I'd like to be able to offer on demand consultation and support on a per minute basis with a minimum per-call charge. Ideally I can do a combination of:
- Going “Live” so clients can see that they can call right away
- Settings “Availability Hours” for clients to schedule appointments with blackout days/times. No setting appoints within the hour. That's either “Live” or not.
- Customers create account, add payment info, and are charged automatically. Also charged for scheduling appointments but no-showing.
I found a handful of apps and platforms that can do the trick. Some of the apps are white label and others, I'd just be a user. Some of the apps bleed into Platform-territory. I'm concerned about the platforms. I like the idea of setting myself up as an Expert on platforms if they bring me in business, but I don't like the idea of sending my clients to those platforms. Then they'd be finding other competing experts. Perhaps the solution is a happy medium, where I exist on those platforms, but also have a white label solution that I advertise for my own clients.
I'd love to be able to offer an affiliate program through this service, but that's not a requirement. I can always do manual referrals by asking who sent you.
I have not tried any of these apps yet. This is just a list of apps I've found to come back to later and check out:
- https://lokiapp.live/ – 10% commission. White label available. No platform. Might be best app for sending my clients. Apps available for both consultants and clients. Per minute fees or flat rate per appointment. App for clients or web-based calls. No charge for first minute of call per platform rules. White label available for $8900 setup fee. *Winner so far for non-platform.
- https://callme4.com/ – Platform. I'd be one of many experts. They advertise 100k users but who knows how many are active or repeat users and how many are experts vs clients. There might be a surplus of experts wanting to make money, but not enough customers to go around. They have like a 3.5 rating on Google Play store. They don't say how much of a cut they take, which is a red flag. Fuck non transparent companies. List your services fees and commissions. They aren't even listed in their TOS and I'm not going to sign up to find out. Seems India based without much advertising. Seems like they're relying on their Experts to build their business for them.
- https://clarity.fm/ – Platform. Looks much more sophisticated than the above. Focused on business and entrepreneurship versus “everything” like above. They charge 15% service fee. This might be the one to get started with and experiment.
- https://www.consulto.com/ – Not a platform. Private Chat. $25/month. Looks kind of new. FAQs aren't built out.
- https://eagledial.com/ – Not a platform. 20% commission. Works from any web browser.
More listed here: https://www.generouswork.com/i-need-software-so-i-can-charge-per-minute-for-consulting/
