AT&T Yellow Pages

[Bruce Humphrey]

AT&T Yellow Pages Pay Per Call

Has anyone else had the reps calling about this new program they have for their yellow page ads? We have had 3 different sales reps call us over the last week.

They will put a phone number on your ad that they can track , when someone calls that number you get charged for it.

 

[Royal Man]

Do clients even use the Yellow Pages any more?

I thought that dinosaur was dead.

 

[GeneMiller]

You get charged when anybody calls. Including all the sales calls for crap you don't need. They use a new number so you will get lots of those type of calls. I think it's a bad idea.

Gene

 

[Brian R]

Like any internet pay per click, there are some charges.
I still have to meet with my rep to work out the bugs but I am going for it because my previous years with them have been so good.

I will keep everyone updated as it has not started yet.

I have a pretty good relationship with my rep and I have to trust them by their past performances.
What else can I go by?

Spend a little make a lot.

Spend a lot...make a lot more?...I hope.
where's the praying icon?

 

[Jack May]

One problem is they will try and sell you the number for any subsequent years when you stop.

They tried this on me about 3 years ago or a similar thing and when I asked about the number, they said it was for sale and by negotiation (in other words, we want too much for it to tell you how much BEFORE you sign up)

Brian, I think you're right. That next year they gave me a new rep and she's great. I do all my stuff through her and refuse to deal with anyone else from that company. She'll come out and sit down with my wife and I in our home over coffee, never rush, only suggest stuff she thinks we'll benefit from etc.

John

 

[ACE]

1. Find out if any of you local competitors have signed up.
2. Place a classified ad in the local rag with their # for a 65’ Mustang or call girl.

 

[Jack May]

LOL Mike!!

 

[Brian R]

1. Find out if any of you local competitors have signed up.
2. Place a classified ad in the local rag with their # for a 65’ Mustang or call girl.

Damn, ruthless.


That's the problem with any yellow page ad. You don't know who is signing up next to you or what they are signing up for.

Dave Yoakum on Brian's computer.

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

Ok found out some more info on this.

AT&T will send you an email every 24 hours with a list of calls that came into the ad number. You are supposed to go through the email and point out what calls were sales calls so AT&T can remove those calls. They are not going to charge you for any solicitors.

The call only registers as a call 18 seconds after the phone has been answered , this should give you time to hang up on any solicitor you don't want to talk with.

 

[Brian R]

Cool, I will find out if that is true.

I will say really quick

"sorrygottahanguporIgetchargedforthiscallby!"


Whattyathink...yes I am serious.

 

[BUSY BEE]

Ok found out some more info on this.

AT&T will send you an email every 24 hours with a list of calls that came into the ad number. You are supposed to go through the email and point out what calls were sales calls so AT&T can remove those calls. They are not going to charge you for any solicitors.

The call only registers as a call 18 seconds after the phone has been answered , this should give you time to hang up on any solicitor you don't want to talk with.

Sounds interesting, I might look into this. Thanks

 

[BUSY BEE]

[quote="Bruce Humphrey":1503pjpe]Ok found out some more info on this.

AT&T will send you an email every 24 hours with a list of calls that came into the ad number. You are supposed to go through the email and point out what calls were sales calls so AT&T can remove those calls. They are not going to charge you for any solicitors.

The call only registers as a call 18 seconds after the phone has been answered , this should give you time to hang up on any solicitor you don't want to talk with.

[/quote:1503pjpe]

 

[Chris Muetterties]

This is not new.

Why in the world would you spend money on an overpriced YP ad and not use YOUR phone number ?

They will own you for ever !!

 

[Bruce Humphrey]

This is not new.

Why in the world would you spend money on an overpriced YP ad and not use YOUR phone number ?

They will own you for ever !!

I hear what you're saying Chris, but this is pay per call. If you only get one call from the number then you only pay for one call making that ad worth $11 or up to $23 a month depending on what ad size you sign up for.

We decided not to take the deal they were offering us. We figured at best we would only get 5 calls a month and be lucky if we could book 2 of those jobs per month due to price shoppers. Is 24 new customers a year worth the headache of the yellow pages and all the tracking of solicitors phones numbers. I think we can gain those 24 new customers in other ways.

When we told them no, they called us back about 1 hour later with a better deal, offering to give us twice the ads for the same price.

 

[CleanFreak.com]

The Yellow Pages are dead. We had a similar sales person calling us, only it was to send internet traffic our way. We said we would do a trial for a few months and see what they sent us for $34.95/month. After 3 months they had sent us 4 customers over the internet. When we called to cancel, they said that we had to advertise for a full year because we were under contract. When I asked to see that contract that we signed, they couldn't produce it, and finally let us off the hook after about an hour of haggling with them. It was just a huge waste of time and money!!

 

[Brian R]

This is not new.

Why in the world would you spend money on an overpriced YP ad and not use YOUR phone number ?

They will own you for ever !!

I have put stock in owning a phone number. I have had one number for 10 years.

But

I don't think the number they call will stick with them...as said previously...maybe it was another thread. It's early.

They would be more likely to remember WHERE they found the number. And if they right down a number, the name would probably be next to it.

Anyway... the magnets, thank you's, reminders every 3 months, emails...you name it...should have the number that you own on them.

I really don't think the number that ATT owns will have any relevance if you keep your chops up.

 

[Brian R]

Well the deal is done
I cover two major areas with the online ads.
Converted everything from Service 1 to Priority and the money is a little bit less because I did that. Woo Hoo!
If it brings more money then I am a happy camper.

There were other things she explained to me and other offers like direct mail but I will go over all that maybe tomorrow.

Been busy lately.
Have you checked out my website?
Yes, I have redid it again.

Tried to make it perty for the ladies. Yea baby (in my best Austin Powers voice).

 

[Royal Man]

Hope you didn't buy a dead horse.

I thought AT&T died.
Most phone companies sold off their YP divisions years ago for a reason.

 

[daniel@procarpet]

I hate to disagree with you Dave about the yellow pages. I do not have an ad out this year and never will but was in the book for several years. Most of the people calling were price shoppers and I figured out I would be better off doing targeted marketing and focusing on referrals. My phone still rings constantly even from books as old as 4 years old. At one time I had a small in-column ad that cost 350 per month and a large display ad that cost 1500 per month. They all got calls but the in-column dominated the display by producing on average 150-200 calls per month, and the display was around 50. The in column had a cheap price point. However, I did get sick of working all the time and raised my prices, improved the service, and focus on referrals now. That in column ad was making me close to 2500 per week. The display ad was good because it really helped me build my customer base, but all I did off it was break even. I made my money on repeats and referrals.

 

[Brian R]

Hope you didn't buy a dead horse.

I thought AT&T died.
Most phone companies sold off their YP divisions years ago for a reason.

Now Dave,
I know you have read my posts.
ATT yellowpages.com has brought more work my way and helped me to produce more money than any other "traditional" advertising. IE: print, online, other ads... Box trucks :roll:
It has been good to me for years so I have no other choice but to check out their new deals (which I did) and trust my Rep...which has been good so far.

No person on this board has yet to come up with the end all to end all advertising program.
If they did, they would be vacationing or working hard to keep up with the demand.

 

[Brian R]

Ok, I signed the new deal with Att.
If I get some time I will post everything I am getting.

In short I am Doubling the area that I cover (that their ad is covering for me)
Better tracking for clicks and phone calls and all that.
Increased my position placement and have it for 5 catagories
Carpet
Tile
Upholstery
Repair
House Cleaning


The good new is, I was at the end of my contract for Service 1 (I had listings for both companies) so now the companies will be just one...Priority Carpet and Tile Cleaning.


So I am paying about $300.00 more per month
I go live on June 11th.


We'll see what happens.