900 Numbers Information
Bob Bentz has been Director of Marketing and Sales at
AdvancedTele.com since 1989. He is also the author of "Opportunity is Calling;
How to Start Your Own 900 Number."
The following questions are the most common ones that Bob
has heard over the past three decades in regards to 900
numbers.
- Why should I work with a 900 number service
bureau?
A service bureau has already
purchased the IVR equipment that you will need to process
your calls. It has made a multi-million dollar investment in
this equipment and has 24/7 coverage of the IVR system. By
using a service bureau, you can concentrate on what you do
best - the content and the marketing of the 900 number
service.
- Could I purchase my own equipment and get into
the 900 number business that
way?
Absolutely. But, wouldn't it be better
to put your money into the marketing of the program? I liken
it to the following analogy. If your business needed some
materials printed, would you buy a printing press to do the
job? Probably not, because it's not your business. Stick to
what you know best and we'll do the same.
- Does your equipment ever go
down?
Yes. All equipment goes down. Any
company that tells you otherwise is not telling the truth.
The fact is, however, that when something goes wrong at our
company, a backup system jumps into action and your callers
don't notice anything is wrong. That's because we offer
triple redundancy on all of the equipment—the servers, the
systems, and even the power supply!
- You've seen a lot of successful 900 number
programs and not so successful 900 number programs over the
years. What is the common thread in the successful
ones?
We've seen a lot of great programs
over the years ourselves. The common facets of a successful
program are:
- Unique information
- Information that
callers are passionate about
- Timely and consistent
updates
- Built in advertising (media partnerships or
cost-effective advertising)
The least important factor
seems to be the price of the call. Pricing to sales is
inelastic in most categories of 900 numbers.
- There seems to be less interest in 900 numbers
today. Are they still profitable?
Yes, there
is certainly less hype surrounding 900 numbers today than
there was in the late 1980's and early 1990's. The
interesting thing, however, is that many programs we operate
are actually more profitable today than they once were.
That's because there is considerably less clutter in the 900
number business. While there once were a dozen or more 900
numbers promoted on a single page, today yours may be one of
only a few.
- What are chargebacks and how can people get away
with not paying their 900 number bills?
A
chargeback is when a consumer refuses or is unable to pay
his 900 number phone bill. This is simply a cost of doing
business in the 900 number industry. The good news is that
if you offer good value for your 900 number, chargebacks
will be less of a factor. Some services such as psychic 900
numbers have very high chargebacks, but other services such
as sports handicapping 900 numbers have very low
chargebacks. It all depends on your target market and how
you are reaching that target market.
Chargebacks are
a frustrating part of the 900 number business.
Unfortunately, when 900 numbers first came on the scene,
they were almost totally unregulated. This allowed many
fraudulent programs to take off. Now, 900 numbers are
over-regulated and legitimate 900 numbers are suffering from
the early fraudulent operators. The source of the problem is
a 1992 bill called TDDRA
(Telephone Disclosure and Dispute Resolution Act). TDDRA
allows for consumers who do not pay their 900 number charges
to keep their home phone service intact.
- I am trying to call a 900 number and I'm not
able to get through. Why is this?
If you are
calling from a cell phone, you won't get through in the
United States. No cellular carrier in the USA or Canada
allows access to 900 numbers, because they prefer for you to
use their own premium
SMS services.
Fortunately Advanced Telecom
Services offers its voice
short codes to allow for cell phone users to access 900
IVR programs.
Also, if you are calling from a
business, government building, or school, most have blocked
access to 900 number calls for obvious reasons.
If
you are calling from a land line phone and you can't get
through, then you most likely have a "900 block" on your
phone. All 900 number carriers are required to block 900
number access from homes that desire to have 900 number
access blocked. Although you may have not requested a 900
number block, you may have one on your phone due to the fact
that the previous owner of the number requested a block.
Also, some smaller carriers do not support the 900 number
network and do not have 900 number billing relationships
with MCI. If you find that you have a 900 number block, and
you do not wish to have 900 number access blocked, you
should call your local phone company and request that the
900 number block be removed.
- What are Patent licensing fees and how do they
pertain to me?
United States patents cover
various aspects of the interactive telephony business.
Contact your account executive for further details.
- What is the MCI Deferral on 900
Numbers?
MCI will defer 30% of your gross
revenue for the first six months of your program. MCI does
this to protect itself against high chargebacks that some
900 number programs have. After six months, MCI will start
to return the money to you. So, you see that this is not
really a hard cost to your program, but is really "money in
the bank" if you keep your chargebacks to a reasonable
level. All of the revenue originally withheld by MCI
will be returned to you 14 months after the termination of
your 900 number.
900 Numbers Facts & Information
 900
Number Pricing
900
Numbers Today
Start Your Own 900
Number
 900 Numbers Information
900 Numbers
History
900
Numbers Quiz
USA Available Prefixes
For 900 Numbers
900 Numbers In Canada
To start your own 900 number, contact an ATS representative
today by email. 
Purchase your copy of the ultimate book on 900 Numbers, "Opportunity is
Calling" by ATS' Bob Bentz.
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