The standard use of conference calls is to get a bunch of people on the phone at the same time. Conference calls have been used in this manner for business meetings, vendor conferences, training seminars, and such. Another great use is to use conference calls for marketing and advertising. Normally this requires you to get the word out whether it is via your existing advertising or specialty emails, letters, or flyers. Then when you hold the call, you have your customers plus many potential customers listening in.
Here’s a different way to look at networking your conference calls that was found in an article by Scott Ginsberg. The idea is to partner your conference calls with a local organization. This form of networking is beneficial for your company twice over, as well as a group of your choice. Potential organizations that would fit this idea are your local Rotary Club, Chamber of Commerce, or trade association.
A conference call for any of these groups could be done in several ways. You could simply hold a call for them as a sponsor with the understanding that your company is mentioned at the beginning and end. You could have your own conference call and invite their members to join it. A mix of these two options is to have a call for both you and them, splitting time between the two. This way you get all of your people and theirs at the same time.
The benefits of these kinds of conference calls include a larger potential customer group in their organization and the people they invite. It also endears you to the organization and they will give you good word of mouth.
