Conference Calling – Meeting The Needs Of The Modern Business
By: D. David Dugan
These days it seems business is becoming more and more complex and globalized. We are doing business with people everywhere in the US and in many instances, people in other countries. Due to the wide use of the Internet, the words “foreign country” doesn’t even seem to apply anymore. The Internet has brought us all closer together in one aspect, but how does that affect investor relations, sales pitches, meetings, and group sessions? A lot of people now work closer with their computers than they do with co-workers and because of the Internet, many companies have people working for them from different parts of the world who have never even met each other.Never before has conference calling been a more popular solution to the communication needs of companies and individuals all over the world. Conference calls are becoming increasingly popular as a method of bringing people together for meetings and discussions.In this article, I will do my best to explain the advantages of conference calling for your business communication needs. Whether you are talking about meetings with investors, conference calls with your employees, making your sales presentation to groups, or simply needing several people in on the same discussion, conference calling is the most useful tool there is.Chat rooms and message boards just don’t cut it. Message boards are impersonal, not real-time, and tend to get filled with useless information that isn’t directly related to your topic. Chat rooms are just that, chatty. You type in messages in real-time so it is better than a message board, but it again lacks the personal touches and insights conference calling provides.Voice inflection, as many of you know is a great way to tell how someone feels about what you are saying. Simple typed messages do not give you that same advantage. When we hear our counterparts speak, we can tell how enthusiastic, positive, negative, or apathetic they are about what you say.Conference calling is relational, while message boards and chat rooms are merely informational. That is the great difference in those options. You don’t make sales through information alone. You make sales by creating relationships.You don’t encourage or motivate your employees or partners through information alone, you do it by creating relationships. You don’t instill confidence to your investors through providing just information, you do it by letting them hear how enthusiastic and positive you are about your proposal.Only conference calling can provide the relationship solution when working with people who are too far away to physically attend meetings.A simple search on your favorite search engine or just following the links in the footer of this article can provide you with many options for your specific conference calling needs.What are some of the things that separate good conference calling services and bad ones? That is the question I get asked the most when discussing this topic. Here are some of the features you should look for;High sound quality; The last thing you want to do is try to hold an important meeting through static, interrupted service, and low quality sound. The sound quality of your conference calls is far more important than the price or other features. If they cannot hear you speak clearly and you cannot hear them clearly, what is the use of a conference call at all?Operators: While an operator assisted call is not necessary, having someone from your conference call service provider greeting each person as they are connected is a valuable service. They can tell the participants what to expect better than your own staff can, since they are familiar with the conference call software and service. In addition to that, the operator can and should monitor the entire call to make sure the sound quality maintains a high level of clarity. They will know what to do to fix it if a problem arises.Recordings and Copies: If your conference call provider has the ability to record and provide playback of your conference call sessions, then you will want to take advantage of that feature. Some conference call providers can even provide it to you on CD afterwards. This is enormously helpful for you to be able to review your conference call sessions later. It may also serve as a record of agreements made during the conference call session.Price: Last, but certainly not least, you have to consider price. You may be able to choose a conference call provider that gives you all of the features I mentioned above and more, or you may be on a tight budget and have to settle for less service. Whichever conference call service you use, do not sacrifice sound quality for price. That is the one feature you cannot afford to do without, no matter what the cost.I hope this article on conference calling has been helpful to you. It was my goal to share with you what features I consider the most helpful to me in my business meetings.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
For more information about conference calling and conference calling services visit www.ccallinfo.com , a site dedicated to providing the best conference calling information as well as conference call pricing and company information.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Conference Calling – Saving Time And Money
Conference Calling – Saving Time And Money
By: D. David Dugan
The Internet has brought all of us a variety of great benefits. It has become a new form of media that rivals television. Advertising on the Internet is now a must for business owners who want to run successful advertising campaigns.
The opportunities for doing business with people all over the world in ways no one thought was possible is one of the greatest benefits. It brings people closer together. The Internet allows us to connect to people in other countries as if they were our next door neighbors.
In this article, I am going to help you explore the many ways in which we are able to connect to other people on the web and how that interconnectivity can be used to help your business save time and money.
Early communication on the web was mostly by email. People sent emails back and forth with people around the world. Then along came the chatrooms where people could chat in real-time. The instant messengers also came along to offer real-time chat and millions of people began chatting to each other daily across the world.
However, instant messengers, chatrooms, and email are not exactly the communications solutions business owners needed. Conference calling over the Internet provides that solution like nothing else can.
Conference calling is a very broad term though. It is used to describe a variety of services that all qualify as conference calling, but not all are equal. There are a lot of different options and choices to make when choosing conference calling for your business.
This can save your company a fortune in travel and accommodations for meetings that can be held online instead of the more expensive method of traveling to destinations and holding meetings in person. Also time is a huge factor. Your need for a meeting may be urgent. You may have no time to make travel arrangements to hold that meeting. Conference call meetings can be set up on the fly.
There are monthly services that range from connecting a few people several times per month for as low as $30 per month, to medium range services that connect more people for $80 to $100 per month, to services that connect a lot of people for regular meetings for $150 per month and above.
It all depends on your needs. The best conference call services offer a variety of plans to help you choose the one that is right for your business. Some have live operators to facilitate calls. Some guarantee your sound quality, some don’t.
Some conference calling plans include the ability to schedule regular meetings each week or each month, where it automatically calls all of the participants at the right time to join them into the meeting.
Many companies hold daily staff meetings by conference call. If your business has many locations across the country or worldwide, then you need to consider how much time and money conference calling can save your company.
Do not just consider price as the deciding factor for choosing a conference calling service. Remember how much conference calling is saving you and your company. I am not saying you must get the most expensive service out there, but you need to consider all of the options the different services have to offer.
For instance, a live operator to connect the calls can save you a lot of time and hassle. If there are problems connecting or with the audio or video feed, there is someone that can fix the problem without you having to cancel an important meeting.
Audio and video quality are huge items to consider. The better your audio and/or video feed will be the difference between a successful meeting or a miserable one.
The ability to set up a conference call meeting on the fly is another important option to consider. It is very convenient to be able to call a meeting wheneve3r you think one is needed VS using a conference calling service that only allows you a set schedule you give them each month.
The bottom line is this; Decide what your needs are. Decide which meetings can be held online VS being there in person. Once you establish your needs, then shop around and look at the various options that are available from conference call providers, before you make your decision.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
For more information about conference calling and conference calling services visit www.ccallinfo.com , a site dedicated to providing the best conference calling information as well as conference call pricing and company information.
By: D. David Dugan
The Internet has brought all of us a variety of great benefits. It has become a new form of media that rivals television. Advertising on the Internet is now a must for business owners who want to run successful advertising campaigns.
The opportunities for doing business with people all over the world in ways no one thought was possible is one of the greatest benefits. It brings people closer together. The Internet allows us to connect to people in other countries as if they were our next door neighbors.
In this article, I am going to help you explore the many ways in which we are able to connect to other people on the web and how that interconnectivity can be used to help your business save time and money.
Early communication on the web was mostly by email. People sent emails back and forth with people around the world. Then along came the chatrooms where people could chat in real-time. The instant messengers also came along to offer real-time chat and millions of people began chatting to each other daily across the world.
However, instant messengers, chatrooms, and email are not exactly the communications solutions business owners needed. Conference calling over the Internet provides that solution like nothing else can.
Conference calling is a very broad term though. It is used to describe a variety of services that all qualify as conference calling, but not all are equal. There are a lot of different options and choices to make when choosing conference calling for your business.
This can save your company a fortune in travel and accommodations for meetings that can be held online instead of the more expensive method of traveling to destinations and holding meetings in person. Also time is a huge factor. Your need for a meeting may be urgent. You may have no time to make travel arrangements to hold that meeting. Conference call meetings can be set up on the fly.
There are monthly services that range from connecting a few people several times per month for as low as $30 per month, to medium range services that connect more people for $80 to $100 per month, to services that connect a lot of people for regular meetings for $150 per month and above.
It all depends on your needs. The best conference call services offer a variety of plans to help you choose the one that is right for your business. Some have live operators to facilitate calls. Some guarantee your sound quality, some don’t.
Some conference calling plans include the ability to schedule regular meetings each week or each month, where it automatically calls all of the participants at the right time to join them into the meeting.
Many companies hold daily staff meetings by conference call. If your business has many locations across the country or worldwide, then you need to consider how much time and money conference calling can save your company.
Do not just consider price as the deciding factor for choosing a conference calling service. Remember how much conference calling is saving you and your company. I am not saying you must get the most expensive service out there, but you need to consider all of the options the different services have to offer.
For instance, a live operator to connect the calls can save you a lot of time and hassle. If there are problems connecting or with the audio or video feed, there is someone that can fix the problem without you having to cancel an important meeting.
Audio and video quality are huge items to consider. The better your audio and/or video feed will be the difference between a successful meeting or a miserable one.
The ability to set up a conference call meeting on the fly is another important option to consider. It is very convenient to be able to call a meeting wheneve3r you think one is needed VS using a conference calling service that only allows you a set schedule you give them each month.
The bottom line is this; Decide what your needs are. Decide which meetings can be held online VS being there in person. Once you establish your needs, then shop around and look at the various options that are available from conference call providers, before you make your decision.
Article Source: http://www.articlerich.com
For more information about conference calling and conference calling services visit www.ccallinfo.com , a site dedicated to providing the best conference calling information as well as conference call pricing and company information.
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