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November 9, 2009 Tip of the Day - Host A Web-Based MeetingFiled under: Tip of the Day As many companies are trying to save on travel expenses – and yet, remain in contact with clients – the use of Web-based meeting services is increasing. Here, management and marketing consultant Deirdre Johnson, president of DJ Times Two, offers three tips for holding a client meeting on the Internet: 1. Research services. There are many online meeting providers – WebEx, GoToMeeting, InterCall and Genesys are some of the most popular ones – so the key is do some initial research. “They’re all similar in the interface, but have some different cost structures,” Johnson says. “The more meetings you hold, the less you’ll end up paying for each one. But you should aim to spend about $100 per meeting online.” 2. Send an agenda in advance. “As with in-person meetings, you don’t want to waste your client’s time,” Johnson says. “Be clear in advance what the goals of the meeting are and what kind of information you’ll be presenting. 3. Do a dry run. You want to make sure that you’re comfortable with the technology, so do a practice run-through of your content and test all of the elements on the meeting interface that you’re planning to use. “These sites have a lot of bells and whistles, so you need some time be get comfortable with them before your meeting,” Johnson says. “You don’t want to be testing things out when a client is watching.” Send log-in instructions multiple times. Don’t take it for granted that your client knows how to get into an online meeting. “Don’t be shy about sending the instructions at least three times before a meeting,” Johnson says. “And make sure to copy any executive assistants that you can. They’ll make sure to get the person logged in correctly.” – Kenneth Hein From the 2009 Counselor State of the Industry |
