When I think back about how I used to communicate with my business associates 10 years ago it boggles my mind that conference calling wasnt a part of my tool set. Its easy to look back and critique the inefficiencies of the past but I simply couldnt operate without a conference call system today.

Anyone in sales can appreciate the many benefits. It wasnt long ago that I was logging thousands of air miles to simply make presentations that can now be accomplished with a conference call or even a web conference. Business owners are truly reaping the benefits as a result of the cost savings and productivity has increased dramatically as a result. For example, what once took 15 hours can now be accomplished in 30 minutes.

The ability to communicate with a few as three and as many as a thousand people at once appeals to the smart businessman and its not uncommon for small business owners to host conference calls as well.

So how much does it cost to host your own conference call? Well that depends. Some providers are still charging a premium and they appear to be living off their existing customer base because the costs have plummeted. Ive actually used free conference call providers and had no issues. The call quality and features are in line with paid services, however if youre looking to provide your clients a toll-free number to call then youre going to need a paid service. Additionally, paid conference call providers typically offer a larger conference size.

So how expensive are paid conference calls? Like anything, the costs vary but on average its about 10 cents per minute per participant on a toll-free line. That may not seem like much but if you have 150 people on the line its costing you $15 per minute and thats just under a grand for an hours worth of talk time so its important that your agenda is planned out.

At first glance paid conference calls may seem a bit steep but consider the cost to fly 150 people to a conference center, add hotel charges and of course, down time, and at point conference calling looks to be a bargain and perhaps free conference calls are the best deal in town.

So if your manager is still living in the stone ages, find a tactful way to recommend conference calling as a cost savings measure. Take a few minutes to create a cost analysis based upon the number of participants in your company and its an easy sell. And dont forget, make sure you take the credit!

Joe Barrett owns and operates http://www.conferencecallingreviews.com

Other Industries Dot the Philippine Outsourcing Landscape
The outsourcing industry in the Philippines is usually associated with call centers. What is little known is that companies in other industries are providing alternatives to working long nights in call centers."Outsourcing companies," as they are sum...

Business Phone Services
Are you a small to medium sized business owner who needs help running your business? If so, congratulations. Needing help isnt always associated with something good, but in this case it should be. If you are in need of additional staff, it is like...

Offshore Call Center Outsourcing
There is no shortage of offshore call centers. India and the Philippines offshore call centers are rapidly becoming the two countries of choice for doing business with U.S. companies simply because of the language.The most recent concern has been a p...

Unique Conference Centres in the UK
In researching conference centres for the best potential choices for an upcoming conference to be held near London, we wanted a relatively unusual environment, something extraordinary to serve as a special treat for those attending the conference. I...

Offshore Call Center Solutions
Offshore call center solutions offer value based customer services at reduced investments. Customer service plays a very significant role in the promotion of a business. Call centers are centralized part of a business and are dedicated for customer s...

Benefits of Call Center Services
A Call Center is a industry term referring to a company phone center that handles such services as help desk, customer support, lead generation, emergency response, and telephone answering service, inbound response and outbound telemarketing.Normally...

Duplication - How to Create Massive Duplication in a Network Marketing Business
Duplication? What a pile of bull!"That has been my opinion for the last 3 years. I have been a fairly successful network marketer. I have averaged about $30,000 per month. The problem has been less than 5% duplication. The end result is I burnt out. ...

Twelve Tips to Make Your Corporate Conference More Successful
Planning and conducting a successful corporate conference is an enormous and important task. Huge sums of money are usually invested. Huge amounts of time, too!Here are twelve quick tips to help make your big event an even bigger success.1. Use BIG, ...

High Definition (HD) in Conferences and Events
HD stands for High Definition (HD) and is a digital video format and offers the promise of sharper, clearer pictures and sound than currently available using analogue video and television formats using the PAL / SECAM or NTSC system.There are two sta...

The Right Speaker Makes a BIG DIFFERENCE
MORE and more corporations in Malaysia have awoken to the necessity of training and developing their people these days. Hence, many local speakers have emerged in recent years just as many foreign ones have already been flocking to Malaysia as far ba...