Tips for Forwarding Calls to an Answering Service

Making the choice to use answering services and/or call centers may be the smartest business decision your company makes all year. However, many new business express concerns regarding the forwarding of calls to their answering services. This article discusses many common methods of call forwarding.

Defining 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. The call center will provide your business with a specific phone number for call forwarding. The number identifies you and your account in the answering service’s software. When a call comes into your unique number, your profile screen will appear in front of the agent taking your call.

How to Forward Calls

Basic call forwarding allows your business to turn off and on using a unique code for the activation and the deactivation of the service. However, not all phone companies agree to use the same codes, so it is best to check ahead with your phone service provider regarding the codes their company uses to activate and deactivate call forwarding.

A code commonly used by phone companies to activate call forwarding is *72, followed by the ten-digit phone number to which you need the calls forwarded. When properly activated, you will hear either a confirmation tone or a ringing verifying the call forwarding is properly activated. When ringing is heard, wait until either a person or voice mail greeting answers the phone. The common call forwarding deactivation code is *73.

Call Forwarding due to No Answer or No Available Lines

This type of call forwarding is self-explanatory. If no one is available to take the call at the main location, the call automatically forwards to the answering service or another destination number after a pre-determined number of rings. This option works well when you want the call forwarding answering service to take calls as a backup during busy times throughout the work day. When all of your phone lines are full, your customers hear a person instead of a busy signal. To learn about AnswerHero’s answering service call forwarding,  check out our pricing plans or contact us today!