Archive for the ‘Conference Calls’ Category
Friday, March 12th, 2010
As US Businesses expand into international markets and the world continues to shrink we get more and more inquiries from people who want to do international conference calls. It used to be that we would get a company that had a participant in England or somewhere in Western Europe, but now participants are all over the world and it is only natural that companies would like to do an international conference call. So, what are the options if you have participants for a conference call in an international location? Well, there really are three options available from conference call service companies to do international conference calls.
- Local US Number - Since the international participant cannot dial a US toll free number, most conference call service companies also provide a local US number to dial in order to access the conference call. Since it is a local US number the international conference call participant can dial it from anywhere in the world and access the conference call. The only catch with this method of access is that the international participant is going to pay long distance toll charges to dial a US number and will pay those charges to their long distance phone company for the entire time they are on the conference call. If the participant is an employee and has a good calling plan to dial the US this may be the least expensive option. Usually the cost to the Host of the conference call is the same or less than the toll free access for US participants.
- Local In-Country Number - Some conference call service companies have set up local access in foreign countries where the international participant can dial in to a US conference call by dialing a local number where they are located. So, if the participant was in London, for example, they would dial a local London phone number and the conference call service company then transports the caller to the US conference call via their network. The international participant usually doesn’t have to pay any charges to access a local number and the Host of the conference call in the US usually pays a little more than the local US number access but less than an international toll free number.
- International Toll Free Number - An international toll free number is by the far the most convenient, but also the most expensive option for access to an international conference call. There is no universal toll free access available so you need to dial a specific toll free number from a particular country. But you can dial the number anywhere in that country and the participant will pay nothing to access the US conference call. But this type of access is the most expensive for the Host of the conference call. If the participant for the conference call is a customer or a prospective customer and you want to make sure they do not spend anything to access your conference call then this might be the best option for you.
International conference calls are now widely used and there are a variety of ways to connect to the call from around the world. Zip Conferencing offers all three types of access with over 40 local numbers and 40 toll free numbers around the world providing access throughout all major markets around the world.
Tags: Conference Call, Conference Call Service, Conference Calling, international conference calls
Posted in Conference Calls | No Comments »
Friday, March 5th, 2010
I have never been a fan of the word cheap. I think in general the meaning I derive from the word is something of inferior quality not just inexpensive. But that is not how every0ne views it. A lot of people think of cheap as simply the cost of an item. And there are some huge companies that have made a living at selling good stuff cheap. And in most cases the goods they sell are the same goods or services you may find in another store but they simply find a way to sell them cheaper than their competition. And that is the case with Zip Conferencing’s conference call service. I have proved to myself that you can sell cheap conference calls and stioll provide the same or better quality than other conference call service companies.
I am often asked, “How can you sell conference calls at such low rates?” People think that the calls themselves may be inferior in some way because cheap conference calls can’t be as good, right? Well, there certainly are some costs in providing a high quality conference call service that you can not escape but there are areas in the conference call service business where you can reduce costs and pass those saving on to your customers. And these areas have no impact on the number of features or quality of the service. Cheap conference calls can be as good as expensive conference calls and here are the areas where Zip Conferencing has been able to reduce their cost without affecting the quality of the conference call service.
- Self Service Ability- Although Zip Conferencing offers personal service 24/7 we also provide our customers the ability to service their own accounts. The interface is easy to use and available to our customers 24/7 so they can get immediate service whenever they want without having to contact our customer service department. Like an ATM machine is to banks, our online account management tool provides a way to do business with us that is more convenient to use and so the number of customer service agents we need is less than most conference call service companies.
- Online Marketing- Unlike many conference call service companies our marketing and advertising is strictly done online. Since we don’t have to pay a large number of salespeople to produce our sales, our sales cost is less.
- Reduced Office Space Requirements- The lower number of personnel needed means we don’t need as much office space as other conference call service companies.
- Fully Automated - Our provisioning, billing and other back office processes are highly automated which means we need fewer people to perform the normal business functions needed to run a conference call service company.
So, you see, you can get cheap conference calls that are as good as more costly conference calls, just use Zip Conferencing!
Tags: cheap conference calls, Conference Call, Conference Call Service, Conference Calls
Posted in Conference Calls | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Over the years the number of conference calls being held has exploded. It is not hard to imagine why since conference calling saves a company money and time. But can there be such a thing as too many conference calls?
Let’s face it. If you work for a company that has integrated conference calls into their culture then you have had those days. Days where you are jumping from one conference call to another with little break in between. Such is the nature of conference calling. You can simply sit at your desk and attend meeting after meeting without leaving your desk. A conference call saves you the travel time, even if it is down the hall to a conference room, so you can schedule an audio conference back to back with another audio conference and stay on schedule. One of the reasons companies have adopted conference calls is because they are increasing your productivity without you realizing it. You can attend more meetings in a day if they are via a conference call and you are saving any travel expenses as well. But for you the increase in productivity translates into more work. Not only can’t you get anything done while you are in a meeting whether it is a conference call or in person meeting, but inevitably you get more work to do while in the meeting as well.
So maybe conference calls are too convenient and too easy to use and too inexpensive because if you are on too many conference calls you can’t get anything done. So even though you have saved all this travel time you now are so loaded with work to do and no time to do it you are struggling and tomorrow there is another slate of conference calls to attend. Even as a conference call service provider I have to admit that you can have too many conference calls. But let’s face it. A conference call is easier to deal with than an in person meeting and after all you just need to say no. Time management is something everyone can improve on and using your time wisely is all about using all your time as effectively as possible. And without conference calls time spent travelling to meetings would be completely wasted. Conference calls are great, just try to tone it down a bit.
Tags: Company Money, Conference Call, Conference Call Service, Conference Call Service Provider, Conference Calling, Conference Calls, Culture, Desk, Face, Imagine, Little Break, Nature, Productivity, Slate, Time Management, Travel Expenses, Travel Time
Posted in Conference Calls | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 9th, 2010
Washington, DC has received a record amount of snowfall this winter and there is more on the way. Places like Boston and Chicago are used to getting lots of snow and dealing with it. Washington, DC not so much. The government and private businesses in the area have been forced to shut down their offices while they try to clean up after the storm. For most businesses, taking days off for a weather emergency is just not that practical. Conference calls provide the means to continue to conduct business during a weather emergency.
The benefits of conference calls are evident when the weather is good and people can travel to work and attend face to face meetings. You get the benefits of saving time, money and increasing your productivity whenever you do a conference call. But when you have no choice to do an in person meeting, a conference call can really save the day. I have no doubt that all conference call service companies have seen a rise in usage over the past week due to the weather emergencies experienced from the recent winter storms. Zip Conferencing certainly has seen more conference calls being conducted. Conference calls provide the much needed link for companies to continue to conduct regular business during these types of situations.
The best thing to do for your company is to be ready for a weather emergency by enlisting a conference call service and having conference call capability in case of emergency. Most conference call service companies like Zip Conferencing offer their services on a Pay As You Go basis which means that you will not pay for the service unless you use it. That way you can have the conference call information on hand and when the emergency happens you are ready. Certainly using conference calls in your every day business helps at all times and would help you be even more ready if an emergency happens, but even if you only use the conference call service during an emergency it is worth doing.
So, don’t worry about the weather. You can do a conference call even during the worst weather emergency mother nature has to offer. Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!
Tags: Boston, Capability, Conference Call Service, No Doubt, Private Businesses, Productivity, Saving Time, Snowfall, Time Money, Washington Dc, Weather Emergencies, Weather Emergency, Winter Storms
Posted in Conference Calls | No Comments »
Friday, January 22nd, 2010
There was a time when you would not even think about running an automated conference call for 20 or more participants. If you were going to run a conference call of that size you would run the conference call with the assistance of an operator. And even today, an Operator Assisted call might be the right conference call solution depending on your application, but the conference call technology has gotten to where running a large automated conference call is manageable if you know a few tricks.
The main problem with running a large conference call is the noise the audience can introduce during the call. It is bad enough when there are just 4 or 5 participants and one of them introduces noise because they are on a cell phone, rustling papers on their desk, talking to people in their room, etc. Just imagine having 100 people on the call. The odds that someone is going to make noise during the conference call are pretty good. In fact, virtually certain. So, what can you do to hold an orderly conference call with a large audience? Here are a few tips to make for a successful large conference call.
- Turn Off any Tones - Most conference call service companies provide tones on the conference clal so you know when a participant joins the call. This is fine when you have 5 people on the conference call, but can be more than a distraction when there are 20 or more.
- Mute All - The conference calling service should provide a way to mute all participants as the Moderator of the conference call.
- Use an online interface if offered - Some conference call service companies offer an online conference call interface that allows you to see the callers and control the audio portion of the conference call. This can be very helpful, especially if you intend to open up to questions from the audience. That way you can see the callers and manage the call easier.
- Use Web Conferencing - In addition to enhancing your conference call with visual presentations, a web conference can allow you to manage a Q&A session better than just using an audio conference. With a Web Conference you are giving your participants a way to raise their hand for questions and a way for you to open up an individual line to allow them to ask their question.
- Practice - The best thing you can do to insure your success with a large conference call is to run a practice session to make sure you are familiiar with all of the conference call controls and how to use them.
If you follow these tips you can run a large conference call successfully without the need to use an expensive Operator Assisted Conference Call.
www.zipconferencing.com
Tags: Audience, Audio Portion, Call Interface, Cell Phone, Conference Call Service, Conference Calling Service, Desk, Distraction, Odds, Operator Assisted Call, Participant, Participants, People, Running, Technology, Visual Presentations, Web Conferencing
Posted in Conference Calls | No Comments »
