Posts Tagged ‘Travel Budget’

Conference Calls Are the Best Option

Friday, September 24th, 2010

I was speaking to someone yesterday and he asked me what I do and when I said that I run a conference call business he could not say enough about what a benefit conference calls have had on his business.  I love talking to people about conference calls because it is usually a very positive conversation.  I ended up talking to this gentleman for a while about how his company uses conference calls and I thought I would share some of his thoughts with you.

One of his first reactions was to tell me how much his company spends on conference calls which is not uncommon.  But he quickly turned that part of the conversation into how much money his company was saving by doing conference calls instead of travelling.  Like  all companies, he is trying to keep his costs down and reducing the travel budget by using conference calls instead is a great way to do that.  He did some quick calculations in his head and told me that his company was literally saving millions of dollars by doing conference calls.  And then the conversation turned to  how people in his company including himself are also using conference calls to increase productivity because it was so easy to pull a meeting together.  A quick meeting with a conference call usually averted issues and kept projects moving forward that otherwise would get bogged down.  And he said that many times they would hold a conference call as an adjunct to a physical meeting in a conference room and give people the choice of joining in person or on the conference call.  And even though the physical meeting may only be down the hall many time the participants would join via conference call so that they could stay at their desk and be productive.

And finally he asked if I did video conferencing and I said no but we offer a service that allows you to share a presentation on your PC and he immediately knew what I was referring to, web conferencing.  To this he said how web conferencing has really enhanced the way his company presents its services to new customers and ultimately has increased sales.  And he said they also use web conferencing internally to collaborate and do training.  At the end of the conversation I told him I could not have found a better pitch man for the benefits of conference calls.  And he said he did not realize how much conference calls were intertwined with his business until he started talking about it but certainly did not know what he would do without it.  Without a doubt, conference calls are the best option. 

www.zipconferencing.com

Conference Calls in a Tough Economy

Wednesday, September 23rd, 2009

I get asked all the time, “How is the conference call business doing?” and I always answer “Great!  Because in the 14+ years I have been in the industry there has always been a good reason why more and more businesses are adopting conference calls.  And in a tough economy there is all the more reason for businesses to be doing conference calls.

Let’s look at the recent events and see why the conference call service business continues to grow while other businesses are shrinking.  The first thing that has hit many businesses is the reduction in force that they have taken to combat the reduction in business.  In many cases the reduction in the numbers of personnel to run their business was not in direct relation to the reduction in business they felt.  So, one of the things these businesses are facing is trying to do more business with fewer employees.  This artificial need to increase productivity is a reality that the employees that are left to run the business have to face whether they like it or not.  Conference calls are an easy way to help improve the productivity of your employees.  When someone does a conference call it is usually in lieu of an in person meeting.  And whether you would normally be meeting across town or across the country, the conference call eliminates the time you would spend to get to the meeting and return to work.  In fact you don’t even have to leave your desk to attend a conference call so you have more time to do work thus increasing your productivity.

The next priority for businesses is reducing expenses so that they can remain profitable during times when sales may be lower than normal.  And one of the big areas targeted for reducing expenses is the travel budget.  So businesses are looking for ways to continue to meet with other employees, customers and prospects without having to travel to their location.  A conference call provides an easy way to eliminate the travel expense without eliminating the meeting itself.  Because let’s face it, you still have to have these meetings or the business can not continue to operate and grow.  A web conference and a conference call combination gives you everything you need to meet with a prospect or customer and have the same fulfilling, engaging meeting you would have if they were in person.  Don’t get me wrong, a conference call does not eliminate the need to get together with remote employees, customers and prospects,but the use of conference calls can eliminate some of the travel you may otherwise have taken.  And with the expense of travelling these days, every trip you can eliminate can really add up to your bottom line.

Conference calls and web conferences provide businesses the ability to remain effective while reducing expenses and increasing productivity.  So in a tough economy, the conference call service business continues to thrive and grow as more and more businesses realize the benefits that conference calls can offer.

www.zipconferencing.com