Tips for Forwarding Calls to an Answering Service

Call forwarding has been around for years with traditional landlines, and the process has only become easier with modern phone systems. While forwarding calls has been a trusted tool for out-of-office coverage, forwarding to an answering service like AnswerHero™ can take your call management to the next level.

Making the choice to use answering services can be a smart decision for your business. However, many organizations express concerns regarding the forwarding of calls to an answering service. Understanding the process and recommendations for using these services can make it easier to take the next step.

What Is Call Forwarding?

Call forwarding, also referred to as call diversion, allows phone lines to redirect incoming calls to another location. This destination might be a cell phone, landline, voice mailbox or call center. Think about the way a standard phone works — calls are eventually forwarded to voicemail after a certain number of rings. Call forwarding allows you to bypass this and instead send the caller directly to voicemail or another person’s phone number.

Call forwarding is an ideal way to manage phone calls when you’re unable to answer them. In the business world, your availability is essential. If you’re unable to answer the phone, forwarding to a trusted party can reduce call answering needs on your end, while connecting callers with the information they’re looking for.

Call Forwarding Methods

Call forwarding is a straightforward process, but how it’s done will vary based on your phone system. There are both traditional and modern call forwarding processes.

Traditional Call Forwarding

Traditional call forwarding on a landline may not be as common in today’s business environment, but there may be cases where it’s useful. For example, some small businesses may still rely on landlines when their customer base is small enough to use a single line.

To activate call forwarding, follow these steps:

1. Dial *72.
2. Wait for a stutter dial tone, and then you will hear a normal dial tone.
3. Dial the number where you’d like to forward your calls.
4. When the phone goes to voicemail, or the person at the number you dialed picks up, hang up the phone.
5. Your calls will be forwarded until deactivated.

Deactivating call forwarding is simple. Dial *73 and wait for two short tones followed by a regular dial tone. This signal confirms that call forwarding is deactivated.

Call Forwarding With a Modern Phone System

Modern phone systems operate over the Internet instead of a landline, and they’re usually referred to as Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP). These systems have become popular among businesses because they make it easy to use several lines. 

Typically, VoIP systems will have an application that allows you to activate call forwarding. Your VoIP provider can provide assistance on where to find call forwarding options in your phone app. Similarly, cell phones have a call forwarding activation in their settings. If you have field workers on your team with company cell phones, call forwarding might be necessary in cases where employees are out for the day.

Best Practices for Call Forwarding

Call forwarding is an incredible tool for businesses, especially if you need to keep up with the pace of growth. Best practices for using call forwarding include:

• Understand how you want to use it: Call forwarding is most valuable when you know how to use it for your unique organizational needs. For example, you might use call forwarding exclusively outside of office hours to increase availability for your customers. It can also be useful for overflow when call volumes get too high for your team to manage. In some cases, call forwarding might be your standard approach to answering the phone.
• Incorporate branding: When your calls are forwarded — either through one of the methods above or through a professional call answering service like AnswerHero™ — you want to ensure that branding is consistent to make your business recognizable to callers. For example, you might create a greeting with a tagline to make it clear who the caller has connected with.
• Work with a provider service you trust: If call answering sounds like a worthwhile long-term strategy for your company, a reliable service provider offers the capacity and experience you need. Take time to research your options and find an answering service you can count on. 

Call Forwarding to an Answering Service Like AnswerHero™

While traditional and modern methods for call forwarding have their perks, there’s a better and easier way. With a professional call answering service, you entrust a team of call agents to field your phone calls on your behalf — essentially acting as your phone forwarding service. At AnswerHero™, you’ll have a unique forwarding number for diverting your calls to our agents. When one of our agents receives a call from this number, they’ll know the call is for your company, and act accordingly.

During our initial process, you’ll provide instructions for our call agents to follow based on the types of calls you typically receive. With these instructions, we ensure you never miss an important call. Our agents can handle a variety of tasks, including:

• Message taking
• Call routing and transfers
• Appointment scheduling
• And more!

Choose the Right Business Call Forwarding Solution for Your Needs

AnswerHero™ call answering is designed with your business in mind. Our flexible, no-contract pricing makes it easy to work with us according to your call volume. Whether you need us for after-hours support, overflow or 24/7 coverage, our team is capable of meeting the demand. With our fully bilingual team, our agents are ready to take calls in English or Spanish to communicate with more of your callers.

Get in touch with us today to get started!