HOW TO START YOUR OWN SUCCESSFUL 900 NUMBER

OVER 6,500 COPIES SOLD

Bob Bentz’s Opportunity is Calling, published in 1993, is the best selling book in the history of the American 900 number industry. While 900 numbers have long been gone from the United States business scene, their legacy remains an interesting period within the telecom, marketing, and business community.

Bentz was part of the co-founders and management team at Philadelphia-based Advanced Telecom Services. The company grew from a start up to $62.2 million in annual revenue with offices in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, and Taiwan.  

Its impressive 900 number client list included 65 Division-1 college sports teams, 20 NFL teams, and several MLB and NBA teams. It provided 900 numbers for the World Wrestling Federation, World Championship Wrestling (WCW), Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and several superstars including Hulk Hogan and Randy “Macho Man” Savage. The company provided 900 number-based voice personals and its proprietary Crossword Puzzle Answer Line to many daily newspapers, including the Newark Star-Ledger, New York Post, New York The Daily News, and USA Today. Pay per call services were also provided to the US Catholic Church, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and the March of Dimes. 

Praise

The Chapters

1. Introduction to the 900 Number Industry
2. The 900 Number Industry – History and Overview
3. Pretty Nifty Technology, but What Can I Do with It?
4. Implementing Her Idea
5. The Service Bureau – Your Link to the 900 Network
6. Choosing the Media to Make Your Phones Ring Off the Hook
7. The 900 Offer
8. Testing and Analyzing Results
9. Enhanced Services
10. The Future
11. Resource Guide

About the Author

Bob Bentz is the president of Advanced Telecom Services, established in 1989, which provides automated telephony via interactive voice response (IVR) services. He is also the president of Purplegator Marketing Agency & Consultants, established in 2018. 

He is the author of two books in addition to Opportunity is Calling, including Relevance Raises Response: How to Engage and Acquire with Mobile Marketing, which is available at Amazon and many other fine online book sellers. 

Bentz has been an adjunct professor at the university level for over 11 years. He taught the graduate level course in Mobile Marketing at the University of Denver and currently teaches at his alma mater, West Virginia University. He was the 2024 recipient of the Alexia Vanides Online Teaching Award at WVU.

Bob has participated in numerous podcasts, videos, and articles about the 900 number industry and he is available for participation in any projects that you are planning on this exciting period in American culture.