A second phone number isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when you think of productivity. You usually think of all those fancy productivity apps and browser extensions. But for small business owners, contractors and freelancers, a separate phone number for work is one of the most practical tools to increase productivity.

Whether you’re a hairstylist, freelance video editor, carpenter, wedding photographer or antique dealer, you’re a business owner. Your mission is to get more clients, command higher prices, build brand awareness and increase your profits. Increasing productivity in your day-to-day operations will unlock all these for you.

Being productive means getting more from your resources, especially time. That’s where the second phone number comes in. It will separate your personal and professional lives, help you organise your business contacts and empower you to focus on what’s in front of you.

But does it mean you have to buy another phone or SIM? No. With a second phone number, all you've got to do is download an app, get a number and get started.

Here are five ways in which a second phone number can bring advantages to your business and improve your productivity.

Five ways a second phone number will improve your productivity

Separation of work and personal lives

Distraction destroys productivity. When you use the same number for your personal and business communication, you’re ensuring that you’ll be able to focus on neither.

You could be deeply engrossed in work and you’d get a call from your family or friends. The reason you can’t switch off that number is that it’s the same number a client or customer might use to call you. So, you take the call, which will ruin your concentration.

But when you get started with a separate phone number for work, you’d know which one to prioritise. While at work, you can take calls on your second phone number, and while with your family and friends, you can ignore calls on your business line.

Fewer distractions mean greater focus and increased productivity.

Call forwarding

A second phone number doesn’t just mean you have an exclusive work number. When you download a second-line app, it gives you the ability to enable call forwarding which is a useful tool for business owners.

As an independent business owner or a freelancer, every client is important to you. It isn’t just a transaction but an opportunity to build a long relationship. This means treating the client or customer with the respect they deserve.

This is a problem when you have only one line of communication. If you’re at a family dinner and you ignore the call, the client or customer may get dissatisfied and may even leave a negative review online.

But when you have a second phone number for work, the call will be forwarded to whoever else can take care of it. So, if a client wants to know the status of their order, you can direct that to the concerned manager. If it’s about billing, you can route it to someone in the accounting team.

Either way, the client will get their answers and your business will build a reputation for putting its customers first.

Auto-responses

Clients don’t call you because they need to talk to you. They call you because they need answers. For that, you don’t have to manually take the call. Second phone line apps give you the freedom to create auto-replies to common queries.

If a customer’s calling to know about your payment methods, you can set up an auto-response for that. This saves you time and effort but still satisfies the customer.

This is how you professionalise your brand identity, move up the value chain and start commanding a premium for your services.

Task scheduling

Getting a second phone number that’s exclusively for your business is like getting a digital communication assistant. You can use the app to schedule tasks, which will save you time.

Need to have a call with a vendor? Or have a conference call with your digital marketing team? Send messages to your customers about a new offer? Just do it via the app.

Organising contacts

One reason to get started with a second phone number is that you’ll be able to organise your business and personal contacts separately. This will ensure that your professional contacts don’t get lost among your family and friends. It will also save you from the embarrassment of calling or texting the wrong person.

You’ll also be able to find business contacts faster and more efficiently. For example, you can save all individuals from a particular company next to each other, without worrying about friends or family with similar names getting in between.

In short

A second phone number for work can increase the quantity and quality of your output by helping you to better focus on work when you have to. It will also help you organise your business contacts professionally and automate your responses to calls and messages from clients.