Add Some Show to your Tell

It’s Wednesday morning and you’re at it again. Calling prospects, following up
leads and doing the sales and marketing two-step.

This time, though, you are actually sensing interest from the person on the
other end of the line. They’re asking questions, probing deeper into your
offer. Great! You can’t wait to get to their office and show them your proposal
in person — but wait.

Why waste all that momentum? Instead, convert the ‘tell’ to a
‘show and tell’ by inviting your prospect to an immediate online
meeting where you can educate them visually, as well as vocally.

If you don’t know how to use online meeting software, not to worry. Simply
find yourself a 30-day free trial and get to work learning how to use it. Lots of
products promise to save you time and money, but, in my opinion, the online
meeting really delivers on that promise.

The Value of Extra Time

Let’s say, instead of driving across town to meet with clients
or colleagues, you could take the meeting, get through the agenda and accomplish
your tasks all from the comfort of your office.   All that and you have an extra 1
to 2 hours of time in your day.   We won’t even talk about the savings in
frustration or even aggravation from having to get in your car, negotiate
traffic, find a parking spot … you get my meaning.

What’s the value of that extra time?    It could be that you’d simply get more work done that day.  Maybe it would free up a spot to fit in that workout you’ve been meaning to do.   Or
perhaps allow you to knock off early and spend some time with the kids.

Using online meetings lets me do all that, all the time.   I can meet with my virtual
assistant, explain what I need her to do, show her the documents in question and
answer all her questions, in real time, without having to leave my office.   Did I
mention my VA is located about 10 hours’ drive from me?

Online meetings let me work closely with my assistant who lives in another part of the country.   Just another benefit of the technology!

Goal Achievement Cheat Sheet

You’ve probably heard about this before, but here’s a little reminder.

The following steps will spur you on to faster and more efficient goal

achievement.

1.  Be clear.  Determine specifically what you want.

2.  Reduce it to writing.  Include the details.

3. If you have a large goal, break it into manageable chunks.   Set a deadline.

4. List everything that comes to mind that you’ll have to do to achieve your goal.

5. Prioritize the list you made in number 4 above.  This is your plan of action.

6. Do something right away to take action the most important thing in your plan.   I can’t overstate the importance of this!

7.  Each day, do something that moves you toward the attainment of one or more of your important goals.Keep that ball  rolling.

Web Based Conferencing Saves the Day!

Last week I was talking with a colleague who used web based conferencing to stay in touch with out-of-state clients. She finds web based conferencing saves time and money by avoiding travel. She also finds it helps her stay in touch with clients better than just a phone call.

She told me a story of how web based conferencing saved the day, even with an in-state client who was only a few hours away by car. Seems after a long rainy spell the river that goes through her client’s city flooded the downtown area. My colleague literally could not get across the river to visit with her client. At stake was a high-dollar contract that had to be worked out right away.

Not to worry! My colleague used her web based conferencing subscription to work through the contract with her client in real time, just as though they were sitting together in a meeting room.

These days, web based conferencing can even be accomplished via your WIFI enabled iPhone or Blackberry. Fuze Meeting lets you host and attend web conferences, view multimedia content in real time, plus chat with co-workers and friends – all with enterprise-grade security — and the iPhone and Blackberry apps are free!

Tips For Effective Web Conferencing

Today I interviewed Susan Grey. Susan is a web conferencing pro, having held a web conference a week for the last 52 weeks! Following are her tips:

Conducting a web conference is not different than conducting a face-to-face meeting when it comes to presenting the material. The strategy of interaction will be different. The biggest difference is that you can’t see them in person sometimes. And, even if you can “see” them, it’s through a webcam, which is very different than being in the same room.

There are a couple of things that you will need to know in order to conduct a web conference. These are the vendor or host, content, features and cost. When looking at a vendor you need to make sure that you’re going with a vendor that is going to be in a position to grow with your business but that is not so far advanced that people without the newest technology won’t be able to get on.

You want to make certain that your web meeting is understandable to anyone that may be in your target group. For example, if you do a web meeting on the newest technological features of a network application you’re going to have clients with a different level of technology than if you are delivering a web meeting on a way to effectively cook a five-course meal and still maintain an off-the-cuff entertainment atmosphere. In one instance you are working with technical know-how folk who might have access to the newest in computers. In the other you are working with people who may be normal home users and is going to be working with older equipment.

Features like instant messaging or the ability to use a whiteboard also need to be considered. Considering if you want to incorporate these from your vendor or use separate services is something to look into when deciding the way to conduct your web conference.

The content is the most important aspect of your web conference. You need your content to be informative, to flow from topic to topic in a smooth and related way. The meeting should be designed for your target market and be done in a way that engages your audience. Web meetings are more interesting if they are interactive so you may want to include time for questions.

Vendors all have alternative ways of pricing and you should think about which option is going to give you the most features at the least cost. Typically, web conferences are far less expensive than face-to-face meetings.

So there you have it! Tips from an expert. Want to try your hand at holding a web conference? Try a free trial of GoToMeeting.

How Green Is Your Business?

Want to do your part to help the planet? Take your next meeting online.

By reducing your travel miles, you will greatly reduce your carbon footprint:

Consider that, on average:

• A full size car (18 – 29 mpg) emits 12,000 pounds of CO2 yearly.
• An SUV (10 – 18 mpg) emits 20,000 pounds of CO2 yearly.
• A roundtrip flight between NYC and LA emits 2,000 pounds of CO2.

Try a free trial of GoToMeeting. Do something good for Mother Earth!

Small Lawfirms Benefit From Online Meetings

Web conferencing is a playing-field leveler for the small to medium law firm.  Online conferencing lets you visually interact with your clients in real time,  without the huge investment in a videoconferencing system and more office space for the system.
You don’t need to be a “computer geek” or have an IT department to hold a “webinar” or an online meeting.  All you need is your computer, a webcam, and an online meeting provider.  You can meet with your clients in real time, share documents with them, make changes to the documents and answer their questions over a secure phone line, for as little as $39.00 per month.
The best online meeting providers offer easy to understand tutorials and risk-free trials to help you take advantage of all online meetings have to offer.

One CEO’s Take on Net Meetings

“We have chapters in three states and resources from Maryland to California. There are monthly online meetings with each chapter, quarterly meetings with each member, and interchapter meetings. I did a comprehensive study of the available Web conferencing services available. Our speaker was from Chicago and I was able to facilitate the meeting from my office in Fort Worth. We accomplished in one hour and 45 minutes what normally takes four hours of meeting time and we never left our respective offices.”

This from the CEO of a leading nonprofit organization!

How to Choose An Online Meeting Provider

We small business owners have to be careful.  We need to invest in growing our business, but not waste a cent.   Web conference software can help, if you understand what to look for.

Often, owners are afraid the service will cost too much. They worry they might get locked into a fee for something that doesn’t do what they need. Sound familiar?  If so, read on.

The good news is that web conferencing vendors have pricing plans geared for small business owners. For example, Webex’s MeetMeNow prices out to as low as $39 a month for an unlimited number of meetings (15 participants per meeting). The other top-tier companies (Cisco, Adobe) have similar plans.

The trick to deciding whether the finances make sense is to figure out what you’ll save.   Are you traveling to meetings? Internet web conferencing will save travel dollars.  Are you always pressed for time?  Web conferencing lets you be in “two places at once.”  When you calculate your savings in dollars and time, you’ll probably agree that web conferencing is a good investment.

Next, determine what features you absolutely must have.   If you’ve used internet conferencing before you probably already know what you need.  If this is new technology to you, take advantage of free trials to see which of these features make the most sense for you.

• Audio Conferencing: If you’re interested in VoIP calling (calling over the Internet) you’ll want to check whether the vendor provides this.
• Video Conferencing: If you have a webcam on your PC and are comfortable using it, you’ll want a vendor that allows for video streaming.
• White Board: Virtual whiteboards are a great tool.  Your group works together to draw out a new concept, just as if they were in the same room.
• Annotating Documents: Do you want to read and edit documents together?
• Number and Size of Meetings: We like a plan that allows unlimited meetings.  Some vendors will limit the number of participants per meeting, but how often do you need more than 15 people on a call anyway?

Bottom line: You’ve got everything to gain and nothing to lose by taking advantage of online meeting vendors’ free trial offers!

Essential Tools for Successful Online Meetings

When you’re shopping for an online meeting provider, make sure to look for these valuable tools:

A “whiteboard” feature.  This essential tool allows freehand markups of documents and other presentation materials just like you were in a face-to-face meeting.

Another feature that you’ll want to have is the ability to transfer keyboard and mouse control to a participant.  This can really help a participant fully explain his points and call up documents he needs to assist his explanations.

A chat facility, so participants can communicate with you and others without disrupting the proceedings of the meeting, is invaluable.

Finally, look for moderator tools that include options like mute functions. This can be very helpful in shutting out unnecessary background noise that disrupts the sound quality of the transmission.

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