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Let’s hear it for the benefits of the corporate conference call. It turns out this obvious business solution—long chosen for its ability to eliminate travel expenses—not only slashes meeting costs. The venerable conference call seems to also have the power to reduce lead acquisition costs, speed up decision making, facilitate agreement and encourage group participation. Pretty good for a technology that’s been around over forty years.
Of course, today’s teleconferencing capabilities bear little resemblance to their sonically-challenged ancestors. A corporate conference call today is as crisp and clear as a phone call to the guy in the next office. Sound quality is superb. And the features and amenities have grown to make conferencing the medium of choice for many applications such as Investor Relations.
The type of provider you need depends on the purpose of your "meeting". Although bells and whistles abound, basically there are two kinds of conference calls: operator assisted and reservationless. Operator assisted calls are usually reserved for "event calls," such as earning reports, sales meetings, and other larger scale enterprises that are scheduled in advance. Reservationless conference calls are used for smaller, more impromptu meetings where the services of an operator isn’t required. Because reservationless call services are usually automated they’re available 24/7.
Pricing varies. Unsurprisingly, operator assisted conference calls cost more than reservationless conference calls, which run just pennies a minute. If you’re considering an operator assisted corporate conference call look for the following features:
- Pre-Conferencing services. Make sure you can meet with the operator before the conference to discuss how you want the event to flow.
- Continual monitoring. You want your operator to be there for the whole conference and available anytime you need assistance
- Q&A and Polling services. Many conference call providers question and answer sessions and/or polling sessions during or after a conference call. Participants respond on their keypads.
- Operator introduction. On an operator assisted call the operator should introduce the speakers and check off participants’ names, phone numbers and company affiliations from a prescribed list
Toll-free reservationless conference calls also offer features and amenities to make the "meeting" more pleasant and more effective. Ask about:
- Music-On-Hold. Guests listen to music until the host joins the call.
- Name announcement. Depending on the size of the participants names can be announced upon entering or leaving the conference
- Roll Call at anytime
- Conference lock. Lets you block latecomers and/or unwanted callers
- Mute. Lets you instantly switch from interactive to lecture mode
The bottom line: if you’re planning on integrating the efficiencies of corporate conference calling into your business, it pays make sure your provider offers all the features that make conference calling such an effective tool. Get us much information as possible. Call us today to learn about our corporate conference call products and services.
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