When I was selling Turkish jewelry via Moda Jewels, I heard about the conversion benefits of putting a toll-free number on your website. All the advice I read said, “Get a toll-free number and make sure all your customers see it”.
So I figured, “Better put a checkmark in that box”, and I got myself a toll-free number.
I was in Istanbul, Turkey, selling mostly to women in the US, so I set up my 800 number to forward to me in Istanbul via Skype. Callers were completely unaware they were talking to someone in Istanbul, unless I told them.
I figured the 800 number would be a very transactional, “my bracelet broke, can I get a replacement” kind of thing. But I was wrong.
Most of the calls I got were old ladies calling just to talk about their cats’ bowel habits. At first, I was privately wondering, “Why are you telling me this stuff?”
But then I realized that from their perspective, a silver Turkish bracelet is cool and all, but if $15 will buy you a friendly and sympathetic ear to listen to stories about your cat’s bowels and your daughter’s love life, that’s a damn good way to spend $15. You’ll tell all your friends about it, too, and while you’ve got that nice young man on the line, can you get 10 more bracelets to give to your sisters and girlfriends?
In your rush to be above average, don’t overlook the conventional wisdom. Conventional wisdom is, by definition, average, and average actions will get you average results.
But sometimes, when you try something that is conventional wisdom, you’ll find it works for you in an unexpected way.
