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Affordable Conference Calling
Regardless of the conference calling company you choose or the service you select, there are things you can do to make your calls even more affordable. If you plan on having several conference calls throughout the month, you may want to pass on this information to people you know will be guests or guest hosts on the call.
Cell Phones
If you have a free weekend and evening calls with your cell phone, it's best to plan your calls around these times. Remember, others also use cell phones as an alternative to home phones and this will help them too. It's better not to conduct your conference calls on weekends as others don't normally like being tied down to things like this over the weekend. But, most cell service offers free nighttime service starting at around 7:00 PM.
NOTE
Sometimes cell phones cause line interference on conference calls. If you are planning on using a cell phone. Test our your phone on your new affordable conference calling system :) before you make an actual live call. One or two days before the call is scheduled, have a friend or associate come onto the call as a guest and you sign in as the host. Try to test the system approximately the same time that your call will be held. Have your friend or associate let you know if the line is clear or muddled. If you need to, test different areas of your office or home. Wherever your friend tells you the sound is the clearest is where you will want to be when the live call occurs.
Flat Rate Long Distance
Have you given in and changed your normal per minute long distance calling plan to a flat rate yet? Hopefully, the answer to that is yes. If you are wanting even more affordable conference calling, you can, at any time of the day or night schedule your calls and enjoy no long distance charges at all. Flat rate long distance offered by some phone companies and several other providers is typically about $25-$35 per month and it allows the user to call anywhere (At least in the US, Canada and Puerto Rico) for no additional charges. Services like Vonage have really made a name for themselves. They're cheap and the service works well.
Please Tell Jack No
One flat rate long distance service is through Magic Jack. Magic jack, because of its call dropping and scratchy and fading sound quality should not be used if you are the host of the call and want to come across as professional. The Magic Jack user may have no idea what a pain it is for people to talk with him or her as we've heard the user experience with Magic Jack is decent. However, it's not so swell for the people on the other end of the phone.
Affordable Conference Calling
Almost everyone, businesses included, are trying to find ways to cut costs without cutting out quality. Affordable conference calls can cut back on or even replace corporate travel and meetings that can be done via telephone instead of face to face. Conference calling companies are extremely competitive in their pricing and most all offer an affordable conference calling package suited to fit most any need. Shop around and do you're research and you're sure to find the conference call company that has everything you could possibly want with the service.
Free Conference Call Alternative
For minimal business use, that does not involve having customers on the line, and for personal use, instead of looking for an affordable conference calling service, you may wish to instead check out the free conference call. Typically, the free conference call comes with many benefits and could be just what you're looking for.