What limits do you place on incoming client calls.

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Coppersmith

Coppersmith

Senior Member
Location
Tampa, FL, USA
Occupation
Electrical Contractor
I'd like to get as much business as possible while maintaining work/life balance.

When I first started in business, people would call me at all hours. More than once I was awakened by my business cell phone ringing. That ended when I started using an on-line virtual auto attendant. Now if someone calls after 8pm or before 7am, they are advised by the robot attendant that we are closed and to try again during business hours or to send an email. This auto attendant also filters out 99% of the robo calls I used to get and most of the human dialed sales calls. Calls only ring through to my phone during business hours and if the user presses "1".

During business hours, I carry my phone with me everywhere I go including the bathroom. I hate it when I miss a possible sale because I didn't answer the phone. Just this morning the phone rang while I was showering and I shut off the shower and answered it. It was a potential client returning a call to discuss a quote. I closed the sale for $1100 and returned to the shower.

So to summarize, my phone is like a leash during business hours, but I am happy to have closed hours where I don't have to answer it. What is your strategy?
 
my brother makes a lot more money than me as a consultant. he does not answer his phone for clients at all. at first I thought this was a bad idea but he pointed out that otherwise they think he is chasing them. if they have to wait for a call back, then obviously he is busy and will get to them when he can.
 
Coppersmith said:
I can't handle 24 hour service right now. That would have to wait until I find a few reliable service techs. Haven't found any yet.
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I used to advertise 23 hr services...when some PITA called, i'd say....sorry.....guess it's just not your hour! :lol: ~RJ~
 
Coppersmith said:
I can't handle 24 hour service right now. That would have to wait until I find a few reliable service techs. Haven't found any yet.
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I will take a service call at any time of day, but need to filter out what is truly worthy of going out for at certain times.

Weekend warriors that didn't plan ahead and find out they need an electrician to do part of their project don't get priority. A single light or receptacle not working doesn't get priority.

No power at all - may ask a few questions first, but more likely to come out at about any hour. Similar if you think something is overheating, unless we can pinpoint what it is over the phone and isolate it (turn the power off to that item).

Commercial/industrial client has something down and it is holding up sales/production, probably coming out.
 
I turned off the ringer on my phone. If I could figure out how to disable it completely so it doesn't even stop the rest of the things my phone is doing during their attempt, I'd be even happier. My VM outgoing message tells them that they will get much faster service if they hang up and send a text.

Even when I see a call coming in from someone I know. I still don't answer it. Even after a few years of being very happy with this procedure, I'm still training a few regulars to stop calling first.
 
All of our good customers have my personal cell. 24/7 if needed.

Everyone else can call the shop during business hours. Anyone that calls the shop after hours gets the message machine with the on call electricians phone number for emergencies.

I have only gotten a handful of business related non emergency related calls after hours. Generally, it's one of our good customers telling me something blew up on a Saturday morning or what-have-you, just so I have a heads up I'll need to be out there Monday to take care of it.

Nobody that I can recall has called for a quote or similar after hours.

My motto for after hours calls from numbers I don't recognize? If it's important, they'll leave a message. That I can screen. Too many robocalls spoofing local numbers. We are so buried I have no worries about someone not leaving a message and immediately calling another electrical contractor. Those are not the customers we most likely want anyhow.
 
MAC702 said:
I turned off the ringer on my phone. If I could figure out how to disable it completely so it doesn't even stop the rest of the things my phone is doing during their attempt, I'd be even happier.
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Um, turn it off? :huh:
 
Coppersmith said:
I'd like to get as much business as possible while maintaining work/life balance.

When I first started in business, people would call me at all hours. More than once I was awakened by my business cell phone ringing. That ended when I started using an on-line virtual auto attendant. Now if someone calls after 8pm or before 7am, they are advised by the robot attendant that we are closed and to try again during business hours or to send an email. This auto attendant also filters out 99% of the robo calls I used to get and most of the human dialed sales calls. Calls only ring through to my phone during business hours and if the user presses "1".

During business hours, I carry my phone with me everywhere I go including the bathroom. I hate it when I miss a possible sale because I didn't answer the phone. Just this morning the phone rang while I was showering and I shut off the shower and answered it. It was a potential client returning a call to discuss a quote. I closed the sale for $1100 and returned to the shower.

So to summarize, my phone is like a leash during business hours, but I am happy to have closed hours where I don't have to answer it. What is your strategy?
Click to expand...
That's got to be a first. Closing a deal while you're naked. You win the prize.:p
 
MAC702 said:
Is that just supposed to be funny, or is there a way to do it?
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Actually, no I wasn't trying to be funny at all. I still use a flip phone, as I have no desire to carry a portable computer with me.

However, I would bet that there is something either in settings or the network that you can use to do that. Ask at your local store.

What about muting the ringer?
 
LarryFine said:
Actually, no I wasn't trying to be funny at all. I still use a flip phone, as I have no desire to carry a portable computer with me.

However, I would bet that there is something either in settings or the network that you can use to do that. Ask at your local store.

What about muting the ringer?
Click to expand...

Muting the ringer is what I do now. But the silent incoming call still interrupts everything else the device is doing at the moment: GPS, MLB play-by-play on the Sirius XM app, etc, etc. :rant:

Local store people don't know. Which is why I assume it can't be done. I've searched the Internet and am now convinced I must be the only person on the planet who wishes this was possible. :?
 
I wonder if there's a way to suspend your phone service each evening and restore it each morning. This is something you would have to arrange through ATT.

Another possibility is to forward calls to another phone number, perhaps one with a voice-mail. You may be able to get such a voice-mail number on the cheap.
 
Google voice is free and you can trivially turn on/off voice mail either for all incoming calls or on only for certain ones. It automatically attempts to translate to text but since I live in the South the voice to text feature is for entertainment purposes. The voice mail can go out as email, text, or regular old voice mail. The system runs on an app alongside your regular dialer so you can set it up as 2 numbers and either port over your number and never use your phones real number or use both and keep the regular number private or just forward all calls. It also rings all phones on the list so for instance I see the incoming call on my laptop in the office and I can even answer that way. Had to do this once when my cell phone was dead.

Otherwise just mute the ringer. It’s a setting in the dialer.

As for phone scams I hang up on robocalls immediately. If I get a real human before I discuss anything I tell them there is a $5000 fine for fraudulent caller ID in my state and ask where they are calling from to verify the caller ID information. Scammers instantly hang up. I have to answer calls because it’s a business but if my hands are full or I’m with a customer I don’t answer. In some places like prison jobs or just deep inside a lot of plants I have no phone service anyway.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Running a biz is like the guy at the circus spinning plates ....
FlashyHotCobra-max-1mb.gif

:lol:
~RJ~
 
MAC702 said:
Is that just supposed to be funny, or is there a way to do it? I can't find out how to disable the phone feature completely and still have texting and everything else. Samsung Galaxy S7 Active on AT&T.
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Some phones have a 'Do Not Disturb' setting. From 10:00 pm to 7:00 am my phone only responds to 'favorite' numbers, however a second call within 3 minutes is not silenced.
 
MAC702 said:
I turned off the ringer on my phone. If I could figure out how to disable it completely so it doesn't even stop the rest of the things my phone is doing during their attempt, I'd be even happier. My VM outgoing message tells them that they will get much faster service if they hang up and send a text.

Even when I see a call coming in from someone I know. I still don't answer it. Even after a few years of being very happy with this procedure, I'm still training a few regulars to stop calling first.
Click to expand...
My Samsung/Android phone has a "do not disturb" mode. Never used it but appears to be able to do what you are asking or at least come close to doing it. It supposedly has "exceptions" that can be set to still allow certain calls to go through. I presume it will automatically send incoming calls to voicemail, may or may not still give you a silent notification that you received the call - IDK.
 
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