Hiding your phone number

sawdust123 said:

I like to pick up the phone and talk to people. Apparently, that makes me ancient in the world of business. Many companies seem to go out of their way to prevent you from finding their phone number online. Some just no longer publish one. You go to their website and they require all your contact info for the privilege of getting a reply and some undetermined point in the future.

Today I was looking at getting new blinds for one of my windows. I tried searching for some local companies and the first two didn't have phone numbers on their website. WTF? Meanwhile, the national retailers still publish toll-free numbers. I just want to find out if the product I want even exists. I don't want to wait 2+m hours for this info. These two local companies won't even get a chance to earn my business because they don't have a phone number published.

What do you do with your DJ website? Do you hide your number and use forms or do you publish it? Why or why not?

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It's not hidden but I STRONGLY encourage people to visit my site, see my content, and fill out the online contact form. I have too many options to discuss blindly on a call. Inquire first, I'll happily send you pricing (some will hide that until the meeting), and if you're comfortable with what you see, lets talk. Our time is valuable... phone calls are the lowest quality leads as they're not really qualified. Even if they saw my starting price, they didn't see all the other options or my process in planning a wddding and may not have all their questions properly prepared. I prefer not to talk until they're qualified.

Case in point... today I got a call from a mom (older generation) looking to hire me for a birthday party. She saw me on a google search. I asked did you visit our site or anything like that... she said no...I essentially knew right away this was gonna be a short call.. said my prices start at $3250 for 4hrs for sound only... she's like I jsut need a dj to play music, and I said yes that's my price, I primarily do weddings, and I'm not just making up that number, it's on my site. She was shocked and said she wanted to be under $1000. She had no business calling me and we wasted each others time.

When I was still in the DJ business, I had a Google Voice number, that had a message on it, and sent notification of incoming calls to my cell phone. It was a good way to screen calls. I always called back anyone with a serious inquiry immediately. I wasn’t big-time like Tasso, so it was not difficult for me to describe my services in a phone call, and the clients were able to decide pretty quickly if they wanted a face-to-face consultation.

DJ Bobcat said:

When I was still in the DJ business, I had a Google Voice number, that had a message on it, and sent notification of incoming calls to my cell phone. It was a good way to screen calls. I always called back anyone with a serious inquiry immediately. I wasn’t big-time like Tasso, so it was not difficult for me to describe my services in a phone call, and the clients were able to decide pretty quickly if they wanted a face-to-face consultation.

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I agree, if you just offer simple sound and maybe a basic lighting or photo booth option... and no variations (I have 4 different lighting styles (uplights, heads, tubes, a basic dancefloor wash effect) + quantity differences based on lighting vision as well as 3 photo booth styles + the ability to do prints or direct to phone), it's very easy to provide accurate pricing in 30 seconds.

When someone asks me for pricing on the phone for a wedding I try to be transparent as possible... "my prices start at 3250 for a 5hr wedding for sound only for the reception and cocktail hour, we also offer about 15 different types of additional services for lighting, photo booths, effects, and sound reinforcement for ceremony or after parties, but generally speaking the typical client spends $4-5k for a touch of lighting and a photo booth... with larger productions being $6k+.

From there 1 of 2 things happens... 1) that's way too much (cause they didn't go to my website to begin with) or 2) they appear interested, but to see all my services I need to email/text them my info anyways. So because an email/text is needed one way or the other, I always push for the initial form of contact to be via my site where they see the basic price breakdown and if they're comfortable can then provide the info I need to share full details.

djtaso said:

I agree, if you just offer simple sound and maybe a basic lighting or photo booth option... and no variations (I have 4 different lighting styles (uplights, heads, tubes, a basic dancefloor wash effect) + quantity differences based on lighting vision as well as 3 photo booth styles + the ability to do prints or direct to phone), it's very easy to provide accurate pricing in 30 seconds.

When someone asks me for pricing on the phone for a wedding I try to be transparent as possible... "my prices start at 3250 for a 5hr wedding for sound only for the reception and cocktail hour, we also offer about 15 different types of additional services for lighting, photo booths, effects, and sound reinforcement for ceremony or after parties, but generally speaking the typical client spends $4-5k for a touch of lighting and a photo booth... with larger productions being $6k+.

From there 1 of 2 things happens... 1) that's way too much (cause they didn't go to my website to begin with) or 2) they appear interested, but to see all my services I need to email/text them my info anyways. So because an email/text is needed one way or the other, I always push for the initial form of contact to be via my site where they see the basic price breakdown and if they're comfortable can then provide the info I need to share full details.

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While I understand your want to have visit your website prior, i personally refuse to buy purchase or contract any services without make phone contact, I want to know the person I am working with in every project, you can get a much more realistic idea of a person by the way they speak.

tunes4046 said:

While I understand your want to have visit your website prior, i personally refuse to buy purchase or contract any services without make phone contact, I want to know the person I am working with in every project, you can get a much more realistic idea of a person by the way they speak.

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So I'm not 100% sure if I'm following, but I'll cover both ways I'm reading this.

1. If you're referring to have a conversation before booking, well then I agree and I actually do require a phone call before any booking actually takes place. I prefer the phone cal though to be as informative as possible and is why I prefer to share my info with couples... let them prepare any specific questions or be able to share if they need clarity on anything I offer... and THEN have that conversation. The conversation is so much more detailed and productive this way.

2. If you're talking abotu requiring an initial call before even exploring things further... that's fine... but let's be realistic for wedding djs... unless you're in the 5-10% category that your event requires something very unique or specific that a google search alone won't share if I do it or not, an initial inquiring phone call really comes down to 2 maybe 3 questions.

a) Are you available on xyz date
b) What do you charge? My answer usually ends the conversation, or if it doesn't I still need to email them all my other info so they have the full scope of what I offer. Even if they say I want a photo booth... I have 3 different types of which they likely don't know the difference between. So again, a call is likely needed.
c) Do you take requests or some other really basic question like do you do ceremonies as well or do you also mc.

Either way at the end of this phone, very little was shared that you couldn't find on my site, and I still gotta follow up with an email if you have continued interest. It's not that I don't mind the conversation, trust me I'm old school and welcome a good chat. It's just practically speaking, an email is likely a better starting point for this type of service. In addition my website is very transparant and quite informative. It likely will answer things you didn't even think about or showcase options you didn't know were a thing.

Now there are 5-10% of the calls I do get that are actually very much necessary before we even talk price. For example, they may involve traveling and a discussion on logistics or rentals may be needed. Sometimes they wanna know if I'm comfortable with a certain type of event or the venue has unique logistics. These conversations are more important than the cost itself and need to be had before price is even a factor.

sawdust123 said:

I like to pick up the phone and talk to people. Apparently, that makes me ancient in the world of business. Many companies seem to go out of their way to prevent you from finding their phone number online. Some just no longer publish one. You go to their website and they require all your contact info for the privilege of getting a reply and some undetermined point in the future.

Today I was looking at getting new blinds for one of my windows. I tried searching for some local companies and the first two didn't have phone numbers on their website. WTF? Meanwhile, the national retailers still publish toll-free numbers. I just want to find out if the product I want even exists. I don't want to wait 2+m hours for this info. These two local companies won't even get a chance to earn my business because they don't have a phone number published.

What do you do with your DJ website? Do you hide your number and use forms or do you publish it? Why or why not?

Click to expand...

What happened to going to a store and see what they have?

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

What happened to going to a store and see what they have?

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The store closed because it could compete with online pricing

tunes4046 said:

The store closed because it could compete with online pricing

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You missed my point. We have become a lazy society. Automatically it's expected that every business should be online for people to check them out. What happened to doing a search to find a store and visiting that store? If you can't find it that way, what happened to asking someone you know if they can give you an idea. Now you can get things from a supermarket delivered to you. That's OK if you're unable to visit the supermarket because you can't get out the house. My sister does it because she is handicapped and needs another knee surgery. What I'm talking about is we've become a lazy society.

It's not all bad because sometimes I will order certain things online. I just refuse to buy everything off line.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

You missed my point. We have become a lazy society. Automatically it's expected that every business should be online for people to check them out. What happened to doing a search to find a store and visiting that store? If you can't find it that way, what happened to asking someone you know if they can give you an idea. Now you can get things from a supermarket delivered to you. That's OK if you're unable to visit the supermarket because you can't get out the house. My sister does it because she is handicapped and needs another knee surgery. What I'm talking about is we've become a lazy society.

It's not all bad because sometimes I will order certain things online. I just refuse to buy everything off line.

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It’s not lazy, it’s called convenience. I’d rather search online first and make sure a location has something first. And if it’s something simple that requires no physical research or is not needed immediately, I’ll just order online and have it the next day.

djtaso said:

It’s not lazy, it’s called convenience. I’d rather search online first and make sure a location has something first. And if it’s something simple that requires no physical research or is not needed immediately, I’ll just order online and have it the next day.

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Taso I'm 67 and let me say this. There are those on here who can't imagine that a DJ used to use records to DJ an event. There are stories that were in downtown Newark, NJ that are no longer around. S Kline, Woolworth, Mccoreys, Bambergers. Bambergers is now Macy's. Before the internet and being able to call a store to pay for a item to be delivered you had to physically go to the store to pay for the item and if you couldn't take the item yourself, you made arrangements to have it delivered to you.

I understand you about things being made convenient today. Yet somethings were better yesterday than today. Things in the past were truly made to last a long time. For example a TV would last you 20-25 years before you would need another one.

What those small shops/stores that can't afford to have a website and have to rely on word of mouth or someone passing by and see a store?

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

Taso I'm 67 and let me say this. There are those on here who can't imagine that a DJ used to use records to DJ an event. There are stories that were in downtown Newark, NJ that are no longer around. S Kline, Woolworth, Mccoreys, Bambergers. Bambergers is now Macy's. Before the internet and being able to call a store to pay for a item to be delivered you had to physically go to the store to pay for the item and if you couldn't take the item yourself, you made arrangements to have it delivered to you.

I understand you about things being made convenient today. Yet somethings were better yesterday than today. Things in the past were truly made to last a long time. For example a TV would last you 20-25 years before you would need another one.

What those small shops/stores that can't afford to have a website and have to rely on word of mouth or someone passing by and see a store?

Click to expand...

I'm sorry it's not being lazy. We are spoiled. Many years ago there was no cellphones. If you were outside and wanted to make a phone call, you had to find a pay phone to me a call. If you didn't have change to make the call you had to talk to a operator and tell them you wanted to make a collect phone call. Then the person who received the call had to agree to accept the call. There were pay phones every few blocks.

At the end of the block where my best friend lives there is a stand where a pay phone used to be. Today I'm making this post from my cellphone. My first cellphone was a pre paid phone. I remember when the first IPhone came out it cost $500 and people were standing in line for a while to get the phone. I waited till the price came down to $100. Now there are cellphones that cost over 1K.

I'm not saying it's all a bad thing. It's just crazy to me how somethings have changed since I was a kid. Earth Wind & Fire has a song called Changin Times. Great song that some don't know about.

My number is published, but I hate when people call it out of the blue. Its just my normal cell that is listed, so I don't necessarily answer it like a business.

Most inquiries I get are through my web form that has the date of the event which lets me confirm availability and then set up a conversation if possible. But I get the occasional phone call out of the blue to ask if I'm available.

Lots of small businesses don't have a full time receptionist anymore. So they either have to hire one of the reception services to answer live and then maybe forward a call to someone that can help. Or that call is just getting routed to the owner.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

You missed my point. We have become a lazy society. Automatically it's expected that every business should be online for people to check them out. What happened to doing a search to find a store and visiting that store? If you can't find it that way, what happened to asking someone you know if they can give you an idea. Now you can get things from a supermarket delivered to you. That's OK if you're unable to visit the supermarket because you can't get out the house. My sister does it because she is handicapped and needs another knee surgery. What I'm talking about is we've become a lazy society.

It's not all bad because sometimes I will order certain things online. I just refuse to buy everything off line.

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The world moved you can yearn for the past and complain, or you can accept the modern way business is done is more profitable with far less overhead cost

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

Taso I'm 67 and let me say this. There are those on here who can't imagine that a DJ used to use records to DJ an event. There are stories that were in downtown Newark, NJ that are no longer around. S Kline, Woolworth, Mccoreys, Bambergers. Bambergers is now Macy's. Before the internet and being able to call a store to pay for a item to be delivered you had to physically go to the store to pay for the item and if you couldn't take the item yourself, you made arrangements to have it delivered to you.

I understand you about things being made convenient today. Yet somethings were better yesterday than today. Things in the past were truly made to last a long time. For example a TV would last you 20-25 years before you would need another one.

What those small shops/stores that can't afford to have a website and have to rely on word of mouth or someone passing by and see a store?

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If they were better, then why didn’t they survive.

tunes4046 said:

The world moved you can yearn for the past and complain, or you can accept the modern way business is done is more profitable with far less overhead cost

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Yep. Yesterday is history. He'll never move on because it's work.

sonic-vision said:

Yep. Yesterday is history. He'll never move on because it's work.

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It's not that. It's amazing how things have changed since I was a kid. I remember the first time I saw a DJ using a computer. He was using a desktop computer with a monitor to DJ with. He did a great job and the crowd loved what he did!

I went from using CDs to DJ with and now I use a laptop, controller, wireless mics and active speakers with a 2 TB portable HD and a backup HD. Never could I imagine I would be back in business doing what I love to do and the way I do it today.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

It's not that. It's amazing how things have changed since I was a kid. I remember the first time I saw a DJ using a computer. He was using a desktop computer with a monitor to DJ with. He did a great job and the crowd loved what he did!

I went from using CDs to DJ with and now I use a laptop, controller, wireless mics and active speakers with a 2 TB portable HD and a backup HD. Never could I imagine I would be back in business doing what I love to do and the way I do it today.

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I think this is the 8th time you’ve made nearly the exact same statement in the last couple weeks,
I went from records to CDs , had a few reel to reel players, cassette decks, dat players, stand alone mp3 players, mini disc, I’ve tried every format along the way, it’s called stay current with technology, even as I DJ less I find myself looking at the new stand alone systems with the large screens. I’m not so old and stubborn that I refuse to think about and explore change

tunes4046 said:

I think this is the 8th time you’ve made nearly the exact same statement in the last couple weeks,
I went from records to CDs , had a few reel to reel players, cassette decks, dat players, stand alone mp3 players, mini disc, I’ve tried every format along the way, it’s called stay current with technology, even as I DJ less I find myself looking at the new stand alone systems with the large screens. I’m not so old and stubborn that I refuse to think about and explore change

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When I first became a DJ you had to use records. When I first came back I was using CDs and finally switched over to using a laptop to DJ with. I learned how to set it up and haven't looked back since. I'm sold on being a computer DJ from now on. Never mind how someone else is doing it. This way works for me.

MIXMASTERMACHOM said:

When I first became a DJ you had to use records. When I first came back I was using CDs and finally switched over to using a laptop to DJ with. I learned how to set it up and haven't looked back since. I'm sold on being a computer DJ from now on. Never mind how someone else is doing it. This way works for me.

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Because you are stuck in your ways and refuse to learn it improve, even if something vastly superior becomes available