You can choose a phone number in your own area code (if available), but choose carefully because it costs $10 to change it. Once you set up a phone number, you can configure the settings in a variety of ways. My suggestions:
- Under the Phones tab, associate your GV number with your mobile phone so that you can forward calls to it.
- Click "Show advanced settings". Set the ring schedule so that calls to the GV number forward to your other phones only during the days and times that you would want to take business calls. Otherwise, send calls directly to voice mail.
- Under the Voicemail & Text tab, forward voice mail messages and text message to your email. Or get them texted to you. The coolest feature of Google Voice is that it will transcribe voice mails to text so that you have the option of listening to a voice or just reading it.
- If you are using the number just for your business, record a special greeting such as "Thank you for calling Zumba with Kim Quigley."
- Under the Calls tab, you can turn on call screening and this will deter automated dialers from being able to leave a message. This feature could also make less technical people nervous.
- If you're using the number for business, set the incoming caller ID to show your own Google Voice number rather than the caller's number. That way you will know to answer the phone with your business greeting rather than a casual "Hello?"
2 comments:
Thank you for the great suggestion! I've been uncomfortable with my cell phone number being on my Zumba profile, but wanted to be accessible via more than just email.
After reading your post I got my own Google Voice number, which is now on my Zumba profile. I haven't made business cards yet, but will just use this number going forward for business. I love that you can block unwanted callers. My phone services provider doesn't even allow me to do that!
That's awesome Davinna! Make sure to test it by calling and texting your new number so you know what your clients will experience.
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