Moneypenny USA (formerly VoiceNation)

BACKGROUND

Please describe your company and your position there.

We are a startup home/business renovation company in TX. We specialize in consulting with clients to design and renovate their newly purchased "fixer-upper".

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

For what projects/services did your company hire VoiceNation?

We wanted a friendly and professional live person to be able to answer our calls and be a great first impression for our business when we were unavailable to answer - meeting with clients, on job sites, etc.

What were your goals for this project?

Needed to ensure that my potential and current clients' calls were always answered and so they did not have to encounter an automated voicemail. Wanted to ensure we were not missing any new leads and that I received detailed missed call messages and could prioritize who needed immediate call backs

SOLUTION

How did you select this vendor?

Did some searching online and completed a few free trials that did not require a credit card to sign up for. VoiceNation ended up being the most adequate for my needs. And after a quick and very simple onboarding I was introduced to their online dashboard which I have fallen in love with.

Describe the project in detail.

VoiceNation offers 24/7 services at no additional cost. I have my line setup to forward after it rings to us 3 times but I also have the option to forward my lines at anytime if I am out of the office for an extended time etc. They answer the phone in a timely and friendly manner; determine if the caller is a New or Existing client and collect the necessary information based on the parameters I set up; then the message is immediately texted and emailed to me.

What was the team composition?

After speaking with Sales and signing up I was contacted by my dedicated onboarding specialist; they assisted me with the script setup and gave me a tutorial of the online dashboard. They also remained my point of contact for the first 45 days to ensure I didn't have any issues, questions, or need to make any adjustments - if they didn't hear from me then they ensured to check in and make sure all was good.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any outcomes from the project that demonstrate progress or success?

I have been able to focus more on tasks at hand and provide my clients with the dedication they deserve. I also feel more at ease knowing that if I am too busy then there will be a reliable person always available to assist my clients on my behalf - they aren't able to answer my callers questions but they are friendly and ensure they gather the necessary information and get it over to me accurately.

How effective was the workflow between your team and theirs?

During the first 45 days while our account was still in onboarding we received a few pulse checks from them to ensure all was good. Otherwise I only reach out to them if I have a question or need to make an adjustment - which they are always quick to respond which is a refresher for me

What did you find most impressive about this company?

Their customer service has been excellent. They are quick to respond and get any issues or changes handled asap.

Are there any areas for improvement?

I am looking forward to an app that provides me with more functionality which I have been advised is currently in development so I can't wait to see what enhancements they will be launching in their upcoming app update.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the vice president and administrator for a commercial real estate brokerage firm and a real estate investment trust.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VoiceNation?

Our team is small, so we didn’t have the internal resources to continually answer and redirect phone calls throughout our company. We wanted a streamlined process rather than the original approach we had, which made us spend valuable business hours distributing calls to the right person. We hired VoiceNation to provide answering and call directing services.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

We provided their team with a script to help them gather all important information from callers. Along with this, we gave them a list to follow to direct calls to the right person. If we miss the call they forward to us, they’ll then forward the call to voicemail and send our team an email notification. We’re also able to direct them to send calls straight to voicemail and they’ll follow up with a full review of everyone who has called throughout the day.

What is the team composition?

I have one main point of contact who worked with me during the sales and onboarding process. When I moved the second company over to VoiceNation’s services, they provided a manager for me to contact directly. They supply a team of people who I can get in touch with quickly.

How did you come to work with VoiceNation?

I looked for vendors online and considered customer reviews for each company. VoiceNation fit our needs as far as our budget and the amount of attention we needed. They continued to contact me and display their services during the onboarding process, which I liked.

How much have you invested with them?

For both companies, we spend between $100–$150 per month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since November 2018 and the engagement is ongoing.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

VoiceNation has been fulfilling our needs. Before starting their services, we were receiving complaints from customers that our phones weren’t being answered and calls were being dropped. Since beginning the engagement with them, those issues have been solved. Additionally, our internal team has performed test calls and reported the VoiceNation answerers were friendly, polite, and on-script.

How did VoiceNation perform from a project management standpoint?

I’m always able to get in contact with my primary point of contact. If I have any questions or issues, I’m able to directly communicate with a member of their team through phone and email.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service has been great. They provide exactly what we need and continually drive the project forward. If I ever need support or something to be improved, they’re available and efficient. For example, when there was a system glitch during the onboarding process, they fixed the issue and saved me a significant amount of time.

Are there any areas they could improve?

There was one instance where I felt the person who answered a call could have been friendlier, but VoiceNation immediately listened to the recording to ensure their team was performing correctly. I don’t have any issues with their services because they always listen to our feedback and work to improve.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

I can’t think of any advice because my experience has been excellent so far.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the CEO of 2 Times Focus. We’re mentors, life coaches, and motivational speakers. 

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with VoiceNation?

Our business was growing, and we weren’t always able to answer our phones when clients called. We needed a cost-effective solution to answer client calls and track messages.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Whenever a client calls us, VoiceNation answers and gets their email, phone number, and reason for calling. From there, they immediately forward that information to us via email and text. We can then reach out to the client and talk to them instead of them having to keep on calling until we answer. 

What is the team composition? 

There isn’t any one specific person that works for us. I can just call them and talk to whoever answers.

How did you come to work with VoiceNation?

They were a referral. We couldn’t afford an assistant, and VoiceNation offered a great price, so we hired them.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $1,000 on their services; it’s about $50 a month.

What is the status of this engagement?

We partnered in February 2018, and the work is ongoing. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

Clients love the service, saying it makes us look professional and organized. Because of their service, our client base has grown quite a bit. We’d continue to use VoiceNation, even if they charged more.

How did VoiceNation perform from a project management standpoint?

They immediately started providing their service after our first payment, and they’re available 24/7. Even when we had a winter storm, they were still working.

What did you find most impressive about them?

Their customer service is incredible, and they’re always energetic and willing to answer my questions. I’ve called the line from a different phone number at odd hours, and they always answer, which is amazing. They treat the job like it’s for their own company.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We’ve only ever had a problem with one client, and that was most likely a technical issue. VoiceNation needs to do more advertising and marketing so that others can find out about their service.

Do you have any advice for future clients of theirs?

If you have any questions, give them a call because they'll answer them.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I am the founder and CEO of Luminate Marketing.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Voice Nation?

We’d had a Google Voice phone number listed on our website. It would automatically record voicemails from potential clients or people reaching out to the company. That would be shot to an email account to which we all had access to and to which we could respond. Unfortunately, even though people would try to reach out to our company during business hours, we would be tied up in meetings and missed opportunities by being limited to only receiving voicemails. Those went to our email folder along with everything else, and didn’t feel as much of a priority. If we have 100 emails from existing clients, and only a couple of voicemails, the latter won’t feel like priorities even though they definitely are, especially from a sales and lead generation perspective.

When we found Voice Nation, we were excited about the prospect and opportunity of being able to capture missed calls and have a live person answer the phone rather than just a voicemail recording. It would be a much more professional approach which would present us as an established and credible business.

SOLUTION

How did you integrate the answering services into your company’s operations?

Voice Nation receives our phone calls through the main number on our website. It’s the same process as before in this regard, but people are actually getting a live person receiving the phone call. They take notes on our behalf and sends us detailed emails. We know that if they’re coming from Voice Nation, they’re legitimate leads and not spam.

Voice Nation has access to an email address which is associated with our sales activities. Once that email is sent over to us, we’re able to follow up immediately with the contact.

Why would you recommend this answering service over comparable companies?

We tried a couple of companies before Voice Nation but felt like they weren’t that professional or organized. I wasn’t consistently getting quality information from the people answering the phone. With Voice Nation, we haven’t had that experience. The notes that have come through have been pretty useful, to the point where the account manager will check in with us once a month or more often asking if there’s anything we want to be added or changed, and if the messaging was reflective of the type of information that we wanted to receive. That level of attentiveness, organization, and professionalism is what sets Voice Nation apart.

On an annual or monthly basis, how much does your company spend to use this answering service?

We spend $40 per month on Voice Nation’s services.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any success, metrics, or overall results of your integration of this service?

I could probably do a bit of digging, but if I had to ballpark it without looking at a list of invoices, I would say that we’re reclaiming about 60% of the opportunities which were lost before. The reason for this number is that, sometimes, the people calling in are not really qualified leads, are not a good fit for us, or they’re actually people trying to partner with us rather than potential clients.

Something unanticipated which has surfaced is that, even though we thought we were getting all our calls in the email, many more people were calling the Google number and dropping off without leaving a message. When we first pushed to Voice Nation, I was shocked at how many phone calls we were getting. It turned out that we had been getting them all along, but people simply didn’t want to leave a message.

Were there any features/tools that you were really impressed by offered by Voice Nation?

What impressed me the most was that Voice Nation was willing to let me custom select fields which I required the people answering the calls to fully fill out and submit to us. I didn’t want to receive a contact’s name without their company name, for example, because then I wouldn’t be able to research them on LinkedIn and figure out more information before calling back. A phone number is important as well, obviously. We’re thinking about adding email as well, for the cases when we can’t shoot prospects a quick phone call back.

Looking back, are there any areas of the service that you feel could be added or improved upon?

I’ve tried to pretend I was someone else and called Voice Nation just to see how they performed. I had a pretty good experience; the first guy I talked to blew me away, and I thought I needed to hire him, which I technically did. I’m not sure about the consistency of the people answering the phone, but I’ve never had a client say that we should let go of our secretary, so I assume we’re getting nice, consistent professionals answering the phone.

Have you had to interact with the answering service’s support team or reference their support resources?

If we have any problems, we can simply call one of their representatives and have the issue fixed.

BACKGROUND

Please provide a brief description of your company and the role that you play there?

My business is KD Rentals, which is an investment property management company in Columbus, Indiana. I’m a co-owner of the company with my husband, Dan.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What was the business challenge that you were trying to address when you approached Voicenation?

All my properties are in Columbus, Indiana, and I have an on-the-ground property manager there who usually deals with any issues that arise from my tenants. Sometimes they can’t contact her, or they feel the need to call me.

SOLUTION

How did you integrate the answering services into your company’s operations?

If I’m not able to answer the phone when they call, the call goes to Voice Nation. They take the name and number, and a description of the issue, and text that information to me.

Why would you recommend this answering service over comparable companies?

My husband had done some research before we picked Voice Nation. They have the live operator option, whereas others had voicemail options. I liked that touch.

On an annual or monthly basis, how much does your company spend to utilize this answering service?

It averages out to about $100 a month.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Can you share any success, metrics, or overall results of your integration of Voice Nation?

I don’t have any. I know it definitely helps me out, but I don’t have any metrics.

Were there any features/tools that you were really impressed by offered by Voice Nation?

I have the ability to change the script. I rent rooms, apartments, and houses, so the information that the operators give prospective tenants can vary. Their scripting tool allows me to change the information, depending on the rentals currently available. That’s very handy, and it’s easy for me to update the script.

Looking back, are there any areas of the service that you feel could be added or improved upon?

No. We set everything up, and Voice Nation's team was extremely attentive and very helpful. They gave us great advice from the beginning. We tested it and found a problem in the beginning, and they worked diligently to get it fixed. We’ve had no issues at all.

Have you had to interact with the answering service’s support team or reference their support resources?

No. We had one point of contact and worked directly with him. When I send anything to their scripting department, they let me know when it’s live. We haven’t had the need to deal with anyone else.