Hosting a teleconference is an excellent way to promote a new service or product. Even the most basic of telephone conference calls can have upwards of 300 people dialing in to listen to anything from quarterly earnings statements to annual reviews. If your teleconference is going to have a larger amount of people, consider having an operated assisted call. The operator can handle the technical details, including introducing the callers and moderating the questions the callers have. Regardless of the exact type of teleconference you will be conducting, there are certain elements that will seal the deal on the call being a success.
Many of the same elements that produce a successful conference call for meetings and for clients are the same for hosting a successful teleconference. You will need to create an agenda, which all participants should have before the call. You will want to have a Q&A session if time permits as well. Participants appreciate having some material that they can print out prior to the call. This gives them a place to take notes and highlights important parts of your presentation. Make sure you schedule a strict start and end time, taking into consideration the different time zones where your participants reside. You want the call to be convenient for everyone. Be on time, in fact be early for your call. Don’t forget to send out reminders to your participants. They live busy lives and things do come up, but the chances of them forgetting about your call will are few if they are given reminders.
There are also some technical aspects that you won’t want to neglect. You will want to prepare and test your equipment before the call. Nothing is more distracting on a teleconference than technical difficulties. Having technical issues will sabotage your agenda and your participants will lose focus. Have a backup plan if something does go wrong. This backup plan can be a rescheduled call or even a pre-recorded call. You want to make sure that your participants are receiving great content for giving their time to attend your call. While conducting your teleconference make sure there is a moderator, have your call transcribed and transferred to an mp3 and set the ground rules for the call. Make sure that you start on time and be enthusiastic.
Follow up after the teleconference is crucial. You will want to provide your attendees with a copy of the call or a transcript. You will want to contact each attendee either via an email or newsletter or even a personal phone call. Show your participants gratitude for the time that they have spent with you during your teleconference. This will increase their trust in you, your product and your business. Showing this personal courtesy will go a long way in retaining your clients.
