Phone Conferencing Services

Convene customers and colleagues in business conference calls without leaving your desk

When you need to talk with workers and clients in far-flung locations -- whether for a sales meeting, crisis management or training seminar -- conference calls let everyone participate in the action. Phone conferencing can be conducted through some ordinary desk phones, but those systems usually connect no more than three people at a time.

Thankfully, video and audio conferencing services that allow you to connect with dozens, or even hundreds, of people at the same time can be purchased or rented. By using corporate conference calls, you can:

1. Make business decisions more quickly.
2. Get feedback from everyone who's involved.
3. Avoid the time-consuming back-and-forth of e-mail among large groups.

Hold business conference calls with no reservations

For audio conference calls, the cheapest solution is a reservation-less phone conferencing service. Users call a permanently established toll-free number and log in with a pass code. The call's organizer has a special pass code that allows him or her to use special features like individual mute and roll call.
toll-free and flat rate conference call providers at Business.com.

Round up the troops for phone conferencing

To make an audio teleconferencing more inviting -- and catch stragglers who forget to call in -- you can use an operator-assisted service that calls participants, handles the roll call, and manages logistics.

Go online for corporate conference calls

VoIP, which stands for Voice over Internet Protocol, is also known as Internet telephony or broadband phone. VoIP routes voice conversations over the Internet. Its advantages include low cost and ease of use, but sometimes the audio conferencing sound quality is not up to snuff. Also, many consumer VoIP solutions do not support encryption yet, so eavesdropping on business conference calls is possible.

Add visuals to phone conferencing using the Web

Sometimes you need to do more than talk. With a Web conferencing service, you can display images, use whiteboards, and show PowerPoint presentations to participants.
Web conference calling services at Business.com. To learn how to use the service, follow these tips from BuyerZone.com.

Be a video star in your own corporate conference calls

Video conferencing used to be limited to those with deep pockets, but video cameras for computers are now affordable and widespread, making Web-plus-audio conferencing a great business tool -- even if you're not wearing pants.
video conference call providers at Business.com for more choices.

Make plans for business conference calls and stick to them

Sure, audio teleconferencing can be a quick, easy, and inexpensive way to gather the troops and get things done, but as in any endeavor, the more organized the agenda, the more you'll accomplish with phone conferencing.

• Reservation-less corporate conference calls still need to be scheduled. Set them up ahead of time with group e-mails.
• Echoes and delays sometimes occur in VoIP audio conferencing. Buffers and other technology can help, but voices do drop out on highly congested networks and between long distance endpoints.
• For international calls, conference calling services can either provide an international toll-free number, dial out to international colleagues, or arrange for dial-in corporate conference calls.
• Conference call providers often have services such as call recording or audio streaming onto the Internet should some people miss live audio conference calls.

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