800# Vs 2nd Phone Line Vs Cell Phone
Hi all,
I was just wondering what would be the best & most affordable way for newbies and those starting w/o much $ to communicate w/ prospects. I've been debating whether to get an 800#, a second phone line, or simply just put my personal cell phone # on direct mail, flyers, and newspaper ads. Any suggestions as to which would be the best/ cost-effective for those starting out?
This is something that I have been pondering for the better part of two weeks.
I would also like some advice on this.
RS
I use my cell on all literature and banners. I ahve a VM, if I miss the call.
My only thought about a tenant having my home phone number is that if they turned out psycho, they could come looking. I value my family much too much for that...
Just my 2 cents
Thanks for the feedback webuyproperties. Has anyone else tried the other two (800#, 2nd line)?
Unless you have an office with someone to answer it while you were out, I would go with a cell with great coverage in all the areas you frequent.
my 2 cents
I have a vanity 888 number that piggybacks my cell phone. I've heard several opinions on this. I can't imagine that a $50/mo toll free number, that is easy to remember, doesn't pay for itself. If I get 1 extra call that yields a deal, it paid for itself X 5-10 years.
no brainer...
hope this helps,
clear2close
[addsig]
I have a cell phone, a second line, and am thinking of an 800# for out of town calls. My cell phone doesn't work well at my home (bad reception, no cell phones work at my home!).
When I'm home, I forward celll and 800 to home, when out, I forward to cell. If my cell worked at home, I wouldn't have gotten the 2nd line.
hope this helps...
Paola
I have a 800 number that is forwarded to my cell phone most of the time. Also have a local number that stays transferred to the cell. We are doing investing in Indiana and Louisiana. We have found people don't call an out of town area code because of having to pay for it. We also have found very few people leave voice mail messages when they call. I seem to be on the cell phone more minutes than I'm not.
Does anyone have any experience using an answering service so that some live person always answers the phone instead of a recording?
Thanks for reply
Betsy
I was calling around to some investors this evening, and most of them have 800 numbers - with 24 hour messages describing the particular property you're calling about. One number even had a fax pager system attached to it so it would autofax you to info if you pressed 3 and entered your 10 digit fax number. Pretty slick.
It'll take me a while to afford that. I haven't tackled this problem yet, but I'm not going to give anyone my home number, ever.
I, personally, use my cell phone for business. I don't use an 800# (yet, no need to right now). That way, I can take calls whether I am at home or on the road. If I happen to be away, then I let my voice mail pick it up and I respond as soon as possible.
If you are already established, then go ahead and get an 800#...up to you really. You can always have your calls forwarded to your cell in case you are out of the office.
About those that use 800#s just to have an 800#...
Now, don't get me wrong...most are using them for their offices and what not.
But, most newbies read about the gurus having an 800# "to look professional" and let their voice mail pick up and screen all of their incoming calls.
It is best to pick up your phone and take the call when it rings right-then-and-there.
If you let your fancy voice mail pick it up and let it do the talking for you, then all the seller(s)/buyer(s) are going to do is hang up and call the next investor!
Hope this helps,
Jason
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I have a very busy full-time "real" job that earns me quite a nice living. However, I work too damned hard for the money, and I don't like where it is headed.
Nonetheless, I just don't have the guts or the $$ saved up to quit this job cold turkey and do what I would really like to do - full time real estate investing!
In that vain, I basically don't have the time to be interrupted constantly with calls on cell phone for the REI business, and would rather have a 24x7 way of at least getting leads. (I've been doing lots of door-knocking homes on notice of default/trustee sale, and the thought of someone calling me rather than me hoping they even answer the door is quite appealing!)
I also live in LA where "local" calls may have an associated charge . I would like for motivated sellers to be able to leave pertinent information by calling from anywhere. Heck, they may have had their phone cut off and/or just can't afford the $1 to call my area code. I don't want to give them an excuse NOT to call!
Further, I figure that, if I ask for specific information on the voice mail, it might help me in the qualification and prioritization of callers. "Screening" if you will.
I do realize that it might be nicer to answer in person. A motivated seller might in fact refuse to leave a voice mail. The service that I'm considering (GotVMail dot com) can forward to my cell phone if the call is received during a time period in which I feel I can answer the phone "live".
This is why I am considering an 800# with voice mail.
Thanks for letting me rationalize this expenditure...
From all the posts, I would say that the definitive answer to your initial inquiry is "it depends". I see compelling arguments from both sides. Perhaps if you used it but mixed it up with answering live from time to time, you might be able to get the best of both worlds.
Of course, it does cost money...
Good luck in whatever you choose!
allcash
allcash,
I am in the same boat as far as still working a full-time job.
Most of the calls that I receive come in while I am at work.
I usually just call back whoever left a message and go from there.
It hasn't really been an issue of me not answering when they initially called me.
I tell em straight up that I still do work during the day at my job.
I agree with you on your thoughts about getting an 800#. Honestly, when I do quit my job to go full-time I will get one myself.
Until then, I just use my cell #.
Like you said, it depends.
Just as long as ya get calls coming in, it doesn't matter what type of phone you get. Take care.
Regards,
Jason
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I have two "market extention lines" one for fax, one for phone.
My phone gets transfered to my cell phone.
My fax gets transfered to my www.efax.com number
I have a toll free number that also goes to my cell phone.
Once I open up an office or home office in a place I plan to live in awhile, I can set it up to ring twice at home then forward to my cell if I don't pick up. From my cell phone end I can use my voicemail feature if I'm not available.
Personally, my cell phone has been wonderful. Just make your business message for your VM broad and inviting so that people will feel comfortable leaving a message. I've also found that a pager for my close contacts is nice. Good Luck
[addsig]
I used to use an #800 number and I would choose the cell phone over the #800 any day. It's much more convenient and pretty much holds the same functions as a voice mail line. Plus it's always on you!
Go to http://businessesales.att.com/common/smbccommonhome.jhtml?lid=atnmlpml&salescode=atnmlpml its a great resource for figuring out Vanity Numbers.
If you have a day job, its better to get a answering service. For most people using cell phone at the work place for non-work purpose is not an option.
I use www.youransweringservice.com and thats good and very economical.
I actually use both a cell phone and an 800 #.
On some of my bandit signs, i have "24 hr rec info," so people know they will just get information and can leave their name/number if they want to talk to me. I find that I am converting 1or 2 out of every 4 callers that actually leave their number. It just prequalifies my seller a little bit more.
On my business cards, direct mail, classified, and flyers, I list both my "24 hr rec info" leading to my voicemail, and a "direct line" which leads to my cell phone.
Those leads that actually leave their number on my 800 line have generally worked out better for me.
I want info. Definitely. Is this a forum topic or offline?
what would you like to know?
What design did you use? What content is in it and what process did you use to get it published? This is a great idea you came up with.
I work in a very fast market. How long to produce?
I know costs will vary... ballpark?
Or do you do this in house? Equipment?
We used a Digest size publication 16 pages... We chose 16 pages to give it some weight.
Display two houses per page and on all pages we put our advertising message. Basically "I Buy Houses" We had a total of 28 properties.
We didn’t put address or prices in the magazine, as we didn’t want to teach the sellers what their homes were worth.
For us it was not about the magazine but rather the racks. The magazines are just another form of our business card. And we didn’t date the magazine so we could use them until we ran out....
But the racks, which have our name on them twice with our Vanity number, are in 150 locations in the areas that we want to buy in.
They re basically bandit signs in 150 stores.
Now for costs
RACKS: the 150 racks we ordered form Rak Systems and they were about 22.00 each we ordered them in Red since that is our marketing color, black is cheaper. took 4 weeks for delivery. Shipping and tax it came to 4000.00
STICKERS: stickers for the racks were 1.24 each and we had to order a minimum of 500. 620.00
PUBLICATION: The printing was done on white glossy paper and was 6800.00 for 15000 copies. Maybe a little high but we use the same printer that we use for our postcards and they don’t have a heat set web press.
ART LAYOUT: I hired a guy for 10.25 an hour and it took him 3 weeks to do the complete layout and he took all of the pictures.. Once you have the shell for the publication changing pictures is the easy part. 1500.00
DISTRIBUTION: The same person who did the layout distributed the racks. You may think finding the locations would be the hard part but it wasn’t. We called the newspaper and got a list of their distribution points for the areas we were interested in. 1000.00
So for the 14000.00 investment we are in the heart of our buying area. The second publication will cost around 8000.00. I track all of our numbers and know that with the response we are getting we found a great source for self-promotion. It beats the newspaper at 4600 a Sunday
So again for us it wasn’t the magazine it the racks with our name and telephone number on them in 150 locations. AND we were the first to do it.
Sure a lot of calls are from buyers but that’s okay we are getting a lot of calls from sellers too. I believe that we will save enough resale commission to offset the entire cost.
Not selling advertising space.... I dont want the readers calling anyone but me... I guess I am greedy that way.
And the 14k it coast will be recouped in the first deal
If you dont have the 28 properties of your own then I would put pictures of houses that you dont have for sale or maybe local FSBOs. with out addresses or prices.
Remember for me it is about advertising the fact that I Buy Houses not that I Sale Houses.
For our next issue we have decided to have the magazine dedicated to. "So youre in Foreclosure". We wrote a long copy about what to do if youre in foreclosure which came to 12 pages so our next issue will be 20 pages.
Do you have to pay the 7-11 or convenience stores to place your promo? How much does it cost to place it in the store?
doesnt cost anything....they like them because it draws people into their location.[ Edited by IBuyHousesInc on Date 09/29/2005 ]