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 | This guy knows what drives his business
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Story Problem: Jane is flipping cheerfully through the phone book in your heading, hunting for a business that will solve all her problems. Hooray! she chooses your ad and makes the big-money call. But wait, nobody picks up, and she is sent to your voicemail. Does she:
A. Rush over to your place of business to order personally?
B. Leave a detailed voicemail and wait patiently for you to call back?
C. Callously hang up and call the next ad down?
You have 60 seconds to respond. In the meantime, consider this: We live in the generation of now, and the phone book is uniquely tailored to fit now needs. If you don't answer your phone, one of your competitors certainly will. In the phone book, now trumps price, now trumps loyalty.
Why don't people always pick up the phone then?
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Even having your daughter answer the phone is better than letting it go to voicemail.
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I have personally called through numerous headings over the years, only to go through half a dozen ads before someone actually picked up the phone. Last week a customer told me he couldn't count the number of times people start their call with, "Finally, a real person!" I could relate.
The phone rarely rings at a convenient time. Calls come while you are working, talking to other customers, or trying to get a much-needed break. You may think, "If they really want to do business with me, they'll leave a message. I'll call right back." I think I just heard money falling out through the hole in your pocket.
In case you haven't guessed it already, the answer is "C" for 99 out of 100 phone book users. Want to quadruple your business from the yellow pages? Just remember three simple words, "Answer the Phone."
Thanks for your business,
Reed
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