Conference calls have become one of the most popular and effective ways of communicating with clients and staff. Several different quality providers exist, each having similar attributes, and it is important to carefully evaluate which provider best fits your needs and budget. When evaluating conference call providers, make note of everything that you need and the situations where you will be using conference calls. Compare your list with what the company offers and make a sound choice. For example, if you are doing a great deal of business overseas, you will want a conference call provider that can handle international calls with several bridges in place. When you decide on your provider and are set up to make your first call, there are a few tips that will aid you in managing your conference call.
Five Tips To Manage Your Conference Call:
- Always use quality equipment. Stay away from cell phones. This is important because cell phones allow for not only background noise, but also dropped calls and interference, which can all disrupt that important phone call.
- If it's your first call, do a test run for sanity and make sure everything is in running order, the join process is as expected and your necessary features are a keystroke away. This dry run will make you feel more comfortable when the time for the live call comes.
- If you are having your call recorded for an mp3 or transcribed for future reference, make sure these services are available with your provider.
- If you are dealing with clients or staff who have not been on a conference call with you before, make sure they have an agenda for the call and an understanding of how they can mute and un-mute themselves.
- If you are dealing with staff, make sure that they have a clear-cut agenda and give them a timeline for the call, and what you expect to accompish during this window.
One of the most important tips in managing your conference call is to be brief and to the point. No one wants to sit on the call any longer than necessary. Even though conference calls have the benefit of allowing people to stay in their office or home to work, the drawback is that very often they will want to multi-task. In order to avoid this, have a clear agenda, stick to it, and keep the call as brief as possible. Having your equipment checked before your call will ensure that you have fewer technical glitches. Combining all of these factors will result in a well-managed conference call, which means that you call will be successful and you will be able to accomplish all that you are looking to accomplish with your call.
