How to Be Everywhere at Once (The Art of the Internet Phone Service)
One Phone Number = Increased Trust
In the five years I worked as a professional telecommuter, my number one rule was always “be reachable”. This meant almost always having my work phone number routed directly to my home number or cell. I remember one memorable nighttime call from an Australian co-worker looking to leave me a voicemail. It was 1 AM EST but instead of 
answer intelligibly. While this extreme pursuit of ‘reachability’ isn’t for everyone, it instilled a great sense of confidence in my largely west coast team members in my commitment to the team and brought rewards at review time. It turned out many people found me easier to get a hold of than others a few doors down the hall who were often away from their desk phones.
At the time it took an expensive $100/month/line phone routing technology to keep me this connected, but today with services like RingCentral’s “>call forwarding. Sure, everyone has a cell phone these days, but why make your customer’s boss or co-worker track you down number by number, eating valuable time? Instead, instill a simple trust in your stakeholders: call this one number and I’ll be there. It only takes seconds to pop onto the website and change where your calls will be routed.
It may sound simple but eliminating the gaps in your day when you can’t easily be reached can make a world of difference in how customers and co-workers perceive your participation.