Staying Connected

   If I need to convince you to get a cell phone then the rest of this article might be beyond where you are right now in the process of staying connected to your customers and clients. This article is about using technology to respond faster, more efficiently, and to stay better connected to your prospects, home office, and current and past customers. The connected business person is a person who is serving his or her base and service is where all profits are derived.
   Technology is changing so fast that new ideas are becoming old hat withing a span of 6-12 months (or less!). So I will post this as a list of possible ideas which will be updated from time to time. If you have an idea you’d like to submit, please feel free to e-mail me. I’ll give you credit if you want, or withhold your name if you request. The ideas need to be usable and relevant in a real-world setting. Like these....

Answering The Phone
   Many times the sale goes to the first phone that is answered by a live person. You need to do everything you can to make sure that your callers don’t get anything but a live voice. Voicemail, answering machines, and pagers are frustrating though familiar. A busy signal is completely unacceptable. Ideally you could have an office manager who would answer all incoming calls, but until that happens here are some ways to maximize the probability of answering all incoming calls with a live voice:

Call Waiting can be frustrating to those with whom you are speaking, but it is a minimum standard for todays businesses as far as telephonic services. Call Waiting is cheap and easy to use. When you are talking to someone and you get the tone to let you know someone else is calling, please respect the first caller. Quickly check the second call and tell them you are on the other line and would love to call them back (unless the first call is personal in which case you can call THEM back).

Call Forwarding will allow you to have business calls forwarded to your cell phone while you are on the road. If you spend any time driving or running errands, this can be half of your work day. Don’t miss half the calls coming into your business.

Jim Snack, a professional speaker and one of only about 500 people in the world to ever earn the CSP designation (Certified Speaking Professional) maintains contact with his callers by having his office phone programed so that it automatically forwards after 4 rings to his cell phone. It also alerts the caller about what is happening so they don’t hang up or think they have been hung up on while the transfer is being made.

A second phone line is one of the first additions a busy office should make. You can get a much cheaper, local number with no options (to save money) and then have the first number roll over to the second number if you are on the first phone. This also allows you to recieve faxes while on the phone, though a dedicated fax line is also nice to have because....

With a dedicated fax line, you can turn the ringer off, put the fax machine in a quiet corner of a distant room and recieve faxes day or night without it bothering your sleep. For people who do business with clients in other time zones this is often a convenient way to communicate.

Don’t use “Anonymous Call Rejection”. This service blocks all calls made from phones that block their caller ID information. Some callers want their privacy and you should allow them to keep it, until they become your customer.

Not Answering The Phone
Sometimes you just can’t answer the phone. Maybe it’s very late at night and you simply aren’t available during family time. Maybe you are performing or in a meeting with a client and know that these are times when your cell phone shouldn’t even vibrate, let alone ring. And I am the first to admit that having a cell phone doesn't mean you should be a slave to your cell phone. I frequtnly turn mine off, or leave it in the truck. When I am on vacation it stays turned off until I want to make an outbound call.
Whatever the case, here are some options for dealing with calls that come during times when you won't be answering your phone. And by the way, I think it is important to have these times. I don't think that being connected means being accessible 24/7. I think you need to be allowed some time off to relax and develop and create and that can only happen if you aren't being interrupted constantly.

Answering machines have proven to be a mixed blessing. On one hand they are always diligently waiting for the calls you miss, but too many people have abused them by using them to screen calls, or simply by not returnging the messages left. This leaves many people averse to even leave a message. Make sure your message is vibrant, engaging and reflects the character of your personality, while still being professional. No cutesy kids telling the caller their daddy is busy. You also don’t need to mention that it is the residence of all your family members. If you can’t get a seperate business line (which is critical if you ever allow children to answer the phone) then friends and family should know that if they call and get a machine that states your business that they have the right number. A message that simply restates the phone number with no identification of any sort may protect some thin level of privacy, but it will ruin your business.

If you are a very mobile person who changes residences frequently, consider getting a toll-free number or a cell phone number than you can take with you no matter where you move. I am amazed at the number of “businesses” that have published numbers that have been disconnected. Once you pay to promote your phone number don’t waste it all by changing the number! Sometimes calls come in years after prospects first get your information.

Voicemail is a service provided by your phone company. It is like an answering machine that you check by calling in. The benefit is that if you are on the phone and can’t get the “Call Waiting” fast enough, the call rolls over to voice mail. If you are on the phone, click over to someone on call waiting, and yet another person tries to call in at the moment you have two people on the line, the third caller will get voice mail rather than a busy signal. It is cheap, and everyone should have it. If you don’t have call waiting or a second phone line, it is VITAL!

One Last Thought On Answering The Phone
    Last year I lost my voice and was unable to perform an evening show I had booked. I began making calls to other magicians in the area to see who could cover for me. This was about 4 hours of strolling work and it paid almost $1,500. Of the eight magicians I called NOT ONE answered their phone! Only four of the eight ever called me back. One returned my call within about 20 minutes saying he was unavailable. Another returned my call about an hour later and got the work. The other two who called back called me the following day.
    By the way, if you are curious about how to fill your Friday and Saturday nights will strolling gigs that pay $1,500 - $2,000 you may want to check out my book "How to Make an Extra $5,000 - $10,000 Next May". It is available from my Products Page and costs just $20.

Websites and E-Mail
   Jaime Salinas (a magician in Houston, TX) has his e-mail account set up with a POP3 forwarding system and has the e-mails forwarded to his Sprint PCS account, which are automatically sent to his cell phone. Within just a few minutes of sending him an e-mail his phone rings and he can check the e-mail, calling you back to follow up with your inquiry. Before other companies can have their autoresponder send a message that says “Your e-mail will be responded to within 24 hours”, Jaime is already on the phone with the client asking questions and determining the best solution for his new customer.
   How else can you use websites and e-mail to maximize your connection to your customers?

Autoresponders are a nice way to let the customer know that you have recieved their e-mail. SPAM filters prevent a lot of legitimate e-mail from getting through. An autoresponder lets the sender know theirs made it. (FYI: an autoresponder is an e-mail option that allows all incoming e-mails to be sent an automatic message. Usually these say something like “Thank you for your inquiry. You will be contacted within the next 24 hours” or something similar. You can program it say whatever you want)

Websites are a great way to post FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

Websites are the perfect way to provide up-to-date information. Your business card, letterhead, promotional materials etc. should all have your web address, then if your telephone number and/or physical address have to change you can update this information on your website and still retain the customer.

I just heard a new report that suggested that if it takes visitors to your site more than 2 clicks to get the information they want, then you stand a very good chance of losing them. People don't want to spend too much time navigating a new site. So WHY would anyone but a pornographer put an opening page on their site that simply says "Click here to enter"?! If they typed your URL into their browser that's a pretty good indication that they want to visit. Why would you create an unnecesary barrier to their entry? Why take away HALF of the clicks they are going to allot you before you even get started? If you have a page like this on your site GET RID OF IT! It serves NO positive purpose and is costing you customers every day. This is what happens when creative web designers (who have little or no experience with marketing) build sites. For more information on this and other great ideas on website design, I highly recommend Tim Sonefelt's information product "The Connected Entertainer", available from