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Toll Free Long
Distance
© 2004 By Bob Osgoodby
Much has been written about the value of
“Toll Free” long distance numbers, commonly referred to as
800 numbers.
Basically, an 800 number is like calling someone collect,
since they pay for the call instead of you. Does an 800
number increase the chances of making a sale? Let's explore
this a bit. Suppose you read an advertisement, or visit a
web site that lists an 800 number where you can get more
information.
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Many times you get a "canned"
spiel which, if you bother to listen to the
whole thing, asks for your number so they can
return your call. At that point, many people
simply hang up as they don't want to give out
their private number. This tactic is used
extensively in network marketing. Does it work?
The jury is still out on this one. |
Some make you fight your way through a maze of options -
press 1 for this, 2 for that, and so on. Some don't even
give the option
of talking with a live person. If you don't select one it
simply starts the option selection process again. - The jury
is in on this one. The owner of this 800 number will pay for
a lot of
calls, that simply frustrate the caller and will never
result in
a sale. What a waste!
If you're lucky, you get a real person who answers the
phone, and who can help. Now let's switch the focus here a
bit, and make believe you are the person who answers. Is the
caller a serious prospect, a bored teenager with nothing
better to do, or what they refer to in the automotive trade
as a "tire kicker?
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Trying to determine if they are a serious prospect is a
challenge. If they are, you might make the sale. If they
aren't however, how do you gracefully end the conversation?
Many small businesses are a "one horse" shop, without the
staff, and equipment necessary to handle multiple calls.
Every minute you are on the phone, with someone who is not a
serious prospect, is not only wasting your time, but may
cost you another customer, who can't get through because the
line is busy.
Some people, who may have a slight interest, think that
because it is a toll free number they don't have anything to
lose, so they make the call. It doesn't cost them anything,
so why not.
These are your "tire kickers", who are usually not serious
prospects, and are wasting your resources. How do you avoid
these types of problems? Simple, don't have an 800 number.
If a person has to spend their "nickel" for the call, they
have already pre-qualified themselves as a serious prospect.
You know that time spent with them will be productive. Now
the small entrepreneur must have a separate phone line for
this.
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If you are involved in several businesses, you should have a
line for each one. That way, when the phone rings, depending
on the number called, you can answer the phone in a
businesslike manner.
We used 800 numbers with our businesses. As an experiment,
we took the 800 number off our website, and put in a
non-toll free number. Two things happened and they were both
good. First, the number of calls received decreased by
almost 80 percent. This of course concerned us at first.
Secondly however, we saw our sales dramatically increase.
Why? Because the prospects were pre-qualifying themselves,
and we were not wasting our time, or losing calls due to
lines being busy.
Do 800 numbers have a place in your business plan? Sure! If
you are product oriented, a toll free order line is
essential. People may hesitate to pay a toll for a product
they wish to order. If you are service oriented, it is a
must for technical support. With long waiting times for
help, it would be a real turn off if one wasn't available.
Long Distance costs however, have been coming down over the
past few years, and many people today have unlimited calling
plans. An 800 number may not be as important as it
was just a few short years ago.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Did you know that subscribers to Bob Osgoodby's Free Ezine
the
"Tip of the Day" get a Free Ad for their Business at his Web
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