Prepaid 101 Primer

Gene Retske,the editor of "The Prepaid Press," (http://www.prepaid-press.com/) penned a number of tutorials over a seven-year period explaining the basics of the prepaid calling card business, which he now has collected into book form.

"Prepaid 101" is, as its name suggests, an introduction to the prepaid calling card business that covers subjects rangting from the business model to marketing, and originally were written from 2003 to 2008.

Prepaid 101, structured as a series of short articles, is highly digestible and is recommended for people just getting into the prepaid calling card business, or for companies that need to train people about the calling card business. The book is not "heavy on the technology" and puts everything into a business context.

Also, readers will find they can easily skip sections that do not pertain to their immediate jobs, such as sections on PC operating systems or broadband access. The book does touch on prepaid wireless, for example, but the central intent is to teach readers about the prepaid calling card business.

That means much of the material covers the "costs" of setting up a prepaid business, the setting of calling rates, terms and conditions, as well as marketing and sales strategies, including such details on what to put on the front and back of the physical cards.

A 20-year veteran of what was then Southern Bell, Retske worked both in sales and marketing before starting his own firm in the international callback business in 1992.

Along the way he wrote "The International CallBack Book" and "A Guide to Competitive International Telecommunications."

Were Reske writing a new series of tutorials in the second decade of the 21st century, he might pay more attention to new products that use a prepaid charging mechanisms, such as game network subscriptions, mobile phone or Internet access subscriptions. Along the way, as the industry itself has changed, Retske has been covering subjects such as prepaid gift cards.

It also is likely that  Retske would be writing tutorials about prepaid wireless. These days, prepaid wireless is a bigger part of the overall prepaid business.

"Prepaid 101" can be ordered directly from Solvox, www.prepaid101book.com.