Dear Business Guy, we are starting a business and need a good phone number.  How can we buy a good phone number?

That’s a great question, and to be honest with you we don’t have a clue. But we’ll take a stab at it by having our college intern look around the internet. A good phone number can make or break a business. Think of 800Flowers. This company wouldn’t work as 800GoRoses. Punching out FLOWERS on you phone pad is just so simple. And they even use it for their web address by adding .com. We wanted to look at all the possibilities. And just to be clear, except for Amazon links, we do not get any commission or kickbacks if you click on a link below.

So where do the numbers come from?  A phone company cannot just make a number for you to use if you find one that’s not in use.  There is an obscure agency that distributes numbers to phone companies in blocks of 10,000 numbers.  When they have used most of them up, they get another block of numbers.  The North American Numbering Plan Administrator www.nanpa.com  is charged with Assigning (or denying) numbering resources in a consistent, neutral manner and Reclaiming resources (read phone numbers) no longer needed or improperly used.   ehow article  The take-away is that the no phone company has a lock on the “good numbers” so it behoves you to search multiple companies to find the perfect number.

Know What You Want and Understand it Will Take Time The key thing to remember is that this is a non-market exchange.  Unless you want to use the tactics above, getting a groovy number means spending time at the store, dealing with customer service reps over the phone, and spending time plugging things into internet shopping pages.  First Make a list of numbers that you want.

Specific Key Word in your phone number  Start by making a list of 4-7 letter words that describe your business.  For instance, if your are a plumber think drain, pipe, clog so you will know what your are looking for.  Then put those words into touchpad numbers.  For instance Drain, Pipe, and Clog are 37216 7473 and 2564.  If the word is more than 4 letters, you have to get an exchange that has the third or second and third letter(s) of your word.  For instance, the word DRAIN, will have to have an exchange that ends with 3, so your number will have to be (714) XX3-7216.  This limits your ability to shop.  There are fewer numbers available, and not all phone companies will have an exchange that ends in 3.

Look for good numbers.  Again you may want to have a list of good numbers, but you will know one when you see it.  Don’t forget about years, like 1776.  People are used to dealing with years so they are easier to remember.  And consider Asian customs.  Generally 8 implies good luck and 4 implies bad luck.  So people have been searching for numbers with 8’s, and rejecting numbers with 4’s.

Be Flexible Another way to go about this, if you don’t need a specific word is to use this web tool that allows you to type in a proposed number and see what the numbers spell out.  If you just want something that people can remember, see what pops out with this tool.  You would be surprised what how many words a phone number can make.    Word Search Phone  # Tool dialabc.com/words/search  Just be sure to put it on the American Standard

Avoid Trashed Numbers  The do-not-call list was a good idea.  But that hasn’t stopped a lot of telemarketers from calling, calling, and calling.  But today, a lot of people will google a phone number to see who has been calling.  If people are saying “don’t answer this is a total fraud, I got ripped-off” on the internet based on calls you they have received from your new number, they just won’t call you back or do business with you.  And you might never know because no one will write you a letter saying “We don’t want to do business with you because…”   Who know how long these comments will stay up on the internet?  So, google the phone number before you pay for it, because potential customers will google it to see who’s calling.

Phone Number Matching Service.  We did find one company that helps you find the phone number you want.  www.tollfreenumbers.com  From what we understand, the have a search program that looks up numbers and finds out what’s available.  Then they get you signed up with the phone company that has that number in their inventory.  The nice feature with their website is you can just search for any key word by putting it into their keyword search and they will come up with a list of (8**) ### – WORD numbers from different providers.  They also have a site for local numbers http://www.vanitynumbers.com  and a site called VanityNumbersForSale.com.  They can even hook you up with a private investigator to help find the owners of a business number so you might be able to “make an arrangement” with them for the use of their primo number.

They seem to be skirting the law as they are not a phone company and they do not take possession (i.e. own, warehouse  or hord) the numbers.  They just sell information and help you get hooked up.  And yes you pay them a “search fee” for their help in your quest for a great number.  The advantage of using this type of service is that you end up “owning” the phone number and you do not have to pay extra fees for it.