Posted by Laurus Nobilis on April 8, 2009 under Sales Force | 
The demand for companies to hold a conference call is on the rise. This increase in demand is largely due to the large number of employees who telecommute or work form home. Many companies also have staff at different locations and scheduling a regular meeting where everyone can be present is almost impossible. Holding a conferencing call is the perfect solution to this issue.
There are many different methods used for holding a conference call. Of course, you could just have all of the people involved dial the number of the person chairing the meeting, but this can prove extremely expensive – especially if attendees are in different areas of the country or even the world. The answer is to use a conferencing call service.
Conference call services are extremely simple to use. You do not need a special phone to participate, although one with a speaker facility is far more comfortable for the arm! The organizer of the meeting contacts one of the conferencing call service providers and schedules the date and time of the meeting. All participants are then sent an invitation with a unique number that they can use to dial in to the meeting. It really is as simple as that. The hosting company is responsible for all of the technical work involved in bridging all of the attendees into one conference call flawlessly.
The cost of this type of basic conferencing call has been reduced significantly and you may expect to pay $100 for a 5-person conference that lasts 30 minutes. If your company is going to hold a regular conference call, for weekly progress reports for example, then there are monthly flat rate services available. These can be as low as $30 per month. The added benefit of this service is that you are often allocated a toll-free number for your regular conferencing call – reducing the cost further.
The cheapest type of conferencing call is one that has been booked in advance. This gives the hosting company more time to set up the bridging service. However, the fluid nature of business today means that a conference call may be required at the last minute. There are a number of services that provide this immediate conferencing call service. The prices vary greatly, depending on the timing and number of attendees required.
Most conferencing call requests are simply to have a number of participants able to connect into a meeting. There is usually no need for any operator assistance as the attendees dial in to the conference call and the rest is left to them. This works very well for the majority of audio conferencing, but there are certain occasions where additional services are required. This type of operator assisted conferencing call requires much higher fees. If a company is holding an important conference call with potential clients, for example, it may be in their best interests to have this additional help to ensure that the call goes smoothly, leaving the participants free to negotiate rather than worry about the phone call itself.
John Furnem is a dot com veteran, specializing in human resources and work psychology he has written articles about stress management and business themes. John currently writes Conference Calls tips and advice articles.
Posted by Laurus Nobilis on under Sales Force |
I have worked for large company for several years and have been on more conference calls, tele-seminars, and tele-training calls than I can remember. Those experiences have led me to develop a list of “Conference Call Tips and Etiquette” that can help make conference calls more pleasant, run smoother, and help avoid embarrassment. I’m sure the list I’ve put together isn’t all inclusive but it does cover the major things I have experienced or learned about during the course of all those calls I’ve been on.
– Find a quiet place. Background noise will be heard on the call and it can be very distracting to other participants. If you are at home and have small children playing nearby or have a noisy dog, try to find the quietest part of your house. The other participants on the call will appreciate it. If it is not possible to be away from the noise, mute your phone whenever you are not talking. Pressing *6 will mute most phones.
– Avoid Using A Cell Phone. Try to avoid calling into a conference call from a cell phone whenever possible. Cell phones add tremendous background noise to a conference call. If a cell phone is your only choice, muting the cell phone is a necessity whenever you are not speaking. Also, make sure you are not driving when you are on you the call.
– Be on time for the call. Don’t get on the call late and expect someone to catch you up with what is going on while everyone else waits. It is rude and disrespectful to the other participants to not be on time. It gives them the impression that your time is more important than theirs.
– Don’t Use The Hold Button. Do not put the conference call on hold if your phone has hold music or those annoying beeps that sound every few seconds. To say it is a huge interruption and distraction for everyone else on the call is an understatement. I was once on a conference call for training on a new software product our company was introducing. Someone else put the call on hold for nearly 20 minutes and we ended up listening to her hold music for the entire time. If you have to leave a conference call for any period of time, hang up the phone and call back in when you are ready to rejoin.
– Be Cautious With Cordless Phones. If you are joining a conference call from a cordless phone make sure the phone does not have a lot of static background noise. Usually static background noise starts when you start to get out of range of the phone base or is you get near another device that interferes with phone such as some small electric appliances and answering machines.
– Avoid Shuffling Papers. One very annoying thing that some people do on a conference call is shuffle papers. It sounds very loud on the phone. Other small potentially noisy habits to avoid are : continually clearing your throat, tapping your pencil, drumming your fingers on the desk, etc.
– Be Aware Of Whether Or Not Your Phone Is On Mute. If you do put your phone on mute while on a conference call, and it is always a good idea to do so whenever you are not talking, remember to take it back off mute when you talk. Likewise remember to put it back on mute when you are finished. Nearly everyone who has been on conference calls regularly can recount at least one memory of someone forgetting to put their phone back on mute and then saying something that was definitely not intended for the ears of the other conference call participants, such as a negative remark about something relating to the call or another person on the call.
– Be Polite. Do not try to talk over another person on the call even if you feel you have a very important point to cover. It is in bad taste to do so and will result in everyone else on the call not being able to understand what you or the other person is saying. Be patient; wait until the other person has finished; and then talk.
Following the above tips can help make conference calls more successful, and more importantly, take up the least amount of time possible so you can get to 1,000 other tasks you have to accomplish like taking a time management course! But that’s another story.
D Ruplinger is a featured writer for http://www.conferencering.com. For more information about conference calls visit http://www.conferencering.com.
Posted by Laurus Nobilis on under Sales Force |
Conference calling is one of the best business solutions to conduct a meeting over the telephone, in which more than three persons can participate to share some points. Or in other words, it is a means of communicating with more than one person simultaneously, without actually being physically present at a designated place. Conference calling offers mainly three modes for communication, i.e., audio, video, and web based conference calls. It is obvious that these conference calls eliminate a major cost for the companies, and therefore, are very much advantageous for the organizations. Some of the advantages offered by these conference calls are:
Cost Effective Process: Though the fee for availing the service varies with service providers, yet conference call is a much economical option to conduct a virtual meeting and to convey the message to the people concerned. Because in conducting a meeting with the conventional processes, a lot of travel expenses and hotel accommodation expenses are involved; whereas in case of conference calling, nothing of that sort is required.
Time saving process: It is as easy as thinking of talking to some persons and you can make a conference call immediately. Usually it is very good option for conferences that are called on very short notices. It also does not involve any loss of work and the message can be conveyed at a faster pace.
Helps in relation building: It is sometimes difficult for a business to conduct meetings for every segment of employees at regular intervals, which may lead to some misconceptions among employees and they may feel neglected. However, conference calling can eliminate such situations and helps in building good employer-employee relationship.
Simple and easily accessible: The service provider links the persons to be involved in a conference call and the persons do not need to have any special equipment for the same, as it simply linked with the ordinary phone or mobile phone. The person conducting a conference call is facilitated with a speaker, so that all persons involved must be heard at that point. The other persons can talk with the main conductor from their places.
Facilitate Data transfer: Audio conference calling is limited only to transfer instructions or views verbally; but via video conferencing, it is possible to transfer presentations or data to all the persons. With this service there will be no mistakes in sending and receiving instructions, as if there is any, one can clear it immediately and correct it.
Distance is not a problem: With the help of conference calling, the limitations of distance can be eliminated, as it can be used for talking to persons anywhere around the globe. That is why it is most commonly used by small as well as big business houses for communication purposes.
From the above advantages that conference calling provide, we can easily gauge the importance that they hold for any business model and organization setup—they are indispensable!
Max Stephen is the author of this Conference Call article and the webmaster of http://www.call-conference-services.com
Posted by Laurus Nobilis on under Sales Force |
Conference calls are not a new thing, I can still remember that conference calls were held fifteen or maybe twenty years ago, but the main difference then was that this was something special, that an event has occurred that required a conference call, just the way you learned of an upcoming conference call would make you nervous.
Today things have changed significantly as conference calls are used on everyday basis not only by businesses and company managers but also by the general public and individual people. The reason that conference calls have become so wide spread is that it has become more available for people to communicate this way, conference calls rates are down and the public pays less for them, this makes conference calls a very powerful tool to use in business and marketing.
The main power of the conference call is to bring a detailed presentation of a service or even a product to a potential costumer, this is usually a situation where one company offers its services to another company, a demonstration can be synchronized with a conference call in a way that the people who are in the call will get the information and answers immediately from the people who are directly responsible for the actions they are viewing.
The conference call is particularly efficient when it comes to online services or internet services, since this is a computer based service you can have all the people involved in front of a computer screen and upload a certain program that is tailor made for that costumer needs, once the program is running you can walk the listeners through the complete process of the software and involve other experts on your part to further explain the benefits of the product.
The great advantage of the conference call is that unlike the usual “cold call” you will be able to form a relationship with a few of the people working for the other company, you can try and locate a person that you will find more cooperation with within that group and you could also control the way you make your sales by having a few of your manager on the line to make sure that the presentation is done according to the general plan that you had.
The development of the conference calls has also created a large product market, special conference phone products and companies that give full support for conference calling can be found on the market and they supply companies as well as individuals with all the services needed to conduct conference calls on a regular basis, this has led to the increase of non business related conference calls.
The latest way to use conference calls is to form social connections, for meeting other people and having the opportunity of an open discussion, this is a simple way of using this advanced idea in order to expand a phone call into a large meeting room in which people can wonder around and meet new and exciting people by phone.
John Furnem is a dot com veteran, specializing in human resources and work psychology he has written articles about stress management and business themes. John currently writes Conference Calling tips and advice at http://conferencecallit.com
Posted by Laurus Nobilis on under Sales Force |
There is a great misconception about telemarketing. Say that word and people conjure images of having their day interrupted by machine-like individuals only interested in making a sale. This image is why so many have refused to list their number or have even gone as far to put themselves on a ‘no-call’ sheet. Is this wrong?
Yes and no.
There are, of course, going to be times when you do not want to chat with a persistent telemarketer. Everyone has received that long call during dinner, after having to deal with hard hours at work. When you want to relax, listening to a sales pitch is not the idea that comes to mind. So, yes, you give an abrupt goodbye or just forgo that formality all-together and hang up.
But… is this right? Should you simply refuse to listen to a telemarketer? Many would give a resounding “Yes!”. That is too hasty an answer, however. Sometimes, you have to listen to what is being offered–it may just be something you need.
Telemarketing, as an idea, works. It is the execution that people object to. That does not change the fact, however, that products and services (that you may need) are being offered. Yes, talking on the phone can be a hassle and, yes, you are not going to always be up for it. This should not force you into a phone-seclusion, though. Telemarketing could be a way for you to discover products that you would have otherwise never known about it. You may find things that quickly rise to the position of ‘essential’ just from listening to a salesperson.
This does not mean that you have to answer the phone each time, and it certainly doesn’t mean that you have to listen to every pitch. But you should not be so fast to condemn a service that you just might use.
So when do you take the call? That depends on your schedule: if you work all day, you may not be interested in talking at night. That is understandable. On the weekend, however, you may have more time to actually listen to what is being offered. You should not just dismiss the call if you have a few minutes to spare. People often make that mistake. They decide that no time is the right time, and never bother to pick up the phone. That goes against common sense–you know that there will be products you want. Not all the time, of course, but there will be some. How can you learn about them without having it presented? Oh, yes, you might stumble across it online, but that’s no guarantee. You should be willing to listen if you have time to
do so.
Telemarketing is not the horror people often paint it to be. It is simply a way of letting you in on the latest services and products. You may not always need–or even want–these but you should allow yourself the option of hearing about them. So, do not be too hasty to put yourself on the ‘no-call’ sheet. You may just be missing out on something worth your time.
Richard Cussons is a prolific and diverse writer. You can find out more about telemarketing and lead generation at http://www.lead-generation-expert.com/
