1. Plan ahead. Before a phone or web meeting, do an agenda and stick to it. This will help your meetings be more productive and efficient.
2. Know the phone commands. Keep a reference guide handy during a conference call so that you can easily record the call, mute or unmute your line. Check out Copper’s phone commands here.
3. Use web conferencing! Want to take your meetings to the next level? Web conferencing is a dynamic and collborative way to engage with employees or potenial customers.
4. Be interactive. Start leveraging the interactive tools that audio and web conferencing has to offer.
5. Just do it! New technology can be a little overwhelming, however there is no better way to learn something new than by jumping right in.

For a free 30-day trial of web conferencing, just visit Try Copper Conferencing!

Amanda Kubicek is part of marketing at Copper Conferencing and loves to rock climb in and around our corporate headquarters in Broomfield, CO.

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

It’s rained more in Atlanta in the last 30 days than in the last 3 years.  One of my dear friends has a wonderful house with a sloped backyard that flattens out at the basement door.  Over the last 2 weeks, I’ve been helping take out wet carpet and the most absorbent carpet pad I’ve ever seen.  Although much of the furniture remained intact, she decided it was time for a furniture upgrade.

Copper Conferencing has a number of young people working for the company with several of those individuals living on their own for the first time since college.  What you and I might consider furniture cast offs, they consider those cast offs a great way to furnish an empty apartment.  I took two of our young people over to her house and they instantly fell in love with the older Rooms To Go green couch.  A few minutes later, it was strapped down and loaded on the top of my Murano.   Since it was only going a few miles, I considered this would be a simple, quick exercise of getting the couch over and into the first floor of the townhome  – no big deal, right?

Jace and the couch

Quite a bit of time passed and I started to get worried.  It seemed secure on the roof, but did it slip off?  What was the delay?  They came back and I was on the phone so keys were passed over and I didn’t think any more of it until one of the young men came out of the office and sheepishly let me know the couch had gotten stuck in the front doorway.  Not only could they not get into their townhome, but their neighbor couldn’t get in as well.

The way is clear

I called my very handy husband who loaded all kinds of tools in his car and hurried over.  I envisioned having to hack through the door frame and all types of disruptive activities to dislodge this wedged-in couch.  He went to his toolbox, pulled out a handy-dandy Philips-head screwdriver and in moments the legs were taken off and the couch slipped inside.

What’s the lesson in all this?  Think before you act?  Call for help and advice?  Don’t force it if it doesn’t fit?  I think all of these lessons are good, but the one I took away was that sometimes all it takes is a simple tool to do the job.  When people ask me about what I do for a living, conferencing may seem like a simple tool, but sometimes that’s all that is needed to do the job.  It works from every phone, doesn’t require instructions, and doesn’t require any set up.  Dial the phone and you’re in – a simple tool.

But over a conference call or webinar, you can cement business deals, reorganize your company, set sales strategy, and train everyone on the latest product.  Conferencing is that simple tool that gets a lot done.

By the way to the gentlemen who now own the couch, I have more furniture, but if you take it, then let’s think before you act, look before you leap, have a plan and some simple tools to get the stuff through the door!

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

At the recent SES conference in San Jose, I sat in on different sessions dealing with web development, design, SEO, social media and many other topics. The underlying palatable theme of the conference was the panic over social media. Don’t get me wrong, there were many experts at the conference, but most only spoke lip service to social media and very few understood it’s long term potential. It seems that to be successful in social media we all need to relearn a few lessons in sharing, communication and friendship.

When you think about social media, you need to stop thinking about your company and start thinking about your employees, current customers and potential customers. This is your opportunity to convert your company from a cold and stale entity to an outward looking company and with a product set created for and driven by people. These people, your employees and coworkers, are just like you and me, and they look very similar to our customers and friends. This is where we build the foundation of our social media plan, because if we can get our employees to shine through via pictures, blog posts, videos and tweets we have to potential to gain friendship along with revenue. At Copper Conferencing we have had success through turning each of our employees into a guest-blogger, allowing them to highlight their skills and knowledge on our blog.

We must also understand that just like friendships we must do our best to be honest and helpful and patient. The social media scene is one that is willing to give criticism as quickly as it is willing to give compliments. But as the old saying goes, “Even bad press is good press.” You should be more concerned not about your inability to control the conversation but whether the conversation is going on at all.

It is also important to understand that social media is a long term strategy. To use a simple illustration think of the last time you were invited to a party only to find out it was a pyramid scheme. Do not view social as a means of tricking your friends into buying something they are not even sure they want. Instead view the long term relationships as a means to generating reputation first, traffic second and revenue third.

To provide a simple example of this concept think about the content on your website. Does your content reflect self focus or does your content answer questions, provide instruction and give before it takes? If we begin to help help users through our content we can start to shape and mold it as a discussion instead of an autobiography. This kind of content writing lends itself to linking, discussion and viral movement. All of these actions can potentially bring large amounts of traffic to a website.

Beyond content think about the kind of value your company can add to a network like Twitter. Have a white paper or an e-book related to your company? Give it away. Have intimate knowledge of your industry and products? Search for related terms on Twitter and start answering questions. Think of yourself as an ambivalent giver of information, the expert in the scene and the kind of user that can be trusted. At the most refined point. trust is what social media should be about. If we can gain the trust of users in our networks, the prospect of selling moves away from our modern isolated model to the days of old when a handshake and a promise where more important then catchy tag lines and redesigned packages.

We will all admit that social media seems to be sticking and at the same time still feels awkward and alien. Let’s hope that we can all begin to stop thinking about social media and begin to think about our place in the relationships and communities that we call industries and markets. If we can begin to start acting like ourselves again we might finally see some results worth standing by.

Have questions about Copper Conferencing or need to do an audio conference or web meeting?  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.

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.

The same can be said for doing a web conference.  Okay, maybe not in your car, but anywhere Wi-Fi is available is a place from which you can host a web meeting.

In fact, many people I know host internet meetings from their favorite coffee shops or restaurants.  I asked some of our Conference Coaches and employees what their favorite locations were for working remotely or for hosting internet meetings.  Here are their favorites:

• Kathleen, Director of Customer Care: Starbucks at 2035 Towne Lake Parkway, Woodstock, GA (770) 592-5529
• Brittany, Conference Coach: Yogoday at 124 Barrett Pkwy, Marietta, GA (770) 795-1522 and any Starbucks
• Amanda, Marketing Clairvoyant: Orchard Town Center at  14697 Delaware Street, Suite 850, Westminster, CO 303-450-8600
• Tim, Web Guru: Panera Bread at 302 Center Drive, Superior, CO (720) 304-7000
• Brent, Conference Coach: Borders Bookstore at 605 Ernest W Barrett Parkway NW, Kennesaw, GA (678) 581-1243 and Starbucks at Barrett Pkwy & Barrett Lakes Blvd 815 Barrett Parkway, Kennesaw, GA 770-427-0159
• Alycia, Director of Marketing: Alexander’s Pizza at 849 Orange Avenue, Coronado, CA (619) 435-5747

So, the next time you’re out and about and need to do a teleconference or a web conference, just remember that your local coffee shop, bookstore or favorite restaurant might be just the place to do it.

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

BROOMFIELD, CO, July 13, 2009 — Copper Conferencing, a leading provider of audio conferencing and web conferencing services to small and medium-sized businesses, announced Paul Montelongo joined the Sales track of The Business Webinar Series ( www.copperconferencing.com/campaigns/biz-webinar/), a free educational webinar series for business professionals.

“We are pleased to partner with Paul Montelongo for our online webinar series,” said Alycia Maier-Turner Director of Marketing for Copper Conferencing.  “Mr. Montelongo’s topic is perfect for sales and marketing professionals or anyone who wants their businesses to survive and thrive in a tough market.  Mr. Montelongo’s free online presentation using Copper’s web and audio conferencing is only 45-minutes with an additional 15-minutes for questions.  Participants can join from anywhere they can access the internet – it’s perfect for busy professionals.”

The Business Webinar Series features speakers who have become renowned for their pursuit of excellence and their knowledge of business issues.  This online education series enables business professionals to learn from the best and from those with perspectives spanning multiple industries and disciplines.

“Understanding emotions and being able to leverage that to your advantage is key to creating value,” said Mr. Montelongo.  “Additionally, understanding emotive levers gives you insight in to what your top client’s needs and wants are and how to respond to those needs while continuing to make more money.”

Free for registered participants, Paul Montelongo’s webinar “Creating Value in Any Market” will begin at 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 14, 2009.  To register, visit http://www.copperconferencing.com/go/d0cea

About Copper Conferencing:
Headquartered in Broomfield, Colorado, Copper Conferencing provides eco-friendly 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 event calls, Copper Conferencing helps businesses save time and money while improving productivity. Copper’s audio and web conferencing services are backed by fully managed, carrier-class platforms to power communication for thousands of customers. For more information about Copper Conferencing, visit www.copperconferencing.com or call a Conference Coach at 866-903-7521.

About Paul Montelongo
A nationally recognized speaker, author, syndicated columnist, and entrepreneurial consultant, Paul has built two multi-million dollar construction companies over the last 28 years. His companies have contracted with thousands of clients, from Fortune 100 companies to the private investor. Paul’s companies have specialized in new home building, design/build remodeling, real estate development and insurance restoration. Paul has earned the prestigious Certified Graduate RemodelorT ( CGR ) and the Certified New Home Sales ProfessionalT (CSP) designations from the National Association of Home Builders ( NAHB ), which recognizes excellence and professional commitment to the construction industry in America.

Paul brings his practical, no-nonsense experience to businesses and organizations around the country. His programs are packed with genuine life stories, anecdotes and personal experiences from being in the trenches of the real world of business.  You can learn more about Paul at www.paulmontelongo.com

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

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Free Webinar:  Creating Value in a Tough Market

Presented by Paul Montelongo
Date:   Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Time:   2pm ET

Creating value is key to your business success. Learn:

* Key emotive levers for today’s buyer
* How you can tap into emotive levers
* To use emotive levers to influence your prospect
* How to determine exactly what your premiere client wants

These 4 keys help you to deliver immense value to your customers and help you make more money.  Register Now!

Paul Montelongo’s free 60-minute fast moving webinar will highlight real world examples from today’s economy that are working for businesses everywhere.

Who Should Attend: Anyone, but particularly those in sales or marketing

Register Now!

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

Register Now!