Go for the Second Round draft picks! at TollFreeNumbers.com

Go for the Second Round draft picks!

855 number long shots

A quick word of advice on what 855 numbers to request. Go for the good second round draft picks, not just the most obvious first round picks. The vanity number sharks will get their requests in faster than regular phone companies. That’s just life and our present reality. Their business model requires them to get bigger and bigger connections to the SMS, much bigger than any regular phone company could possibly justify or use. So if you’re only requesting 855-LAWYERS and 855-DIVORCE etc, even if you’re the first at a specific phone company to request one of those the chances of getting it are lottery ticket small.

That’s why I think the smart money is going after what I’m calling the good second round draft picks. Those are numbers that aren’t in the top 1000 most valuable numbers. They are much more likely to be successful and are still very valuable. I’m not saying don’t go for the long shots, just make sure you have some backup options. You can always drop them if you get your long shots.

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Hal U. says:
August 24, 2010 at 8:51 pm

As you know, I have been interested for years in finding the owner of 1-800-INJURED (who I believe to be a law firm somewhere in NY) to try to license the use of that number in Florida. I have been unsuccessful in that quest. In your experience/opinion if someone else gets the numbers I requested, are they more likely to be ultimate users or bankers who grab up obvious numbers for resale? If an ultimate user gets the number it is gone forever. If a “banker” gets them then the question is one of cost. I’m not opposed to something “more creative” as long as it is as close as possible. It needs to ne easy, memorable and marketable. I own a law firm that just handles two kinds of practice: Injury and Immigration. We may try to take the practice multi-state by 2012 or 2013. The control over a really good number would be a big marketing plus.

Your thoughts?

Hal

[Type of business and names were changed in this post. He isn't looking for 1-800 INJURED but something along those lines]

Bill Quimby (678 comments.) says:
August 24, 2010 at 10:31 pm

Hal,

To answer your question I would say that whoever gets INJURED and IMMIGRATION isn’t going to be an end user in the traditional real world sense. They may claim that they are to avoid the charge of hoarding, but they will almost certainly be vanity number resporgs that grab up lots of things. That doesn’t mean that you’ll be able to get it from them. That also doesn’t mean that is ultimately the best numbers for your business.

I will agree that they are the most obvious, and the most generic. But that doesn’t translate into credibility the same way that the 1-800 equivalent would. 855 FLORIST is never going to have the credibility of 800-FLOWERS. (I say Florist because you have to avoid trademarked numbers) FLORIST.biz doesn’t have the same credibility that FLORIST.COM does and it never will. So don’t think that have to FLORIST.? to have a good domain name. In reality, something more creative is much more of a brand name and much more valuable in the end. And especially if you’re looking to create a more powerful business and name. The bigger your aim for your business, the more important it is to have a more creative name, or brand name for your business.

You’re looking for the most common term for the type of business possible, so that word may seem relevant to you, but it’s also equally relevant to your competitors. And more and more, most prospects today are looking at mulitple sites and companies in your business. And your name is just as relevant for their service as it is for yours. You have to realize that the job of your advertising isn’t just to let them know what you do.

You could put random digits up and your prospects will still know what you do based on the context, and the rest of the ad. The real job of your ad is to get noticed and say something that explains WHY they should use your service instead of anyone else’s. You need to stand out a generic term like that makes you blend in more than stand out. It’s kind of like naming your cereal 1-800 4-CEREAL. It sounds good when you look at it on a blank piece of paper, but when you look at it on a box in the cereal isle of your supermarket, it blends in and is almost invisible.

I know it’s easy to fall into the generic trap and focus exclusivly on a fantasy, generic number. You can get so committed that one number, thinking that’s the best possible number without really even looking for anything else. Looking for other options is hard work, but the more creative you are the better your search results will be and the more valuable it’ll be for in the long run. Internet marketers especially fall into this trap. But you can resist and can find something more unique if you really have to. And at some point, you’re gonna realize that the most obvious generic term isn’t ultimately an option anyway. I hope this helps!

Bill Quimby

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Aren’t 855 Numbers, First Come First Served? at TollFreeNumbers.com says:
August 18, 2010 at 3:01 pm

[...] for all the shrimp and lobster off the buffet. So be smart about what you request and make sure you pick up a few hamburger numbers too, not just the filet mignon. (No Ratings Yet) Loading [...]

Make sure you have a Backup Plan at TollFreeNumbers.com says:
September 12, 2010 at 5:16 pm

[...] articles about 855 numbers that I wrote about what 855 numbers to request, suggested going after Second Round Draft Picks. That’s also why we suggest that you have an 855 backup plan, or a little bit more creative [...]

855 Number Frequently Asked Questions at TollFreeNumbers.com says:
September 30, 2010 at 12:06 pm

[...] of the vanity number resporgs. That’s why I’ve consistently recommended that customers look for Second Round Draft Picks and told people that are only looking for the most generic numbers that they’ll have almost no [...]

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