Denver, CO and Atlanta, GA — September 2, 2010 Copper Conferencing, a leading provider of audio conferencing and webinar services to the legal community, introduced Copper Legal, a full suite of audio conferencing, web conferencing and online account management for law firms and their legal administrators.   Visit www.copperlegal.com.

Copper Legal addresses the growing need of law firms to manage and recover costs, create efficiency among the administrative staff and find creative ways to develop greater contact with potential clients. Law firms, like many businesses today, must find ways to grow their businesses while closely monitoring costs needing to accomplish more with fewer resources.  “As we have become more educated to the challenges law firms and their administrators face in the current economy, we have continued to refine our conferencing services to be more relevant to the industry,” said Carolyn Bradfield, CEO of Copper Conferencing.

Connect To Copper, the online account management tool for firm administrators and legal assistants, streamlines the time that administrators must spend in managing conferencing users and allocating calls to the appropriate cost center or client matter number.  Features have been added specifically for law firms including the ability to email conferencing account information to attorneys at the touch of a button, to manage recordings online and to get invoicing reports electronically.

“We have increased our understanding of the administrative needs of law firms through our sponsorships and visits with members of the Association of Legal Administrators.  Those relationships have helped Copper understand their challenges and create technology to match their needs.”

Copper Legal provides a full suite of audio and web conferencing services for the day-to-day needs of the firm.  Using Copper Legal’s webinar services, law firms can offer CLE seminars, and offer educational webinars to clients, colleagues, the general public or to specific market segments. For more information about Copper Legal, visit www.copperlegal.com.

With Copper Legal, we make it easy for busy legal administrators to manage conferencing, monitor costs and increase their productivity. As part of Copper Legal, our comprehensive and easy-to-use customer portal, Connect To Copper, is a one-stop resource for conference call account management.  With real-time access to activate or deactivate moderators, view usage, listen to and download recordings or view and pay invoices, administrators can work more efficiently and effectively.

Copper Conferencing will be showcasing Copper Legal at two ALA regional conferences this fall.   Ms Bradfield will be attending Copper’s booth at the ALA Region 4 conference October 1-2, 2010 at the Four Seasons Resort & Club Dallas at Las Colinas in Irving, Texas.  Sara Stilson, Director of Sales for Copper Conferencing, will be attending the ALA Region 5 & 6 conference September 30 – October 2, 2010 at the Hard Rock Hotel in San Diego, California.  Stop by and see Copper at either show or click here to schedule an appointment with Carolyn or Sara.

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.

Copyright  2010 Copper Legal and Connect To Copper are trademarks of The Himark Group, LLC dba Copper Conferencing

Press Contact:

Alycia Maier-Turner
Copper Conferencing
303.952.4308
pr@copperconferencing.com

Dan Z.

Throughout my life I have always greatly appreciated my friends. Friends can offer you advice from an outside perspective. If they are good friends, they will also tell you the truth about a situation even if it’s the last thing in the world you want to hear. Friends give you someone to talk to, someone you can open up to without having to fear rejection or false judgment. And sometimes, friends give you someone to just be around in total silence while you contemplate things in your life. If you’re really lucky, your parents know how to be your friend as well as your caretaker. They guide you through the trials and tribulations you face, while still respecting your decisions as an individual.

As a child, I was a part of the over 50% of marriages in America that end in divorce. This turned my world upside down and caused me to lose faith in my ability to trust people. Luckily for me, I had already made a group of about 8 or 10 good friends. Probably without their knowledge, they became my solid foundation for an otherwise frightening and unstable experience known frequently as Life. As time went on, a few of these friends grew distant but new friends became a part of this growing foundation.  My parents also reestablished themselves in my life as a source of trustworthy knowledge and experience. I slowly grew out of my long lasting depression, and life took on a whole new vibrancy that begged to be shared.

These events are what led to me thinking of myself as “The Organizer” within my ever growing group of close friends. Because my friends played such a pivotal role in helping me through what I still believe to be the most emotionally traumatic event of my life, how could I be anything but grateful?  In order to show my gratitude to my friends, I frequently organize fun events for everyone.  Sometimes it’s going out to dinner with a noisy group of 15.  With age we have become slightly belligerent, but we make up for our raucous behavior and our aggravation of some guests and waiters with our good tips. As the organizer other times it’s me buying 15 tickets ahead of time to an Atlanta Hawks basketball game, and then dealing with the hassle of collecting from everyone. Whatever event I decide to organize, it’s always a time for fellowship and interaction.

If there is one thing in life I’ve learned, absence leads to more than making the heart grow fonder. It often also leads to relationships atrophying into a mere shadow of their previous brilliance. This also seems to be true in the business world. Communication is a key component of any organization that hopes to function at optimal performance. It allows a unified purpose to be conveyed to every member of an organization. It helps coordinate due dates and goals throughout the company. It also helps people connect with each other on a more personal level. I never mind doing a favor for someone I know personally, but I sometimes find it hard to motivate myself to be inconvenienced for someone I don’t know.

With the rapid increase of globalization, many companies are spread out between different regions. In response to this conferencing has become less of an unnecessary benefit and more of a commodity. Although not true for every company, most companies can find unparalleled benefits from conferencing. It allows for an ease of interaction between company members that 50 years ago was almost unthinkable. Now all I need to do is find a way to implement conferencing in my group of friends, and we will never have to worry about our relationship deteriorating = )

Daniel Zachmann is a member of the Marketing team at Copper Conferencing. Copper Conferencing is a provider of audio conferencing and webinar services. Copper also provides wrap-around services including online account, invoice and recording management. You can try Copper’s great web and audio conferencing services — FREE. Just sign up now.

Carolyn Bradfield

When it comes to buying anything, I would not describe myself as a shopper.  A shopper is a person who gets pleasure from looking around, seeing what’s out there, finding things that fill a want and not a need and spending time in the social experience that shopping can often generate.  I am so not that person, even though a lot of my friends are.  Maybe that comes from growing up in a small southern town that had 1 department store and no Sears or Kmart.  Shopping just wasn’t that fun.

I would however describe myself as a competitive bargain hunter.  I have very few “wants” and most of my needs are already met.  I’m not fashion forward, but have things that are useful year after year.  A competitive bargain hunter enjoys the thrill of the hunt and the excitement of finding the bargain.  We are willing to invest time to weigh the options, know the discounting patterns of our favorite retailers, and invest in the research on Internet sites such as craigslist.

It baffles me when I run into people who are satisfied with paying more than then need to for products or services they use regularly.  Sometimes this happens because they have little to no financial incentive to save money.  As an example, insurance companies don’t really motivate their customers to be frugal.  For my high cholesterol, my doctor originally prescribed Lipitor and the drug did its job.  My number dropped by 40%.  I was elated.  However, even after the co-pay, the price was over $60 per month.  I did my research and found that there were a number of generic drug equivalents and asked my doctor to write a new prescription.  I took it to Wal-Mart and for $4 came away with the new drug.  My cholesterol numbers didn’t go up.  If Aetna would reward me for shopping around, there’s no telling how much I could save on their behalf!

Stay tuned and I’ll blog about how Ann Taylor, Kohl’s, and Banana Republic fund my very large Christmas list when I shop the months after Christmas with coupons, emails to alert me when the price drops, and extra percentages off on special days.  Their styles are classic and everyone seems to be happy with the cashmere, sweaters, and classic styles.

Being a competitive bargain hunter requires that you do a little research, compare and contrast and be willing to slightly alter how you do business.  Given the fact that I’m a competitive bargain hunter in my personal life, one can expect that I would translate that spirit into Copper Conferencing.   Here is where we are going to help you start the process of saving money by just changing your habits slightly.

Most of us dial toll-free numbers to get into a conference call.  However, most of us are taking those calls from our offices or a fixed location.  And even if we take those calls from our cell phone, we usually have plans that give us long distance for free.  I started asking myself, “Is dialing a toll-free number to get into a conference call really necessary?”   And if not, what is the alternative?

I stumbled on the fact that there are networks of local dial in numbers that can access a conference call exactly the same way a toll-free number can.  Dialing a local number is always less expensive.  There is no long distance charge for the user and it cost less money for me as the provider to offer it.  If customers are willing to slightly alter how they enter a call, then they can save money.  Get ready, because Copper is going to show everyone how to use local dial in just as easily as you use a toll free number.  You can join my competitive bargain club with this one simple conferencing secret.

I hate paying more than I have to for anything…….for my monthly cholesterol drug, for that Ann Taylor outfit and to get into my conference call.  Read my next blog and I’ll show you just how painless it is to do it.   I’ll also give you my key secrets to competitive bargain hunting.  I promise it will be worth it!

Carolyn Bradfield is the CEO of Copper Conferencing, a leading provider of audio and web conferencing and wrap-around services to enhance customer experience. You can try Copper’s great web and audio conferencing services — FREE. Just sign up now.

Working at a small company gives employees the opportunity to dream, think, and contribute to product development, enhancements, and how we market and sell to our customers.  At Copper Conferencing, talking with our customers is as close as picking up the phone, whether you are in Marketing, Customer Service, Accounting or Sales.  We count it a privilege to hear what our customers tell us that they care about, what it is that they need, or what they would like to have from conferencing in future days/years.

Although predicting the future is not likely, peeking around the next corner isn’t out of reach.  The combination of customer desires and employee dreams of future possibilities launch ideas, and ideas become ways of doing things better.

2010 is the year of doing conferencing better, easier, less expensively.  At Copper, this means partnerships with leading web conferencing providers to provide an expanded menu of service and choices for our diverse customers.  It means introducing Local Dial In as a connection option to drive your costs down.  It means having a  Conference Coach available to you every time you call us, and Connect To Copper, a state of the art Customer Portal for you to  self-access and manage your  conferencing account whenever you need to.

Wherever you are, we are here. We have expanded our menu, giving you new choices, and making conferencing easier.

Try Copper for free!

Carolyn Bradfield

One of the key things to remember about the Channel Partners Show in Las Vegas is the word “partner.”   Channel partners are independent business people who are experts in telecommunications services and  “partner” with technology providers to recommend and offer services to their customers.  Their customers are not large enough to staff up with a telecommunications or IT professional, so having an independent 3rd party help them make these types of decisions is critical to having the right services at the right price.

Copper Conferencing has a number of partnerships with telecommunications agents as well as technology providers.  Here are some thoughts about partnerships, focusing on what makes a good partnership and what destroys one.

Good Partnerships

• Partnerships are based on trust. You have to trust your partner to represent you appropriately and they have to trust you will deliver what you promised when you promised it.
• They have well defined relationships. Anxiety always comes from un-met expectations.  If partners know what to expect from each other, misunderstandings and conflict are minimized.
• Partnerships hold boundaries. Once the partnership rules are defined, if either of the partners operates outside of those defined rules, then the partner must communicate that a boundary has been breached and how to re-establish it.
• Partnerships are collaborative. Sometimes the rules need to change.  Sometimes what is being delivered needs to be adjusted.  Good partnerships make change a collaborative process, involving all parties.
• Partnerships must have processes to resolve conflict. If there are disagreements partners must have a plan and process to appropriately communicate and resolve the issue.

Interestingly, one key topic of conversation at this particular show was the issue of “channel conflict.”  Channel conflict specifically refers to organizations that use partners to generate revenue alongside with having their own direct sales force.  Conflict results when that direct sales force encroaches on a partner’s customer.  Because a direct sales force can likely sell services at a lower price than the partner, then conflict becomes inherent if there are no rules of engagement, little pricing discipline, or mechanisms to determine which channel is best positioned to serve the customer.

At Copper Conferencing, we have both channel partners and a direct sales force.  Our rules of engagement are quite clear relative to our partners.  If the partner is in a deal, we withdraw because generally the partner has a broader relationship with the customer and is better positioned to make conferencing a part of their overall package.  We discipline our sales organization with pricing controls so they are not undercutting our partners inadvertently.  If we encroach without realizing it, we immediately communicate to the partner so they are aware that their customer has been entertaining offers outside the influence of the channel partner.

This is a respectful way to do business and creates the trust that the channel partner needs to know that we are focused on what is in the best interest of Copper Conferencing, the partner, and the partner’s customer.  Unfortunately, this philosophy is not consistent in our industry.  The largest conferencing company (and we all know who they are) doesn’t respect the need to manage channel conflict.  They unleash their direct sales organization on anybody and everybody, have very little pricing discipline not thinking twice about undercutting their partners, and no mechanism to determine who is best positioned to serve the customer.

In the short time that I wandered by their blue and white booth, I overheard several agents with their list of customers that this provider encroached on and the unfortunate channel managers who had to explain that there was nothing they could do about it.  Wake up channel partners!  If you are in a relationship like this, then think long and hard about whether there is trust in this relationship.   It’s not enough to like your point of contact.  They are probably really nice people.  However, your provider must have a mechanism to define boundaries, rules of engagement and resolve conflict.  Otherwise, every customer you do business with is at risk.  What kind of partnership is that really?

Carolyn Bradfield is the CEO of Copper Conferencing, a leading provider or audio and web conferencing and wrap-around services to enhance customer experience. To learn more about Copper Conferencing, visit www.copperconferencing.com.

Carolyn Bradfield

The Channel Partners show kicked off with a flurry last night at the Mandalay Bay hotel with an open house in the exhibit hall.  The Copper Conferencing booth was strategically positioned right next to the food and the open bar, so we had a large group of people that hung out and visited with us, some waiting for the drink line to get shorter.

Aside from Copper Conferencing, there were a number of other conferencing companies in our industry who were present.  One of the hot topics for those at the show who know Copper and our industry is our newly-announced partnership with PGi (Premiere Global).  It is common in our industry to have buy-sell arrangements with other vendors.  None of us have the funds or band width to develop everything we sell.

In Copper’s world, we develop a lot of the key technology we are know for such as Connect To Copper, Copper Link, the Phoenix system and a soon to be announced Copper Mobile application for the iPhone and Blackberry.  For other technology, we take advantage of a larger company’s relationships and buying power and form partnerships such as the one we have formed with PGi.  They have helped us add new web conferencing to our product mix with the recent announcement that we now offer Adobe® Connect Pro, Microsoft® Live Meeting and Cisco WebEx®.  The have a much more extensive global network, extending our customer’s ability to execute both domestic and global conference calls.  We are really excited about what this means for the Copper Conferencing customer.

Now, just so you don’t think we’re boring and this is all business, we are having a little fun out here.  Remembering that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, I’ll give you a little peek behind the curtain.  Yesterday, I had a fun meeting with one of our channel partners, who I have promised not to name in my blog.  Come to find out that he took Paula Abdul to his high school prom in his junior year.  (I have asked for pictures as proof, but this seems real!).  She wore teal taffeta and was the best dancer, cutest cheerleader and overall nicest person in high school.  I’m awe stuck and glad to hear that given that I have been an American Idol fan for years!  I hear our channel partner was a stud in high school – tight end, star football player and overall hunk.  (You can still see this in him today!)

We did get invited to a couple of cool parties tonight – going to hear Smokey Robinson and the Miracles if any of you are old enough to remember how great he is and then afterwards were invited to another party at Drais on the Las Vegas Strip.  It may be a long night tonight!

Back home in Atlanta, I hear it’s blizzard conditions, so I may have to take one for the team and stay here a little longer if flights are delayed – I’ll suck it up and be a trooper and try and practice my newly acquired gambling skills to see if I can improve the $15 I have won over the last 2 days!

More from the channel show tomorrow!

Carolyn Bradfield is the CEO of Copper Conferencing, a leading provider or audio and web conferencing and wrap-around services to enhance customer experience. To learn more about Copper Conferencing, visit www.copperconferencing.com.

The show kicks off tonight, so I thought I would start with my impressions of Las Vegas first.  A year ago, the city was reeling from high unemployment, a low number of visitors, empty hotel rooms and unfinished construction projects.  Obama compounded the issue by publicly stating that when the economy is bad you shouldn’t go to Vegas.

A year later, things aren’t much better.  The fabulous City Center is now complete with its high end Tiffany and Gucci stores, but there is a glaring lack of people that were there and willing to pay the prices.  Everywhere else, stores are closing or they are selling off inventory and the casinos are hurting for gamblers.  Since Vegas hosts a number of business conventions, I would maintain that so goes Vegas, so goes the economy and the country.  The recovery isn’t in full bloom and certainly hasn’t helped “Sin City.”

We decided to stay at the Luxor, only a short walk to the Mandalay Bay Hotel that is host to the convention, because of the super special room rates – $100 for a suite, you can’t beat it!  However, the hotel is aging and hasn’t come up to par with modern times.  Here is my advice for hotels like the Luxor to stay relevant to the business and convention customer that will certainly come back to Vegas over time:

• No hotel should be without WiFi.  Get a clue – we all have laptops.
• Get rid of those tired bedspreads and linens.  Use the white “hotel bed” look.
• Same with towels – upgrade them!  (And add bathrobes)
• Use better products in the bathroom – we like gels, high end shampoo, etc
• Change out your TV’s to flat screens

We kick off the Channel Partners Show tonight.  I’m excited to see many of the telecommunications agents that send Copper Conferencing business.  I’m excited to see the vendors and exhibitors and find out what’s new and relevant.

Welcome to my journey at the Channel Partners Show.

What you should know is that an increasing number of companies recognized this solution and have survived this sour economy by using such tools as audio, web, and video conferencing. These collaborate tools have been helpful in managing clients outside of geographical boundaries and managing employees within the company. The question is, what has Copper Conferencing done to differentiate itself from the other conferencing companies to prove it is an even better solution for those companies in search of cost saving maneuvers?

The answer is, Copper Conferencing has the most user-friendly conferencing services. Copper’s collaboration tools include:

• On-Demand reservationless audio conferencing
• An online customer portal Connect To Copper that lets the customer control his/her conferencing
• A learning center with one-minute skill builders
• Free assistance from an excellent customer service team
• A range of webcast and web meeting options
• And these services come with no contract and no usage fees

It’s no wonder why companies have made the switch to Copper during the weak economy.  You can try Copper for free to see for yourself.

Jon Burnham is a marketing assistant for Copper Conferencing.  Jon works and plays in and around Atlanta, Georgia.

In times such as this, I’m reminded that gaining a new perspective on a situation or problem is often easy.  As easy, say, as putting on a wig.  Yes, I said a wig.

Last weekend, several people from Copper Conferencing attended a social event where wigs were par for the course.  I can honestly say that I definitely gained new perspective on two of my colleagues, Sara Stilson and Sarah Deatherage.

And what I learned about each of them got me to thinking about how this new perspective might translate to not only what we do at Copper but how we provide webinars and audio conferencing to prospects and customers.

I know this may seem like a big leap, but really it’s not a terribly big gap to bridge if you think of the wig as a metaphor for small but significant changes that can be made in any business to simply change an attitude, a way of communicating or perspective on a problem or situation.   Think of how using (or adding) audio conferencing or web conferencing might make a difference in how you approach your clients, communicate with your employees or disseminate information to a target audience.  How much do you have to gain?

So the next time you’re in need of a new perspective, put on a wig.

Carolyn Bradfield

InterCall is by most measurements the world’s largest conferencing company.  In the early days they grew by showing businesses how efficient conferencing was, then they shifted to snapping up smaller conferencing companies and acquiring their customer bases   Recently, they have added revenue through rate hikes, fees and surcharges to stay even in the face of our current economic downturn.  (Think about airline baggage charges).

When you reduce customer service and account managers from companies you buy, diminish the personal touch, and raise rates, your options become limited in holding on to an increasingly dissatisfied customer base.  Enter the concept of the contract.  Contracts are often used to create the perception of obligation in return for a rate advantage.  If it were that simple, it would seem like a good idea.

However, is it really in a company’s best interest to get a rate advantage through a contact?  Let’s use the example of a company who agrees to pay InterCall $.05 per minute in return for a revenue obligation of $5,000 for 12 months.  They spend an average of $600 per month and would easily meet their obligation.

Now, let’s add back fees that they might expect on an invoice.  They want an invoice mailed, so that’s $25.00.  Their moderators like to get a post conference report, so that’s another $25 for each conference call.  There are bridging fees of 6% and miscellaneous telecom fees of another 1%.  Some of their calls are short, so they have to make up the difference to make sure that call billed $15.  If a couple of users call in, get the time wrong and start the call, that’s an expensive proposition.

Maybe those fees add another 25% in cost each month.  (I’ve seen it as high as 50%).  What is the real rate per minute now?  That contract that guarantees $.05 per minute, still guarantees the rate will not go up for 12 months.  However, the extra 25% in fees and surcharges really make that rate $.0625 – not what the company believed they were signing the contract for.

Sometimes contracts are a good thing, but in an industry that is ever-changing, with technology that consistently reduces the cost of doing business, contracts may box you in, limit your choices and give you a false sense of security.  My advice, keep your options open.

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