The Conference Group's Greg Plum Named to Industry Advisory Board

The Conference Group, a full-service audio, Web and video conferencing service provider, recently announced that Greg Plum (News - Alert), director of channel development, was recently named to a joint advisory board for a publication focused on the telecommunications industry.

The board includes 17 members of the channel community including independent agents, subagents, master agents, VARs, dealers/interconnects, hardware/software vendors, resellers and carriers. Each member will serve a one-year term.

The Conference Group (News - Alert), a company that focuses on Web-based collaboration solutions, is the only conferencing service provider represented on the board, company officials said.

“We are honored to serve on the board, which is comprised of industry leaders,” Plum, told TMCnet in an interview. “The fact that The Conference Group is included is a testament to our efforts over the past decade to build a reputation on quality service and support.”

The goal behind the advisory board is to offer topics that are paramount in the minds of today's telecommunications agents and resellers, Plum said. As a board member, The Conference Group will work with the publication to ensure its content and programs for its annual conference are meaningful to the communications channel. The company will also serve as a regular contributor to the publication’s blog and an online community at LinkedIn.

The appointment highlights The Conference Group as one of the industry leaders, Plum said.

“We are recognized as an integral provider in the conferencing space,” he said. “This is an honor that we do not take lightly.”

The Conference Group is one of the more widely-known service providers that offer on-demand, “reservationless” audio, Web and videoconferencing services on one platform. The services are also available as standalone solutions.

Companies are increasingly using conferencing services to give employees the chance to hold live, “face-to-face” meetings with partners, customers, prospects and investors, even though they are miles apart. The technology also aids collaboration between employees, teams, departments and division heads who are in geographically-dispersed locations.

To help entice more organizations to adopt conferencing services, The Conference Group is offering certain incentives to boost business. For example, the company introduced a 1,000-seat user license of its ReadyShow Web conferencing with unlimited access for flat rate of $99 per month solution.

The new rate comes at a time when companies are increasingly using online communications to conduct business. The ReadyShow service offers a host of features, including chatting, slide pushing, polling and streaming video for a flat fee. The platform also lets companies conduct Web tours, demonstrate Web services, or tap online content during presentations. Users can also share desktop applications for software demonstrations and training.

Amy Tierney is a Web editor for TMCnet, covering unified communications, telepresence, IP communications industry trends and mobile technologies. To read more of Amy's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Back to School… The most wonderful time of the year?

It is that time of year again… airing the old (but timeless) Staples commercial with the Dad prancing around the aisles of Staples to the Andy Williams’ classic while his kids look on with dejected faces and shoulders hung low. Have you seen it?

This is the first year my kids were old enough (or cared enough) to grasp the concept of the commercial. My 8 year old son turned to me and said, “Is that really how you feel?” No way! I love the quiet mornings around the house planning for my day and conjuring up ideas to get you excited to sell conferencing. These quiet mornings are about to be replaced with lunch packing, breakfast making, teeth brushing, and carcass chauffeuring to school.

With each passing year, I am more and more reluctant to put away my flip-flops and break out the requisite sweaters to face our mid-Atlantic Autumn days… (Just for the record, as you are reading this, sand is between my toes as I milk this Summer for all it is worth)

The good news is that as the days get shorter, conference calls get longer (and more frequent)! September invariably marks a period of increased conferencing activity. As an agent, now is the time to prepare for the impending spike in need. Why not reach out to your client base, tell them how you feel about back to school, and see if you can help them with their conferencing needs?

For conferencing folk like myself, maybe this really is the most wonderful time of the year…

For more information on the Conference Group, contact us on 877-716-8255 or agents@conferencegroup.com.

The virtual puppy dog…

OK, we are all familiar with the tactic known as the “puppy-dog sale”, which gives a prospect the ability to fall hopelessly in love with your offering, be it a puppy dog, or a Porsche. So much so, they never even consider relinquishing control of their newly-acquired trinket.

In this vein, we are offering you the ability to hook your prospects with a little puppy dog of your own - only this pooch will never get fleas… “Man’s best friend” takes the form of a free trial of ReadyShow® Web and ReadyShow® Video. The process is simple… to request a trial account, click here and provide us with your clients’ contact information (you can even include a list of clients in this one request), and the service for which the trial is requested. We will have their trial account set up and in their hands in less than 24 hours.

This is a great way to offer value to your customer and quite possibly increase your revenue from your existing relationships. After all, who does not love puppy dogs?

For more information on ReadyShow® Web, ReadyShow® Video, or to set up a demo of either, contact us on 877-716-8255 or agents@conferencegroup.com.

What can you get for $99?

How about 1000 participants on a conference? How about 1000 participants on a conference every day for a month?

It’s true. The Conference Group has introduced a 1000-seat user license with a suggested retail price of $99 per month. Conference hosts will enjoy all that ReadyShow® Web has to offer, including slide pushing, application sharing, chatting, polling, and even video streaming of the host… all for a flat monthly fee of $99 per month. Audio bridging charges are additional and options range from reservationless access to dedicated full-time operator assisted service, depending on the size of the event and level of support desired.

With this plan, your client would save just over $3,500 each month if they conducted 1 weekly, 60-minute, 100 participant conference and paid on a per minute basis, at a suggested retail price of $0.15 per minute. I did the math twice to make sure since the savings was so drastic…

If you have been looking for something to “go back to the well” with… this is it!

For more information on ReadyShow® Web, or to set up a demo of the service, contact us on 877-716-8255 or agents@conferencegroup.com.

Just Released: FREE Web Recording!

Effective immediately, the Conference Group has waived the fee associated with recording a ReadyShow® Web Conference. Your clients can continue to record their events, with the audio and visuals synchronized, download the Flash file immediately following the event, and host the file on their website within minutes. The only difference is that now this functionality is provided free of charge. Of course, the normal per minute fees (or flat rate subscription fees) still apply.

For more information on ReadyShow® Web, or to set up a demo of the service, contact us on 877-716-8255 or agents@conferencegroup.com.

Celebrating Independence

My hat is off to you… members of our agent community for what you do every day as an “independent” agent. This independence results in a great deal of freedom, but not without consequence. As you are keenly aware, the price of your freedom is the responsibility to perform your duties consistently and to the best of your ability to ensure your livelihood is protected.

We are honored that, while exercising your independence, you have turned to the Conference Group as a trusted partner to help you achieve your financial goals. Thank you for your continued faith in our services and support.

Have a very happy and restful Independence Day!

By the way… keep an eye out for next week’s installment as we are announcing the elimination of a fee that is sure to result in incremental business for both of us!

For more information on the Conference Group, contact us on 877-716-8255 or agents@conferencegroup.com.

Integrity

When sitting down to come up with a topic for this week’s installment of our blog, several product features came to mind, but the one concept that kept overshadowing the latest and greatest conference calling features is a simple, but universal concept… Integrity.

Just moments ago, I finished a telephone meeting with an esteemed colleague on our latest marketing campaign to appeal to current and new agents. He confirmed my hunch that today’s agents need to trust their vendors implicitly, as we are their lifeline to their livelihood… their commission!

Rather than put the concept of Integrity to the side while I wrote this blog entry, I decided to embrace it…

As we all know, competition is fierce, price compression is a reality and ethical conduct can be tested in a challenging economic climate. It is during these very times that relying on the most basic of values proves to be invaluable. “Integrity”, according to Encarta is “the quality of possessing and steadfastly adhering to high moral principles or professional standards”. This is what you want… what you NEED from those with whom you choose to do business.

Everyday, we are faced with business decisions relating to current or prospective business opportunities. How do we make these decisions? Simple… we do what is right. While there are many roads that can be taken in a decision process, more often than not, there is a right way of doing business, and one that, well… not so much.

One thing that you can be sure of when working with the Conference Group is how we do business. We invariably opt for the “high road”. There is simply no substitute for integrity. Those who know us know that I am speaking from experience. For those that just know of us, we welcome the opportunity to work with you to help you build your conferencing business.

For more information on the Conference Group, contact us on 877-716-8255 or agents@conferencegroup.com.