Local Dial-In Helps Reduce the Cost of Conference Calls

Denver, CO and Atlanta, GA — March 31, 2010 — Copper Conferencing today announced the launch of nationwide local dial-in connections to its On Demand reservationless audio conferencing service.   Local dial-in numbers are available in over 100 major cities in the U.S. offering customers a way to connect conference calls at a reduced cost.

“Copper has always been committed to finding ways for its customers to reduce the overall cost of a conference call,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Copper Conferencing.  “Providing local dial-in numbers in addition to toll-free access allows customers to choose how they enter an On Demand audio conference call and enables the customer to control the cost of their conference calls each time they use a local dial-in number.”

An analysis of the thousands of Copper Conferencing customers revealed individuals participating in conference calls generally start or dial in to phone meetings from an office location with 70% of call leaders initiating their conference calls from the same location every time.  This study, along with an analysis of the top business markets in the United States, lead Copper to secure local access numbers in 100 key metropolitan areas.

“A customer has a number of ways to determine if his or her city has a local access number,” Bradfield added. “The customer can enter an area code or zip code in the Local Dial-In Locator on the Copper website and the application will identify the local number for that area.  If no local number is available, the customer can always use their Copper toll-free access number.”

The announcement of local dial-in services complements Copper Conferencing’s recent upgrades to its On Demand audio conferencing service including additional call controls, new security features, sub-conferencing capabilities and the ability to add personalized greetings to each call as well as the addition of listen and recording download access to conference call recordings via Connect To Copper™, Copper’s powerful online customer portal.   In February, Copper Conferencing expanded its web conferencing offering with industry-leading web conferencing services Adobe Connect Pro, Microsoft Live Meeting and Cisco WebEx, all of which are integrated with Copper’s On Demand audio conferencing.

About Copper Conferencing
Headquartered in Denver, Colorado with a major communications center in Atlanta, Georgia, Copper Conferencing provides audio conferencing and web conferencing services to small and medium-sized businesses. Copper’s Conference Coaches™ provide expert guidance of enhanced conferencing services. From On Demand reservationless audio conference calls, to highly interactive webinars and special teleconference event calls, Copper Conferencing helps businesses save time and money while improving productivity. Copper’s conferencing services are backed by fully managed, carrier-class platforms to power communication for thousands of customers. For more information about Copper Conferencing, www.copperconferencing.com or call a Conference Coach at 866-903-7521.

Adobe Connect Pro, Microsoft Live Meeting and Cisco WebEx are registered trademarks of the respective owners.

Press contact:
Alycia Maier-Turner
Copper Conferencing
303-952-4308
pr@copperconferencing.com

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Carolyn Bradfield

I like to stay on top of what’s going on in the world.  I’m a total “newsie” checking in with every local and national channel available to me.  Sometimes I following a world event like the tragedy in Haiti and other times it may be something that seems small that has a big impact on how I feel about the world around me.

A story on World News Tonight struck me the other day.  It seems that research has shown that the average middle school student spends over 75 hours a week engaging with media – music, texting, gaming, TV, Facebook occupying most of their time.  In addition, 2 hours daily are devoted to the cell phone with an hour and a half of those spent texting.   Only 38 minutes A WEEK is devoted to reading.  Even less time is spent just talking to someone.

The same research also shows that students who engage with their electronics don’t do that well in school.  47% get bad grades compared to 23% who moderate their consumption.  Media consumption drops by an average of 3 hours a day if parents make the effort to set guidelines with their child’s grades going up.  If my 15-year old stepdaughter is any indication, then this research is absolutely dead on.  The iPhone is never far from her fingers and she must check it 20 times an hour for the latest from her friends.  Hours are spent alone in her room on Facebook or on the Internet.

I worry about what type of workforce we’re creating when these texters and Facebook fanatics get old enough for jobs.  With the large number of young people at Copper Conferencing, I’ve started to pay much more attention to the impact of their electronic habits.   For simplicity sake, let’s give this generation a name that describes them – The “Text-X Generation” will suit me for now.

My Text-X group has some positive attributes.  They are unafraid of anything relating to the Internet.  They know how to determine which organizations are best suited for Copper Conferencing and who to talk to.  They are unafraid of all types of web conferencing, easily logging in and holding Internet meetings and remote sales calls.   They think of creative ways to use social media to get Copper’s business message across.

However, I am concerned.  I hear the instant messaging chimes go off dozens of times in an hour where someone has the “tyranny of the urgent” and sends an I/M about everything that’s on the top of their mind.  I worry about the distraction this creates for them and the message’s recipient.  I worry about how many times a day someone checks or posts to Facebook and what’s on their “news feed.”

More than that, I worry about Text-X’s ability to know when a conversation is warranted vs. an email or instant message.  Maybe we should consider the research study that indicates the most successful students are those that spend less time with their electronics.  I think that is also true in business.

The conferencing industry has helped companies and managers shift from the memo and the “directive” to conversation and collaboration.   It’s the art of the conversation, the relationship, the discussion, the collaboration that I believe continues and will continue to breed success in business.    Although I think we should embrace the increase in our knowledge and use of instant media, I think that we also need to instill a balanced diet in our respective organizations.

At Copper, this is made a little easier because we use our services to hold meetings, strategy sessions and trainings over our conferencing technology.  We focus on getting people’s feedback, drawing them into the conversation and asking for their opinion.  My commitment is to go above and beyond that to help Text-X become more balanced.

First, I am going to coach the management team to stop responding to all instant messages and to request that their people set a meeting to talk about issues and requests that are important but not urgent.  I’m going to randomly monitor Facebook and ask people to stop checking and posting during work hours.   I’m going to help people resolve issues or conflicts in person vs. email messages.

And parents, if you have a Text-X kid at home, take a lesson from the research.  They are way less likely to succeed in school if you don’t take the time to set boundaries.  And, I’m going to project that they are going to be way less likely to succeed on the job if they don’t develop the skill set needed to express themselves with others without needing a keyboard to do the talking.  It’s up to all of us to help our Text-X group live a much more balanced existence.

To learn more about what’s new at Copper and how audio conferencing and web conferencing services can help you improve your business and cut costs, contact a Conference Coach today.

Carolyn Bradfield

It’s a fact that most people don’t like change.  In fact, they will go out of their way to stick to their routines, watch the same TV shows, do their jobs the same way….it goes on and on.  In business, resistance to change can be deadly.  It stifles growth, prevents employees from progressing and contributing, and makes a business far less competitive.  Based on the pace of innovation, technology and new ways to approach things, businesses and people must get used to change or they will be left behind.

As a business leader, I have found that people are reluctant to change for very specific reasons:

People don’t understand the change needed.

Because of the pace at which we live our lives, we don’t often give ourselves the luxury of standing back from our day-to-day routine to look around us and then objectively look at ourselves.  In order to start any change process, you must have perspective on the fact that a change is needed.

People fear the change.

If change is eminent, it tends to freak people out.  A new boss, new compensation plan, or new product create the immediate feeling that this can’t be good.  The self-preservation instinct can cause people to focus inwardly and close their mind to the upside of the change.

People don’t understand how to make the change.

Most people work better if there is a plan and process that they understand and can relate to.  Change often comes with a lot of unknowns.  If you want a sales person to quit underperforming and hit their quota, sometimes they may just not know the steps required.  Once people accept the fact that change is needed, there is another part of the process – how to do it.

In the world of conference calling, things change all the time and companies, along with its people, have to keep pace.  At Copper Conferencing, we lead people to change and make the process less scary.

Involve people in the strategy

At Copper, I constantly stand back from the business, look at the marketplace, know my competition, look at technology, talk to the customer and think ahead.  I set aside time to have strategy meetings with our team so that they can do the same thing.  When people have an open forum to evaluate the business and generate ideas, they will often come up with the changes that the business needs to grow and thrive.

Make change part of the culture

If change never happens, then people get complacent and imbedded in routines.  It makes it way more difficult for change to happen if the company has no appetite for change and the culture doesn’t support it.  Change doesn’t have to be dramatic, but it’s up to a company to create the culture where new ideas are accepted and tried.

Create a change process

It’s not enough to have a new idea and to say you want to change.  It’s important to take it to the next level and to create an action plan that shows people the steps needed to execute the change that everyone has agreed to.

Copper intends to grow, thrive and offer new way of doing business for our customers as well as our employees.  I’ve made a habit out of leading the conferencing industry with innovation throughout my career in conferencing.  Change is stimulating, creative, allows us to be competitive and improve the customer experience.  You can expect change in 2010 – new ways to use our technology, new ways to connect to our service, new ways to save money.  At Copper, change is in our culture and it keeps us vibrant and growing.

To learn more about what’s new at Copper and how audio conferencing and webinar services can help you improve your business and cut costs, contact a Conference Coach today.

Carolyn Bradfield

I feel lucky everyday that I am blessed with smart, creative, fun and good people to work with at Copper Conferencing.  They appreciate their jobs, appreciate the customers, appreciate each other and uphold the value system that Copper is very committed to.

Unlike other businesses, Copper has had a very good year despite the economy.  Although the official unemployment rate is 10.2%, I think it’s really more like 17 or 18 percent when you factor in those that are underemployed or who have given up finding a job until the economy improves.  In the conferencing business, for every 100 people who used to attend conference calls, now there are only 80 or so to do the same thing.  Despite that fact, Copper has grown this year and I think it’s primarily due to the care, support and good service we give our customers, both old and new.

We made a conscious decision this year to thank our employees by investing in them in ways that most companies would not.  When the first time homebuyer’s tax credit came out, we had people come to the office to educate our group about the financial benefits of home ownership.  Knowing that many had not saved for a down payment, Copper offered a loan program for that down payment with the payback of the loan due once the tax credit was received.  We now have 2 employees who are living in the first home because of the program.

One of our employees expressed a desire to get her master’s degree.  We created a tuition reimbursement program to pay for college tuition for all employees.  The response was overwhelming.  People are investing in themselves and going back to school.  We are going to be flexible about their schedules and supportive of their pursuit of a higher education.

Since December is the slowest conferencing month (everyone takes vacations), we decided to give everyone the week between Christmas and New Year’s off without having to take vacation days.  People can recharge, travel, see family and come back renewed and refreshed.  Those in customer service that want to work can come in and we will pay them extra for their time.

Now to the golf carts.  One obscure rule in the tax credit give-away program by the Federal Government was a $4500-$5500 credit for “street legal, low-speed electric vehicles”.  You guessed it; golf carts qualify.  You can practically get them for free, drive them around for a while, and sell them if you want to.  I just couldn’t quite convince our COO that it was a good employee benefit.  And by the way, they are all sold out through the end of the year when the credit expires.  Hopefully, they will extend the credit and I can take another run at it.

In 2010, we will continue to invest in our employees.  Don’t tell them, but I plan to take them all on a big trip if the company hits some big growth numbers for the year.  You can help me by helping them.  If you are a Copper customer, refer a friend.  If you are not, try Copper.  We’re a great service and our employees will love on you a lot.

With the economy suffering, it’s the best time to invest.  For Copper, the best investment we can make is in our people.

To learn more about Copper Conferencing or to get started today with your own Copper Conferencing audio and web conferencing accounts, contact a Conference Coach today.

Carolyn Bradfield

One of the traditions our family has during the Thanksgiving break is to go find a fun movie that the entire family can enjoy.  This year, it was “The Blind Side” starring Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw, the true story of the Tuohy family from Memphis, TN.   They adopted 18-year old Michael Oher, a talented black athlete, helped him get a football scholarship to Ol’ Miss and watched him enter the NFL as a rookie for the Baltimore Ravens.

Go see the movie.  It’s uplifting, hopeful and should get Sandra an Oscar nod.  The main character she plays is Leanne Tuohy who could likely be my personality clone.  Everyone that watched the show thought we might have been separated at birth.  Leanne is direct, assertive and lets you know exactly where you stand.  That’s also my style.  There is a formula to how I communicate, which is quite simple:

Be Direct

My anxiety rises when I don’t know what to expect from someone or when they communicate to others vs. to me.  It’s amazing how people will “back-channel” and tell everyone else of their disappointment vs. tell the person that they are disappointed in.  I always find that direct communication, when managed appropriately, is much better than airing out your thoughts with others who are not involved.

Be Honest

It’s never useful to engage in a conversation when you are hiding your thoughts, feelings and needs.  If the conversation is meant to result in some action that benefits you, being honest usually gets a better outcome.

Communicate vs. Confront

Sometimes people think that asking for what they need or want represents a confrontation and most people avoid confrontation like the plague.  However, there is a simple formula for broaching difficult subjects that helps make communication more comfortable.  Step 1 – State that you have an issue and that you need the person’s help in resolving it.  Step 2 – Detail what the issue is without casting blame.  Step 3 – Reveal how this issue is affecting you.  Step 4 – Ask for the person’s help in the resolution.

Listen and Process

Many people engage in a conversation, just waiting for the opportunity to jump in and talk.  They often miss half of what the other person is saying by formulating what will be their next sentence.  Good communicators are active listeners.  They listen, absorb, and then ask the next logical question.  The other person feels validated and often you will learn things that you need to know.

Recap in Writing

If I have a business conversation, it is my habit to recap the conversation in writing.  That way, the other person can read how I processed the information and see any action items that resulted from our discussion.  It’s amazing how this simple strategy prevents misunderstandings and makes sure everyone is on the same page.  One small note – if you have a difficult issue to resolve, don’t try and do it over email.  Start with a conversation.

Leanne Tuohy and I should meet one day.  She’s the kind of person I like.  I would always know where she stands.  Her communication is clean, honest and direct.  We should all take a lesson.

For more information about Copper Conferencing, contact a Conference Coach today.

Carolyn Bradfield

It’s awkward when you first join a company.  You spend as much time learning the people as you do learning the job because it’s important to fit in and be accepted into the group.  When Copper Conferencing hired our new salesperson Jonah Carney, I knew that the corporate bonding experience would be different.

Jonah comes to the table with a lot of energy, a strong sense of himself, and an incredible sense of humor.  Just for fun, he takes his big personality and translates that into a weekly stand up comic routine at The Punch Line in Atlanta.  He’s pretty funny and maybe one day you will see him on Leno.

Copper’s bonding ritual is to test out that sense of humor with a practical joke.  Usually we don’t do that on the first day you come to work, but with Jonah it was different.  Kathleen Thompson, our head of customer care, is the queen of practical jokes and is always a threat to move your car to a new location, rearrange your office or find a fun way to get your attention.  She was the perfect person to manage the “Jonah project.”

Being high energy, Kathleen jumped on this new initiative as if it were a major account rolling out Copper to 1000 moderators.  Before Jonah came to work, she sent him a new employment form asking him to elect what Copper clubs he would belong to…..choir, bowling, trivia, etc.  He walked in to find his picture all over the office, only with his name misspelled.  He had to go to Kathleen for a hall pass, participate in morning yoga with the afternoon culminating in a truth and sharing circle.   Everyone was waiting to see if Jonah would crack.

However, Kathleen, as good as she is, is an amateur prankster.  I, on the other hand, am the professional.  My jokes are elaborate, involve pulling in people you least suspect, have a strong ring of something that might really happen.  I’ve convinced people that I’ve hid a dead body in the office, that all our technology failed exactly at the same moment, that we had the mob planning a revenge murder over conferencing….you get the picture.

So of course, it seemed much more fun to reverse the prank and bring Jonah in on the joke.  Now Jonah could really fill out that form and join all those non-existent Copper clubs, sheepishly reveal that he needed to keep the hall pass for his irritable bowel syndrome, lead the yoga class with a song and dance routine.  It was perfect…..until Jonah told someone innocuous about the joke who then told Kathleen.  Rule one of practical jokes….don’t trust anyone!

We work hard, but we play hard as well.  Copper’s people are bonded as a family…..they work together, take care of the customer, and don’t take themselves too seriously.  I’m glad people like Kathleen and Jonah are with us.  It keeps life interesting!

For more information about Copper Conferencing’s audio conferencing and web conferencing services, contact a Conference Coach today.

Snow in Golden, CO

Have you ever been pulled out of a dead sleep by a ringing phone?  Ah yes, the sudden realization that the phone is ringing — somewhere and the near panic as you try and reach the phone before it stops ringing.

It’s always a shock being wrenched out of a dead sleep by a ringing phone.   But it’s particularly fun when it’s an electronic message at 5:10 a.m. from your child’s school letting you know that there’s a snow day.  There hasn’t been a snow day in Golden, Colorado in almost 4 years.  Golden is located in Jefferson County, which is largely located in the foothills and mountains surrounding Denver, the school officials usually only delay schools.  But not today.

The storm that’s currently hovering over the Denver Metro area has already dumped almost 9 inches of snow in Golden as of 6:05 am with another 6 – 10 inches more expected today.

So instead of shoveling snow off the walk, scraping ice off the car window or slogging through the snow this morning to drive my child to school and then on to the office, I’ll be snug inside my house with a child who is thrilled to have a snow day.

Ah yes, but I don’t get a snow day though I would love one.  For me, the demands of business at Copper Conferencing must still be tended.  Fortunately, I work for a company that recognizes that sometimes employees can’t be in the office, understands that it is still possible to conduct business at home and provides employees with the tools necessary to continue working — regardless of location.

Yes, Copper is the provider of web and audio conferencing services that enable me to work where ever I am in the country.  As long as I am in business,  I will always have audio conferencing and web conferencing as two of my business tools.  These two incredibly affordable business tools make conducting business so much easier that not having them is almost unfathomable.  I’ve done without audio and web conferencing in the recent past and the difference in my productivity was notable.

So, if you’re in the path of this storm or another that may disrupt your ability to get to your office or if you’re a manager whose team members may be stuck outside of the office due to adverse weather or illness, you need to seriously consider getting audio and web conferencing if you don’t already have it.

Today, I’ll be watching the snow fall and webcasting my heart out.

If you’d like to know more about Copper Conferencing’s web and audio conferencing services, contact a Conference Coach today.

Carolyn Bradfield

Sometimes in our business, companies will engage in an RFP process.  For those of you who don’t know what this is, it stands for “Request for Proposal.”  This usually is a fairly painful process where you are asked a million questions, have to write a term paper and usually have to compete with the “big guys” who can kill you on the price per minute.   Copper Conferencing participated in an RFP process in the spring, but lost out, primarily on price.  We were bummed, especially since this was a valued customer.  But we understand the desire to gain some cost advantages.  Times are tight.

Despite our loss and licking our wounds, our customer care department kept up the high level of service and care even in the face of a certain departure by this customer.  We responded to requests quickly, continued to offer training and support, created and delivered custom reports.  This is an area where nobody can beat us.

Well, it seemed that the “big guys” weren’t nearly as responsive.  They were hard to do business with, were slow to respond to requests and didn’t seem to value the customer nearly as much as we did.  Despite not winning on price, were just told that they’re staying with Copper.  It goes to show you that customer care does matter and if your needs aren’t being met, you have a choice.

Congratulations to our customer service representatives, our billing department, our technical group and to all those Copper employees that do a superior job everyday.  Kathleen Thompson quarterbacks this team and is one of our customer-service heroes.  Good job Copper!  This is a real win for the little guy!

Have questions about Copper Conferencing or need to do an audio conference or web meeting?  Contact a Conference Coach today.

Copper Conferencing is a company that will work with companies to the fullest in both its products and its customer service.  Our services range from audio conferencing to web conferencing.  With all that is going on in the world today, companies need a conferencing services provider that will be with them through good and bad times.  Copper understands the challenges a company might face with the way the economy is today.

Copper knows that some of its customers are facing financial hardship and can’t seem to get ahead of the bills that keep coming in. They don’t need someone calling them day in and day out reminding them that they are behind on their account. We all know that those calls are nothing but aggravating, especially when many companies are just trying to keep their business running. In times like these, Copper tries to be a company that is willing to take that extra step in working out a reasonable way to help companies pay their invoices. Copper Conferencing is a company that will help you while you get your company back on track, we can set up payment plans to help you keep your account with us in good standing.  In time of financial hardship we want, our products to serve as an asset versus just another expense.  Our web and audio conferencing services can be useful tools in cutting back costs for a company with travel expenses.  And when you add up air fare, hotel stays, car rentals and time away from home, cutting costs looks very attractive.  Audio conferencing is obviously the way to go in cutting back on these costs.

We don’t want to aggravate you with those collection calls each day like other companies tend to do.  We don’t feel it’s necessary to constantly call you day in and day out to remind you of the money you owe. We send out reminder letters of what is owed on a past due account, in turn that’s when payment arrangements can be useful If necessary.

So take the first step in securing your company in saving money with audio conferencing and a Company that cares, Copper Conferencing.

Have questions about Copper Conferencing or ready to cut travel costs?   To do an audio conference or web meeting, contact a Conference Coach today.

Working for Copper Conferencing has opened my eyes to just how easy, fun and valuable webinars can be. First, let’s define webinar. Simply put, a webinar is a “web-based seminar.” Webinars come in different shapes and sizes. Some are formal and some are informal. Some have 10 attendees and some have 200 attendees.

Whatever shape webinars take, they are a great way to market, care for customers or keep your company on the same page. Let’s look at how different business departments might use a web conferencing service.

Marketing
I work in the marketing department at Copper Conferencing. Hosting webinars is a weekly occurrence in our department. We can’t get enough of them. We LOVE them! For marketing, a webinar is a great lead generation tool. For example, we created the Business Webinar Series. We solicited the speakers, promoted the events and moderated the webinar. The speakers were able to reach more attendees by using web conferencing which resulted in many new leads. Participants were able to learn new business skills and ideas while never having to leave their office. And Copper Conferencing was able to showcase web conferencing services in a very real and practical setting.

You could use webinars to promote a product, sell a service or increase general awareness of your business.

Customer Service
Customer Service is all about maintaining the relationship. Hosting a webinar is a great way to reach many customers at one time or provide individualized interaction. Our customer service department uses web conferencing almost daily.

For example, a customer service department could host a monthly “Ask the Expert” webinar. This webinar could include new product releases, product updates or current technical issues and a question and answer session at the end. Showing customers you care about their concerns is important. Take it a step further and use webinars as your platform.

Human Resources
Web Conferencing is a tool that HR departments need to use. Human Resources could also use webinars for new-hire training, product knowledge seminars or company-wide safely and regulation meetings.

For example, the hiring process is perfect for webinars. We used web conferencing to hire our web designer who lived out of state. With video streaming technology, the interview process was just as good as meeting face-to-face.

Become a Webinar Guru Too!
Becoming a webinar guru is easy. If I did, you can too! You just need the right tools to do it. Check out Copper Conferencing web conferencing services at www.copperconferencing.com/services/web-conferencing.