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The helping hand


If you want to reach the top, you’ll need some help, says Sheila Manchester.


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tarting a new business, or adding a new division to an established business, always seems like such a great idea doesn’t it? A new challenge,


a new adventure and most importantly, a new income stream. Excellent, so let’s get going! It all seems so simple in the initial planning


and launch stages; but then you discover that your hands and brain can only do so much, that staff are very expensive assets and that some things take far longer than you could have believed. Add to that the discoveries of ‘things you


didn’t even know about’ and the inevitable ‘foul up factor’ and your simple business idea can become a stress, developing into a nightmare. In property terms, the potential hazards range from missing business simply because you can’t take all the calls, to losing your entire business by making a serious mistake on the administration of legal documents and notices. Outsourcing can even sometimes pay for


itself, “as well as saving time we can help the agent earn commission,” says Steve Knox,


30 l July 2012 l TheNegotiator


Managing Director at utility management specialist Hallmark. “Some processing is tricky and time consuming – we minimise the outlay and can possibly get the agent some money back.” Alongside Hallmark are a number of service


providers who are keen to show that their assistance is more cost effective – and a lot simpler – than hiring a room full of staff.


SINGLE SERVICE, MULTIPLE BENEFITS The simplest ideas are often the best. We all know that the way a telephone call is answered creates an instant impression, good or bad, on the caller. If that impression is bad, or even just vaguely unhelpful, it can lose the client forever. When Moneypenny was launched in 2000 it was the first UK call answering service that offered staff who didn’t just take a message but actually got the message. The founders, brother and sister team Ed Reeves and Sarah Clacher were very frustrated with the services on offer at that time and wanted to offer ‘real people’ with a


real understanding of their client’s needs as well as those of the client’s customers. The difference with this service is that each


client has a dedicated assistant, rather than the ‘next available operator’. And that is one heck of a difference. An agency answers their own calls in their branch whenever they can. When they’re particularly busy, or when staffing levels are low, their calls are routed seamlessly to their own Moneypenny PA. Joanna Swash, Director, Moneypenny,


says, “Fully briefed by the agency, she (or he) looks after overflow calls in their company name and sends detailed messages back to the office”. This simple initiative gives the agent peace of mind that no calls are being missed and customer service is improved. Even when the agency is closed, Moneypenny can answer your phones, offering longer ‘opening’ hours. Far from the message, ‘your call is held in a


queue…’ or ‘I’ll pass the message on’ the dedicated assistant can fulfil as detailed a brief as you care to give her. Some agents share their diary so the assistant knows when you


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