Former high-school mathematics teacher, Joyce Molina was in her second year of law school when her husband was killed in a car accident. Suddenly, what had simply been an opportunity for her to develop as a professional, law school became a way for her to launch a career and provide a steady income for her family.

The mother of two boys, Joyce drew on her network of family and friends to help her as she completed her studies. She worked hard during the day, studied at night, and spent as much time as she could with her sons. Soon, law school was behind her and she had passed her bar exam.

Joyce launched her own general law practice. She sublet an office from a financial planning company. Her office was modest and located in an equally modest, but respectable part of town. When she was in the office, she answered her own calls. When she was at the courthouse, she relied on her answering machine to mind the office. Her practice grew, starting with cases involving divorce, probate, wills, and bankruptcy.

Over time, she realized that she needed some office help. With her boys still at home and Joyce providing the family's total income, she was reluctant to move her office and hire the additional staff she needed. Instead, Joyce hired a telephone answering service to serve as her telephone receptionist and to schedule appointments.

To her surprise, the number of appointments doubled within four weeks. "I always had hang-ups on the machine," Joyce said. "I never really thought much about it. What I've since learned, is that whenever people really need an attorney, they feel like they need one right now. Their problems seem overwhelming. If they get an answering machine, they just hang-up and call the next one on the list."

She laughs, "That's what I know now. Back then, I was just treading water trying to keep up. If I had a hang-up, it was one less thing to do that day!"

The answering service also allowed Joyce to contact clients and prospects right away, when necessary. "Before, I would check my machine at the end of the day, and then call people back in the morning. Today, I have every message sent to my cell phone and I can act right away. Since I'm not juggling my own scheduling anymore, I am better able to focus on the client. I think it shows. Since I starting using an answering service, my referrals have really gone up."

Joyce smiles and adds, "I wish I would have done this right away. Maybe the boys wouldn't have had to eat so much macaroni and cheese the last two years!

Learn more about telephone answering services and discover how the might be able to help you.