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Lock Your Conference.
Once everyone’s arrived, shut the door and lock it. Lock your conference call against further arrivals. If
everyone’s there, then start without further interruptions.
And it’s also a great way to insure prompt attendance…
It’s a feature that’s standard on most of our conference call services. You lock your call using the dialpad on your telephone.
NOTE: Once a guest leaves a locked conference call…they can’t return.
NOTE #2: An operator can’t join your call, either, if there’s a problem caller.
It’s available then for most of you right now. Just ask your sales agent or Customer Service (877-227-0611, ext. 3 or customerservice@conferencecallsunlimited.com)
Name Recording On Entry. That’s the 2nd most important tip for maintaining security on a conference call. (The number one tip is Change Your Host and Guest Codes regularly.)
This feature prompts a caller to announce their name before joining the conference call. That helps insure 2 things: 1) only the invited attend; 2) you know who’s attending AND who’s leaving.
There are 2 options for Name Recording on Entry These options regard your callers and their experience of the feature.
Do you want them to hear the names announced as callers arrive?
OR
Do you want their arrival announced privately to you as the host?
If you want your guests to hear the announcement of each caller’s arrival and departure then you request Name Recording with Entry Announcement. Then the name of each arrival will be played to all the attendees upon their entry and their departure.
If you want your callers’ arrivals and departures to be private, played privately to only to you as the host then you request Name Recording with Private Playback.
Next week we’ll discuss the Number 3 Most Important Tip for Security: Conference Lock. You can lock the door of your conference room/call.
I had the pleasure this morning to sit in attendance with a conference call hosted by Shawn Frey, Industrial Recruiter/Industrial Sales Trainer at Harper Brush Company located here in Fairfield, Iowa. Harper Brush is a leading company here in Fairfield. They’ve continued to grow both in their products, the quality of the service, # of employees and as a community partner.
Shawn hosts a bi-monthly conference call (at 6 AM Central…!) with his distributors from around the country.
I’m always on the lookout for stories about our customers and their use of our services. It’s fascinating to me to see the many ways our services are used. And, I always find tips I can share with our customers that might help them make better use of their conference calls.
Shawn’s conference call this morning was a pleasure to attend. Here’s why: It was organized, coherent, clear, and all that combined to make it very productive. Here’s the simple, but very effective, techniques Shawn uses to get the most out of this conference call.
SHAWN’S TECHNIQUES FOR MAXIMUM PRODUCTION
* Start on time, every time.
I could tell from everyone’s prompt and prepared arrival that Shawn had instilled in them the idea, from repetitive practice, that the call would start on time and they would be asked to participate. Every caller arrived on time (ok a couple arrived a minute or two late) and ready to participate.* Welcome them by name.
Shawn greeted every caller by name. Now, that’s easy as there were only 6-7 of us. But greeting them by name and with a personal anecdote helps reinforce the warm and open setting for the call.* Start with a Brief Review
After a quick, brief, round of chit-chat Shawn began the meeting with a call to review the notes from the previous call. Again, it’s an effective and easy way to set the tone and bring everyone’s focus to the call. Kinda like a warm-up before an athletic event. Just get the brain warmed up and moving towards the topic.* Actively Seek Everyone’s Input.
Again, Shawn’s group is small. But it’s a great technique to make sure your conference calls stay interactive, engaging, interesting, expansive and moving forward when you ask each person their opinion and then ask them follow-up questions.(Go back to the first point: Everyone’s prepared. But then allow, seek, prod, query the guests for more input. For 2 reasons: 1) it adds depth and focus to their content; 2) most people don’t know they know as much as they do. So, help bring it out of them. Makes them feel good also by sharing all they know with their peers.)
* Finish on time.
Whew, how many times have I quietly dropped off a call when the host lets it ramble on? Be like Shawn, finish on time. Respect your callers’ time and when it’s time to stop, stop.* Take Notes and Share.
Shawn takes notes from every call and then distributes them by email to his group. WOW! That’s a powerful step to make the most out of your conference call. It so clearly shows the callers that the call is important and the host is willing to go the extra step to insure you get the most from your attendance.
Shawn asked me to share some thoughts or tips of my own at the end of his call. Some are ones we discussed together.
TIPS
1) Add Name-Announcement – On-Entry.
That feature asks/insists each caller say their name before they’re allowed on the call. The announcement can be either private, to Shawn as the host, or public for everyone to hear. And you’ll hear the same announcement as people leave.2) Record the Call.
You can record your conference call with all of our services. Our latest bridge allows you to record the call in a .wav format and download it at your convenience. One caller asked if it would allow you to fast-forward through the slow parts. Yes. It will. And we can convert that .wav file to a mp3 format with a link for you to post on a website….or…we can create a podcast for your listening audience.3) Blog.
Shawn can post his call notes and call recordings at a blog. Then his callers can post their comments and follow-up for everyone to share in the benefit. It would be a one-stop shop for their tips and advice and questions. They could access it anytime, from any computer with an online connection.
Shawn, thanks very much for inviting me.
Change your access codes. Change the host and guest code. That’s the number one tip to increase your confidence that only invited callers attend your conference calls.
I’ve always been advised to change the passwords I use on my computer every month. I’m a month or two behind…
But the logic is still the same. Your computer is a critical resource for your success. So is your conference call. For that to be the most productive you need to have the confidence that it’s used only by the right parties.
I had a friend at another company I worked years ago. He’d sit silently on the conference bridge where the executives met to discuss confidential matters like…bonuses or acquisitions or layoffs. They never knew he was there. They never changed the conference codes nor their meeting times. He’d ask me if I wanted to know x. Honestly, I never did. I didn’t need that rattling around in my head. Do you know if someone is sitting silently on your confidential conference call?
When was the last time you used a conference call to help make tough changes in your organization, changes that might be met with unhappiness within the organization or discuss employee reviews or their departures or a corporate acquisition?
And since then how many employees, partners, vendors or contractors, customers or clients, attorneys or accountants have left your group?
Some of those departures have been happy right? Right? All of them? Can you say for certain they’ve all been departures with warm feelings?
When was the last time you changed your access codes?
Change your codes. Change them AT LEAST once a year. Twice a year is better. Your group will thank you for the added confidence their calls are kept confidential. If they grumble, just imagine the problems that could arise from unwelcome and unknown
guests attending your conference call.
We want your calls to be as productive and successful and confidential as they can be. This is the easiest step you can take to help us deliver on that promise for you.
Our web conference services provide powerful, value-added, enhancements to any teleconference meeting.
The added power arises from you, as the host, being able to insure all participants literally stay on the same page with you. As you display, in real-time, your presentation or website or document or whiteboard out-of-the-box creativity on the whiteboard function, you’re able to insure that everyone sees what you want them to see, when you want them to see.
The visuals insure an enhanced experience for everyone. Now, and again quite literally, they see your points at each step of your presentation.
What’s the BEST tip we can offer to insure the greatest experience with our web conference service, with ANY web conference service?
Insist your web conference participants arrive at the ‘meeting room’ 15 minutes before the start of the presentation.
Once arrived, they can always minimize their browser until the presentation begins. Or if a setting needs attention, they have the necessary time to do so without delaying your presentation.
This is especially important for first-time attendees.
Why?
Every participant’s computer, network and internet speed settings are different. Every computer, used by either a participant or a host, to join your webconference has their own unique settings both personal and network, individual or corporate. These setting include: firewalls, pop-up blockers, corporate policy for web browsing, internet connection speeds, java versions used (current or updates needed). Each of these must be navigated to join your meeting online.
It’s easy to navigate these settings. The use of web conference services would not be growing by 44% a year, if it wasn’t easy.
But…your computer and network settings are details that insure your productivity. And, first time participants on a web conference service usually encounter briefly a setting (detail) that needs attention.
Plus, all of us are busy and distracted, with some (me included) overlooking instructions both in emails and right on the screen in front of us.
You want to avoid delaying the start of your very important presentation. You want every participant to be able to easily join, seamlessly and arrive rested and attentive for your presentation, ready to appreciate your brilliant idea and thanking you for insisting they address their computer’s settings.
Insist your web conference participants arrive at the ‘meeting room’ 15 minutes before the start of the presentation. And everyone will thank you.
