Yellow Pages

[Corduroy Frog]

For the first time in my career, I took out advertising space in the yellow pages. I'm not really losing business, but too many of my clients are out-of-town, and I wanted to localize. The yellow pages are published in July, so I had to begin paying five months ago. I'm on the internet yellow pages as well.

Now that season is underway, I'm interested in how many phone calls I can attribute to the advertising.

So far, only one call. Guy called after getting his last pay stub and wanted to come by and pick up a check. Said HRB would not give him his money. As I don't offer this service, I couldn't help him.

However, I have received at least a dozen calls from non-customers. Local charities "enlisting the participation of community business leaders" asking me for money. Having a business also means you are not protected by the "DO NOT CALL" registry which applies only to residences. Office supply salesmen. Phone solicitors. Xerox machine people ("We notice you are a new business in our town..." -- actually I've been in the tax business close to 30 years).

Wonder if some of you have had the same experience...

[KBTS]

I have a listing under the "Tax Preparation" section in the Yellow Pages not a separate ad. But having said that, my experience has been similar to yours. Most calls I receive are people price shopping tax services, looking for RAL's, or asking if I have forms available. I also get lots of the toner sales and "charities" selling advertising space on calendars, posters, etc. I guess the reason I keep the listing is just to have a presence there. There are times I do not have a business card with me when meeting someone and the subject of taxes will come up - I then can tell them to look for me in the Yellow Pages.

[Possi]

Superpages

I have a free listing in Superpages (online) and it is great. It cross references me as a notary as well. I have gotten several calls over the years, and a few new clients.
I don't advertise any other way because I work from home and live alone. I try to screen my clients as best as I can. I'm only at about 325 now, but I'm growing!

~possi

[RLymanC]

Yellow Pages

My experience was much different.

I placed my yellow page ad after being in business for 2 years. My client count before the ad was 75, after the ad was places I did 450 returns that year, the second year was 686, some by word of mouth, some from the yellow page. That was in 1990/93

I believe it is import to have a display ad along with BOLD name in the business section. I believe my business can justify the costs, even thought they charge for 12 months

[Possi]

that's impressive!

I'd like to see that ad! Those are impressive numbers... where I'd like to be!
=)

[ChEAr$]

What the phone company told me

was that they could not remove my name from the Yellow Pages. (I had asked them
to take it out since I'm not soliciting new business, off the street that is.)

So.... I guess I'll have to go to having an unlisted number.

[JohnH]

Harlan:
You could always word your outgoing voice mail message to say "If you're calling to sell me anything or to ask for a donation, please hang up now. If you are calling for accounting or tax advice, please leave a message..."

[taxea]

I too work from home. My clients do not come to me, I go to them.My business is not listed in any phone book. All my clients are word of mouth or from purchase of retiring businesses. 300 clients and I don't have to deal with waste-of-time phone calls. taxea

[geekgirldany]

If you can do it.... get out of the yellow pages online. It is a waste of money!

As soon as I was listed on there I got calls from every company and charity imaginable. It was so bad they were filling up my answering machine's memory up so I had to get voice mail through ATT.

I did not receive one call from the yellow pages online. Now my phonebook ad was totally different. I always get several customers a year from that ad. I also get those price hunting. I've been in business 8 years and only have 150 customers. But they are very good customers. I would like to get more but I found out the hard way that the internet was not worth it. The internet part of it was really the biggest mistake I have ever made in my business.

[ChEAr$]

Good advice, but

Harlan:
You could always word your outgoing voice mail message to say "If you're calling to sell me anything or to ask for a donation, please hang up now. If you are calling for accounting or tax advice, please leave a message..."

I don't have an message recorder. I merely use the answering part of it to tell people
if it's during business hours, I'll be back within 15 minutes. If it's after the hours I've
announced on the machine, they know i'm not there!

However I did go hi tech this year and got me one of those telephones that display who's
calling on the display. This way I see 1 800 numbers and don't even bother to answer it.

And who knows? Someday I might just get me one of those teeny little phones that don't
have a cord to the wall.

[Lion]

More

If you want more clients like your current good customers, then ask those customers for referrals. They must know more people like themselves.

I work from my home and don't want strangers coming over. I get new clients as referrals from my existing clients, church, stock broker, Curves, etc.

[ChEAr$]

Curves?

If you want more clients like your current good customers, then ask those customers for referrals. They must know more people like themselves.

I work from my home and don't want strangers coming over. I get new clients as referrals from my existing clients, church, stock broker, Curves, etc.

What's that?

[Bonnie]

Curves

What's that?

It's a place of business where women go to exercise. It's a franchise nationally, I think.

[travis bickle]

Incidentally, you do not need

I don't have an message recorder. I merely use the answering part of it to tell people
if it's during business hours, I'll be back within 15 minutes. If it's after the hours I've
announced on the machine, they know i'm not there!.

an unlisted number.

All you do is have your phone number LISTED under an obvious pseudonym [e.g., Joe Eggplant] --- there is no requirement that your BILLING name/address match your LISTED name.

Then, when someone calls and asks for "Mr. Eggplant" you immediately know that they obtained your number by going down the telephone book listings, and you can hang up [or, tell them "Mr. Eggplant is not here."]

That way you separate calls you want from calls you do not want AND you do not have to pay for the unlisted feature.

Been doing that for years.

[JG EA]

...Having a business also means you are not protected by the "DO NOT CALL" registry which applies only to residences. Office supply salesmen. Phone solicitors. Xerox machine people ("We notice you are a new business in our town..." -- actually I've been in the tax business close to 30 years).

Wonder if some of you have had the same experience...

We had a bad experience years ago. The telemarker asked someone new 'are you located at...' She said yes. Well, we were immediately on the internet and receiving bills. So, my policy now is to say "please put me on your do-not-call-list" before answering anything asked. You can ask to be put on their list and they are supposed to follow it, even though they don't have to follow the national register.

And even if they forget to put me on their list it does effectively end the call.