Last week I spent the week in New Orleans for a conference and was still able to work from my hotel and have virtual conferences with my clients and sales presentations with potential clients. The cool part of it all was that they didn't even know where I was.
If you're just starting a business or new to business, trying to build a client base is most likely your top priority. I would advise to think outside-the-box and try to get clients from any part of the country. If a client wants to "talk business" simply having a phone conversation may not work for most people. Most people are visual and being able to talk to you and see something on the screen, will help to liven the interaction.
This week, I've been working on improving my sales presentational items and revamping my marketing message. Within two weeks, I should have some great presentational tools (but that's for a different post obviously).
Today, I thought I'd share two simple modernized tools that allow me to conversate with clients around the country, and maximize my productivity while I'm out of town. After all, if a client asks to meet with you, you don't want to take away from your interaction with them by taking away the tools you would have used if you met with them face-to-face do you? And if you're a solopreneur or have a small amount of employees, you don't want your client missing their deadlines because you had prior commitments to meet do you?
Here are two methods that allow you to work efficiently on a virtual basis:
If you're just starting a business or new to business, trying to build a client base is most likely your top priority. I would advise to think outside-the-box and try to get clients from any part of the country. If a client wants to "talk business" simply having a phone conversation may not work for most people. Most people are visual and being able to talk to you and see something on the screen, will help to liven the interaction.
This week, I've been working on improving my sales presentational items and revamping my marketing message. Within two weeks, I should have some great presentational tools (but that's for a different post obviously).
Today, I thought I'd share two simple modernized tools that allow me to conversate with clients around the country, and maximize my productivity while I'm out of town. After all, if a client asks to meet with you, you don't want to take away from your interaction with them by taking away the tools you would have used if you met with them face-to-face do you? And if you're a solopreneur or have a small amount of employees, you don't want your client missing their deadlines because you had prior commitments to meet do you?
Here are two methods that allow you to work efficiently on a virtual basis:
- GoToMyPC.com: GotoMyPC is a fast and secure way to access your office or home computer from any web browser at any time, from any part of the world. You can literally "take your office with you wherever you go." Sounds too good? I know but it's true and here's how it works: 1) Leave your home or office computer on and leave town 2) Go to http://www.gotomypc.com/ while you're out of town; from any internet connection 3) Work on your computer and access all of your favorites, etc--it is as if you signed on to your very own computer. My IT company has used this method with me on the phone to access my computer also; with my permission. So if you are a company needing access to clients' computers, you may want to use GoToMyPC.
- GoToMeeting.com: GoToMeeting is an easy tool to talk to your customers and make them feel as if you're in the same room. I use this tool most of the time and I like it. You can have online meetings and conferences, give sales presentations, have online training, etc. It's easy to maneuver, all you do is go to http://www.gotomeeting.com/ and: 1) Schedule a meeting via email or phone (I usually do via email, so my contact gets an email link inviting them to a meeting) 2) You can also give your attendees a conference number to dial-in on so that you guys can talk while viewing 3) Your client will have to click on the email link to access your screen 4) You then click to allow them to view your screen. Pretty simple.
Just in case you're wondering about security, both of these virtual tools are guarded by Citrix Online; the owner of all the virtual tools : GoToMyPC, GoToMeeting, GoToAssist. They have invested dollars to secure their systems with 128 bit AES encryption.
Both of these systems have free trials so I suggest you try them for free before using. I doubt that you will need both; one or the other may suit your business well.
My point for pointing out these tools is: If you're meeting with or trying to acquire out-of-town customers, why not work smarter and not harder? And if you're not trying to acquire customers from outside of your state, why not?
About the Author: Cheryl Isaac is the writer of this blog and a Startup Business Consultant & Owner of Isaac Business Services, an agency that offers startup concierge & business planning services for small businesses
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