Sarah founded Your Office & PA in 2007 and has 17 years of experience working with businesses offering telephone answering and virtual reception services.
Sarah works full-time in the business, alongside her co-directors Chris and Andy, giving the business a unique, owner-managed feel which enables a fully flexible approach to the services provided.
7 Reasons Why Your Small Business Should Use A Telephone Answering Service

Telephone Answering services help you to manage your business calls, saving you the time, hassle, and expense of answering them yourself. Read on to find out how your company will grow with our support.
Reason 1: Missing Call Costs Money
The most obvious benefit to you and your company is that you’ll no longer need to worry about missing calls.
A Telephone Answering service will eliminate the chance of you losing out on a new business opportunity simply because you weren’t able to answer the call.
So, whether you’re in the office trying to finish some work, in a meeting, or out on the school run, your calls will be answered by a virtual receptionist who will take detailed messages, answer questions, take orders and transfer the calls to you if requested, just as if they worked in the office with you.
Reason 2: Easily Follow Up On New Leads
Follow up is surely one of the most important parts of selling. If someone enquires and shows an interest in your service or product and they don’t convert straight away, following up with a phone call/ email/ additional info, is a well known and successful way to increase sales.
But how many times have you called a company, asked for information, and been given answers only to put the phone down without being asked for your contact details. Or perhaps you call and the person who answers is busy/ driving/ shopping, so can’t make a note of your information so they can’t follow up.
A good Telephone Answering service will immediately improve your ability to follow up. You’ll be notified of every call taken with a name and phone number as a minimum requirement. You can then easily follow up and you won’t need to worry about losing the information.
Reason 3: Save Money And Reduce People Management
Using a Telephone Answering service will not only make you money but it’ll save you money as well.
A good virtual receptionist will be able to answer questions, pass on messages, transfer calls, take orders etc. – just like a receptionist you employed would, but for a fraction of the cost (and much less hassle).
The benefits to you are huge! The cost of employing people has been skyrocketing over the last few years, led by significant increases in the minimum wage, employer national insurance payments and the pension obligations for all employers.
By using a Telephone Answering service you get all the benefits of a receptionist but without the cost or hassle of recruiting and managing an employee.
There’s no sick pay, maternity pay or holiday pay to worry about and you won’t need to pay any pension and national insurance contributions.
In addition to this you won’t need to provide an office, desk, PC, telephone etc that you’d require for your own employee.
Telephone Answering services are there when you need the help, and not a drain on your resources when you don’t
Reason 4: Have More Time With Less Interruptions
One of the key benefits of the service is that they can finally find some time to get on with your work, free from being interrupted by the phone. Telephone Answering services ensure that you’ll be notified immediately of important calls (you decide how, email, SMS etc) allowing you to plan your time and prioritise your workload without the phone dictating your schedule.
You can also use the service as a gatekeeper helping you to prioritise calls and prevent you from being dragged into a conversation that can wait until later.
Reason 5: Improves Customer Service
Giving customers the option to contact you by phone will improve your customer service.
When a customer has a question, needs advice, or has a problem they’d like to discuss, then the number one preferred method of communication, and usually the quickest way to sort things out, is a phone call.
Speaking on the phone is the best way to build relationships, offer full explanations and prevent any misunderstandings.
Using a Telephone Answering service will give your customers the confidence that if they want to pick up the phone to speak to you, their call will always be answered by a friendly and professional receptionist who can either answer their question or reassure them that they’re call will be returned whilst managing their expectations of when this will happen.
Reason 6: Promotes An Established, Professional Company Image
If the only person who answers the calls (or misses the calls) is the business owner, then not only does this lead to interruptions and distractions from completing other work, but it also gives the impression of a small, one-man-band business.
I appreciate that some business owners pride themselves on always being there for their customers, and the small, personal image is important to them. But this can be time consuming and draining on your resources (your time) to do this all the time. A Telephone Answering service can easily be switched on and off to provide support only when you need it. Perhaps to cover when you have meetings or you’re unwell. You’re always in control.
For other businesses (especially start-ups) a Telephone Answering service is a great, cost-effective way to quickly establish a larger, professional company image to customers and prospects who call.
Reason 7: Take Time Some Uninterrupted Time Off
Our Telephone Answering services allow many of our customers to be able to take some time off (whether that be a couple of hours in an afternoon or a few weeks holiday) without closing their business or continuing to answer calls and juggle emails themselves.
Instead of relying on voicemail (and wondering who called and didn’t leave a message) or diverting calls to your mobile interrupting your time off, you can still be “open for business” but without having to worry about answering or missing important calls.
Interested In Finding Out More?
Its quick and easy to find out how a Telephone Answering service could support you and your business. Simply get in touch and we’ll organised a 14 day, free, no obligation trial, so you can test the service for yourself.
Never miss a call again
Request Your FREE Information Pack Here…
To find out more you can request our FREE Information Pack “Here’s How You Could Save Money And Win More Business” which includes everything you need to know, how the call answering service works, how to get started and how much it costs.