Would you do it with a domain name?
If you went looking for a domain name for your business by picking the most generic word related to your business, with the attitude that you had to get the most generic single word .com or you weren’t making a website, you’d be doomed to failure before you even started. If you were in the gutter business and said, “I have to get GUTTERS.COM or I’m not going to make a website,” it’d be a mistake (to put it nicely). Yes, that’s what a lot of people do when they look for a phone number.
What’s the best available option?
It’s OK to start with the most obvious term when you’re looking for a website or phone number, but it’s a mistake to make it all or nothing. The real question after you find that you can’t get “perfect” is what’s the best available option? It’s never pouting and taking your marbles home and doing nothing. That isn’t going to show the people that had your “Perfect” _______ anything, except that you gave up.
Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good
There’s a saying, “Don’t let Perfect be the enemy of the Good.” Business today isn’t about being perfect. Business today is about speed even more than being perfect. Speed plus being able to improve or respond quickly. Start fast and inexpensively, spending as little money before you’re making money as possible, and improve things as you go. Some people say “Move fast and break things,” meaning get started with what you can quickly and improve things along the way.
You don’t have to give up the old one
That’s especially true for toll free numbers, because toll free numbers aren’t like marriages. You don’t have to give up the old one when you get a new one. You can keep the original number, so you don’t have to redo anything it was printed on. You just start printing the new one on new things going forward.
Plus, you can put the new number on the big campaign you’re starting in the future, and keep the old number on the website and other materials, so you can tell more accurately how many calls are coming from the big campaign and even answer them differently. So the old number will still be of value even if you do get the perfect number later on.
There’s a place for the all or nothing attitude, but it’s not for something you really need, like the phone number.
So take the best number you can get, but keep checking, because there’s a constant turnover and the impossible ideal number may become available in the future.