Great America Networks Conferencing Blog

Step by Step Customer Assistance

You can count on GANC's QuickAssist service to deliver a wonderful audio conference that your audiences will enjoy. We have highly trained operators that are on call to provide you with top of the level concierge service. There is no need to feel like you are alone while planning your conference; GANC will guide you every step of the way.

Before you Session

Caller Admission: Get instant pass code entry with automated participant data collection, or an operator is available that will personally screen and greet each caller.

Dry Run: Dry run is available for speakers to get a hands on practice session.

Conference Production Services: Specialists are available to organize timing, provide rehearsals and help with techniques.

Pre-Meeting Consultation: Shortly before start time, the lead operator will consult with speakers and review the outline of the meeting.

Reservations: The conferencing staff will assist with making reservations and coordinating.

During you Session

CommLine: Open phone communication between client contact and assigned operator.

Dial-Outs: Personally introduce and enter important attendees into the call through an operator.

Professional Announcer: Begins the call and introduces the speakers.

Q&A: Interactive discussion with operator assistance.

Sub-Conferences: Minimized sessions or private conferences with selected participants.

After you Session

Attendee List: Post call attendee list.

Audio Production: Professional grade recording and editing that enables us to produce high-quality recordings used for playback, feedback and reproduction.

Audio Replay: By phone 24/7 after the live call is completed.

Post Conferences: Private sessions for speakers to discuss the preceding conference confidentially.

Recording Duplication: Professional grade recordings for single or multiple copies.

Contact us today to see how GANC can help guide you through your conferences every step of the way!

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

GANC's Upgraded Billing Platform

GANC is pleased to announce the launch of our upgraded billing platform.

Have you wanted to view your conferencing traffic in real-time, or find a specific detail in your invoice?GANC's new platform is loaded with features that allow you to customize the way you view your invoices and get the details you want.

Our new billing platform is a value-added feature that has been made available to all clients at no additional charge. Say goodbye to the static PDF images that you have received in the past. You now have full control of your billing data. If you are a current client your new invoices are making their way to your inbox.

At GANC we believe in providing more for less, and this is another example of our business focus and philosophy. Contact us today to learn more about our upgraded billing platform!

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

You Can't Beat QuickVisuals

QuickVisualsis leading the way that professionals collaborate online and conduct web conferences. With QuickVisuals, your administrator has the ability to invite anyone to join a conference quickly and easily. It supports MAC, PC and Linux platforms and uses the Adobe Flash player, currently installed on over 98% of web connected computers. QuickVisuals gives you the quality, flexibility and control of your business with an easy to use interface. With the integration of our QuickConnect service, you have a cost effective package allowing your employees and customers to meet and collaborate easily.

QucikVisuals is a powerful tool that can assist your company in effectively communicating and meeting. Your employees will not have to worry about travel time and constraints; with no geographical troubles and budget expenses it creates the perfect solution. QuickVisuals, gives your business the ability to connect with any customer, colleague or potential client at any time of the day necessary.

Regardless of the nature of your business meeting, QuickVisualsweb solutions allows for flexibility, easy planning and versatility. It can easily bring people together from anywhere in the world quickly, simply, and cost effectively. Pitch ideas, demonstrate products, present powerpoint slides, and share applications without ever leaving your office.

For more information on how GANC's QuickVisuals web conferencing service can benefit your company visit us on the web at www.ganconference.com.
 

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

Conference Call Etiquette

As more and more businesses start adapting to conferencing the question arises as to what the proper etiquette for conferencing is. After meeting with our sales team and doing some research on the topic I have complied a list of some of the do's and dont's of conferencing with GANC.

Do's:

- Do introduce yourself before you begin to speak.

Before you begin to speak make sure to always announce yourself. It allows your audience to be able to refer to you later on in the meeting.

- Do Consider others first.

Interrupting someone on a conference call is just as rude as when you do it in person.

-Do thank your audience for attending.

Take the time to thank your audience for attending your meeting. Doing this will make them feel good about attending another meeting. 

-Do follow the basics.

Speak clearly and loudly. Make sure you make eye contact with everyone whether they are in the room or on the monitor.

-Dont's

-Don't hold your conference with background distractions.

Before you begin the conference consider your surroundings. If there is anything that can disrupt the meeting, Move!

-Don't deviate from your agenda.

The idea of conferencing is to increase you companies productivity. Make sure you prepare and stick to your original agenda; start your meeting on time, and end your meeting on time.

-Don't make distracting noises.

Don't shuffle through the papers on your desk, tap your pencil, continuously type or make other distracting noises. 

 -Don't cram.

Make sure you are prepared for your meeting. If there are presentations and files you will be sharing make sure you have them ready. It's always better to be over prepared then under.

Hopefully these do's and dont's give you a better idea and understanding of how to run a successful conference with GANC.

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

Conference Anytime, Anywhere

Today we live in a world that is always moving forward at an incredibly fast pace. GANC's QuickConnect service is no exception. QuickConnect is a fully unassisted service that allows you and your colleagues to conference instantly at anytime without a prior reservation. Available 24/7, 365 days per year, you have the maximum flexibility.

With the little time that you have you should never have to worry about your conferencing services; your focus should be on the meeting itself. All you need to initiate your call is your QuickConnect dial in number, and your conference code. And with pay as you go usage plans, QuickConnect allows you to schedule meetings within your business' budget and convenience.

From smaller everyday meetings to instant worldwide conference calls, our GANC audio solutions give you on-demand availability with multiple features that can be designed to fit your specific needs. QuickConnect gives you the ability to control all of the conferencing commands from your keypad, adjust and modify settings accordingly to fit the needs of the specific call. You can also manage your account and conference calls online through GANC.

With QuickConnect always available, you have a cost effective solution. Schedule an audio meeting worldwide, and get your business done quick and easy, anytime, anywhere.

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

Social Media Week

Today is the beginning of Social Media Week, an event that takes place around the world to increase the awareness of how social media is now playing a vital role in how we communicate. The events will take place simultaneously in New York City, Berlin, London, San Francisco, Toronto and Sao Paulo. Over the course of the week the six participating cities will cover a variety of formats, ranging from presentations and panel discussions, to interactive workshops, seminars, and networking events.

As the social networking community continues to grow everyday, GANC has realized its popularity and how it continues to assist companies with communication. Although we are new in the networking society we are expanding our networks to give our clients easier ways to communicate with us. Feel free to check us out at our social networking sites.

twitter.com/ganconferencing

facebook.com/GANConferencing

linkedin.com/in/rprovine

Be on the lookout for more to come as well!

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/

Green Conferencing with GANC

With a single step your journey from environmental awareness to environmental management begins. GANC’s suite of products and services makes it simple for your business to take that step. From its Audio, QuickConnect, service that allows you to communicate and host a meeting instantly to its Web, QuickVisuals, service that allows you to share files and presentations over the internet. We give you every tool you’ll need to get the job done. Every day we take the steps to help your business cut costs, improve efficiency and become environmentally friendly.

One of the largest contributors to the environments pollution is business travel. Fuel consumption, traffic congestion, and carbon dioxide emissions are putting their toll on the environment. Becoming a client of GANC can cut your business travel, and help the environment without sacrificing productivity. Our conferencing services allows employees to work and communicate from anywhere at anytime. Review a document or train a new employee just as you would if you were meeting face-to-face. Stay connected with your co-workers, customers, and partners, and keep your business moving. 

There is no need to travel with GANC because it lets you be in two places at once. We give you all the tools to get the job done with audio, video, and web conferencing. Instantly start a meeting or set up a schedule of recurring meetings. Whatever schedule you need we have the product and concierge level of service to help you improve your productivity and stay environmentally friendly.

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

Execute Your Conferences Comfortably

Successful conferences and meetings take a great detail of planning and organizing, something that can be made much easier for you by GANC.There's nothing more relaxing when you are planning a conference than knowing everyone will be on the same page, and all of your information is easily accessible, neatly organized, and the audience easily engaged.

When conducting an important seminar, or trying to get new clientele, GANC understands that companies need their message to be organized flawlessly. We will work with you every step of the way to make sure that you and your employees feel comfortable executing a conference. 

You can count on our products and services to deliver a wonderful conferencing experience that your audiences will enjoy. There is no need to feel like you are alone while planning your conferences; GANC will guide you every step of the way.

Matt Auriemme 
Marketing
Great America Networks Conferencing
mauriemme@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Twitter: @ganconferencing

Companies Switching to Teleconferencing

With the economy remaining to be unstable, it's no surprise that companies have been cutting travel budgets and looking for new avenues to communicate. At GANC we understand this, but we also understand that it improves your employees' quality of life, by keeping them home and with their families as much as possible. It’s a win, win situation for companies and that is why they are now making big strides to transfer over to teleconferencing technology.

 

GANC services are more than just another avenue for your company to communicate though. Our services are cost effective and allow companies to meet face-to-face, be environmentally friendly, interact, and present their material without sacrificing the experience.

 

Try GANC out today to see how we can increase your productivity on an economically efficient basis without you ever leaving your office.

 

Matt Auriemme

Marketing

Great America Networks Conferencing

mauriemme@ganconference.com

http://www.ganconference.com

http://www.blog.ganconference.com

Twitter: @ganconferencing

GANC Offers Local Business Program

Is your business in the surrounding suburbs of Chicago? Are you looking for a new way to lower business costs and increase the efficiency of communication?

Located in the suburbs of Chicago, GANC is proud to offer you our Local Business Promotion. As a local business we look to form great working relationships with other nearby businesses in support of our community with our full portfolio of conferencing products and services.

In today’s business world, there are two things that are of the utmost importance, revenue/costs and communication. At GANC we understand the importance of both and have found a way to assist in lowering business costs and increasing the efficiency of communication and providing business’s with the following benefits:

· Reduce overall conferencing cost.

· Reduce travel cost.

· Increase communication between locations.

· Increase client meeting and leads.

· Increase product and brand awareness.

GANC has a full portfolio of state of the art services including unassisted and assisted audio conferencing, web conferencing, video conferencing, and concierge services that enable you to conference anywhere in the world at anytime. Whether you are looking for fully integrated audio and web platforms, twelve (12) simultaneous webcam feeds, a fully managed operator assisted 200 participants conference call or simply a reservationless audio conference, our service professionals know what it takes to meet and exceed your needs.

If you're a local business or even an international business overseas contact us today to see how we can allow you to conference productively and cost effectively!

The New Rules of the Road

  Technology is always changing and moving forward. Good businesses are doing the same. If you stick with the old ways of doing things, when there are new better ways, you are going to fall behind. Here are a few examples of how business meetings run today, compared with yesterday:

 

Meeting Scheduling

Yesterday: Call all the attendees that you require in the meeting and find out when is the best time for them depending on their schedules. Call again to make adjustments. Call again to adjust.

Today: Look on the company’s shared calendar program to see when your attendees are free. Schedule the meeting then with a simple invite!

Meeting

Yesterday: Everyone gets up from their desk and goes to the large room in the building. A couple of people are late for the ‘restroom’, or stopping to chat with others they pass by. Then the leisurely stroll back to the desk to continue working.

Today: Everyone logs into a webmeeting at their computer at the designated time. The meeting is held. Everyone goes back to work immediately after the meeting ends.

Meeting Reporting

Yesterday: Everyone checks in when they get into the meeting or someone is taking attendance, Someone is assigned with taking the meeting ‘minutes’. Someone is assigned with making sure everyone gets a copy of the presentation or meeting materials.

Today: The webmeeting report is automatically e-mailed to the meeting moderator. It includes the attendance, all chat and presented materials. The meeting is recorded and archived for easy viewing from any modern computer connected to the internet. A link to the archived recording is posted on the company website for all to see anytime, anywhere.

Is you business working in today, or yesterday. If you are still in last week, let GAN Conferencing help bring you into the present/future.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

QuickPortal: Be in control of your Conferencing to save time and money.

Business is a dynamic space. Projects, people, even whole departments can come and go, and your conferencing service needs to keep up with those changes. While GAN Conferencing will always help assist you with changes to your conferencing account, we also offer you QuickPortal

QuickPortal is the all-in-one tool for an administrator in your organization to be in full control over your conferencing usage and permissions. You can create and delete individual users as the staffing needs of your company change. you can even create additional access accounts just for certain projects to help assist in tracking expenses.

You can always contact us, and we will be there for you with our industry leading concierge level of service and support, but you know what you need, and in the time it would take to fire off an email, or make a phone call, you can implement the changes you need in real-time, right in your own QuickPortal.

And it is not just for changes to your account. you’ll be surprised at all the power you will have. download recordings instantly and free. Run reports of usage in all the different ways you need: As a company, by departments, individuals, or special project codes. You can even access your Live Conference Viewer page from within QuickPortal.

You know your company better than we do. You know what you need, and when you need it. We are there to help you in whichever way you prefer. By taking care of the tasks for you, or just supplying the tools to do it yourself. Enjoy the freedom of today’s conferencing environment offered by GAN Conferencing.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

QuickConnect: Simple & Reliable Audio Conferencing

Here at the blog for GAN Conferencing you read about our many services and probably most often about QuickVisuals, our innovative WebConferencing and VideoConferencing service that we offer. There is a lot of buzz in the business world about WebConferencing so that is something that we make sure gets well covered here at the Great America Networks Conferencing Blog.

QuickVisuals is also what much of the inquiries, training, and time is spent on in the company. There are many variables, and features to the service and a lot can be discussed. The honest truth about our company though is that while a lot of time and effort is spent on Web and Video Conferencing, it is Audio conferencing that is most widely used by our clients. And the majority of the audio conferencing used is QuickConnect, our reservationless, “there-when-you-need-it” TeleConferencing service.

Lets face it, you don’t always need to share your computer with someone when you are talking to them. Often there are collaborations that just need a good quality audio connection for people in different locations. QuickConnect fills this role better than anything in the industry. You call, enter your passcode, and are in a conference. Simple, fast, reliable. Done!

Sure, there are advanced features as far as web-based call controls, or administrator tools for your company, and advanced reporting capabilities, but in many cases for many of our clients, it’s just about getting on the call, and off again nice and easily. Once again, GAN Conferencing is here to fill the need you have in your business communication.

WebConferencing solutions get researched, reviewed, analyzed, and evaluated at great lengths for features and capabilities, and ease of use. TeleConferencing is just expected to be there and be simple and work. It’s the workhorse of the conferencing industry while everyone is talking about the flashy center of attention Webinar platform. So I offer a nod to you QuickConnect TeleConferencing. Always there for us, and a true backbone for business communication. Get your account setup today!

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

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QuickVisuals Feature Spotlight – Passing Presenter Control

Teamwork is an important component of many things. Life, business, and presentations all are stronger with good teamwork. This can be a long established team, or just a meeting of minds with a common goal.

During a presentation, the ability to have the input from others on your team instantly is invaluable in providing the most valuable experience to your audience. This is easily done when you have your team assembled and prepared in advance and are doing a predominately one-way webinar giving out information to your audience. that is of course if all members of your team are in the optimal position with their computers prepared. But then there is real life.

What is you are in a situation where a member of your team is not at his main computer and traveling. What if it is a very interactive session and a question is asked where a team member you weren’t planning on could offer the best insights? Is your webinar software up to the task? Will you be able to bring in an impromptu presenter at any time? What if they cannot install the client? What if they are on the wrong platform and can only attend, but not present?

QuickVisuals from GAN Conferencing again does away with this problem arising. When you are conducting a WebConference with QuickVisuals, anyone can be a presenter, at anytime. No worry if they can only view. No download is needed! No special access is needed to the computer. Anyone can be a presenter instantly!

This is an invaluable ability to have in a live session. The goal of a webinar is to be interactive anyway, isn’t it? Otherwise your audience can be watching a video. When you are able to select any attendee of your session and give them the ability to annotate, control PowerPoint, or even share their screen, it shows the true preparedness of you and your organization.

Go ahead and once again take the credit for a smooth meeting where others have faltered into technical hurdles and having to state “I can’t do that.” for certain requests. QuickVisuals is here to keep you productive and  to fall to the background as your meeting information is portrayed in the best possible light.

Whether you are pulling your team together for a brainstorming session, or the team is presenting information to a potential client or audience, QuickVisuals makes it work, and makes it simple. Contact us today for a demonstration or your Free trial.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Call control is time control. QuickVisuals Integrated Audio Controls

Time is money. It’s an old saying in business but it is also often true. When you have a busy day and are trying to fit in as much activity as possible into a set amount of time, one over-running meeting can throw your whole day out of sync.

When that 45 minute meeting is pushing near the one hour mark, you have usually two options. Stay with the meeting, or leave the meeting to salvage the rest of your busy, important day. If you are the person running that ever-extending meeting, your options have just been cut in half. The half you will have is dependant on your audience.

Don’t be in this situation in a WebConference. When you schedule a 45 minute meeting, make sure everything is done to insure that is the length it will be. Your audience will appreciate it and be more prone to freely attend your future meetings, and with a more open mind.

QuickVisuals is the tool that will give you control over the clock. One of the largest causes for a WebConference to go long is interruptions. Whether they are intended for a question or comment, or unintended with office phones ringing, or dogs barking in the background.

QuickConnect TeleConferencing is completely integrated into your QuickVisuals WebConference. This allows you to take control and mute all the lines of the meeting when you start your presentation right from the meeting interface! This is an incredible efficiency tool for you as the moderator.

You planned for questions at the end of your presentation in an orderly fashion, so have the control to make that happen. In QuickVisuals, your muted attendees can raise their hands, and you can un-mute their individual phone line to hear their question, while leaving the rest of the attendees muted!

Another great benefit is to make sure there are no background noises from your attendees surrounding environments that will over-shadow your presentation. Make your voice the only one heard and keep your attendees focus on your presentation. It’s all under your control with the simplest intuitive interface in the industry.

Just one more way that QuickVisuals is leading the way in WebConferencing and GAN Conferencing takes care of the details to make your events a success Contact us today.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

I had no idea QuickVisuals can help so many areas of my business!

We often have companies or organizations come to us for a specific need. They want to have a Webinar. They want to do a training class. They want to have more efficient weekly meetings. QuickVisuals does all of this. What they don’t realize is there are so many other ways they will use it.

This is one of the benefits of having one service that is so versatile as opposed to having a provider that offers many different version of a WebConferencing service. Once you learn QuickVisuals, you are able to have webinars, training classes, weekly meetings, and so much more all with the same interface you are used to.

Often the company that came to us with one specific goal to accomplish, continues to find more and more ways they are using QuickVisuals in their organization. Many of these companies will even have a WebConferencing solution in place before coming to us, but this didn’t happen until they started using QuickVisuals.

The key is the simplicity that comes with QuickVisuals WebConferencing. You may need it for the big quarterly meeting, but it is also so easy to send a quick invite to a client and go over a proposal, knowing that client can easily join your meeting. It also is exactly what you need to record a few training sessions for the attendees that can’t make it live or have scheduling conflicts. Since there is no pre-configuration at all needed to join a meeting, or view a recording, you can invite anyone anytime.

The Dedicated Account Representative that you receive from GAN Conferencing will help you in training, support, and implementation to make sure that you get the most out of your unlimited licenses that you have in your organization. Let us show you the areas where QuickVisuals, and all of the other services offered by GAN Conferencing can help streamline your business, enhance productivity, and reduce costs.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

QuickVisuals Feature Spotlight: Invitations

QuickVisuals is easy to use when you are in a meeting. That is a great feat in this world of complicated webinar applications. There could be a problem though! No matter how simple a solution might be when you are in the meeting, it wont help if you have a complicated time getting people to meet you in there.

While I’ve written before about how simple it is to access a QuickVisuals meeting for your attendees, it is important for you as the meeting organizer to be able to invite those attendees simply and easily.

QuickVisuals takes that into account with a simply labeled INVITE link write on your Meeting Scheduling screen. This opens a number of ways to get your meeting address out there to your attendees, or potential attendees.

As you can see, there are a number of ways to get an attendee into your meeting through e-mail, verbally, or even by utilizing popular social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook.

The most common way to send invitations is still be email though, so QuickVisuals will completely integrate with your e-mail client regardless of the program you currently use. And all of this without any installation required into your computer!

Again, QuickVisuals makes your day more productive and simpler. By using our advanced Invitation capabilities, you can get your attendees in your meeting, without any worry as to what their experience will be like. QuickVisuals insures it will be smooth and effortless for them, and simple for you as well.

Contact us for a free demonstration or try a Free Trial Account today!

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

How to add an additional Revenue stream? The GAN Conferencing Channel Program.

In tight economic times just about any business can use an additional revenue stream. Especially one that is going to take minimal effort and investment, and provide residual income. The problem is adding a revenue stream to your business usually requires a major investment of resources and time.

The Great America Networks Conferencing Channel Partner Program is the exact opposite. Whether you have experience in conferencing or not, we can help you add a residual revenue stream to your business by selling our conferencing services.

Don’t worry if you know nothing about conferencing. In this day and age, it is no longer a concept you have to explain to people. People know what it is and why they want it. The benefits to conferencing are many and obvious. The only question is which provider to use.

We make this a simple decision for your prospective clients, and we do it with minimal effort from you. The secret is in a system to remove any doubt or risk in moving forward with our service to any client you bring to us. We accomplish this through QuickVisuals ease of use and accessibility.

From the moment a prospective client logs into a QuickVisuals WebConference, they are aware of how easy and simple this process can be. From that point it is just a matter of providing our concierge level of service and support, and most clients move forward right away. All without any additional effort from the referring agent, after the initial introduction.

Residual income is a great thing in business. While GAN Conferencing continues to provide all the technology, service, and support, you as the Agent, will receive continual income from that one introduction. Minimal effort and maximum return. It doesn’t get much easier than that, and nobody provides it better than GAN Conferencing.

For more information on how to add this residual stream of income to your business, contact us today for a demonstration yourself. We’ll take it from there.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Give the right first impression with the right Conferencing service.

Projecting the right image for your company is important on the Internet. Anyone can have a good website. It can be hard to tell the difference from an established large company, to a small startup.

Outside of the Internet you can go to a company’s location and get a good feel for the kind of company they are. There is no mistaking a national chain retail store for a small sole proprietorship, or new partnership of old friends trying out an idea. On the Internet however, that is not always as apparent.

The truth is in the details. When you are joining a company’s webinar, you can tell if they went the ‘cheap’ way, or if they are using a quality professional service. Are they asking you to ‘sign-up’ to be able to join their sales pitch? Or maybe download some company’s application that you never heard of before? During their presentation, are their random ads flashing on the screen? These are signs of low-budget webinar providers.

What about the audio? Is your only option to utilize a shaky VOIP service? If there is an accompanying TeleConference, who is paying for the call? If it’s a toll call, that means you! A true established company will cover the call and offer you a toll-free teleconference service for crystal clear audio. How was getting on the call? Busy signals? Dropped calls? Any operator standing by to help assist?

There is one chance of a first impression, as we all know. For many companies that will be the WebConference service you are using to show off your presentation. This is where your client will first meet up with your image. What are you portraying?

QuickVisuals will always allow you to present your best image. Due to the custom branding option, and smooth accessibility, the extra care that you are looking to show is apparent in the entire process for your attendee.

The professionalism of a toll-free TeleConference line will always be appreciated by your guests, and in the case of any issues, having a live operator staff available to assist 24/7 is an immeasurable value.

Don’t come off to your clients with the wrong impression. Show how important your company is to you, and should be to them. Let us help you at GAN Conferencing.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

If you can’t make the live event, join the Webinar.

Last Friday GAN Conferencing had conducted a Webinar for a large event in the beautiful state of Vermont. I was fortunate enough to be there on site to insure the entire Webinar portion of their event went as planned.

The coming together of a live and virtual event is a great benefit to all. The live attendees got the obvious benefit of being in the room with the presenters and having live Q and A session to have their questions answered directly. Also they got to enjoy a wonderful lunch provided and the beautiful scenery of the state of Vermont.

The Virtual Attendees got to enjoy all the information and commentary of the event, including participating in the Q and A session as well through the Webinar interface. They also enjoyed the information from the comfort of their own office or location, and were able to attend an event that they otherwise might not have had the travel time for.

While both sets of parties had a different experience and point of reference, all got the same information and value from the event. This hybrid live/virtual environment allows your information to reach the maximum amount of participants in the manner in which they are most comfortable and able to receive it.

The success in pulling off this event was in the smooth and simple accessibility of QuickVisuals as a versatile platform for all occasions. From your quick collaborative meetings to large scale events with a year of planning behind them, QuickVisuals can fit your needs.

Great America Networks Conferencing can make sure your virtual event runs the way you want it to, and reaches the maximum amount of possible attendees. From organizing that the audio is correctly configured for the webinar service, to checking the remote sites are ready to join, we let you concentrate on your content and the live session with the confidence that the Webinar is in good hands.

Contact us today for information on how to offer your live event out to attendees the world over.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

ROI concerns? Few tools offers as much as collaboration technology

Businesses don't grow by accident. It comes from the right planning, and wise decisions. One of the most important decision is always where is the best avenue to invest your resources. There are always improvements that can be made, but which are going to give the strongest return on you investment? Which technologies have time and again taken business in the right direction and brought in more productivity, while reducing expenses?

According to a new paper released by Frost and Sullivan, collaboration tools offer one of the most productive ROI choices in business today. The paper goes on to state that there is more than double the ROI in collaboration technology.

This is of course welcoming news to hear from such a reliable source, but it is not surprising to us here at GAN Conferencing. We have been heping businesses grow and collaborate for years with our top conferencing services. The ease of use of QuickVisuals WebConferencing, allowing the accessibility of running a meeting from any computer, and more importantly simply getting your attendees into your meeting regardless of how they are connecting has been of immeasurable value to many of our clients.

The professionalism of our QuickAssist Operator Assisted TeleConferencing has allowed companies to put their most professional face forward in front of important clients and prospects. Being treated as your call and time is the most important thing to a company you are doing business with is a breath of fresh air in this economy of 'cutting-corners' and bare minimums.

Good planning and wise decisions are of course important. When you are in the market for a conferencing provider, let one of our experts at GAN Conferencing provide you with the benefits of our experience. From cost analysis to a plan of implementation, we can layout exactly what you can expect, both in investment and return. Then we will be there to hold your companies hand through the process from beginning to never ending with our world class customer service and support.

Get the most ROI from your investment with GAN Conferencing.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

The Complete Package

The conferencing industry is booming. It’s not surprising that many companies are trying to same money and cut expenses in this tough economy. WebConferencing is one of the easiest ways to do so when it is done correctly as business travel is a huge expense for most companies.

As is the case with any popular industry, there are many companies that are vying for your business and to use their services. I speak to my clients that have been with us for years and they tell me there is a constant barrage of cold-calls and marketers that are trying to win their business.

They come offering price cuts. They come offering the newest technologies and promise the sky and the moon time and again. But through the onslaught of sales pitches and brochures, there is one thing that is never present from the competitors.

The complete package.

There are companies that will offer Price cuts, but you are using old technology, or there is no support included. Other companies will offer the latest technology, but it is cumbersome and invasive to your corporate network. Other companies can go on and on about the mega-corporations that back them, but when you are looking to get a person to help with your service, you are left in the cold with automated machines and countless PDF’s to search through.

Great America Networks Conferencing is the complete package. No place else in the conferencing industry can you find the top technology backed by the support staff that GAN Conferencing is famous for. No place else is the conferencing so simple to use and cost effective to your bottom line as QuickVisuals and QuickConnect are to the clients of GANC.

While we aren’t the only provider of WebConferencing, VideoConferencing, and TeleConferencing services, we are the best. And to have that at an affordable price point is just a bonus to most of our customers. Few customers of GAN Conferencing use our services because we are cheaper than others, although we usually are 30 – 50% cheaper than the competition. They use our services because they work, and they have the team behind them to make sure that no matter what the need, it will be met professionally and quickly to their satisfaction.

Experience what the complete package can do for your business communications. Contact us today.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

International accessibility is a wonderful thing.

GAN Conferencing has been expanding in every way recently. The wide acceptance of QuickVisuals as one of the easiest, most accessible ways to have a WebConference has propelled our company to new levels. Couple this innovative tool with a rock-solid, fully integrated TeleConferencing service and you have the foundation for success in the conferencing industry. Adding in our world-class service and support only goes to add additional benefit to our valued customers.

I am excited to be a part of this company at this exciting time. With this growth comes new experiences. While they might not be new for for the company, they are for me personally. I find myself talking to people the world over now about business and conferencing. Before I joined GANC, my experiences has been in the eastern half of the United States, but now as a representative of this company, I am in meetings with people around the world.

As I have meetings day after day with clients in Germany, Ireland, Ecuador and Africa, I start to notice something. While there are cultural differences in all regions, most people want the same thing for their business. Reliable, efficient, cost effective, simple communications.

GAN Conferencing services over 65+ countries and locations with toll-free International access to our services. As I provided a training session for a London company that had attendees from Boston and Dubai joining their QuickVisuals VideoConference I realized that the world is no longer such a large place, and distance no longer has to restrain business.

After the event, the client thanked me for providing him a service that worked as intended. A service that was easy to use, not only for himself, but more importantly for his attendees. Additional thanks for the extra training session when one of his presenters missed the initial training as well.

All in all, London to New York to Ecuador, people want the same thing. A company they can count on. I am proud to be a part of that company at GAN Conferencing.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

The Meaning of True Value.

In a few weeks my daughter goes off to college. It is a pivotal event in her life and of course the entire family. We are very proud and looking forward to it, but there is a lot of preparation to be done as well. One of those things is her college textbooks.

As any college attendee or graduate knows, textbooks can be ridiculously expensive. Luckily there are a number of alternative areas to purchase them besides the on campus bookstore. As we browse the potential vendors offering college textbooks at ridiculously low prices, it causes me to re-think of the true meaning of value.

We can just go the easy, but expensive route and order her books from her university bookstore. They will be right. They will there. they will be expensive! We instead chose to shop other alternatives.

We browsed the web and weighed our options. There were some sites that were selling textbooks dirt cheap. Cheap is good for me, but this is my daughters education and more important than cheap is right. Cheap doesn’t help if the book are wrong, or not delivered. Without actual customer reviews present and being able to contact the sellers, I didn’t feel comfortable with some of these sellers.

We narrowed our choices down to a few sites that offered her books at a better price than her university bookstore, and were well reviewed in our research. We ordered the books and saved a good amount of money while my daughter has the materials she needs.

Saved a good amount of money…The materials she needs. This is what true value is.

As you approach your Conferencing solutions for your company, you want to make sure above all else, they are right and they work. Your TeleConferences should be accessible 24/7 and the sound quality should be excellent. Your WebConferences should be smooth , simple to use and full featured.

Support should be there when you need it. The ability to contact a real person for an instant answer is invaluable. Email-only support is not enough when your business is concerned. GAN Conferencing having live operators at the push of *0 on your TeleConference and a full staff accessible with a toll-free number, or direct number to your representatives desk, is an immeasurable benefit.

Having everything you need is important, but in this economy so is not overpaying for it. At GAN Conferencing you will pay a price lower than what the huge conglomerates in the industry are charging, and get the secure feeling that you are with a well rooted and established company. A company that will be there for you time and time again.

True value is the goal. It is what you will find at GAN Conferencing.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Take advantage of our Service and Support! – It’s FREE!!

I recently spoke with someone looking for a quote on their conferencing service. They were shopping around to make sure they were getting the right service, which I commended them on. In our conversation he was letting me know what some of the other offers he received were.

A surprising item kept coming up with other vendors. They were offering consultation services for their first two large events. Another vendor was offering 1 year of free service and support. Other offerings of limited free service were offered as well. I told him we don’t have any such offering. All of our service and support is always free.

It got me thinking as to why companies in a service industry, especially one like ours, where attendees can become future customers, would not always offer free service and support. After all, don’t you want your clients webinar to go perfect? As they look good, so do you.

In that regard, GAN Conferencing will always do whatever we can to help you with your event. Pre-registration, practice runs, training new employees or presenters, tips and tricks, or whatever it takes to make sure that your event goes as smoothly as you want it to. The last thing we want is for your audience to not have the perfect experience attending a meeting with our service.

Don’t try to go it alone or ‘wing it’. Make sure that you take full advantage of our service and support. Call, Email, Webchat, or whatever way you want to reach us. You’ll never have someone answer and say “That will cost extra” or “You’ll have to sign up for our service plan before we can assist you in that.” (Thanks for that one satellite provider).

Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.

Og Mandino (1923 - 1996)

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Advantages of Full-Featured WebConferencing over just Screen Sharing

There are more than a few ways to share your screen with others remotely on the web, and in some instances this may be all you are looking for in a WebConferencing service, but there are distinct advantages to having a full service WebConferencing application like QuickVisuals from GAN Conferencing.

One of the best advantages of QuickVisuals over a screensharing application is the Online Library that you are provided. This enables the sharing of information at a very low bandwidth as opposed to the high-bandwidth requirements of screen sharing. What this will mean is a much smoother meeting with less lags and less of people waiting for their screen to catch up.

Another advantage is that QuickVisuals will bookmark your events for easy review when your meeting is completed. This is an invaluable resource for quick review of information as each item shared through the library is linked in the meeting to re-review.

There are also going to be situations where you don’t just want people to see a document or file, but to actually download it and save it on their computer. QuickVisuals File Transfer feature is perfect in this situation as you can send almost any file through to all members of your meeting instantly. This is a great benefit from trying to email the whole audience later and hoping it makes it through the SPAM filter.

This list of advantages of full service WebConferencing over screensharing applications can go on and on, but I’m sure the point is made that you can accomplish more when you have more tools. The fact that QuickVisuals provides those tools in the simplest fashion in the industry is just a bonus.

Contact us today for a test drive and consultation with our trained staff to show you how to get the most out of your meetings with QuickVisuals

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

No hidden Fees. You pay the rate we quote you. Imagine that?

Like most of you, I have a cell phone. With my cell phone I have a cell phone plan. With my family I have a family cell phone plan. With my cell phone company I have Family Cell Phone Plan Bill. With my Family Cell Phone Plan bill I have a headache.

Perhaps it is me, but in my opinion TeleCommunication bills can be very confusing. Many companies will tell you one rate, provide a bill that requires an advanced degree in calculus, engineering and hieroglyphics to understand and then have you pay the number at the bottom. The trouble is in all that information, there might be hidden fees that you might not be aware of.

Hidden fees are a part of the TeleCommunications industry unfortunately. There are many companies that are available when you are looking for quality telecommunications. Hopefully you do your research and investigate any company you are looking to do business with. While it is easy to advertise a super low rate, the real information is in the fine print.

While my cell phone plan has 5 lines, and insurance, and early calling, and text messaging plans plus 90 other apparent moving parts, it makes it rather complicated to see what any one of my lines actually costs me in the jungle of information on my cell phone bill.

Luckily teleConferencing is easier. Look at your monthly invoice and find the total you owe for your teleconferencing. Divide that by the total minutes you used that month, and you should come up with a number that is right around your per minute rate. There might be a slight difference due to taxes or the government Universal Services Fund fee required of TeleCommunication companies, but it should be in the range of the rate that you were quoted.

If it is double that rate, or more, which is not unlikely with many companies, you are getting hit by hidden fees. What kind of fees? We've written before about some tricks used by other TeleConference providers to give you an idea. They work on the notion that in many companies usually the person that signs up the service isn't the person who pays the bills.

At Great America Networks Conferencing you will never be hit by hidden fees. The quote you receive on signup is the amount you will pay for our TeleConferencing service. We feel it is the right way to do business and will not implement the fees that are being charged by other providers.

Take a look at your invoice. If it doesn't add up, contact us and become free of hidden fees.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Different VideoConferencing resolutions for different uses

GAN Conferencing is leading the industry in accessibility and ease of use for WebConferencing. With webcams becoming more and more common on computers, there is a good chance that the members of your meeting will have the ability to share live video. It's the days of everywhere VideoConferencing and QuickVisuals is leading the way.

The flexibility to QuickVisuals is very apparent when it comes to VideoConferencing. When you are looking for a team of 9 people to be in one conference all on video, you want to make sure speed and wide scalability is the top priority. For an executive meeting, you might want a higher quality stream to be the setting with only 2-3 windows showing.

The beauty of working with GAN Conferencing is we are a personal type of company. As your video conferencing needs change, you can contact us to change your service instantly. Your Dedicated Conferencing Consultant will go over with you what you are looking to accomplish, and recommend the settings that work best for that situation. This isn't something that is required to be changed often, but when it is needed, it usually is very important.

QuickVisuals offers 4 main resolutions of live video in your meetings from a small quick stream good for open environments or many people on the screen, up to an HD resolution window that is optimized for a closed environment with the focus on quality. It's always important to remember the bandwidth requirements of VideoConferencing and your attendees likely connections.

The flexibility of both QuickVisuals and GAN Conferencing is all in place to make sure your important meetings function the way you want them to and with the best possible quality, no matter how varied they might be.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

I don't have time to make the switch to a new service?

There comes a time in an executive decision when you know that the time to act is now! The new service is better, more flexible, and will save money as well. The problem too often becomes making that decision requires too much effort and time to implement. If your office is going to switch a major procedure or process that is utilized every day, that can be a daunting task to implement, even when you know it is for the long term good of the organization.

We hear this from many companies after they sit in on a demonstration of our service. They agree 100% that QuickVisuals is definitely a more flexible tool than their current WebConferencing service. They also see the added savings that our QuickConnect TeleConference rates offer to them, along with the array of Free tools they receive as well. The decision to switch is usually a simple one for them.

Most of them have switched a communications service before, and have trepidation at the thought as they think back to the experience. They had to handle training of the staff on scheduling meetings and operating the service. Then there has to be a way to keep track of everything for the reporting plus so many other issues to attend to. Last time it took weeks before day-to-day business went back to normal!

This isn't the case with Great America Networks Conferencing. When you move your company to our service, the entire staff at GANC will be put into motion to make the transition near seamless and efficient. All the tasks that are usually left up to the Office Manager/IT Specialist/Administrator/etc. are going to be handled by us. We will:

• Provision all audio users (even using the same codes they are used to)
• Work with the website admin to custom brand QuickVisuals to your company 
• Send Free Wallet cards to all users for easy remembrance of information
• Train an administrator on the power of QuickPortal to manage their account
• Work with HR or Accounting to go over the Reporting system for their records
• Train all users in either a group, or individual sessions on usage of QuickVisuals
• Train all users on accessing their reports in QuickPortal and control in Live Conference Viewer
• Insure that each user is aware that live operator help is *0 away on each and every call
• Distribute our support number for any tech questions or concerns from anyone in company
• Do whatever it takes to make sure everyone in your organization is at ease with the new system

At Great America Networks Conferencing support and service is never ending, and never a charge to call a technical specialist and get help on the spot. Relieving your IT staff from questions and concerns related to conferencing allows more time to work on your own company's projects. We take care of all your users technical needs and make sure business continues as usual with minimal adjustments.

Yes, you do have the time to switch. We'll give it to you. Call us today.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso

Keeping track of everything. How automated reporting helps you stay organized.

There is a reason what we do all day is called business. It keeps us very busy! Sometimes too busy to keep track of all the things that you know you should. Corporate is calling for more and more tracking of time and activity, and it is just good practice to stay productive and efficient, but who has the time to make reports all day?

Great America Networks Conferencing is here to relieve you of the menial but all-important task. We will keep track of all the conferencing you do and email you a copy of everything that you want to know about your conferences. This is of course configurable by you to be active or not, but in this day and age, a log of activity is very beneficial. Here is a rundown of some of the ways GAN Conferencing can help you stay organized:

You have a morning conference call and need to make sure you are aware of who was on the call and how long they were there. Also Accounting wants to know the cost of each call as it happens, and your supervisor is interested in knowing how you have been spending your day as well.

With the settings you can customize in your QuickPortal, you are able to have a log of all the teleconference information emailed to you and 2 other email addresses within minutes of completing a conference. This way you have a record of all attendees, dial-in numbers, durations, and costs for every call in near real-time.

After lunch you run a marketing webinar for lead generation to your companies new product. This is something that you will do routinely to generate more interest as your products adoption grows so you are constantly fine-tuning your presentation to make sure it is as efficient and current as possible.

In QuickVisuals you are able to configure a report to be sent to you automatically that includes a link to every slide that was shared, all media that was played in the meeting and any chat conversations that took place. Also available is the names of all attendees with their phone numbers, durations, and the time that any Webcams were activated during the conference. By comparing multiple reports you can fine-tune your presentation in an easy and efficient manner.

The training session on the new product was of course scheduled while you were performing your marketing webinar so you could not attend live. Fortunately, the moderator of the session has forwarded you the QuickVisuals Meeting Report along with the link to the recording. As the day dies down, you plan to review the session from home after dinner. A simple click and you're in the meeting on your home desktop. The usual introduction is standard fare for your sessions so you click the bookmark to 'Slide 5' and on, then view the training video that was shared and download the Whitepaper that was distributed as well. there were some good questions asked both in the chat transcript and verbally over the TeleConference that really provides additional insight for you.

The ability to have a log of your activity in conferencing is beneficial on many levels to both you, and to your company. Great America Networks Conferencing offers reporting services free of charge with QuickConnect, QuickVisuals and QuickPortal that all allow you to concentrate on your business and move on quickly to your next task.

Making your day easier is what we are here for. Let us help you.

Anthony Russo
Conferencing Consultant
Great America Networks Conferencing
arusso@ganconference.com
www.ganconference.com
http://blog.ganconference.com/
Skype: anth.russo
Twitter: @AnthonyRusso