Change is hard in any situation. It involves risk, working in the unknown and taking a gamble on which course to take. It can end in the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat. As a small business owner, you understand what it means to put everything on the line to pursue your dream.

So how do you keep growing and changing to elevate your business?

There are a lot of different ways to expand your business from pursuing fresh marketing ideas to adding new products to reaching a broader customer base, but have you considered the many options that are found within voice services? These tools can help you to better manage your time and create happy customers while also being mindful of your budget.

The 80/20 Rule

There’s a common theory that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. As a small business owner, analyze which projects and tasks are getting results and which ones are time wasters that can be delegated or outsourced.

For example, did you invest in a new advertising campaign and now you’re constantly answering top level inquiry calls? Hiring an answering service to field these simple questions can save you precious time so you can focus on more pressing jobs.

If you don’t think you can afford this, calculate your income on an hourly basis. There are a variety of answering service plans available and investing $100/month might be cheaper than your personal rate per hour.

Experts have stated that focusing on one thing at a time can double productivity, work output, and performance. How much time are you wasting answering the phone, scanning emails, answering the phone, trying to remember where you left off on that email, answering the phone… ? When you stay focused and allow others to answer your calls, you’ll find that you accomplished more that you imagined each day.

Virtual Everything

Most people would agree that the Internet is probably the best business asset in the history of consumerism. Now I’m not going to write a dissertation on this topic, but it has eliminated the boundaries of space and time.

Not only has it created a global marketplace, but it also has established a worldwide employment office. Let’s say you’re an innovative startup located in the heart of San Francisco’s technology hub at the Embarcadero.

If you wanted to hire a full-time, in-office assistant, you’d easily spend up to $50,000 (not including a space to rent to be “in office”). However, if you connect with one of the countless virtual assistant (VA) companies online, you will only spend a fraction of that salary since a VA works part-time and is located off-site.

There are no benefits or taxes to worry about,  no HR team to pay, and if you have a big marketing push, you can hire more help as needed and scale back when the project is completed.

A VA can free up your time so that you can do what only you can do. He or she can return calls, make appointments, input data entry and more so you can focus on what’s most important.

Is Telemarketing Still Viable?

In this world of text messages, social media marketing, and cookies, is there still a place for telemarketing? Well, yes and no. Let me start with no first. Cold calls for B2C markets are tenuous at best. Of course, this depends on your audience.

There are too many scams and most phones have caller ID making this process a little antiquated. However, this method can and is useful in the B2B marketplace. According to Focus 7 International, these businesses are “still seeing results from telemarketing, as many businesses still expect and are receptive to these calls.

This can also be attributed to more intelligent telemarketing, wherein data is specifically segmented to ensure people only get calls that are relevant to them. Segmenting data in this way means contacts are less likely to switch off or asked to be removed from your list, too.”

And telemarketing of the past is not what we’re talking about today. “Telemarketing is very often confused with telesales, however, the two are separate entities.

Whilst telesales is predominantly used to gain sales over the phone, telemarketing is used to build relationships and generate potential leads, explains IT support specialist Roy Heaton. “For example, whereas a telesales operative’s job would be to close the sale over the phone, a telemarketing operative’s job would be to book and arrange appointments with prospective clients.”

Telemarketing also puts people in contact with people. Representatives can adjust their message, get real-time feedback and listen to what customers want. The foundation of sales begins with relationships and that requires the human touch.

As much as we rely on technology for much of modern-day business, it would be foolish to underestimate the value of the human experience. We could rely on voice recordings, but there’s something dependable and relatable to finding a real person on the other side of a phone call.

In-office assistants might be a luxury, but getting the same quality support may be a necessity so that you can brainstorm and follow through with major ideas to promote your company. Telemarketing can be an annoyance in the home, but for the B2B marketplace, it provides endless possibilities.

This type of marketing can open the doors that otherwise would remain locked. Voice services don’t have to be expensive to bring value to your company, but they can buy something that’s priceless: your time.