10 Reasons NOT to get a Toll-Free Number

Top Ten Reasons NOT to get a Toll-Free Number

by Michael Scott Karpovich, Certified Speaking Professional

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I have discovered a fantastic and inexpensive way to get my clients to contact me -- the toll-free number!

Of course, having a toll-free number is nothing new but I have been very surprised by how many speakers don’t have one. I guess new speakers hesitate because they have been given the impression that toll-free numbers are expensive, require fancy phone equipment and are more for big corporations than for small businesses. The reality is, however, that my toll-free number rings on my regular phone line. I only pay for calls I receive, and since I only give my number to clients and prospective clients -- all calls are possible bookings! Most importantly, my bills rarely surpass $100 and then only during heavy marketing. My average toll-free bill is about $29 and it has been as low as $12 for an entire month!

I got my toll-free number when I discovered that the average client has a poverty consciousness that encourages them to call a speaker’s 1-800 number over a regular long distance number. I was also excited to realize that if in the future I choose to relocate, my toll-free number can now follow me anywhere. My clients can call and reach me in Michigan or maybe someday in Hawaii!

I have been recommending to many speakers for several years that they invest in a toll-free line. So by now you are probably asking why this article is titled... "Top Ten Reasons NOT to Get a Toll-Free Number?" Well, apparently everyone is taking my advice! Everywhere I look, speakers are getting 1-800 lines and the image I have built of being this huge speaking business with a toll-free number is fading, since it is becoming as standard as stationery! So for the few of you left that do not have a toll-free number, what follows are ten important reasons NOT to get a 1-800 line of your own!

10)You have a hard enough time remembering your home number, you work number, your fax number, your car phone number and your beeper number...
9) All of your NSA friends will use the number to call you for advice (on your dime).
8) You don’t want to go through the trauma again of deciding which phone company to get your toll-free number through.
7) As I have discovered, your number will be one digit different than a resort in southern California or a storm door manufacturer in New Jersey and you will receive calls for reservations or door orders regularly!
6) You will have to reprint all of your old brochures.
5) Your old college friend will find the number and call you daily from the other side of the world!
4) Your phone will ring off the hook and you will get so much business that you will have to hire full-time staff.
3) You can’t decide what cute word you want your toll-free number to spell out (I hate those numbers that spell out cute words...1-800-OBNOXIOUS).
2) As Rick Metzger has discovered, your new toll-free number will closely resemble a late night porno/talk 900 line and you will get 78 calls between the hours of midnight and 4 a.m.!

AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON NOT TO GET A TOLL-FREE NUMBER:

1) Michael Scott Karpovich doesn’t want the competition!

If you have any questions regarding this article, please feel free to call me after 5 p.m. EST at 989-673-3036!