Author Archives: Lee Simonson

How to Save on Your Conference Calls

Saving on your conference calls is easy.  Because of our wide-ranging conference call service offerings, we can easily provide you the best plan at the lowest cost.  

Here are just a couple of examples on how to save:

One customer just told us that we saved them $5000 a year on conference expense because they switched from being charged per minute, to an unlimited flat rate plan.  A flat rate plan throws away the clock — you pay one fixed rate a month, and you can talk as long as you like.  How can we do that?  The key is that the service does not provide a toll-free number to call-in on.  But these days, who cares?  Fact is:  Most businesses and residences in the United States, along with ALL cell phones, have free long distance bundled with their local service.  That being the case, it doesn’t cost anything to call into the conference bridge in the first place!

Another customer just told us, “Wow, you just saved me $2000.”  We hear that all the time.  Sometimes it’s a few dollars a month, other times it’s over $10,000 a year.  Just this morning, someone called who was a volunteer for a non-profit organization was looking for a toll-free solution that would enable her board of directors to meet over the phone — saving time and travel costs.  She was using another conferencing service and was thrilled to find out that she just saved about $1000 a year of money the organization desperately needed to use for other purposes.  That’s a phone conversation that everyone leaves with a smile on their face.  Believe it or not, there are businesses and organizations that are still paying over 10 cents per minute, per person, for their conference service.  They just pay their bill, not knowing that conference rates have been cut substantially over the past few years.  Another reason why it pays to shop around on a regular basis.

Why some companies have to charge more for conference calls

The conference call business is one of the most competitive online businesses and here are some inside scoops that may surprise you.  Chances are, you found our website by doing a search using some keywords on one of the search engines, like Google.

Appearing in the search results can be very costly.  Every time you click on one of the ads, Google is paid a fee by the advertiser.  All the conference call companies do the same thing.  Interestingly enough, to appear at the top of the search listings can cost upwards of $20 per click.  However, if you bid less, you’ll appear on lower or at the bottom of the page.

Some conference companies spend over $100,000 per month to advertise on Google and the other search engines.  (That’s why Google became one of the fastest growing companies in history — businesses were paying them to get shoppers to their websites!)

Well, we view things a little differently than our competitors.  Someone has to pay for those huge ad budgets.  Guess who?  That’s right — their customers!

Our overhead is much less

In contrast, our ad budget is extremely modest.  And because we don’t have to generate the income to pay for those big ad budgets, we are able to pass those savings, and low overhead expenses, on to you. So we may not be the 800-pound gorilla in the room, but we don’t want to be.

We just want to be a simple conference call service that specializes in great customer service, superior quality, and a management that minimizes costs and maximizes savings for our customers.  While our competitors are spending a fortune on advertising, we’ll also keep relying on our loyal customers to continue making referrals.  Word-of-mouth is still the best way to get a new customer!  It also happens to be the cheapest!

Conference Call Providers and Options

Conference call service providers come in all shapes and sizes.  Some are listed on the stock exchange, others are small and specialize in various niches.

Choosing a teleconference service can be a bit overwhelming simply because there are so many choices available.  Not only are there dozens of service bureaus, but each service has a number of different programs and plans available.  So it doesn’t hurt to shop around and pick up the phone and talk to a few teleconference vendors and pick their brain to see what they have to offer.

The advantages we offer conference call shoppers

The advantages we bring to the table include having the capacity to service both large and small conference accounts.  We’re small enough to value every single customer and provide individual and personalized service.  No one gets lost in the cracks here.

The reason:  Staff longevity.  Everyone has worked here a long time and is familiar with account histories and customers’ special needs and preferences.  We don’t have to constantly train new staff and we have invested our time and attention in understanding our conference customers.  Frankly, that kind of experience is something that money can’t buy.  But it does separate us from the pack and it’s the big reason why our old customers stay with us, and why our new customers find us. 

In this day and age, true customer service is hard to come by.  You don’t want to spend hours talking to a machine trying to find the right person.  You want a live human to answer the phone.  That’s what we do, and it’s one of the big things that separates us from the competition.

The best way to get the conference service you want and need

Your best bet is to explain exactly what you’re looking for…  How many people will usually be on your call?  How many conference calls do you plan on having per week or month?  How long do you think your conferences will last?  What cities, states, or countries are your conference participants from?  Will you need everyone to dial a toll-free number to get into the conference, or can you participants dial a long distance number?

Once we know, we can offer you various options and you can choose the best service for the lowest rates that meet your particular needs.  There may be conferencing solutions that you’re not aware of that may exceed your expectations.

For example, when people call us and find out about our flat rate teleconference service, they are pleasantly surprised to learn that they can pay one fixed rate a month and can talk as long as they want — truly an “unlimited” conference calling program.  And since most people and businesses have free long distance bundled with their local telephone service, it’s even a better deal.  Be a smart shopper and compare. And remember, you get what you pay for!

Reliable conference service at the lowest rates

Our goal has always been to provide the most reliable service, at the lowest rates, with the best customer service.  And we’re pleased to say that we have achieved those objectives.  But that doesn’t mean we sit our laurels either.

We’re always looking for new ways to improve our service and technology.  We want to be THE “value” proposition in today’s conferencing marketplace and we’ll do whatever we can to make sure that you continue to receive the best value for conference call services.

With our myriad of services we can help you find exactly what you’re looking for when it comes to meeting your conferencing needs.  Whether it’s a fixed or flat rate conference service that provides you unlimited usage, or a specialized application involving several professional operators to assist your call, we can help.  We’re ready to roll up our sleeves and get to work for you today! 

Give us a call at 877-254-2424 to discuss your conferencing needs or let us know how we can improve. Your feedback is always welcomed. 

One-time Conference Call Service

Looking to have a one-time conference call?  We can help you.

Your best bet is to sign up to for our Instant Activation conference service that will provide you a toll-free conference access number and passcodes in the next 2 minutes.

Here are the advantages:

1)  You’re only charged 4.9 cents per minute, per person.  There are no set-up fees and no contracts, so you can use the service once and not worry about any future costs.

2)  The toll-free number will work for any of your conference guests in the U.S. and Canada.  You can accommodate up to 100 guests.

3)  Once you fill out your order form, your information will be emailed to you instantly, so you don’t have to wait for your order to be processed.

How does it work?

Once you receive your access number and passcodes, just alert your conference guests of the time you want everyone to call in.  (Your conference bridge is open and ready to go as soon as you receive your email.  You can use it anytime.  You don’t have to let us know when you want to use it.)

Everyone, including you, call the toll-free number at the time you assign to start your conference.  Then everyone will be prompted to key in their passcode.  You will enter your 7-digit host passcode followed by the # sign.  And your guests will enter in their 7-digit guest passcode followed by the # sign.  Your conference will begin and you can talk as long as you want.

We will keep track of your time and charge your credit card accordingly after your conference is over.

That’s it!  You will never hear from us again.  However, if by chance, you want to have another conference call in the future, you are welcomed to use the service whenever you want.  You can use the same passcodes over and over again.  So, it’s always a good idea to save your call-in number and passcodes in case you need to use them again.

Your request is not unusual

And don’t worry, your request is not at all unusual.  Thousands of businesses and individuals who have never hosted a conference call before find themselves in situations that necessitate getting several people on the phone at once.  They only need to use the conference service once and probably won’t need to do it again.  That’s why we’re here — to make sure you can communicate and discuss important topics quickly and conveniently, without committing yourself to long term contracts or agreements.

If you want to order over the phone, you can give us a call at 877-254-2424 and we’ll be happy to help you get started.

High Quality Phone Conference Services at the Lowest Rates

High quality phone conferencing services are readily available and easy to obtain.  In fact, you can get a conference account set up in minutes at no cost.  You can review each of the various conferencing plans and options at the top or side of this webpage.

Here are some of things you should know or consider while you are narrowing down your phone conference bridge options:

1)  In 90% of the situations, it’s MUCH less expensive to outsource your conferencing services versus owning and maintaining your own in-house conference bridge and hardware.

2)  There are variety of plans and programs designed to meet your individual needs.  It doesn’t hurt to discuss the pros and cons of each with a professional.  That’s why we’re here.

3)  Free conference services exist, but in the end, you get what you pay for.  Long distance carriers have been known to block calls entering free conference bridges.  In fact, T-Mobile is now charging users a penny a minute to access free conference lines.

4)  Audio phone conferencing is here to stay.  Why?  Because as cool as video conferencing is, the majority of people are self-conscious about what they look like on camera.  Some people even hate looking at themselves.  Verbal conversation will never be replaced when it comes to business and organizational interaction and that’s why the phone will be around for a long time.  While more people text today than talk on the phone, texting is not a practical way to conduct business conversations or transactions.

5)  For video and web conferencing, the old video conference room is out and the smaller less expensive webcams are in.  Now you can do everything from your desktop, or even a smartphone.

6)  It’s true.  Phone conferencing slashes travel and meetings expenses dramatically.  The reason phone conference call services are booming is because it is the least expensive way to conduct business from a variety of locations.  Face to face meetings are always good, but unfortunately, they eat up time which businesspeople and non-profit professionals can’t afford.   If you can get 5 people on an audio conference call by just picking up the phone, you can accomplish more in 10 minutes than you can killing a morning or afternoon trying to get everyone in the same room at the same time.   And with the advent of smartphones and cell technology and coverage, people can now conference and conduct business from anywhere.  You’ll see hand-held video conferencing technology becoming more widely used in the future.

Your best bet:  Look at the different conference services that are offered, get some good advice, and move forward with your plans.  There are no long term commitments so you can always switch to another plan easily and quickly.

Getting a high quality and reliable conferencing service could be the best move you’ve ever made.  Give us a call at 877-254-2424 and we’ll get you set up quickly on the right path.

800 Toll-Free Conference Bridge Service

Toll-free conference bridge services are readily available and can save businesses and organizations a substantial amount of money because there is no need to buy expensive conference hardware or software.

In fact, setting up your conference service is free and you can use the service on a pay-as-you-go basis.  You can get set up in a manner of minutes to begin using toll free conferencing.

The most popular plan is our Fast Conference Call Set-Up which enables you and your guests to call-in to the conference bridge by dialing a toll-free number.  You’ll receive an email as soon as you submit your order form.  Inside you’ll find your call-in number along with two passcodes — one for you and one for your guests.  Alert your guests to the time they should call-in.  Everyone — including you — key in your passcodes and your conference call begins.  Talk as long as you want.  We’ll keep track of your time and we’ll charge your credit card AFTER your call.  The rate is 4.9 cents per minute, per person.  As an example, 10 people on a conference call for 10 minutes would be a total of 100 conference minutes.  You would multiply the per minute rate times the total number of minutes (in this instance, 100 minutes) to calculate your cost of the call.

The advantages of this option include only paying for what you use — no more or less.  And if there are some months you are not conferencing at all, there is no cost.  That’s why this plan is ideal.

Businesses and organizations enjoy toll free conferencing services because it provides customers, prospects and associates a convenient way to collaborate without the cost of dialing a long distance number.  It may be more a little more expensive than regular toll conferencing, but offering conference participants a toll free number provides a level of professionalism and shows everyone that you take your conference meetings seriously and that the discussions are important to you.

Toll-free conference bridge services will continue to increase in popularity in the future because of how much time and money they save the participants.  What would normally take an afternoon in getting everyone together can be accomplished in just a few minutes by meeting on the phone, rather than in person.

Give us a call at 877-254-2424 and we can work with you to make sure you get the best conferencing solution to meet your needs and objectives.

Business Teleconference Services: Sales, Projects, Announcements

Usage of our business teleconference services are growing substantially because organizations are adopting teleconferencing to cut down on meeting time and to reduce travel costs, particularly for sales conference calls, collaborative projects, and announcements.

Since it is much less expensive to retain an outsourced service bureau like us, rather than purchase and maintain conference hardware and equipment, teleconferencing has been universally adopted by both large and small firms who can now choose from a variety of excellent plans and programs.

There are plans that fit almost any business teleconferencing need or budget.

1) The most popular form of business conferencing is based on a pay-as-you-go plan.  You only pay for the minutes of conferencing you use, no more or less.  It is referred to as reservation-less conferencing, pay per minute or pay-per-use conferencing.  You can use either a toll-free or non-toll-free number to access your conference bridge.  You can learn more about the pay-as-you-go plan here.

2) There are also fixed and flat-rate teleconferencing services that provide unlimited usage, 24/7.  You can use the service as much as you want, whenever you want, for one rate per month.  The only catch is that everyone dials a long distance number.  However, since cell phones have no long distance charges (domestic) and many businesses have long distance bundled with their local service, it doesn’t cost anymore.  This is great deal for heavy conference users and can cut costs dramatically.  You can learn more about this service here.

3) Teleconferencing also includes new communication tools such as web and video conferencing.  More often than not, web conferencing that enables you to share such things as PowerPoint presentations and “whiteboards,” usually use teleconferencing as an adjunct service.  In other words, collaborators use the Internet to share visual information or even videos, while the audio portion of the conference is conducted over the phone.  You can learn more about video and web conferencing here.

Setting up a teleconferencing account is relatively simply and easy.  Once you get your account established (there is no cost to set up a conference call account) you will receive your call-in number and passcodes via email.  Set up a time you want your teleconference to begin and alert your associates of the time they should call in.  Everyone calls the same number, and you will be prompted to put in your passcode.  (You key in your host code, and your guests put in their guest code.)  Your host passcode is separate because you have the ability to mute everyone on the call to eliminate distracting background noises.  More than one person can call in on the host code.  So as an example, if three people are going to do most of the talking, and fifteen people are on the teleconference, those three people would call in on the host passcode and everyone else could be muted.

Directions on how to conduct a teleconference service call on a do it yourself basis are straightforward and easy and are included in your introductory email.  You won’t need any time to set up or practice.  And generally, you can record the call and playback at no additional cost for certain amount of time.

Getting a teleconference service to help you improve communications and enable you to discuss issues and projects with associates who are in different geographic locations is the quickest and most effective way to collaborate and achieve results.  Whether you use teleconferencing for sales, internal management, teleseminars, educational applications or just talk to family and friends, you’ll find it a convenient and beneficial technology that saves you time and money.

Give us us a call at 877-254-2424, and we’ll do our best to insure you are getting the best value for your particular needs.

7 Advantages and Benefits to Outsourcing Conference Call Services

There are several important advantages and benefits in outsourcing conference call services:

1)  Outsourcing enables you to concentrate on your core business mission and profit centers.  If you’re selling widgets, you don’t want to take time and attention away from doing what you do best.

2)  Setting up an internal conference bridge is more involved and expensive than you think.  Along with the installation of additional phone lines, there are contracts, maintenance, repairs and other overheard costs.  In other words, the “set-up” costs can be huge.  Conversely, tapping into our existing conference bridges requires no set-up costs and can be done in a few minutes. 

3)  Another issue with inhouse conferencing involves manpower and staff time.  Depending on the size of your installation, the time and attention it takes your IT department to plan for and upkeep your conference bridge can be substantial compared to outsourcing the service.  We already have trained and experienced technicians and experts on out staff who can do the same thing, not to mention professional customer service representatives (yes, live American agents who are readily available and answer the phone!)

4)  In today’s business world, companies need to be flexible and agile when it comes to locating facilities.  If an internal conference bridge was to be located, it would only make sense if there was a long term commitment to a particular location which may not be compatible with your company’s interests or goals.  On the other hand, when you outsource, there are no long term contracts and you can start and stop the services at any time, providing you the highest degree of flexibility.

5)  The conference call business is one of the most competitive in the world and rates have been dramatically reduced over the past 10 years.  From a dollar and cents point of view, the reasons for outsourcing your conference call services are becoming stronger every day.

6)  Companies and organizations that shift their cultures away from physical meetings and travel, and  toward outsourced audio and video conferencing, will be able to greatly cut costs and expenses.

7)  We offer on-demand conference services, which that you can have your conferences whenever you want, 24/7, without the need for reservations or advance notice.  Our massive bridges are open to you whenever you need them.

Overall, outsourcing your conference call service to us makes both economic and practical sense.  We stand ready to assist you in providing the conference service you need at a price that will not only save you considerable financial and staff resources, but will allow you to implement a conference call program that can be put in place within hours and day rather than months.

Call us at 877-254-2424 or check out our various conferencing services here.

Simple and Basic Phone Conference Call Service

Technology marches on, but there is no denying that MOST people in the business and non-profit world prefer to use basic phone conference call services.  Nothing fancy, nothing sophisticated, no bells and whistles, and with no desire or reason to look good for the webcam, folks just simply want good old fashioned conferencing.

In a nutshell:  They just want to hop-on-the-call, discuss the topic of the day, hang-up, and get on with their business and lives.

That’s why we specialize in offering simple and basic conference call services.  Nothing complicated or intimidating.  Just a quick way to get people together over the phone to get everyone on the same page.

Here are the three major conference call services that 95% of the businesses and non-profits use:

On Demand Phone Conferencing:  This conferencing service is available to you 24/7, anytime you want to use it.  There are no reservations and the conference bridge is open to you whenever you want it.  Everyone in your conference dials a toll-free number (or non-toll free number, it’s up to you) and enters their PIN code.  That’s it!  Talk as long or as little as you like.  This is also called Pay Per Minute, or Pay Per Use conferencing.  You can learn more about this popular conferencing option here.

Unlimited Conferencing:  This service is also available to you 24/7 and you can access it at anytime.  But rather than pay per minute, you pay a flat or fixed rate every month and you get unlimited phone conferencing service.  Needless to say, if you anticipate having a lot of conference calls, you can save a fortune with this service since you can talk as much as you want.  You can get more information on this conferencing format by checking out our teleconference service page here.

Operator Staffed Conferencing:  You tell us the time you want to have a conference call and the names and the numbers of the people you want us to call, and we’ll have our professional operators dial-out to each of them and place them into the conference.  This service offers the most convenience and your guests only have to answer the phone. Your guests don’t have to keep reminding themselves to call at a certain time.  This is a very popular service for corporate and legal conference calls.  You can get details and order your operator staffed conferencing here.

Conferencing is being used more than ever, and yet, despite the technological advancements and online improvements, everyday business people still prefer to use their desk phone or cell phone to initiate or participate in a conference call.  So don’t feel like you’re missing the action or being left behind.  Simple and basic conference calling will be around for a long time to come.  Most people have no interest in putting on make-up or fixing their hair to make sure they look for their webcam appearances.  Reality is quite the opposite!

Call us at 877-254-2424 and let us help you choose the plan that fits your needs and budget.  We promise we can save you money and provide you the basic conference service that will easily advance your goals.

Looking for a Conference Call Service?

Are you looking for a reliable and affordable conference call service or vendor?

Well, you’ve found it! We at 24Conference offer a number of conference formats and plans that will accommodate any business, non-profit or organizational need. Our most popular plan is our pay-as-you-go toll free conference service that you can set up in less than 2 minutes. There is no charge to start it, and no monthly fees either — you just pay for the time you use, when you use it. And there is no need to let us know when you want to conference either. Your conference bridge is open to you 24/7 and there are no reservations, so you can use it whenever you want.

As with all our conference services, there is no hardware or special software to buy. You only need a phone and your passcodes to get started. When you place your online order, you’ll get an immediate email that provides you with your passcodes — one for you, and one for your guests. When everyone calls into your toll-free conference line at the time you want them to, a recording will ask everyone to enter their passcode followed by the # sign. You can begin your conference immediately.

You’ll get an emailed report after you end the conference explaining who was on the call and for how long (people are identified by their Caller ID numbers.)

So whatever your requirements, we stand ready to assist you in making sure get the right service for your particular needs. Unlike other companies, we also offer you the top of the line “operator dial-out” service that will have our professional operators call each of your participants and place them into the conference call. This is great for important legal or other high profile calls that provides top level service and convenience — the only thing your participants have to do is answer the phone.

You can order online, or you can give us a call at 877-254-2424 and we can get you set up in no time. With years of experience, backed-up with the highest quality technology and equipment, we are confident that you’ll be pleased doing business with us.