I take it for granted that people have done conference calls before, but if you believe the analysts the market for conference calling services is only penetrated at a rate of 58%. That means that 42% of the possible customers for conference calling are not using the services today. Which means that many of you have never done a conference call. Here is a simple guide to holding a successful conference call.
INVITE YOUR PARTICIPANTS
Send your guests, via email, fax, or word of mouth, the information listed below. All of the conference call codes and Dial-In numbers can be found online by accessing your account when you sign up for Zip Conferencing.
Design an Invitation:
Date/Time of conference call – you may want to include an agenda.
It is recommended that you inform your Guests to log into the conference call no less than 5 minutes prior to start time. Your guests can speak together prior to you joining the call. You can change that by accessing conference call options in your account and change it so that the guests listen to music and can not speak prior to you joining.
Audio Conference Dial-In Info:
· Instruct guests to dial into the Audio Conference approximately 5 minutes prior to the conference
· Provide Dial-In phone number
· Provide Guest Code
· Require attendees to refrain form putting the call on hold, as some companies have hold music that would disrupt the conference.
PRE-CONFERENCE PREPARATIONS
· Set an agenda for the meeting.
· If possible, send the agenda to all meeting participants.
· Send out a reminder to participants for calls scheduled far in advance.
· Make sure you are in a quiet location where you will not be disturbed
ACTIVATE THE CONFERENCE CALL
· Be on time! It helps if the host or chairperson dials into the conference a few minutes early. This avoids confusion if guests dial-in early.
· Turn off call-waiting. Most call-waiting features can be deactivated by dialing 70# before dialing into the conference.
· Dial into the call using either the Toll Free or Direct Dial-In conference call number provided. You will be prompted to enter your passcode.
· Conduct a roll call to find out who has joined your conference.
· Remind attendees to refrain from putting the call on hold, as some companies have hold music that would disrupt the conference. Instruct everyone to state their names when speaking to avoid confusion. For example, “This is Karen, and I’d like to see…”
DURING THE CONFERENCE CALL
· Ask for feedback from specific participants instead of from the entire group.
· Postpone any discussions that are not relevant to the conference for another date and time.
· Promptly deal with any noise or distractions.
· Summarize the issues discussed and recap any action items resulting from the call.
· Clearly state when you are ending the conference. Often a guest can be left on the line not realizing that the conference has ended.
You will find that if you treat the conference call just like an in-person meeting you will get the same results.