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Conference Call Tips
Conference call tips for teleseminars: making the most out of renting teleconferencing bridge lines
April 10, 2006
By: Alice Osborn
When entrepreneurs choose to make conference calls, or
teleseminars, to sell their products and services to a large
audience, they need to spend some time considering whom they
will rent their conference call bridge lines from. A
conference call bridge is an electronic routing device that
allows the person leading the teleseminar to reach 25, 50 or
100 people and some conference call providers like
TelephoneBridgeServices.com even offer bridges that can
accommodate 1,000 people. In addition, the conference call
providers offer multiple features that enhance the call's
productivity. The following are some conference call tips to
help you, as the teleseminar leader, make the most of out of
your sales calls.
A helpful guide when renting conference bridge lines
- Check fees -- Usually you will be charged an
hourly rate for the conference call, and it is a good idea
for you not to opt for a toll-free calling plan, since it
will be not be cost-effective for you to pay for each
participant's call, since average rates run $0.15 per
minute per conference call participant. You will also need
to determine how often you make conference calls to see if
you need a 24/7 dedicated bridge line or if you only need
the pay-as-you-go option with hourly rentals.
RentABridge.com allows their customers to buy their
hourly rates in bulk, which saves considerable time and
money. Some conference call/bridge line providers also
offer long-term contracts that will also save you money if
you know you will be conducting frequent teleseminars.
- Check the size of the bridge line -- Conference
call providers that offer flexible options for increasing
or decreasing the size of your call are worth
investigating. Find a provider that will allow room for
growth, and has enough bridge lines to hold all of your
call participants, but will not overcharge you when you're
starting out on your teleseminars. Be aware that not every
person who signed up for the call will participate, so
don’t overestimate your number of participants.
- Need security/PIN codes -- It's good business
sense to find a conference call provider who uses PIN
codes after call participants dial the conference call
access number. Just watch for a company that wants to
charge you extra for double security codes that will
require participants to be responsible for more codes,
which may lead to participant frustration. In addition,
companies that offer attendance checks have an operator to
verify if the call participant is on the list. This option
may not be necessary if you go by the honor code of
attendance and don’t want to pay for the extra cost of
having a conference call operator (see below).
- Muting options -- Having this option on the
sender and listener's ends is important for blocking out
background noise and eliminating distractions during your
teleclass. This way, the teleclass leader can mute the
background noise they hear, and the conference call
participants can mute themselves if they need to type on
their keyboard or carry on an outside conversation. There
should also be an option to "unmute" when you want to
conduct a question and answer session.
- Record options -- When you record your
real-time teleseminars, you have another selling
opportunity. It's a good idea to make sure the conference
call provider can turn the recording into MP3 or WAV file
for your website, or they can record the teleseminar on a
CD and/or audiocassette.
- Operated assistance-options -- This is a more
expensive option, but it will be cost-effective if you
conference call has 50 or more participants. With that
many participants, the operator frees your hands and lets
you conduct your teleseminar without worrying about roll
calls, wrap-ups, and general troubleshooting should a
problem occur with the line or with a participant who may
need to be muted or excused from the call.
Rent from the right conference call provider at the
start
By following these tips, you will be well prepared when
conducting your teleseminars/teleclasses and this will
reflect on how your participants and potential clients view
your services. If you run a professional teleconference,
information will flow faster, clients will be exited about
your products and services, and sales should soon follow.
Conference calls do require planning and preparation, but
with the right provider to offer flexible call options and a
variety of services, these sessions will turn into great
reward for your business with little risk.
About the Author
Alice Osborn is a successful freelance writer and
contributor to Audio-Conferencing-Guide.com. Your definitive guide to everything you need to know about
audio driven communications, including audio conferencing,
conference calling services, and VoIP telephony for business
and personal use.
Also See: [
Negotiating
conference call etiquette for more effective meetings
]
[ What is VoIP? Advantages,
disadvantages and benefits of VoIP technology ]
[
Information of teleconferencing & defining what is audio
conferencing ]
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