Two years ago, flat rate conference call was nothing but a pipe dream. Today, it is a reality. In fact, an increasing number of companies are providing flat rate services since the competition is more fierce than ever before. As a customer, this provides some great advantages for you.
The Internet has brought all of us a variety of great benefits. It has become a new form of media that rivals television. Advertising on the Internet is now a must for business owners who want to run successful advertising campaigns.
The opportunities for doing business with people all over the world in ways no one thought was possible is one of the greatest benefits. It brings people closer together. The Internet allows us to connect to people in other countries as if they were our next door neighbors.
In this article, I am going to help you explore the many ways in which we are able to connect to other people on the web and how that interconnectivity can be used to help your business save time and money.
Early communication on the web was mostly by email. People sent emails back and forth with people around the world. Then along came the chatrooms where people could chat in real-time. The instant messengers also came along to offer real-time chat and millions of people began chatting to each other daily across the world.
However, instant messengers, chatrooms, and email are not exactly the communications solutions business owners needed. Conference calling over the Internet provides that solution like nothing else can.
Conference calling is a very broad term though. It is used to describe a variety of services that all qualify as conference calling, but not all are equal. There are a lot of different options and choices to make when choosing conference calling for your business.
This can save your company a fortune in travel and accommodations for meetings that can be held online instead of the more expensive method of traveling to destinations and holding meetings in person. Also time is a huge factor. Your need for a meeting may be urgent. You may have no time to make travel arrangements to hold that meeting. Conference call meetings can be set up on the fly.
There are monthly services that range from connecting a few people several times per month for as low as $30 per month, to medium range services that connect more people for $80 to $100 per month, to services that connect a lot of people for regular meetings for $150 per month and above.
It all depends on your needs. The best conference call services offer a variety of plans to help you choose the one that is right for your business. Some have live operators to facilitate calls. Some guarantee your sound quality, some dont.
Some conference calling plans include the ability to schedule regular meetings each week or each month, where it automatically calls all of the participants at the right time to join them into the meeting.
Many companies hold daily staff meetings by conference call. If your business has many locations across the country or worldwide, then you need to consider how much time and money conference calling can save your company.
Do not just consider price as the deciding factor for choosing a conference calling service. Remember how much conference calling is saving you and your company. I am not saying you must get the most expensive service out there, but you need to consider all of the options the different services have to offer.
For instance, a live operator to connect the calls can save you a lot of time and hassle. If there are problems connecting or with the audio or video feed, there is someone that can fix the problem without you having to cancel an important meeting.
Audio and video quality are huge items to consider. The better your audio and/or video feed will be the difference between a successful meeting or a miserable one.
The ability to set up a conference call meeting on the fly is another important option to consider. It is very convenient to be able to call a meeting wheneve3r you think one is needed VS using a conference calling service that only allows you a set schedule you give them each month.
The bottom line is this; Decide what your needs are. Decide which meetings can be held online VS being there in person. Once you establish your needs, then shop around and look at the various options that are available from conference call providers, before you make your decision.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
More international conference call
If you are about to close a big deal, but don't want to hop on an airplane to get the job done, and international conference call might be the perfect solution for you. Here's a few pointers to help get you started.
So you’re in business. Whether it is micro, small, medium, or enterprise; you know the one key element you need to succeed in your business … sales.
Now, you have studied and learned many practices on succeeding in your arena, but there may be something still overlooked. You most undoubtedly have strained to learn every technique possible to gain the competitive advantage for ultimate return on your investment. What you may be missing out on is what you use to communicate during your sales process, more specifically; what communication products you currently use to implement your suave techniques of sale persuasion.
Recently a client in Florida phoned me requesting a way to consult with a large potential client and his peers overseas in Africa via telephone. He was a well traveled business man and was used to flying over to leads himself, but he thought he might try something new, something with less overhead; after all, it was still just a potential client. Well that request was a no brainer for me when I talked to him. I automatically suggested conference calling.
He was a little skeptical of using conference calling in place of face to face until I mentioned one of the conference calling services we offered. Being he had many international business leads and clients I mentioned CogniConference which offers toll-free conference calling from over 50 countries. He saw the opportunity the service presented and signed up right after we hung up with one another.
It was only two weeks later that he called our office to rave how wonderful the service was, and how if it wasn’t for the international conference calling he would have never closed the Africa based client, a 4.5 million dollar deal! Expenses totaled under $200.00, a fraction of the cost of just one plane ticket alone.
How exactly did conference calling help save the day? Well, beyond increasing ROI and reducing CPL (Cost Per Lead) by saving on travel and lodging expenses, he leveraged a telecommunications product to warm up his potential client that ultimately closed the multi million dollar deal. He showed them that they were important enough to be given a free way to discuss business with his company across the entire globe. Needless to say, to this day he uses conference calling for his international leads.
Not in all cases, but in many, it is the options your leads and clients have to contact you that can make or break the initial beginning of a sales process. To convey you care about your client and not just their business may not always be as simple as using a communications service, but there are many services out there that can provide the additional morale boost and incentive your clients may need to get into their comfort buying zone.
An example where you might not want to offer toll free conferencing might be if your business is MLM or Network Marketing. Example: Perhaps your offer is good and was advertised well .You might not be interested in paying more money just for the curious. In other words you might want to only attract the “serious ready to go” individuals. The use of a non toll free conferencing solution might make the better option. You’re saying to your leads, “I am giving you an opportunity to learn more about this offer in a group environment, but I need to see your level of dedication.” That level of dedication being the willingness to pay a little out of their own pocket to learn more about your opportunity. It can be a great prescreening tool on who will be effective in the future for your marketing team.
All in all, information is key in virtually all sales processes. Conference calling gives you the ability to get all of your knowledgeable personnel in on the sales call to get questions answered at the most vital point of contact. You may only get one chance to prove your case to win over that client and the voice conversation is your biggest chance over most any other method to win that prized sale. The personal approach is a big winner, ask any successful salesperson and they will agree.
Conferencing is the one tool specified in this article, but of course, it isn’t the one and only solution. You might just need an unlimited long distance calling plan to do cold calling. Maybe you need a catchy 800 number for advertising and taking in leads. Perhaps you need toll free forwarding to spare your potential client the hassle of leaving a message and playing phone tag. Whatever it is, you might just realize that telecommunications is very much apart of your selling process as is your breath to carry your voice. Be creative in meeting the needs of those who may become your customers as well as in reducing the costs to do so.
In closing, the lesson is very general here aside from conference calling benefits. How do you want your company viewed in the eyes of your future clients? Whether it’s how you’re dressed or what joke you use, be thoughtful of customers needs in advance and plan ahead to leverage your selling power, because as you already know … selling is business.
This article was written by Aaron Siegel of TopSavings.Net which provides online consultive services for communications for home and business.
So you’re in business. Whether it is micro, small, medium, or enterprise; you know the one key element you need to succeed in your business … sales.
Now, you have studied and learned many practices on succeeding in your arena, but there may be something still overlooked. You most undoubtedly have strained to learn every technique possible to gain the competitive advantage for ultimate return on your investment. What you may be missing out on is what you use to communicate during your sales process, more specifically; what communication products you currently use to implement your suave techniques of sale persuasion.
Recently a client in Florida phoned me requesting a way to consult with a large potential client and his peers overseas in Africa via telephone. He was a well traveled business man and was used to flying over to leads himself, but he thought he might try something new, something with less overhead; after all, it was still just a potential client. Well that request was a no brainer for me when I talked to him. I automatically suggested conference calling.
He was a little skeptical of using conference calling in place of face to face until I mentioned one of the conference calling services we offered. Being he had many international business leads and clients I mentioned CogniConference which offers toll-free conference calling from over 50 countries. He saw the opportunity the service presented and signed up right after we hung up with one another.
It was only two weeks later that he called our office to rave how wonderful the service was, and how if it wasn’t for the international conference calling he would have never closed the Africa based client, a 4.5 million dollar deal! Expenses totaled under $200.00, a fraction of the cost of just one plane ticket alone.
How exactly did conference calling help save the day? Well, beyond increasing ROI and reducing CPL (Cost Per Lead) by saving on travel and lodging expenses, he leveraged a telecommunications product to warm up his potential client that ultimately closed the multi million dollar deal. He showed them that they were important enough to be given a free way to discuss business with his company across the entire globe. Needless to say, to this day he uses conference calling for his international leads.
Not in all cases, but in many, it is the options your leads and clients have to contact you that can make or break the initial beginning of a sales process. To convey you care about your client and not just their business may not always be as simple as using a communications service, but there are many services out there that can provide the additional morale boost and incentive your clients may need to get into their comfort buying zone.
An example where you might not want to offer toll free conferencing might be if your business is MLM or Network Marketing. Example: Perhaps your offer is good and was advertised well .You might not be interested in paying more money just for the curious. In other words you might want to only attract the “serious ready to go” individuals. The use of a non toll free conferencing solution might make the better option. You’re saying to your leads, “I am giving you an opportunity to learn more about this offer in a group environment, but I need to see your level of dedication.” That level of dedication being the willingness to pay a little out of their own pocket to learn more about your opportunity. It can be a great prescreening tool on who will be effective in the future for your marketing team.
All in all, information is key in virtually all sales processes. Conference calling gives you the ability to get all of your knowledgeable personnel in on the sales call to get questions answered at the most vital point of contact. You may only get one chance to prove your case to win over that client and the voice conversation is your biggest chance over most any other method to win that prized sale. The personal approach is a big winner, ask any successful salesperson and they will agree.
Conferencing is the one tool specified in this article, but of course, it isn’t the one and only solution. You might just need an unlimited long distance calling plan to do cold calling. Maybe you need a catchy 800 number for advertising and taking in leads. Perhaps you need toll free forwarding to spare your potential client the hassle of leaving a message and playing phone tag. Whatever it is, you might just realize that telecommunications is very much apart of your selling process as is your breath to carry your voice. Be creative in meeting the needs of those who may become your customers as well as in reducing the costs to do so.
In closing, the lesson is very general here aside from conference calling benefits. How do you want your company viewed in the eyes of your future clients? Whether it’s how you’re dressed or what joke you use, be thoughtful of customers needs in advance and plan ahead to leverage your selling power, because as you already know … selling is business.
This article was written by Aaron Siegel of TopSavings.Net which provides online consultive services for communications for home and business.
More conference call service
With the flood of conference call service companies that have entered the market recently, the competition is fierce! Everyone is trying to sway you to use their services for your next event. While it is true that conference call services can save you a lot of time and money, there are several things to consider.
Conference calls have become the new way to have conversations with more than one person at a time when needed. Conference calls pricing, however, can range from a small amount for three-way calling to a large amount for adding in phone lines that can be connected to each other for conference calls.
Many businesses require conference calls to make sure that things are running smoothly, while some people would simply like them so they can talk to their loved ones at the same time. Certain companies now contain conference call plans in their standard offers.
The top three affordable conference calls companies in conference call plans today are TeleCHOICE, Global Conference and conference bridges. These three companies offer competitive prices for people who need to add the ability to add a conference call to their current plans.
Typically, phone companies offer three-way calling with a connection fee of seventy-five cents to connect the third person to the initial conversation. While this doesn’t sound that expensive, if either of the parties you call are long distance, this can add quite a bit to your bill.
TeleCHOICE offers affordable conference calls for six cents a minute, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This can greatly lessen the costs of adding another person to your conversations, and adds the fun of being able to talk about things together in a group. Global Conference and conference bridges offer the ease of conference calling with a promise that your contract with them is not a binding one and you will be able to cancel your plan at any time.
Instead of having to call one person to talk, then another, and another, using a conference call will help cut down on the amount of time that you’re on the telephone. Using a conference call will also cost less in the end, especially if the people you want to call are all long distance or internationally located.
If you have loved ones overseas due to the military or a job and you have family who are local that would like to speak with them as well, a conference call can make everything easier. You or your loved one can make the initial call and then you can connect everyone else via a conference call. It will make things more time and cost efficient in the end.
Conference calls have become the new way to have conversations with more than one person at a time when needed. Conference calls pricing, however, can range from a small amount for three-way calling to a large amount for adding in phone lines that can be connected to each other for conference calls.
Many businesses require conference calls to make sure that things are running smoothly, while some people would simply like them so they can talk to their loved ones at the same time. Certain companies now contain conference call plans in their standard offers.
The top three affordable conference calls companies in conference call plans today are TeleCHOICE, Global Conference and conference bridges. These three companies offer competitive prices for people who need to add the ability to add a conference call to their current plans.
Typically, phone companies offer three-way calling with a connection fee of seventy-five cents to connect the third person to the initial conversation. While this doesn’t sound that expensive, if either of the parties you call are long distance, this can add quite a bit to your bill.
TeleCHOICE offers affordable conference calls for six cents a minute, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This can greatly lessen the costs of adding another person to your conversations, and adds the fun of being able to talk about things together in a group. Global Conference and conference bridges offer the ease of conference calling with a promise that your contract with them is not a binding one and you will be able to cancel your plan at any time.
Instead of having to call one person to talk, then another, and another, using a conference call will help cut down on the amount of time that you’re on the telephone. Using a conference call will also cost less in the end, especially if the people you want to call are all long distance or internationally located.
If you have loved ones overseas due to the military or a job and you have family who are local that would like to speak with them as well, a conference call can make everything easier. You or your loved one can make the initial call and then you can connect everyone else via a conference call. It will make things more time and cost efficient in the end.
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