Posts Tagged ‘Great Distance’

Business Conference Calling in any Economy

Monday, November 15th, 2010

I get asked all the time “How’s Business?” and since I became involved int he conference calling business in 1995 the answer has remained the same, “Business is Great!”.  That is because business conference calling makes good sense in any economy.  Certainly since 1995 I have been through growth economies and recessions and the growth of business conference calling has not really changed.  Why is that?  Well, let’s examine what is going on for businesses in a growth economy and a down economy ans see why business conference calling continues to grow in either economic condition.

Downturn in the Economy - Over the past couple of years during the recession business conference calling has continued to grow.  That is because businesses are trying to save time and money.  Saving money is easy to understand when the economy is bad.  Businesses are generally selling less and trying to conserve cash until sales pick up.  But most businesses still have to continue to sell what they can and spend less doing it.  Because business conference calling saves a lot of money compared to conducting in person meetings businesses are happy to spend money on conference calls.  When you think about the cost of getting people together, especially when they are located a great distance apart you can see why spending money on conference calls makes sense.  And in addition to saving money on travel, business conference calling save a great amount of time as well.  In a down economy businesses are trying to do with less resources because sales are off and they can’t afford to carry the same staff.  But they still have work to do and meetings to attend with customers and prospects.  Business conference calling really helps businesses to put what resources they have on the job and spread those resources over more responsibilities.  Someone can sit at their desk and through business conference calling attend meetings across the country all day.

Growing Economy – In a growing economy companies are trying everything they can think of to get the most out of the situation.  And many times the growth in the economy follows a period of downturn in the economy.  During the downturn businesses have laid people off and now they are trying to keep up with the growth with the resources they have so business conference calling can really help.  Someone can get more work done than if they attempted to attend all of the business meetings in person.  Sales can get to more prospects in a day using business conference calling than if they tried to attend all meetings in person.  And even in a growing economy saving money is always welcome.  So if your business is trying to get more done with less resources and save money doing it business conference calling makes all the sense in the world.

So it really doesn’t matter what the economy is doing.  Business conference calling continues to grow because it makes a lot of sense to businesses of all sizes.

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Interactive Web Conferencing

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

As web conferencing has become more popular chances are that you have attended an online seminar where the presentation has been done via web conferencing.  Usually you are simply sitting in the audience on a conference call listening while watching the presentation on the web conference with little or no interaction with the speaker.  Although this is the most used method of web conferencing, the people who first came up with the idea had much bigger plans for web conferencing.

When web conferencing was first invented a lot of effort was made to make the service a collaborative tool where people could work on a document together from great distance.  This ability to collaborate was seen as the the killer application.  The adoption of web conferencing services is more and more widespread but interactive web conferencing is still lagging in its use overall.  Here are some of the features that allow for interactive web conferencing.

  • Application Sharing – Application sharing provides users the ability to share their desktop with the other participants on the web conference and permits any participant to control another computer.  This means that participants can actually control a document or spreadsheet and input or edit data on it.  Much like you would pass around a piece of paper in an in person meeting for people to mark up, you can actually change the document on the fly while on the web conference.
  • Whiteboarding- This application permits participants to mark up a virtual whiteboard seen by all participants while on an interactive web conference.  Much like someone would go up to a whiteboard to discuss things while in a conference room, participants can easily do the same on the web conference.
  • Polling/Q&A – Even a presentation can be an interactive web conference through the use of polling and Q&A features.  By engaging the audience you will have a more stimulating meeting and have better retention of the material.  Polling permits you to survey your audience during an interactive web conference and the Q&A feature allows you to conduct an orderly Q&A session for the presentation.

It seems that maybe people don’t work in a collaborative manner and allowing someone to control your PC is a little scary to some people as well.  But even if you are only doing a presentation using a web conferencing service you can make it an interactive web conference by adding polling and Q&A to your web conference.  You will find that the more you can make it an interactive web conference the more your participants will stay engaged with your presentation.

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I Resolve to do more Web Conferencing

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009

Its that time of year again.  Everyone sets expectations for themselves in the new year.  Many of the resolutions we commit to we do not stick with and some we don’t even attempt.  Maybe this is the year to set some realistic goals for ourselves that will benefit us personally and also help in our own little way the world around us.  Why not resolve to do more web conferencing?  I am going to add it to my list.  Because I am as guilty as the next person.  It is easier to stick with the familiar than to try something new and if you have never conducted a web conference before it can be a little intimidating.  But the benefits to you and the world are real!

  • Save Time – A web conference can save you time on the front end by simply eliminating the need to travel to a meeting.  Even if the meeting is in the same building with people you work with you still have to get up off your seat and go to a meeting room.  You have to remember to bring all the materials you will need or you may need to return to your desk to get additional materials or reschedule another meeting so you can bring other things, etc.  You can instantly attend your meeting right from your desk and have all of your materials at your fingertips to share with everyone at the meeting if you do a web conference.
  • Save Money – The cost to travel to your meeting locally or at a great distance is saved if you do it from your desk using a web conference.  If you have to travel across the country all of the travel costs will be saved which can add up to thousands of dollars.
  • Increase Productivity – You will find that by doing a web conference you are better prepared for your meeting and can extend the discussion since you have access to everything you need.  You also will be able to work during the time you would otherwise have to travel.
  • Save the Environment – By using a web conference instead of travelling to a meeting you are being very eco-friendly.  Think of all the carbon emissions you are avoiding during the travel you have avoided.  And all of the participants in the web conference also have avoided all of the travel and associated emissions.

So, for your benefits and in a small part, all of mankind, it is time to resolve to do more web conferencing.  And unlike the resolutions you are unlikely to stick to you will find this one is easy to keep once you feel the benefits.

www.zipconferencing.com

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