Here’s a cold, hard fact: inbound numbers are paramount for efficient and standardized business communications.
Over 300,000 businesses across Australia have an inbound number—locally referred to as a 13, 1300, or 1800 number. And as large as that figure looks, this accounts for just under 10% of all local businesses.
Despite its infrequent adoption, an inbound number is a feature-rich tool that enhances communications across internal and external channels. This applies to small and large businesses across a wide range of industries, including the communications industry.
If you’re a public speaker, you know how important it is to connect with your audience. An inbound number helps you facilitate streamlined communications in a way a personal number cannot.
From fielding listener questions to helping you scale your business, an inbound number is an integral part of any communication strategy.
Let’s look into seven reasons speakers should have an inbound number for their business.
Speakers who want to leave a good impression on their audience know how important it is to have a question-and-answer portion towards the end of the program.
This allows audience members to answer questions related to the speech, which can help clear up and resolve any confusion or misunderstandings.
If you’re speaking in a large venue, asking your listeners to raise their hands and ask questions out loud can disrupt the flow of the program. It may also strike some people as an archaic practice and somewhat unprofessional, especially in a crowd of thousands where people in the back have little to no chance of getting accommodated.
Having an inbound phone number allows you to create an organized system of managing calls and directing callers to the appropriate queue for live questions.
This system helps callers to stay on the line instead of getting the “busy” response. Since an inbound number typically contains a dashboard equipped with caller analytics, it also allows you or a team to screen and filter caller candidates based on the caller’s profile. For speakers looking to enhance their setup, exploring the best business phone systems can provide additional tools to manage audience interactions effectively.
Another great aspect of an inbound phone number is that it can be rerouted to any of your answering devices. For instance, if you use a specific answering device to accommodate calls mid-program, you can route the inbound number to that specific device.
If you forgot to bring that device or if it isn’t working, you can simply reroute it to another available device. This is unlike personal phone numbers where you’re generally stuck to the line you’re given depending on your SIM card status.
There’s also utility for this rerouting feature beyond the scope of public speaking.
For instance, if you generally answer calls on a fixed landline device, but have an upcoming business trip, you can reroute your speaker-related calls to your local phone device temporarily through the features present in the inbound number.
This flexibility grants you the ability to accommodate calls according to your preference.
Inbound numbers are generally equipped with caller identification technology, enabling public speakers or phone receivers to get information on who’s calling (and from where) before they pick up the phone.
This is useful in filtering and prioritizing calls from multiple lines, which is important when you’re expecting a lot of calls, such as when you’re requesting for callers to engage with you towards the end of the program.
Furthermore, a caller-identifying feature can also help you prevent accepting calls from people with whom you’re done interacting or who you do not wish to further engage with.
For instance, if there’s a person who has been unpleasant to you, you can simply move that person away from the queue and pick a new number.
This feature also lets you know when to not answer a call due to security concerns, such as when a spambot calls during the middle of a talk. This helps you prioritize fruitful and meaningful conversations and avoid bad ones.
If you’re a professional who engages in multiple speaking seminars across industries, it’s a good idea to advertise a different inbound number per industry to connect to your phone or landline device.
The reason is simple: having separate numbers allows you to manage incoming calls more appropriately. You wouldn’t want to mix up two speaking engagements when answering a call with an inquirer outside a conference setting and then end up giving unrelated advice.
A call organizing setup allows you to manage your calls better, and only an inbound phone number is expensive enough to have that option.
Furthermore, inbound phone numbers allow connection to one device—whether it’s a landline or a smartphone. You can also set up different call handling rules like specific ringtones depending on the initial inbound call number.
By doing this, you can make it easier to know the nature of your call, improving efficiency and professionalism.
Having an inbound number is a good way to boost professionalism, even if your business is run by a one-man (or one-woman) team.
It sends a message to your clients that you’re serious with your commitment to having the best tools for your business—which can reinforce your brand and reputation as a public speaker.
You can also use an inbound number as an opportunity to use a vanity number to reflect your brand, such as your name or the solution you offer. This small investment is a strategic way to enhance your credibility with potential clients and the audience.
An inbound number doesn’t have to cost a fortune. There are many plans from providers like Telcoworks that allow speakers to benefit from having an inbound number without compromising on their budget.
One of the best reasons to invest in an inbound number is that it can handle every call made by members of the audience.
For example, if you’re expecting a crowd of a thousand people, you would want to have a phone number that can handle caller queuing and distribution without bottlenecks. The right inbound number can do just the job.
Furthermore, you can change your plan based on the needs of your business. If your business is growing, you may opt for higher plans to accommodate this demand surge. Conversely, if you need to cut costs, you can switch to more affordable plans, no questions asked.
As a public speaker, it’s important to receive feedback from the audience to know what they see as a strength or weakness of your presentation.
This data can help you refine your message and make it resonate more effectively, which can get you to reach an even broader audience in the future.
One way to collect feedback systematically is by using an inbound number. You can set up a prerecorded and automated voice response system for audience members to send their surveys and thoughts on the program.
The presence of this automated program makes the audience feel more likely to be rational in their feedback-giving approach, which is crucial for your business’s sake.
The way you incentivize them to send in feedback is ultimately up to you. But by having an inbound number, you can set up a streamlined approach to gather feedback and boost your growth potential tremendously as a public speaker.
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