How do I set up a legitimate 1-900 phone number?
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M$3 Answers
I found an Excellent Site for you that pertains to 900 numbers. The company is called PayPerCall and they offer 800 service and 900 service. The difference between 800 lines and 900 lines is that 900 lines charge directly to the phone bill whereas 800 services charge to a credit card.
Depending on your business, you may want to to choose from a few different options. You can offer a service that has a flat rate to call in OR you can offer a per minute service.
Check out your options HERE
There are 9 different billing plans (Ex. Billing Plan #1, Your customers pay a rate of $1.99/min and you get a profit of $1.00/min. Billing Plan #5, customers call at a flat rate of $10.00 per call ($8 profit). Depending on your business, you can cater a package to your needs. Besides deciding between flat rate and per minute charges, you are also allowed to choose a charge amount.
There are some extra costs associated to the Billing Plans:
A $799 Setup Fee
$50 per month maintenance that includes: Monthly line Maintenance, Programming, Hosting, Billing, Software, Call Tracking and Customer support
This Website provides an excellent description of the 900 service, how it is set up, and how it functions. It goes into greater detail about the extra costs and describes its special features (including the transferring from a local number).
I hope this information helps.
EDIT: This eHow Article is very informative as well!
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I read this page at your source:
http://www.advancedtele.com/900-number-ideas.htm
The key is analyzing whether there's a market for the product. This past summer, my son decided, completely out of the blue, that he wanted to sell something. He's six years old. He wanted to sell his Lego. I said, "Kiddo, you should think about what people are going to want on a hot day. They're going to want lemonade. We can make some and go out and sell it..." No, he wanted to sell Lego--by the piece. So, to help him in his first business, we walked over and I invested the capital in poster-board, and I told him he'd have to make a sogn (I've designed print ads and appeared in TV & Radio spots)..
I live on a very busy street and it was rush hour. A handful of people stopped for lemonade, but it was really hot and after selling nothing he gave up..Total Venture Capital raised: About $1 for the sign.
As for their 900 numbers, once one has sunk the money into setting it up...well, they say it best:
"If you were interested in starting a lima bean hotline, for example, we’re sure that there are some farmers and lima bean lovers out there who would call it. After all, it’s a big country.
But, would there be enough callers to warrant a lima bean hotline? The answer lies in the marketing of the hotline. If there is a way to cost-effectively advertise to the lima bean market, then such a crazy idea just might be successful. For example, if you or somebody else publishes a newsletter about lima beans, then it probably work, because you’d have an inexpensive and highly targeted way to reach your potential market.
That is really the key to the 900 number business: advertising and promotion. We have to assume you have good and timely information on the line. Therefore, the potential success of your program depends on your ability to cost effectively promote the service.
MOST PEOPLE THINK OF THE IDEA FIRST, THEN THINK ABOUT HOW TO MARKET IT. WE RECOMMEND THAT YOU THINK OF THE MEDIUM FIRST, THEN TRY TO DESIGN AN APPLICATION TO FIT THAT MARKET.
CHOOSING A PROGRAM
If you don't know anything about a particular subject, don’t invest your time and money in it. Look for a particular area of interest, expertise or specialization that you have and exploit it."
On the pricing page, here's what it says:
"You need both MCI and ATS to operate your 900 number.
MCI 900 Number Carrier Charges:
.31 per minute
15% of the cost of the call
$100 per month
Typical Advanced Telecom 900 Number Service Bureau Fees are:
$695 initial investment
.18 per minute
Note -- There are also miscellaneous taxes and patent fees.
900 Number Payouts on Per Minute Charges*
Cost Per Minute Return to You
$4.99 $3.75
$3.99 $2.90
$2.99 $2.05
$2.00 $1.21"
SOURCE: http://www.advancedtele.com/900-numbers-business-opportunities-pricing.htm
The return is only about 75% of what the caller pays--AFTER you've paid setup and miscellaneous fees.
Another thing to get over, from a marketing perspective, is the perception of 1-900 numbers.
Getting a 900 number is not quite as easy as getting an 800, 888, 877 or 866 number.
I suggest you check out ether.com. You get an extension of their 888 number (MY-ETHER).
It's free to you, except for the credit-card processing %, which you'd have to pay with a 900 number anyway. To be in their official directory your listing has to be approved--but believe me, money talks. Even if you don't get into that directory, your link still works. Keep reading.
You have the option of being "away," and having the calls arranged by email. You can set a rate per minute or even per hour--and even set a point at which the rest of the call becomes free--effectively setting a maximum price for the call.
You can even begin the call without charging, then if they're ready and you're ready, you just press "*" on your phone (I think, or "#") and they're prompted by the system for payment info.
It will even give you HTML and a choice of a variety of buttons to put on a website.
Dig it--I have mine set to the animated one.
Right click each and open in new tab or window. They go to my pages for different extensions.
This one is IN the directory of their users:
This one IS NOT in their directory:
Those will show you exactly what you can get. Except for the page it takes you to, when viewed side-by-side, do you see any difference? Neither do I, and both phone extensions work.
You can have several extensions to one ID--much easier to manage. I'm apparently currently ranked #7 in their entertainment directory--I have no idea how, because the only call I've ever received was from my cell to my home to see how the thing worked--about four years ago. If you look at the bottom of the page you'll see that it's an AT&T thing.
It even gives you business-card HTML to put on your website or blog.
You can leave an optional "tip" with Mahalo's virtual currency, Mahalo Dollars. If you are asking a difficult question that might require some research, or if you'd like a wide variety of feedback, a higher tip often leads to more answers to your question.
M$
I forgot to add that while it is not exclusively your own telephone number, whatever extensions they give you are only for your use. The button above displays my status in real-time. (It's the same for both because they're two extensions on one account.)
And the BIGGEST advantage is that it doesn't cost a penny to set up.
