Posts Tagged ‘Travelling’

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

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Web Conferencing for Remote Support

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Web conferencing has been adopted by sales organizations around the world as a way to do a presentation for a prospect from your desktop,  greatly reducing travel expenses and increasing productivity.  It is also widely recognized for its remote training abilities which allows participants to take a training class without the costly need to travel to a central location.  But another application for web conferencing that is being used, but maybe not as widely known is for the support of customers and employees remotely to troubleshoot software on their desktops.

Since web conferencing allows participants to see each other’s computer screens regardless of the application that is running.  It allows a technical support person to view the PC of a customer or employee which assists them in more easily diagnosing an issue.  A remote participant does not need to try to describe the issue they are having because the technician will be able to see exactly what they are talking about on the web conference.  And if the participant allows it, the technician can even take control of the remote user’s PC and fix the problem while the participant sits back and watches them do the work.

Needless to say, this application for web conferencing is a win-win for the company supporting the product and the customer, since the problem is fixed easily and quickly and any interpretation errors on exactly what the issue is are avoided because the technician is actually viewing the PC themselves.  Like all of the conference call services, the web conferencing in this application saves any travel costs that may have been associated with the service and makes the technician that much more productive since they can handle many of these types of service calls using web conferencing instead of travelling to customer locations.  In many cases, if you are selling your product across the country or around the world, travelling to customer locations to support your product is not even practical.  Especially for a small business that is trying to support their product, web conferencing offers a way to provide their customers an excellent level of service without spending a lot of money.  Supporting your customers using web conferencing just makes good business sense.

www.zipconferencing.com

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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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The Conference Call versus Travel Argument gets Stronger

Monday, December 28th, 2009

Certainly all meetings can’t be virtual.  Sometimes you just have to get face to face with your customer, prospect or employee.  A conference call does offer, however, a compelling alternative under any circumstances.  It is easy to see where you can save money and increase your productivity using a conference call or web conference instead of travelling to the location and having a meeting.  But now more than ever the conference call versus travelling argument is getting even stronger.

With the recent attempted terrorist attack on the flight landing in Detroit, the security at the airports has gotten tighter and the experience during the flight more uncomfortable.  Now you have to arrive at the airport three or four hours before your flight because the line at security will be that much worse.  And once you get on the plane the new regulations require you to remain in your seat in the final hour of the flight and even some of the entertainment options on the flights have been curtailed.  You have to REALLY need to get where you are going and be ready to put up with the added inconveniences the new regulations will bring.  And again, for some meetings there is no choice.  You just have to be there in person no matter what.  But I think this latest round of travel inconveniences will make more and more people look into alternatives like the conference call or a web conference because it is not just about the money anymore.

A conference call and a web conference can provide you all the tools you would have in a regular conference room setting without having to travel to the location.  You can freely speak together on the conference call and share any documents, presentations and even a video feed with the people at the other end.  All for a fraction of the cost of getting there in person and without any of the hassle.  So the next time you are requested to attend a meeting in another city or country think of the alternatives and ask yourself if it is REALLY necessary to be there in person or will a conference call do the same thing.

www.zipconferencing.com

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Conference Call Access – Toll or Toll Free

Monday, August 31st, 2009

There are two basic ways to connect to a conference call, through a toll or toll free phone number.  Which one is best for you? 

Originally, the way you were connected to a conference call was to have the conference call operator call out to you and connect you to the conference call.  You didn’t have to worry about access numbers or codes, you simply waited for the call from the operator to come to you and connect you to the conference call.  These types of calls still exist, but they are generally expensive since an operator is involved in the process.  They are also not very convenient or even realistic in today’s environment when you could just as easily be joining the conference call from your cell phone while travelling.  So, when the reservationless type conference call was invented where you dial an access number and put in a passcode to connect to the conference call there were two main ways to connect, a toll free access number or a toll access number.  Ten years ago the cost of telecommunications was much higher and the cost of toll free access was much higher.  So, having an alternative made a lot of sense to some people.  Let’s examine both w2ays to connect to a conference call and see if having the local or toll connection still makes sense.

Toll or Local Access – A toll or local access number for a conference call is simply a number that is local to where the conference call equipment is located.  Since the conference call service company does not have to pay any long distance charges to get you connected to the equipment they can offer a lower rate to you.  Another advantage of this type of conference call access number is the fact that you access this number from anywhere in the world.  The disadvantage of this type of conference call access number is that you and your participants have to pay a toll charge to call this number.  Let’s say the conference call equipment is in Boston, MA and you are calling from California.  You will pay your long distance phone company a per minute charge to be connected tot he conference call quipment and the toll access charge to the conference call service company.  If you do not want you customer, prospect or employee to incur any charges for attending your conference call then you should not use this type of number.

Toll Free Access – A toll free access number for a conference call is an 800, 866 or 877 number that you would dial to connect to the conference call.  The conference call service company is typically going to charge a little more for this type of access because they are paying the long distance charges to connect you to the conference call.  The advantage on this type of number is that you or your participants do not have to pay any access charges to your long distance company to access the conference call.  This type of call is good if you do not want your participants to incur any hcarges to attend your conference call.

As prices for long distance have declined over the years there has become a smaller difference between the cost of local versus toll free access.  Today some companies, like Zip Conferencing, have rates so low that there is no difference between the cost of local and toll free access to the conference call.  And with rates less than 5 cents per minute it is hard to justify the reason to go with a local number since all of your participants will have to pay to get to your conference call.  The most convenient and now the lowest cost method to access a conference call these days is using a toll free access number.  www.zipconferencing.com

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Conference Calls in Today’s Busy World

Wednesday, August 19th, 2009

I sat down to write about how conference calls help manage your way around the crazy busy world we live in and guess what?  I got interrupted, had to handle multiple emergencies and yes, attend several conference calls.  So, it is certainly not a cure for the crazy busy lifestyle I am so familiar with but it certainly helps.  Conference calls simply provide a way to get more done in the same amount of time.  If I couldn’t attend those conference calls, I would have had to get in my car and drive, along with all the other participants to the office and find an open conference room, and have our discussion there.  That is bad enough that I have to spend the time commuting and the expense to get there, but then I would be in a location where I am limited in what I can do.  In my case I would have encountered the other emergency that happened to come up and I would have had to get back in my car and travel back to my home office again.  Again wasting time travelling, etc.

So, instead opf taking up all this time traveling I was able to jump on a conference call from wherever I am at the time, thanks to cell phones, take part in a productive meeting, simply hang up my phone and immediately return to the task I was on before the meeting, deal with the emergency, etc.  And I think that while we take many of these modern day marvels fro granted, the conference call is as important to helping us manage our busy lives as many of the other conveniences we now take for granted.  Cell phones are great but you can’t meet with ten people at the same time without the conference call.  The ability to carry around your email box on a handheld device is super, but after you get an email saying that you need to meet on a particular topic it would do you no good if you had to drop everything and come back to the office to meet instead of just jumping on a conference call. 

Maybe you appreciate the conveniences that help you manage your busy world, maybe you feel like you can’t escape from them, but one thing is for certain, conference calls help us manage today’s busy world.  www.zipconferencing.com

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