Thread: phone number on business cards--pros/cons?

so I'm just in the process of finalizing what I want to put on my business cards as far as text, but I'm not sure as to contact information

I have a dance-only email address that I'll put on the card (as to preserve my own personal identity), and eventually, a website address (ideally by the end of summer), but I'm not sure about phone number. I only have a mobile number, which is my personal number--at the moment, I can't afford another number, so it's the only one I've got to work with.

What do all of you do with regards to phone numbers on business cards? Any good or bad experiences from it? Do you feel you get more business having your number right out on the card, or does it not really matter? I'm leaning towards just have internet contacts on the card and then giving out a number in correspondence with potential clients on a one-to-one basis.

Why bother with business cards if you're not going to have a phone number on them? Do *you* like working with businesses that don't give you a phone number, just an email? There are still plenty of people who want to talk to a real person when spending their money.

i have an email and phone number- not everyone has email or likes using it for booking things like this. i use my cell phone as my belly dance contact number and rarely answer the phone- instead, i call them back after i've heard their message so i can better address their needs.

i get most about 60% of my inquiries via phone and 40% via email. i find that the calls usually are more solid in terms of intent, interest, and booking.

i still use my cell phone for personal stuff so my message goes along the lines of "you've reached (real name) and the voice mail of (dance name) at (#######)

I have my phone number on my card, as well as my website address.
After all, there are still people out there who don't do Internet

But I prefer people to e-mail me. Like right now I am away from home for nearly 3 weeks.
So if somebody speaks on my answer machine, I won't call back. Simply because I don't hear their messages! They will think I am unreliable. Well, that's the risk you take as a traveller.

But then, I don't get that many offers through the phone nowadays.

MEISSOUN

SO FUNNY!
As I'm reading this thread, I get call on my cellphone for a gig. And I don't EVER get calls (I don't do a lot of marketing.)

Its been said above, of course you need a phone number on your card. If you dont want to have your home phone involved or your personal cell phone, get a "Go Phone" number and pay 19.00 a month or something for it. That way, if you get a call on it, you will know it is dance related.

I agree with the other posters. You need both phone and email. If you can only afford one line, it should be your business line. Rather than thinking 'oh gigs are calling on my personal' think of it as 'I make my personal calls from my work line' & change your outgoing message accordingly.

I have a GrandCentral phone number. It forwards to my cellphone. That way if I really do have a bellydance-based stalker, I can change my Grand Central phone and keep my cellphone number private. GrandCentral is owned by Google.

I have to say though I hate phone calls! All my gigs have been set up through phone so far (this is the first one however that I've been available to do...woohoo) and it feels impossible to think fast and remember all the questions to ask and everything you need to know. This time I got almost everything but I forgot to ask the name of the guest of honor. I guess I'll ask the hostess when I arrive. I also hate having a personal phone because I never know whether to say "This is Shannon" or "This is Nepenthe", and I end up saying both, and I think it confuses everyone. I guess I'll get smoother and better at this business stuff as I get more experience with it.

oooh, I like the GrandCentral idea! sounds like just what I'm looking for to keep away any potential creepies...

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

I have a GrandCentral phone number. It forwards to my cellphone. That way if I really do have a bellydance-based stalker, I can change my Grand Central phone and keep my cellphone number private. GrandCentral is owned by Google.

I also hate having a personal phone because I never know whether to say "This is Shannon" or "This is Nepenthe", and I end up saying both, and I think it confuses everyone. I guess I'll get smoother and better at this business stuff as I get more experience with it.

I never heard of grand Central! It sounds interesting, must investigate...

For taking phone calls, it just becomes habit after a certain amount of time. Until it become a matter of autopilot, some people suggest using a form you keep by the phone. However who takes calls sitting down at home these days?

Get their EMAIL ADDRESS, and let them know that you will be filling out a gigsheet with the details "as you understand them". I tell them that this is the sheet I print out and staple to the mapquest directions on the day of gig. That way I don't forget anything, and we are literally on the same page. The client is then responsible for checking the gigsheet, filling in any blanks, editing anything you misunderstood. I thought clients would find this a pain in the neck, but found that people actually appreciate the attention. I send it out immediately after charging the deposit on the credit card.

Number one thing is to avoid confusion on the date & location. I type out all dates in the format "SUNDAY, June 22, 2008" with the day in capital letters. I check this on a calendar before doing so. You'd be surprised at how people sometimes mismatch the day-of-week with the number-of-day. And how much would that suck to show up on the worng day? .w.:

Oh - and for the name thing, I usually find that a noncommittal "hello" is fine, and people who are looking for a dancer usually respond with "I'm looking to a dancer" or "is this the bellydancer", etc. For the outgoing message, it is also possible to just say the number, or if you have a businessname like 'Acme Productions". I request in my message that all callers leave the number twice. I have lost too many leads in the past because of mumbling or background noise!

Lotus - awesome advice that I sure can use!
WOW, you take credit cards? I'm impressed. I take cash and check and paypal, but I am too low-tech to take credit cards.

HI Nepenthe, I just sent you an email.

Originally Posted by Nepenthe

I have a GrandCentral phone number. It forwards to my cellphone. That way if I really do have a bellydance-based stalker, I can change my Grand Central phone and keep my cellphone number private. GrandCentral is owned by Google.

I have to say though I hate phone calls! All my gigs have been set up through phone so far (this is the first one however that I've been available to do...woohoo) and it feels impossible to think fast and remember all the questions to ask and everything you need to know. This time I got almost everything but I forgot to ask the name of the guest of honor. I guess I'll ask the hostess when I arrive. I also hate having a personal phone because I never know whether to say "This is Shannon" or "This is Nepenthe", and I end up saying both, and I think it confuses everyone. I guess I'll get smoother and better at this business stuff as I get more experience with it.

I use Grand Central on all my promo material. If you have a Google Blogger account you don't have to wait for your number (at least that was true when I signed up a few months ago) rather you go straight in to the registration and activation. I forward my calls to my cell. You can also embed a 'call me' button on you webpage... I love it!

You can also set GrandCentral to go directly to your voicemail... it will ring once so you there's an incoming call, the it goes to your voicemail. This is the feature I use, and set my voicemail up accordingly (if my friends/family call they know I'm a dancer so the message is really no surprise.)

I have a VM account through a company called Voice nation. $8.05 a month and they forward a notice to what ever number you want. this is the number which is on my business cards. I have a local phone number even though the server is in Georgia.

VoiceNation - Local Voicemail, Toll-Free Voice Mail, Virtual Fax, and Virtual PBX

{{{HUGS}}}

I list as much contact information as possible without listing personal information. Some people want a phone number, some would rather email, and some people just want to contact you on myspace. I haven't had any problems thus far. Hadn't heard of Grand Central, but thanks for the idea...

Grand Central is what I use too!! It is perfect! I have told all my dancer friends about it and have been using it since Late last year. Has not let me down yet!!

I would love to use GrandCentral, but since they're in Beta, I need an invite. Is there anyone who would be willing to hook me up?

-Leyla

I use my cell phone, although i have been meaning for ages to get a voicmail number that is separate. The next time I am ready to order business cards, I'll do it....

Anyway, just answer your phone "hello" and you'll be fine. I usualy let any numbers I don't know go through to voicemail and then I'll call them back. I also always get an email address and follow up with a contract via email. That way, if I forgot to ask something over the phone, I can easily ask in the email.

I checked out GrandCentral and it looks as though you have to be put in queue to receive a number. Still, what a great idea! Any idea how long it might take?

Having a phone number on your card is one of the things that makes it easier to reach you, so definetly include it!

I bought a prepaid simcard and use an old cellphone as my 'bellydance phone'. I return calls with my normal phone so I don't have to pay a lot of money for extra minutes on my prepaid phone.

grandcentral invites are temporarily disabled, as I found out.....was going to get an invite so I could get a 917 (nyc cell) number, but for now, I might just steal my BF's gc number which he never uses....muahaha

I'm one of those apparently rare ones :) who doesn't like to have a phone number on my bcs. granted, I'm not too worried about people possibly being inconvenienced by not having it there - I'm not out there to do a lot of parties and such.

if I'm leaving a little stack of cards for whomever wanders by to pick up, I don't want to have to deal with potential wierdos. in a situation where somebody is definitely interested in contacting me, chances are I'm handing them the card in person, and I will write my cell number on the back of the card.

if I had a separate phone line or vm box specifically for dance business, then I'd list it.

oh - and good call by lotus to ask people to give their number twice on the vm. when I *did* do more parties, it was often for folks for whom english wasn't their first language. that combined with cell phone blips lost me a lot of numbers! my message said "please say your name slowly and leave your number two times" - nothing like trying to figure out an unfamiliar persian name rattled off quickly under a heavy accent!