Welcome to Summer
Be Intentional to Make the Most Out of the Summer Season
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD
Even though summer hasn’t officially begun, for most of us in the United States it effectively started after Memorial Day. It feels like summer, and I, for one, act like it’s summer. Though it’s been a while, here’s what I recall summer meaning in the answering service business.
More Traffic: With summer comes an increase in call traffic. As clients scale back their hours of operations to embrace a summer schedule and send more calls our way because of staff vacations, call traffic picks up. That means we need to schedule more agents, which we’ve already hired and trained. And for answering services with usage-based rates, this means a nice increase in revenue.
Increased Vacation Requests: Our staff, of course, also thinks about vacation during the summer more so than other times of the year. Often they wish to coordinate their vacation with their spouse’s and their kids’ summer vacation from school. And for those without constraints dictating a vacation schedule, summer seems to be the normal time to take one anyway. Ironically, this increased demand for vacation comes when we’re busier and need our staff in the office taking calls.
Fewer Sales: During the summer, sales can drop. Leads decrease and many that do come in are planning for the fall. Many businesses limit changes during the summer, putting off decisions until after Labor Day (in the United States) when a normal schedule reemerges.
Delayed Decisions: For me, I viewed summer is the time to catch up on projects but not to start new initiatives. I held those for the fall. I also strived to work less. Though I never succeeded in getting down to a forty-hour work week, for some reason I could get a little bit closer in the summer. I guess there were too many other things begging for my time.
Your experiences at your answering service may differ from mine. Or they may hold true for you today as much as they did for me then. Regardless be intentional about the summer season. What opportunities does it provide, either personally or for your answering service? Decide which opportunities to pursue and move toward them. Whatever they are, and however much progress you make, it should leave you better prepared to slide into fall in three months.
Have a great summer!
Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD, is the publisher and editor-in-chief of TAS Trader. Check out his latest book, Sticky Customer Service.
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5 Tips to Make Your Family Business Last
By Mitzi Perdue
Seventy percent of family businesses don’t make it to the second generation. The big question is: how can you beat these odds? The biggest reason business families fall apart is that the family hasn’t developed the kind of culture that supports keeping the family business in the family. Families that leave this to chance rarely make it to the next generation.
So, how do you create this kind of culture?
- Know Your Family Stories: We are the stories we tell ourselves, and high-functioning families have heard their family stories over and over. Be intentional about telling these stories. The more stories, legends, myths, and parables, the stronger your family’s culture and the more likely your family business is to endure.
- Have Family Vacations: Whether your family vacation is a large group or a small one, having everyone spend time together greatly increases the chances of building a family business that lasts. A vacation means time set aside to share experiences, get to know and appreciate each other, and embed the family’s values.
- Subsidize a Family Vacation After You’re Gone: All too often when the patriarch or matriarch passes on, family members stop seeing each other. Soon, there’s nothing left, and family members have superficial relationships—or no relationship at all. A highly effective antidote to this is, leave money in your will to pay for a yearly get-together. Some families subsidize an annual dinner, while others pay for a nice vacation. Endowed family get-togethers can be a highly-effective tool for helping the family business continue across the generations.
- Write a Family Newsletter: A newsletter can play a huge role in helping the family maintain a strong and vibrant culture. Include interviews with older family members or employees about the early days and some of the company’s struggles. Make it short, ideally no longer than one or two pages. You want people to read it.
- Get Help If You Need It: Fortunately, there’s a whole new ecosystem of family advisors who can help. There’s no such thing as a family business that doesn’t have conflict, and when there’s a serious family conflict, the pain from it can permeate every hour of every day.
Family harmony is so important, that anything you can do to nurture it is a wise investment. Many families don’t stay intact over the generations. The good news is, planning is something you can do, and even better, the implementation can be enjoyable and fulfilling.
Mitzi Perdue is a speaker, businesswoman, and author of How to Make Your Family Business Last. A cum laude graduate from Harvard University and holder of an MPA from George Washington University, Mitzi draws from her direct experiences in two long-lasting family enterprises to assist businesses in preparing for lifelong success.
Telephone Answering Service News
Startel, Professional Teledata, & Alston Tascom Unveil Updates: Startel, Professional Teledata, and Alston Tascom revealed their new unified brand to users of all three of the companies’ software platforms at their first combined user group conference in Denver, Colorado. In conjunction with the new visual branding, content previously found on the three separate company websites is now located on a revamped and unified site, startel.com. The company also launched their new marketing resources center, making custom-branded promotional materials available to their customers. Last, they launched The Customer Spot (TCS), a new self-service customer portal.
New All-in-One Spectrum / Prism II Server: Amtelco hardware and software engineers designed the new Prism II server to run Spectrum, Prism II, and other applications from one server. In other Amtelco news, the Genesis Just Say It feature enhances the IS Navigation Menu feature by enabling callers to speak responses in addition to pressing telephone keypad digits. The Just Say It Navigation Menu features give callers the ability to access information and conduct transactions using either speech recognition or live operator involvement.
Dan L’Heureux and Renita Dorty Receive Awards: Startel, Professional Teledata, and Alston Tascom recognized Dan L’Heureux and Renita Dorty during the companies’ first combined user group conference in Denver, Colorado. Dan L’Heureux is the recipient of the 2018 Allen Kalik Award, and Renita Dorty is the recipient of the 2018 Don Berry Award of Excellence.
Telephone Answering Service News
Startel Updates Secure Messaging: Startel Corporation released Startel Secure Messaging Plus (SM+). Many new features and enhancements were part of this release, including the ability to respond to group messages and allow the forwarding of messages. SM+ is a two-way direct messaging solution that allows users to securely send and receive messages, including those containing sensitive information. All message content and attachments sent and received on devices using SM+ are encrypted. SM+ is available as a stand-alone, web-based solution or integrated with the Startel CMC. The SM+ app is compatible with the latest versions of Android and iOS (iPad, iPhone, iTouch).
Amtelco Introduces Genesis Just Say It Speech Recognition: The Genesis Just Say It feature enhances the IS Navigation Menu feature by enabling callers to speak responses in addition to pressing telephone keypad digits. It gives callers the ability to access information and conduct transactions using either speech recognition or live operator involvement. The application simplifies and speeds telephone calls, such as listening to what a caller says to interact with them and understand their meaning based on pre-defined parameters. This makes it possible to increase call handling capabilities and call traffic volumes while decreasing labor costs and other operating expenses.
Send us your TAS articles and news for consideration in the next issue.
Quotes for the Month
“The more sand that has escaped from the hourglass of our life, the clearer we should see through it.” -Jean Paul Richter
“He that will not sail until all dangers are over, will never put to sea.” -Thomas Fuller
“Show me a piano falling down a mine shaft and I’ll show you A-flat miner.” -unknown