In this "6 Questions in 7 Minutes" interview, Professor Pete Alexander talks with Paul Faust, president and co‑founder of RingBoost, a company that helps businesses acquire memorable local or toll‑free phone numbers to boost voice interaction and marketing effectiveness. Paul shares his enthusiasm for the creative ways clients integrate phone numbers into jingles, billboards, and branding. He emphasizes the importance of work‑life balance, urging entrepreneurs to view their lives as a balanced wheel rather than a relentless grind. His core business advice centers on a client‑first, relationship‑focused sales approach that prioritizes listening, solving problems, and building long‑term trust over short‑term pitching, leading to referrals and sustainable growth. Paul recommends fellow business leader Mike Morse as a podcast guest, highlighting cross‑industry collaboration. He recounts his first job at New York’s Counter Spy Shop, selling surveillance equipment, which taught him foundational sales skills. The episode concludes with contact information for RingBoost (ringboost.com, ringgits.com, phone 914‑200‑0013, email paul@ringboost.com).
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Hi, well, thanks, PressFree, for having me on. I'm honored to be here. My name is Paul Faust. I'm the president and co-founder of a company called ringboost.com. And what we specialize in is helping business owners get memorable phone numbers, local or toll-free, that they can use in their marketing to drive more voice interaction, to drive more phone calls. Business owners spend all their time, they pick a domain, they pick a tagline, they pick the color paint in their office, And then they let the phone company give them 7 random digits. So we help them get something that will drive more voice interaction. That's our niche of the world, and we love doing it.
Oh, I love that, hearing that passion in your voice too, Paul. So thank you so much for being on the show. Question number 2, what is something that makes you smile and/or laugh about working in your industry?
What I love, love, love about what I do is I work with every kind of business owner you could think of, from the local mom and pop to the Fortune 500. And what makes me laugh is watching the way people use their phone numbers in their marketing, how they tied into their tagline. Some of them come up with the most creative jingles, uh, and they make it fun, and they really own the brand. So I laugh all the time when they send me their billboard, they send me their jingle, they send me their radio spot. I'm like, that was so good, I'd even think of it, how they tied it in to what they do, whether it's their roofing business or real estate business or law firm. And so I just I love the creativity of entrepreneurs and business owners, and I think I'm a creative guy and I know the phone business, but watching what they do, just, I love it and it makes me smile every day.
Well, since I did a lot of marketing in my career too, I can totally appreciate it as well, so it's really fun. Question number 3: I have a fictitious book with all the answers for business. What chapter would you think most companies should read?
Um, Live Life for a Living. I think that too many business owners focus on their business all day long, the grind, and I don't think that that's how you get ahead. You know, more isn't better, better is better. And I also think just being balanced and understanding that it's not just work, work, work, work, work, try sell, sell, sell, sell, sell, and grow. You have to have balance. That's friends, that's family, that's charity, that's your mind, that's your health. And I think too many business owners think if I just put in the hours, I'll do better. But if they're not balanced, you know, it's one of my coaches in life, uh, Chad Sancherian, says a wheel doesn't roll unless it's balanced, right? So you can't be all this. So I want people and business owners to realize that sometimes you have to pull back and focus on your mindset, your health, your friend, and you will do better at work. Your company will grow more because you're happier, more excited, you're more fulfilled. So I really think it's about that people miss.
And I think it's very wise because you're right. I mean, I, what I mentioned to people too is, is that, you know, if you don't have that balance, you're not going to enjoy the work that you do because it's just going to burn you out at some point. Am I right?
It's going to burn you out. It'll burn out your relationships. It'll burn out possibly your family. Um, and clients and others, vendors, will sense it in you that you're not happy, that something's off. But when you're balanced, like I've told you that I jumped on a plane and came to an event to be with people because I want to live all the buckets of my life. And it resonates with my clients. First of all, I meet more Aries, I meet more people, I understand more. So it's really how I live my life now.
And it's great that you're demonstrating that. So thank you for that. Question number 4, other than the generic work harder, have a great attitude, and care for customers, what advice or insight would you give to other business leaders?
Um, help your clients first, or your potential clients first. It's not about selling your product. If your product or service is good and valuable and business owners need it, they'll be your customers. But find out from them what their problems are, what their issues are, who they could be introduced to, what makes them tick. Don't always make it about what you sell what you need, because maybe you don't sell the first day, but you build a longer relationship and you really find out how you can help them. And if you do, they will naturally do business with you. So I think too many people overlook it. We're too worried about what we're selling and pitching and pitching and pitching. We don't listen enough. And sometimes if you listen enough, you realize your product isn't the right for the client at that moment. And you're better off not selling it because the one-off sale doesn't benefit me in the long run than telling a client, "Hey, this isn't the right time for you." That'll get me more referral business. That'll build my business long-term, and I'm in this for the long-term. I'm not looking for the sprint.
And it's so wise what you're saying because as I heard you describe it, it just reminds me that if you take that approach, you also build trust with those prospects. So as you said, you'll get referrals and you'll also down the road, most likely end up selling them, uh, some sort of service because they have that trust with you in the first place. Am I right?
You'll sell not only them, you'll sell their friends, all the business owners they know, the people in their referral network, because they realize that you're not looking at them as a dollar. You're looking at them as a long-term friend, partner, client. And it's not about— you know, if you're— if you want to be in and out of business in 3 months, great, sell whatever you can. If you want to build a long-term business and future business, treat your clients differently, your potential clients differently. Help them with their other needs. See what else you might— you might know someone that could change their business. Ask those questions and you'll get a lot more than just the sale.
Yeah, that's so great. Thank you for that. Question number 5: What other business leader like yourself would you like to acknowledge and invite to be on my podcast?
There is a lawyer that I happen to know very well. His name's Mike Morse out of Michigan, and he wrote a book called Fireproof, and it's really all about business, helping business owners, not just law firms, grow their business through marketing, networking, brand building. And I think he's brilliant. He helps a lot of business owners grow. He spent a lot of time helping me refine my message. So I think Mike Morse would be a great guest on the show.
Perfect. I'll reach out to him. Thank you for that referral. And our final question, question number 6, please tell me about your first job.
Okay, my first job is pretty unique. I came out of college not knowing what I wanted to do, but knowing that I could sell things. And I wound up getting a job at a store in New York called the Counter Spy Shop. And we sold surveillance and counter-surveillance equipment. And our clients, like, they would come in, they were the everyday guy that wanted a cool gadget. But then I had people come in from the government, from special operations communities, celebrities. People wanted to come in and learn about hidden cameras and microphones and bugging and debugging devices. So I had the, you know, the craziest clientele base. I had a lot of fun with it. Um, I get to tell people, yeah, I'm in the spy equipment business. You know, for me it was ultimately a sales job. Um, but I got to meet some really cool clients and sell some really cool products to interesting people, uh, around the world. So it was very fun. It's very unique, you know.
And I totally appreciate it too because I remember getting the opportunity when I was in Washington, DC a few years ago of touring the Spy Museum, and it was so much fun seeing some of the equipment on there. So I would think that you must have had an absolute ball doing that.
The hardest part was like selling this stuff and not just want to play with it, take it home. But like, you realize that there's guys who have it as toys, but it's also tools to be used in very serious business, for business espionage, for governments. So it's really a fun job and really taught me how to sell. The gentleman there that was my manager really is the one who took my talent with a mouth and the ability to speak and made me a salesperson. So I learned a lot on the front lines of sales. So I'll never forget that experience.
That's a great story. Thank you for sharing that. And Paul, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
So we have a website which is ringboost.com. They could also call me. My direct number is 914-200-0013 because 13 is my lucky number. They can reach out to me, paul@ringboost.com, any way they want to communicate. Look, I love Obviously, I'm in the phone business. I love talking to people. But if you want to lurk on the site and search things out, but if I can help you, reach out to me. As I said, reach out to me if you have no interest in a phone number. If you just want to talk business, talk about how I can help you, who we might know together, ideas on how to, you know, help each other out in business, just reach out to me. I love talking to other entrepreneurs and business owners. It's what I do all day, every day. Because it's really, as I said, I live life for a living and I just want to meet cool, amazing people and I happen to love entrepreneurs.
Perfect.
So go to ringgits.com if you're looking for a number and you want to see what we do.
Awesome. This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
