Real Estate Investing and Toll-Free Numbers

One of the negatives that people first think of though, when they think of toll-free numbers, is the cost of having them. Everyone worries that the cost won’t be worth the benefits received. So let’s discuss this in a little more detail.

Firstly, with any carrier toll-free # will run you about as far as fixed cost, and somewhere between 20-30c a minute, depending on what use you require, what kind of carrier, and so forth.

Is A Motivated Out-Of-State Seller, Who Still Has A House In Your Market, More Likely To Call Your Local Number That Is Long Distance To Them , Or A Toll-Free Number That Is Free Of Change To Them?

Now, let’s just say that by using toll-free numbers your usage totaled a bill of $100 from people calling you, and that $100 of usage helped generate $10,000 in cash profits (i.e.two $5,000 option deposits) - would you think it was worth it? Would you think it was worth it to bring in that kind of revenue that might not have come in if you had just a regular number?

See, one of the myths that we regularly hear is that somebody who is local won’t hesitate to call you on a local number, because basically people think local call is free.

In other words, having a toll-free# is “overkill”, and you don’t need to have a toll-free number because all the prospects and sellers you want to work with are local. Why waste the money?

Let Me Shatter That Myth!

It has been proven and time again, in study after study, test after test, that for whatever reason, people will call toll-free #s more often and more readily that they will a local number

Now, you may not think that this is the case. Or you think that this shouldn’t be the case because you call local #s as much as toll-free numbers yourself. It doesn’t make any difference to you.

But remember, it doesn’t matter what you think or what you do. All that matters is what your target seller prospects do and think.

Think about it. Is a person who has had to suddenly move to Maine, who still has a house in Arizona they are trying to sell, more likely to call your local number that is long distance to them, or a toll-free number that is free of charge to them?

All I can tell you is, empirical evidence (the only kind I care about) shows that toll-free #s will almost always out pull local area code numbers! And that’s true whether it’s a call to your marketing devices or to your personal voice mail.

In fact, this is so true that you will very seldom see anyone engaged in the business of direct marketing use anything except toll-free numbers.