I use a few different kinds and some work better than others for me, but I wanted to do an informal poll and see what others thought.

I'm a HUGE fan of email, I respond fairly quickly (unless I have personal things going on) and, because I have my work email on my personal phone it makes it effortless.

I also have a work phone which I hate. It's broken because I don't use it enough to justify buying a new one. I don't want to have a phone number at all (I'd rather use google voice for the day of our meeting), but I know some people like it.  

My problem is that I can't talk on the phone about business unless I'm in private. I can't talk because I haven't verified anyone and don't take references over the phone. It just seems a waste of money. I also get a lot of time wasters calling and random texts from out of the blue.  

Can anyone tell me what their experience is? I really want to try to get rid of it. Would it be bad for business? What do you guys thing about that kind of accessibility? Is it necessary for you

My thoughts (one hobbyist perspective).

* I also prefer email as first contact.  My  Initial contact (especially with established person) I usually provide overview about myself along with references to show that I have more than general interest.
* Additional contact after that is usually via email or text messages.
* Normally no phone call till day of first meeting.

After the first meeting, contact is normally via email or text.  I usually do this at discretion of said person.

To be honest, I am not comfortable with initial contact being by phone call.  Furthermore, I am not comfortable with phone calls even after a relationship has developed unless text message has indicated an appropriate time to call.  People do have separate lives and I like to respect that.  

 

 

Just get rid of it. get an account with Line 2 and install their app. Gives you a complete second line on your personal phone that you can use for business. Including all of the features of your main line and all within the Line 2 app. Visual Voicemail, text, mms, it's own dialer, call management and routing features, ect..

.  
The first time I heard your voice, it was a good thing I wasn't driving because all the blood rushed from my big head to the small one.   Putting a voice with a photo is a wonderful thing. Hearing the passion and excitement contained in a voice is something that is a turn on (but that's just me).
We're hard-wired for sound alerts for from the beginning.  Whether it's a baby crying, a growl of a saber-toothed tiger, or the moan of passion, sounds move people.  But I digress...

As wired as most of us are (there's still a few Luddites out there), Planet Earth won't come to an end if I can't talk to you first.   Day of show after check in, give me your address and the car will find your place.  

You can never tell when a phone call might come at a bad moment...  
     

-- Modified on 4/22/2014 10:30:19 AM

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what a breath of fresh air to read everybody's advice/opinions. Just goes to show there are still real gentlemen out there!

Xo,

Morgan Taylor Of Los Angeles, Not AZ

but it's nice to have a call or text for the final contact on the way in. A phone number in your ad is not needed and rarely used by me.

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Hey Nikki - i definitely prefer email.  Many providers don't check frequently but it so much better with those that do

I don't get email on my phone, don't need it or use it that much. check it once a day when I'm home at my computer.  Text is okay but when driving you have to pull over and stop. It can take 5 to 10 minutes of texting to do what u can do in a 30 second phone call.

Once upon a time, not too long ago, during this century, I arranged to meet a well respected local woman who only used eMail. We set up the appointment days in advance and agreed to meet at a certain hotel at a specific time for an hour and half meeting. She wanted to meet in the parking lot, a small local hotel to which I agreed. However, I did wonder how I would recognize her because she does not use pictures of her self. But, I figured since this was the way she wanted to arrange things, she had years of experience, I'd reply upon her judgement, given she had a couple pixs of me.

I got a slightly late start; between the hotel and where I live are train tracks running next to the interstate. When I'm at the train crossing I turn of my motorcycle, put the lick stand down, listen to music and wait. I arrived at the hotel circled around the parking lot a few times and didn't find her. If I had a phone number I could have called or texted when I got stuck at the train crossing, could have texted I just arrived etc.  

Once I had parked in the hotel parking lot I turned my cell phone on, when I'm riding my motorcycle my cell is OFF!! and discovered two mysterious messages that sounded as if they were from a girl child? As I sat there my phone rang, when I answered I heard the little girl whose voice changed into a woman demanding to know why I didn't answer my phone? Didn't I hear it ring or put it on vibrate?! Patiently I explained that it isn't safe to try and use a cell while riding a MC, especially on city roads.

Next I got a strange question, did I want to cancel? I'm figuring we have more than an hour left, so why cancel? Then I suspected she wasn't at the hotel, hence she didn't give me the room number, and hence did I want to cancel and re-schedule?  

I'm rather easy going, accept that it was my responsibility to be there at the agreed time, and was going to pay for the hour and a half. Since she sounded frustrated, upset and probably wasn't there, I said OK, but I would like to give you the dozen roses I brought.  No reply, just silence of a lost connection.

Later on I met a woman who loved getting a dozen roses along with the bottle of red wine and cheese and crackers, and Thank You card for meeting me I had prepared earlier in the day.

I use a pre-paid cell that has the capability go get on the internet, is so slow, and next to useless viewing web content that I never use it for that.

Since I didn't have a phone number to call or to send a text message to a simple small hick-up turned into an UN-necessary MESS!

I sent an eMail offer to pay for half of the appointment since I believed I had partial responsibility—NO reply.

Around 6 moths later I asked to arrange a meeting offering to give her half of the donation from the missed meeting along with her regular hour donation—NO reply.

Deprived

This seems to me to be completely up to you as to how best run your business and your personal preference. Your reputation and reviews are both outstanding, how you decided to handle this end of your business...is your business. Much like how you handle your "end " which IS your business (specifically your business end). No one who really wants to visit you will be scared away because you are using email versus phone and I include myself in that category, you are on my "to do" list. I imagine it would be nice to hear your voice before meeting, sending final directions as a MP3 spoken word file would accomplish this.
Of course this would be different for a provider just entering the biz looking to build their reputation.
Nikki, do it the way you want to, it's fine. Can't wait to see you.

I prefer email to you contact and to arrange things. Text would be my second choice.  Voice I'm not a fan of.  It's harder to be discrete with it.  With email I can go back and forth with you if I'm work, a friend's house, Starbucks, wherever.   Can't do that with voice.  

Calling also feels a bit invasive to me.  It's not like you have a secretary sitting there taking your calls and screening.  You have a life.  You don't need to drop everything your doing right now just to book me for next week.  That can easily be handled when you have a few free moments.  

I also really think email should be the only way for first contact.  If I have to send you references, DC, TER, P411, etc. that is so much easier in email and less error prone.  No chance of not understanding what the other person said, not writing it down correctly, or even just having a bad connection.  I want to make sure what I give you is accurate so that there's no accidental rejections.

BTW, I do know someone who wants to be UTR that does email only and never gives a phone number.  She gives a general location and then calls shortly before on a blocked number to guide you to her place.  So you wouldn't be the first to go that route.  Not sure how much it affects her business but it's a side thing for her and she's very low volume.  So it might not matter if she loses a little business for it.

I only had a positive response .

I got less bs , got to sleep without random calls and texts at 3 am.  

Email is so quick now days it comes directly to your smart phone so you can answer it just as a text.  
I give a google voice number after screening is complete and make contact via phone the day of our engagement.  

Works like a charm

and I will have a phone number to confirm that the client is on the way (like a second line, just not one I can be texted on, etc, just for that one call).  

I love this advice and I truly love the fabulous men of Phoenix, you're all dreams come true!

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Email works great for initial contact. You can relay a lot more information in an efficient manner.