We'd been discussing business expansion and the internet at this workshop and the guy taking the morning's seminar had shown us some new ideas for our virtual businesses, running us through some spirited and motivating scenarios. He loved what he was doing, but for us, the students, he overdid that particular word, 'virtual'.
The canteen lunch to which we greedily subscribed, found eight giggly women and one male student toying around with that word in everything we said:
"Would you care for some virtual sprouts?" "I've got enough virtual money to pay for both of us." "Where's the virtual cutlery tray?" And so on. In any event, the novelty of our newfound word soon wore thin as discussion turned to virtual husbands and what you could do with them. The male in our midst began to look a bit overwhelmed. So we shut up.
"Actually," he said, "I've got a virtual landline." Not one of us truly understood what this meant. "Seriously," he said. "What's one of those?" "Oh, my virtual landline number is probably one of the best business moves I've made." He told us he'd been an import-export agent for years; him, his brother and business partner and a couple of part-time assistants, dealing mostly with fishing tackle, reels and rods, waders and nets ... that sort of thing. Most of his suppliers and buyers corresponded by phone or email, but his phone was his vital point of contact for orders and inquiries. He was a fisherman and crazy about his hobby. That's how he got into it. "People phone me from all over this country. People phone from all over the world. One minute I'm visiting a supplier in Cumbria or Scotland, the next in Cornwall. I work where I am. We behave like this in our business." He said virtual phone numbers were his way of maintaining a 'presence' in all parts of the country." Still none of us women understood this idea of a virtual landline.
"So is this just a central number or what?" "No. No. We've got several numbers that have regional dialling codes as a prefix to our mobile and landline numbers. People like to have a local or recognised dialling code to call: London if you're a Londoner or foreigner, Bristol for the West Country. I can advertise a local number, or a well-known code to a potential buyer or supplier in their region. It gives them a sense of permanent presence nearby. I have offices in one location but I can have virtual offices in the city and regional towns all with virtual UK landline numbers. They're all on my stationery and in our ads." "Sounds like a hoax". "Not at all," he smiled, "it's extremely practical. I want my network of clients to feel OK about the business and it gives me total control of calls to us when I'm on the move. My order book is testament to the success of my virtual UK phone numbers. It's simply the best way to present my sort of business to the public. Sometimes you have to lure the little fish to you" he said and raised his eyebrows. "I see it as another way of netting a catch and they see us as their local or national contact. It's best for both of us." We noticed he was eating smoked mackerel and laughed.
What we heard that lunchtime was worth more to us than anything else we learned that day.
City Numbers specialize in the delivery of UK phone numbers - these range from UK Virtual Numbers, 0800 Numbers, 0845 Numbers, 0871 Numbers, 0844 Numbers or International Landline Numbers.
The main site is http://www.citynumbers.co.uk
They can be contacted on 08453 666 555 or you can fax them on 08453 666 556.
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