How Much Does A Financial Answering Service Cost?

When a frustrated customer reaches out to a business with a question or concern, it is a relief for them to hear a real human voice on the other side of the phone. Sadly, this doesn’t always happen. Many companies understand the merits of a financial answering service, and they are often willing to fund the cost of having one installed in their place of business.

Why Choose a Financial Answering Service? 

People often think that answering services simply answer calls and take messages for the financial industry. In reality, that is just a fraction of what they do. Today’s virtual answering services are also capable of: 

Scheduling Appointments 

Much of the process of scheduling an appointment is automated. Answering service providers started to realize this, and they developed their AI to help clients set up appointments.

Assisting with Common Concerns via Web Chat

Customers may be able to find the answer to a question via a website chatbot. Chatbots can answer many common questions. This frees up time that a human agent would spend answering the same questions repeatedly. 

Signing Up New Clients

It is essential to enroll new clients while they are on your website and available to you. Sadly, some clients will leave if you don’t have an easy way for them to sign up immediately. If they happen to visit your site after business hours, the financial answering service can sign them up. 

Supplying Front Desk Support without Excessive Labor Costs

A financial answering service can reduce front desk support costs by supplying virtual components, such as chatbots, that are backed up by humans who assist when inquiries come in. When the automated system is unable to help your visitor in all the ways they need, they may be redirected to a human representative. Some of the benefits of front desk support include meeting your customers’ expectations of always being available and being able to serve and support customers across the globe. 

If your company is unable to afford front desk support staff, then investing in an answering service can help you out. This will provide you with the appearance of having front desk staff even if you cannot afford to pay the labor costs of a traditional support team. A combination of AI technology and outsourced labor can get the job done, which is a big step up from having no front desk support at all. 

Removing Distractions

Handling front desk support labor on your own is a time-consuming task. The constant distraction will likely keep you from getting your other work done. Instead, invest in a financial answering service to save yourself the stress. 

The Cost of a Financial Answering Service 

There are two main ways that a financial answering service will typically charge you: per minute or per call. If it helps you out online, then this also translates to a per-minute or per-ticket cost for chat services.

The average charge to a company may be $300 to $500 for 200 to 250 minutes of calls/chats. The cost can vary depending on the provider you choose, the exact amount of time spent on calls/chats, and any extra services provided (which may incur additional fees).

Estimated Costs

The cost for a financial answering service is approximately $2 per minute of services provided. At $60 per hour, that might sound high. However, this is much better than paying a full-time staff member to do the work. 

Imagine if you had a full-time staff member on duty for the whole month just to answer 250 minutes’ worth of calls. That person would make an hourly rate of pay (approximately $15 per hour) plus benefits, and they would need to be paid for a full 8-hour shift every day that they worked. That is approximately $2,500 per month on wages (not including benefits).

After reviewing the cost and benefits of having a financial answering service, most business owners readily agree that an answering service can help them take care of their clients for an affordable price.

Providing Service in a 24/7 World

The world operates 24/7, and there is no reason your services shouldn’t be able to meet the needs of your clients no matter what schedule they are on. At GoAnswer, we provide the resources you need to have a comprehensive answering service available around the clock. 
For more information on pricing and the benefits of a financial answering service, please contact us today.