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Phone Conference Call Services

By
Lee Simonson
on June 26, 2010 7:46 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
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Phone conference call services are readily available and can be formatted to suit any budget or communication program.  Here at 24Conferece.com we have a variety of packages and formats that can meet whatever conferencing needs you have.

Take a brief look at these small case studies to see how different services can meet your particular situation:

EXAMPLE:  A small business is looking for a teleconferencing solution to enable 8 colleagues to meet over the phone several times a week for a six month project.  Most will be calling from their cell phones which include free long distance.
SOLUTION:  They chose Flat Rate Teleconferencing because it offered them unlimited usage.  It cost them $39 a month to talk as long as they wanted, whenever they wanted.  The 8 people spoke for several hours a month and they still paid the same flat rate, saving a small fortune.

EXAMPLE:  A sales organization wants to engage experts from different parts of the country to close complicated deals with existing customers and new prospects.  And they want to provide the customers with the convenience of a toll free number to access the conference calls.  They were using a vendor, but costs were adding up and managers wanted to find a way to cut expenses.
SOLUTION:  The 800 Toll Free Supersaver service.  It worked perfectly because they were able to not only provide a toll free number to everyone on the call, but the organization was able to cut their conferencing expenses in half.  Our service provided a "bucket of minutes," similar to how cell phone plans work.  The bundle of toll free minutes is provided at a discounted rate so they were able to accrue a substantial savings while enjoying the benefits of a high quality conference call network.

EXAMPLE:  A non-profit group needed to have ready access to a conference call bridge.  They planned on conferencing a lot one month, but not much the next.  And then, usage was going to pick up again.  They didn't want to commit to a monthly plan and just wanted a "pay as you go" service.
SOLUTION:  The 800 "Pay As You Go" Service which is open 24/7 and need no reservations.  Moreover, they were only charged for what they used, no more or less.  If they didn't use conferencing for weeks or months, they were never billed.

EXAMPLE:  A high end conference was being scheduled by a law firm.  The legal firm wanted to have professional operators initiate the call.  They wanted the operators to call each participant and then put them into the call after introducing them to everyone in the conference.
SOLUTION:  Our Operator Conference Call service called out to each party on their list at the appointed time, so the participants only had to pick up the phone.  Operator assisted calls provide the highest level of convenience and professionalism and perfect for legal firm conference calls and investor relations.

Those are only a few example case studies we see everyday.  Whatever your particular conferencing need is, just give us a call and we'll do our best to make sure you are getting the best conference service at the lowest competitive rates.

Annoying Ads on Conference Calls

By
Lee Simonson
on February 19, 2010 8:18 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
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Annoying advertisements on conference calls can be intrusive.  That's why we refrain from the practice.  In fact, we think the whole idea of placing advertisements on conference calls is very inappropriate -- especially if you are using a conference call service for prospecting and sales, or customer support.

These ads are used to generate revenue for conference call companies that offer their services for free or next to nothing.  They probably think that it's a small price to pay for free conferencing, and just like television advertising, it goes with the territory.  For casual or personal use, most people can probably get along with it.

However, for professional purposes, it looks bad.  So if you are in charge of conferencing for your business, and your colleagues are using conferencing for sales, marketing, training, or customer support services, you are well advised to find yourself a conference company -- like us -- who can offer you phone conference call services that do not have those annoying ads becoming a nuisance to you and your customers.  Give us a call, and let us show you how a professional conference call service can improve the way you do business.

Conference Call Quality Important

By
Lee Simonson
on September 23, 2009 5:03 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
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There are a great number of conference call providers out there using all sorts of conference call equipment and hardware.  Some of it is good, and some of it is better, and as the old story goes, you get what you pay for.  To be sure, we use the best hardware on the market today and go that extra mile, and expense, to make sure you access the highest quality conference bridge hardware.  Fortunately, outages and breakdowns are rare.

That being said, there are several ways you can help improve the quality of your calls.  Remember, a conference bridge is just going to relay any sound it hears.  The technology is called full digital duplex, meaning that the conference bridge will pick up two or three, or even a hundred, people talking at once.  It doesn't isolate individual speakers or clip people off.  So whatever kind of background noises you hear on the conference call are coming from the participants phones -- fire sirens, dogs barking, kids screaming, etc.

Moderators have the ability to mute everyone on the call, except for those who call in using the host passcode.  That feature can be very useful, especially if you are formatting a call to a lot of people listening to just a few people.  For example, let's say you have a call where 3 people are going to be doing most of the talking.  Well, those 3 people can call into the conference using the Moderator (or Host) passcode.  When you're ready to mute everyone on the call, except the moderators, just press your command on the keypad and you instantly eliminate the background noise or bad connection.

This can be annoying when someone, for example, calls from a cell phone and has a bad connection.  The noises from that bad connection will echo throughout the conference.  So you want to encourage as many participants as possible to call from a solid landline phone, or at least call from a cell phone that is in a good transmitting and reception location.

Also, remember if you are using a speaker phone to call into the conference, that many of the speaker phones are NOT full digital duplex and will cut off speakers if someone else is talking.  That can also cause some problems, in addition to the fact they will pick all the background noise in a room.  Make sure things are quiet.  If you happen to find yourself in a conference call with bad quality, the first thing you should do is to hang up and try to get a better phone connection.  And/or have others do the same thing.  That usually, and easily, solves most of the problems.

Competitive Bidding for Corporate Conference Call Services

By
Lee Simonson
on July 10, 2009 8:04 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
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Starting to put your bid package together for your corporate conference call services?  Be sure to include us on your bid list.  Our mailing address:  24Conference.com, 504 Morgan Drive, Lewiston, NY  14092.  In the fast changing conferencing world, it's always good to rebid services every couple of years.

Technology and the playing field is always changing, and chances are, you'll be able to get better service at a lower price by conference call services bidding.  In fact, because of new technology and billing plans, your specs may not reflect the latest developments.  In other words, your specs may not include some of the biggest advantages you can accrue.  For example, most corporations mistakenly ask for "per minute" pricing on their bid sheets.  That's fine, but why not solicit flat rates for unlimited usage as well?  For larger users, the days of per minute pricing are long gone.  Companies converting to flat rate billing have seen dramatic reduction in their conference costs.  So just don't blow the dust off the old bidding specs.  Do a little homework and write your specs to reflect the latest advances.  That way, you'll be able to cut costs, improve services and take advantage of the stiff competition that exists in today's conferencing industry.

4 Way Calling, 5 Way Calling, 6 Way Calling

By
Lee Simonson
on August 24, 2008 8:58 AM | | TrackBacks (0)
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Most people have 3 way calling installed with their local phone or cell service, and it's pretty easy to figure out.

But what about a 4 way, or 5 way or 6 way call?  Well, a group of people can all use their 3 way calling and create a "daisy chain" to get several people on the call at once.  However, the quality of the call deteriorates rapidly and the first person will hardly be able to hear the fifth person in the chain.

So, if you are business or non-profit, your best bet is to use an unlimited 24/7 flat rate service that gives you access for up to 5 lines for less than $20 per month.  If you are an occasional user, then just get the per minute plan with pay as you go phone conferencing.  You can't lose, and your colleagues and contacts will be much happier and thankful they can actually hear each other.  It's the best "way" to go!

For conference service for up to 5 and 10 people, click here:

For pay as you go conference services, click here;


New Business Jargon and Buzz Words - Huh?

By
Lee Simonson
on May 15, 2008 7:18 PM | | TrackBacks (0)
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If there is anything that makes us laugh hysterically in the office, it's how the marketing folks describe their businesses.  We have no idea who comes up with this stuff and takes it seriously, but we're either living on another planet, or they are.  Here is an example of the business jargon that we find quite entertaining.

When we're asked what business we're in, we say, "We're in the phone conference call business."

But some folks in the industry would answer the same question by saying, "We specialize in automated mission critical collaboration processes that enhance enterprise productivity, help integrate project applications, and enable superior efficiencies, while providing communication platforms that service priority constituent groups in the new global economy."

Huh?  We don't know if you buy into that kind of "spin," but we're sorry...  conference calls are conference calls.  Our business qualifications are as good, if not better, than the folks who run the other companies and we're not intimidated.  However, we do get a big kick and enjoy seeing how business writers create and use the new buzz words.

Another phrase that's making the rounds these days is "in the cloud" technology.  When we first heard it, we didn't know quite what to make of it.  Suffice it to say, it's software that you can access on the Internet.  In other words, it's "out there" or "in the cloud" somewhere, and not located on your computer's hard drive.  We've offered "in the cloud" services for years such as our electronic invoicing and voice broadcasting -- we just didn't know it!

Around here, we enjoy keeping things simple.  We enjoy speaking in English.  And we enjoy telling people "we're in the conference call business."  So far, no matter how big or small, our customers prefer that approach -- and we do too.
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