A few weeks ago we let you know that 855 numbers were set to be released in October. Today we can officially announce that we will begin taking 855 reservations.

How Can I Reserve a Number?

At midnight on October 2nd, the Grasshopper team will be working with our number carrier to reserve specific 855 numbers for our customers before they become available to the general public.

For $650, Grasshopper will make sure your number is included on our reservation list. If we are unable to obtain your specific number, you will be refunded $600.

We will notify you within 3 days (of October 2nd) as to the status of your reservation & if acquired, your number will be ready to go within 7 business days.

Grasshopper customers will have the option to pay via credit card while non-customers must pay by check. Payment must be received by September 16th in order to secure your reservation.

While there is no guarantee that we will get every number, this is the best opportunity for those looking to get high-demand vanity numbers.

If you don’t need to be first in line or are simply looking for a standard 855 number they will be available to the general public on Oct 15th.

Reserve Your 855 Number Now!

Today, we will assume that you support the idea of a virtual office, need no further convincing and would like to get up and running immediately. Here’s how to set up your very own virtual office in under an hour:

Map Out Your Strategy

Not everyone’s virtual office will look exactly the same. Perhaps you do have a physical office, but would like to complement it with virtual assistants. Or, maybe you truly are starting with nothing and want to go 100% virtual from the beginning. No matter what your ultimate goals are, it helps to map out your strategy before diving in.

Possible elements of a virtual office include:

• Virtual receptionists

• Virtual assistants

• Virtual phone systems or answering services

• Virtual call centers

• Professional mailing addresses

• Rentable meeting spaces

How many of these things you wish to utilize will decide how much work is involved in getting started.

Selecting a Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants are one of the most popular virtual office fixtures of all. However, beyond the idea that a VA would be helpful to have, many of us get stock in the process of actually finding and hiring one (much less training one.)

As it turns out, dozens of different companies offer virtual assistants on flexible pricing models that let you buy only as much service as you will individually use.

In a blog post entitled “How To Get Your Virtual Assistant To Schedule Your Doctor’s Appointments”, author Ramit Sethi recommends AskSunday.com as his VA service of choice.

Depending on your exact needs, you can choose a dedicated assistant (which gives you access to your own agent, dedicated to your needs, available 10:30AM EST – 7:30PM EST by email and phone) or 24/7 assistance (which gives you 24/7 access to a team of personal assistants accessible by email, phone, and the web.) Pricing details are available here.

Note: Your life will be made infinitely easier by requesting a VA (from AskSunday or any other provider) with excellent command of English.

Training Your VA

The actual hiring of a virtual assistant can be executed in under five minutes. The next, slightly more time-consuming task is training them to perform to your expectations. Here, it’s all about specifics.

Because you will not be supervising a VA the way you would an in-person assistant, instructions, rules and procedures are a must. Luckily, you need not guess at how to effectively train your VA. The above post from Ramit, for instance, includes a detailed instruction script used to train his VA on selecting a nearby doctor.

Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4 Hour Workweek, wrote a blog post about how to outsource your entire e-mail inbox to a virtual assistant and check it only two or three times a week. In it, Ferriss offers concise guidelines for training the VA to respond, delete, file and categorize exactly like you would.

No matter which tasks you envision a VA carrying out, you will need a similar but modified list of rules for them to follow. In this way, the VA you hire will cease being merely an assistant and become your assistant.

Getting a Virtual Phone System

If you’ve owned a “real office” before, the idea of getting a phone system installed in an hour might sound like a pipe dream. But with virtual phone systems, the fantasy is reality. A virtual phone system lets any business get up and running with a serious, in just a few quick steps. All it takes is:

• Picking a business phone number

• Recording a customized main greeting

• Adding departments and employees

That’s it. Following these simple steps, you and your team will be able to take calls and receive faxes and voice mails from anywhere you happen to be.

Obtaining a Professional Mailing Address

No virtual office is complete without a professional address to receive mail at. As we noted in May’s article, you need not actually reside at the mailing address your mail gets sent to.

Services like NYMail.com, for instance, allow you to give key contacts and business partners a prestigious, professional-looking, 5th Avenue business address. Using such a service, you can:

• Check by phone to see if mail has arrived

• Get automatic e-mail notifications when mail has arrived

• Take advantage of extended pick-up hours

• Have your mail automatically and confidentially forwarded to you at home

A $20.00 business pricing plan is available which enables business owners to obtain a prestigious business mailing address in 24 hours. Theoretically, you could sign up today with NYMail.com or a comparable service and accept mail at your new, professional address the very next day.

There have been a number of songs about telephones throughout history ranging from the themes of love to escape, but they all revolve around the telephone’s central purpose: To get a hold of someone.

Here are 10 popular (and some terrible) songs about telephones:

1. Telephone Line (1976)

Starting out with phone noises at the beginning, Telephone Line is one of Electric Light Orchestra’s top songs. It was the theme song of the 1977 Film Joy Ride. A slow-moving and “romantic” song, it talks about a man trying to reach his girlfriend so he can hear her voice….Kind of creepy if you ask me!

This song was used in Adam Sandler’s 1995 hit Billy Madison at the part where Billy calls an old classmate to apologize for making fun of him in high school ten years earlier.

2. Back of my Hand (I’ve got your number) (1979)

“Back of my Hand” was written by the Jags, a British band and was #17 on the UK charts. Written in a time when payphones (what is a payphone?!) were used to make phone calls, the main line is “I’ve got your number written on the back of my hand.” Good thing we can now store numbers right into our cell phones!

3. Call Me (1980)

Sung by Debbie Harry, or more commonly known Blondie, Call Me was a hit 80’s song that was the main theme of the film American Gigolo. Known as someone a little ahead for her time, Blondie longs for her lover to come to her in this chart topper.

4. 867-5309/Jenny (1982)

Songwriters Alex Call and Jim Keller’s song, performed by rock band Tommy Tutone made the number more famous than the actual song! People dialed 867-5309 asking for Jenny after the song came out, even though there really was no Jenny.

Interpretations have said that the reason they choose that number is the numbers form straight diagonal lines from lower left to upper right on a touch screen phone. The number has even been listed on eBay for sale in several area codes!

5. Telefone-Long Distance Love Affair (1983)

“I call you on the telephone, but you’re never home…”

Remember the days when we were stuck if we were trying to reach someone who wasn’t home? Sheena Easton’s top US, European and Canadian hit is from her fourth album Best Kept Secret.

6. I Just Called to Say I Love You (1984)

A sweet, romantic song by Stevie Wonder, “I just called to say I Love You” was number one on the singles charts all around the world. It was featured in the 1984 comedy The Women in Red. But hey, simply calling someone to say you love them can really make their day!

The singer also sang the song at a public event two days after Michael Jackson’s funeral, changing the words to “Michael knows I’m here, I love you.”

7. Operator (1984)

Midnight Star’s top song Operator video starts out with a picture of a telephone and shows a phone operating room. The band uses “operator” as a double meaning in this song saying “Operate that body, operate on me.” The fun, dancing disco song topped charts for five weeks in late 1984.

8. Don’t lose My Number (1985)

There have been many interpretations of Phil Collins’ hit song. It is addressed to someone named “Billy” the singer is hoping to find; some think it’s about a young boy being kidnapped, some think it’s about the reaction of a small town to a gay boy. In the video, Collins parodys several other music videos of the time, including ones by Michael Jackson and Elton John.

9. Dial My Number (1985)

Romano Bais’ hit is a fun dance and disco song. The video shows different kinds of phones from corded to the rotary dial phones. The chorus line “I’m loving you on the telephone… Please operator, don’t drop the line” shows that two people can have a love connection over the telephone.

10. Telephone (2010)

Finally, a telephone song in the modern day and age! Lady Gaga and Beyonce’s 2010 chart topper Telephone appears to be a fun dance song but it has been analyzed deeper. Some say it is about the CIA brain tapping techniques, and by “ignoring” the phone calls, Lady Gaga is disassociating herself from reality. The video involves her escaping from prison.

The first thought that comes to your head when you hear the term “virtual phone system” is probably not “local numbers.” You’ve heard us talk all about the benefits 800 numbers offer, but what about local numbers? They can do more for your business than many people realize.

• Local numbers make your customers feel more connected to you.

  Clients often prefer to deal with businesses in their own locale. An 800 number may make your business seem too impersonal or large. Customers can have the convenience of making a call to a local number as opposed to an 800 number or an unrecognizable area code.

• More than one number

  Depending on your business size and needs, you may need more than one local number. For example if you run a business out of Massachusetts that is partially in Boston and partially in Western Massachusetts, you may want both a 617 and a 508 number for your customers. If you’re doing business in multiple cities across the country, having more than one local number is a good idea too to give your business a multi-city appeal.

• Outside international calls

  International callers often cannot dial toll free US 1-800 numbers, but can dial local numbers. This is beneficial for your company if they conduct a lot of international business.

• Same great features!

  If you have a local number you would like to keep, Grasshopper can easily port it. And with a local number comes all of the same great features like unlimited extensions and custom greetings.

Our own company is an example of having both a toll free and local number. We have a direct 617 Boston area code for local and international customers and an 800 number for customers who prefer toll free. Search for available local numbers!

A few months ago we announced that 855 numbers were on the verge of being released, we just didn’t know the exact date. Well, a date has been set and 855 numbers will finally be released to the public on October 1, 2010.

This is the first time in 10 years that a toll free prefix has been released (866 numbers debuted in 2000) and will result in around 7 million new numbers! This presents a rare and phenomenal opportunity to businesses looking to get a new or better vanity number.

New Vanity Numbers!

Vanity numbers (ex: 1-800-MATTRESS) are a great tool most often used for business. Mainly because a simple thing like a phone number can actually have a pretty significant impact:

• Improved brand recognition
• Increased call volume
• Increases sales & ROI

Think about it, we’re all familiar with numbers like 1-800-Contacts, 1-800-Flowers or 1-888-Best-Buy. These numbers are easy to remember and they describe the business. These are the types of numbers companies would love to have but are all taken…until now. 855 numbers present a whole new opportunity.

Getting an 855 Number

The current buzz around 855 numbers tells us that there’s probably going to be a pretty high demand for these numbers, especially companies looking to secure the 855 version of their current number.

While no one can actually take 855 number reservations yet, we are working toward a solution that will allow our customers to get the number they want. First though, we need to know how many people are interested.

If you are interested in reserving an 855 number, please go to our 855 Number Request page and provide us with your name & email address. We will be providing more information to those interested in the coming weeks.

I’m interested in 855 Numbers!

One of the great things about our phone system is that it can be used in different (and creative) ways. While yes, it’s intended to be used as a full-featured, make your company sound big phone system, our customers have made it their own. Some people use it strictly as a voicemail service, some use it as a call forwarding service and one customer uses it to provide clients with personalized extensions.

A new use we came across recently was a customer using their Grasshopper number as a dedicated support line. What a great idea! We certainly have customers who use extensions for support/sales/departments/etc, but I’d never really thought about using an account just for Support.

As it turns out, there are actually quite a few benefits to this:

Professionalism

One of our main priorities here is to “Help entrepreneurs stay connected and sound professional”. Why? Because to customers, perception is reality.

A dedicated support line certainly shows customers that you are professional, successful enough to have a support team & you are there to help them when they need it. Whether this line forwards to a 100-person support team or your home office doesn’t really matter.

Simplicity

Have you ever called a company for support and been forced to listen to 10 different menus? Of course you have, we all have! It can be extremely frustrating, and when you are already frustrated it certainly doesn’t endear you to the company you are trying to reach.

With a dedicated line, there’s no sifting through the phone tree. Your customer reaches the right department and can then be directed based on need. Remember the old adage, Keep it Simple Stupid.

Minute Usage

If you’re using a virtual phone system, your plan is most likely based on minute usage. One of the common traits we’ve seen in companies who go over their minutes, is they typically have a sales or support line, which can take up a ton of minutes as your business grows. Having a separate line/account may be just the answer.

To break it down, for a company on the Ramp plan ($24/500 minutes), it may make more sense to upgrade to the Grow plan ($49/2,000 minutes), but for those on the Grow plan, it probably doesn’t make sense to upgrade to the Max plan ($199/10,000 minutes). A better solution may be adding another Ramp plan to use for the support line. You don’t have to worry about minute overage and it won’t cost too much more.

Using a Grasshopper number as a dedicated support line (a Sales line would apply here too) appears to be a pretty good idea and one I’m glad was brought to our attention.

Between our rebranding campaign once again being discussed and summer launch parties, these past couple weeks have been big for Grasshopper! Check out where we have been in June and July.

• WorkBar Boston and Grasshopper Partner to Rev Up the BeIn Initiative for Boston’s Startup Community

  The Summer entrepreneur launch party at Workbar Boston celebrated Boston’s large entrepreneurial population. Different companies networked and shared advice, good food and drinks. Read Boston Innovation’s recap of the story

• Webcast – Finally an affordable small business phone service for Small Business

  Canadian Small Business features Grasshopper as a phone system solution for small businesses. Read the full article and listen to the webcast!

• 20 Tips Your Small Business Can Use To Build Web Credibility

  Every business today has a website, so how exactly do you make yours stand out? Small Biz Trends features Grasshopper in this article and how it can make contact easy.

• Five Ways to Increase Sales From Existing Customers

  Jonathan Kay, Grasshopper’s Ambassador of Buzz, talks about the importance of customer connection via Twitter in Bnet’s article on key strategies to how to get even more sales from your current customers.

• Entrepreneur Recruitment with Jonathan Kay

  Get Your Biz Savvy features Ambassador of Buzz Jonathan Kay in an article about his job, Grasshopper’s campaign, and entrepreneurial ideas.

• Case Study: Grasshopper- Rebranding done right

  Grasshopper’s rebranding campaign is featured in The Rules according to you, which talks about Grasshopper from the GotVMail days to their creation of new products.

• 22 Small Business Phone Services

  Small Business Trends talks new and upcoming phone services and the features they like- and Grasshopper is one of them! The author in particular liked the faxes emailed as PDFs features.

If you’ve been following our blog over the past year, you may have noticed a few changes lately, mainly we’ve had fewer updates. Well if you didn’t know already, this is due to the launch of Grasshopper Group.

Over the past seven years we’ve gone from GotVMail to Grasshopper, launched Chargify and are releasing our newest product, Spreadable in the next few months. There’s been a lot going on and basically we needed to create a better structure. That’s where Grasshopper Group comes in.

Grasshopper Group is the parent company of Grasshopper, Chargify, Spreadable and any other products we develop in the future. Grasshopper Group will be where we focus our entrepreneurial efforts, allowing our products to improve, evolve and be the best in their respective industries.

What does this mean for Grasshopper?

The only difference is we will have more time to focus on making sure our virtual phone system has everything that you need to make your small business successful.

What does the mean for the Grasslands blog?

Grasslands will still be providing you with great information on using the Grasshopper virtual phone system and running a small business. We will however be focusing less on the general entrepreneurship content that we have been providing as this will be moving over the Grasshopper Group, so be sure to check it out.

We are very excited about all of the great things happening around here and hope you are too! We really do appreciate all of the great feedback and kind words we’ve received from our customers, fans and friends.

So what’s the point? The point is that Word of Mouth will be crucial to the success of your start up (And remember it’s FREE marketing). As you may know, Grasshopper Group’s mission is to create products and services that are necessary to your success as entrepreneurs. This is exactly why we have done two things to help you become a WOM rock star

Read the entire post over at Grasshopper Group

In today’s economy, it’s important to make your business seem like number one. That means as a small 1-5 person business, you need to look and sound as professional as the big guys. An 800 number can not only help you sound bigger but can also make life easier for everyone. Here are seven reasons your small business should have an 800 number:

1. An 800 number centralizes your business. Even if your employees are located in five different states, you still only need one number.

2. It’s easier for customers to remember your number, especially when you use vanity numbers (think 1-800-Flowers).

3. Customers are more likely to call an 800 number simply because it’s free!

4. You own your 800 number. Change businesses, locations, etc…the number is still yours.

5. They are easily transferable. Your business has grown tenfold and you need a bigger phone system but you don’t want to have to change your number. Good news, you don’t have to! Take it with you.

6. Every number comes with a flexible plan based on your need for minutes and features. Just want to reserve a number? For $9.95 a month you can get the number you want and hold onto it.

7. 800 numbers provide you with a variety of helpful features like call forwarding, voicemail, and unlimited extensions. As your business grows, so does your phone system.

An 800 number is a valuable asset and can give your small business the professional look and feel it needs. Have more questions? Check out our FAQ or call customer support 24/7at 1-800-820-8210.