the utmost importance for just about any and every business reliant on leads, but with hardly any time leftover in their day to spend on lead generation and conversion, installers and technicians are often unable to offer even the bare minimum customer experience that leads expect.

• I’m spending my whole day on administrative tasks and can’t get productive, real work done

Rising prices for in-house receptionists leave many businesses to their own devices as far as addressing administrative demands. But with a seemingly endless list of assignments being added on every day, solar energy experts who choose to take on these tasks themselves often buckle under the unrealistic demands that are required to keep up with these administrative responsibilities. Sad to say, in cases like these, productivity levels plunge.

• I’m missing calls from new business leads and it's costing me money

Responding to each call can feel impossible for solar energy businesses when they have higher priority assignments to address. Trying to get through day-to-day projects while still providing adequate customer service can be a huge barrier even the most skilled renewable energy team can struggle to overcome. Call handling and lead screening duties can quickly fall in line of importance, leaving many leads unanswered.

• I can’t respond fast enough to leads to beat my competition to new clients

With the crowded marketplace for solar energy businesses being what it is, it can be a major obstacle for smaller renewable energy companies to distinguish themselves and stand out amongst their competitors. Clearly, providing top-tier customer experiences through immediate, thoughtful responses can place any client-facing professional in good standing with potential leads, but high-quality customer service takes time that a large portion of busy solar energy teams simply don't have.

• I’m struggling to find and keep new clients

One of the most crucial, yet challenging, aspects of growing a successful business is obtaining and keeping new clients. With so much on their plate as it is, many solar energy teams face a major obstacle trying to juggle their daily duties with growing lead conversion demands. When left unanswered, leads will swiftly turn their attention to the nearest solar energy provider available to take their call.

• I can’t seem to keep track of my clients’ data

Maintaining detailed phone records and call summaries can be overwhelming for solar energy businesses who disperse client data across a multitude of software platforms. Knowing how, when, and why clients call is significant for any business hoping to successfully navigate client relationships, but unfortunately, is not always easy to accomplish.

If you've now or previously struggled to properly address any one of these challenges, know that a virtual receptionist service has had a long and successful history combatting common problems like these. One of the many beloved features of Smith.ai answering services is that our virtual receptionists direct their attention to the specific problems your company faces. Our team of virtual receptionists will spend time where you need the most help, whether that's something as straightforward as call handling or something more complicated, like payment collecting. Smith.ai caters to your business needs, no matter what they may be. Sign up risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee and experience first-hand how Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can handle even the most challenging issues your solar energy team struggles with.

Knowing what you need to get started with a virtual receptionist service can ensure you receive the exact services your business needs. So when considering a virtual receptionist service, consider what areas of business your team could use some more support in. To pinpoint these areas, think about which problems or challenges seem to be an ongoing issue for you:

• Does your team need a little extra help generating new clients?
• Do you often fall behind in responding to website, social media, and text messages?
• Does your business struggle with blocking spam calls?
  

Whatever it may be, Smith.ai’s virtual receptionists can adjust their service to better suit your business needs.

After that, think about what services would best fit your company’s activity level:

• Does your business receive hundreds of calls a day or just a few?
• Do you receive more online messages than calls?
• Would your business benefit from 24/7 phone answering or would you prefer a particular time frame, such as 9-to-5, for answering calls?
  

Whether you get twenty calls a month or 2,000, Smith.ai can customize your virtual receptionist service to fit your business activity so you only pay for what you need.

All you have to do next is sign up. Getting started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service is simple and fast. No annual contracts, no setup fees, and no need to supply scripts.

Follow three simple steps:

1. Customize your instructions – Just answer a few, quick questions about your company and the preferences you have and we’ll get you started. We’ll use your answers to customize the way our virtual receptionists answer your calls and your clients’ questions. 
2. Send your calls to us – We work with every phone system and can set up customized rules for when we answer your calls. Or we can answer every call, 24/7!
3. Try risk-free with our 14-day money-back guarantee – Fully experience our call answering, scheduling, payments, and other phone services completely risk free for 14 days. If we're not the right fit for you, get your money back up to $1,000 within the first 14 days.

Whether your business is looking for a full-time virtual receptionist or an overflow or occasional phone answering service, Smith.ai can offer customized assistance to your team with quality customer service, lead screening, and sales development. When you sign up with Smith.ai, you won’t just be gaining a virtual receptionist service, you’ll be gaining a professional, reliable, and friendly team who are guaranteed to transform your business by capturing leads and delighting current clients. 

‍Learn how to get started with Smith.ai’s virtual receptionist service.

Use our best practices to hit the ground running with Smith.ai virtual receptionists, and achieve results from Day One.