Archive for the 'Sales' Category

« Blog Home

New Feature: Track Webinar Playbacks

May 18th, 2012 by Beth Toeniskoetter

Webinars can be a major investment for any company, from both a time and dollar perspective. In order to maximize the return on your webinar investment, we always recommend using ReadyTalk’s easy-to-use recording and playback tools to extend the conversation with your audience after the live event is over.

We  added an additional metric to the playback recording report in Conference Center that displays the amount of time a participant watches a webinar recording.

So what does this new metric help you with?

Whether you’re using webinars for lead generation and qualification, online training and certification, or sales demonstrations, tracking how long a participant views your content can help with the following:

  • Gaining more visibility into the effectiveness of your webinar
  • Measure the level of audience engagement during your recordings and customize your follow-up based on how long they viewed it
  • Better prioritize lead scoring and lead follow-up within your marketing automation platform

What are some other ways that you measure the effectiveness of your webinars and keep your audience engaged?

 

 

Beth is a Product Marketing Manager and works with our customers to understand their needs as they relate to Event Services and ReadyTalk’s Conference Center, which is used to setup the pre- and post-meeting details of our clients’ upcoming webinars. Prior to joining in ReadyTalk in 2011, Beth worked as an account manager for a mobile payments start-up and as a product manager for the prepaid gift card program at First Data. Outside of the office, Beth loves to spend time with family and friends, practice her cooking skills, and run.

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

Start Demos Directly from Salesforce with ReadyTalk for Salesforce

April 2nd, 2012 by Shawna Barnhart

Webinars and Demos in SalesforceReadyTalk is constantly working on providing more value to our customers by improving our products. Today, we are releasing an upgrade to ReadyTalk for Salesforce.

Through integration with Salesforce, the ReadyTalk application allows sales reps to schedule and start demos right from Salesforce. Demos and meetings are automatically captured as Salesforce activities, freeing sales reps to focus on selling and arming management with valuable insight into performance.

The new ReadyTalk for Salesforce application allows customers:

  • Start or schedule a demo from a Contact or Lead record in Salesforce
  • Automatically record prospect demos and customer meetings as Salesforce activities
  • Give management visibility into demo and meeting activity, a key sales metric

To learn more about ReadyTalk for Salesforce sign up for a demo.

Ready to start using ReadyTalk for Salesforce, it is free and available in the AppExchange and can be installed by your company’s Salesforce administrator.

 

Shawna is a Product Marketing Manager focused on integrating ReadyTalk conferencing into the programs and applications our customers use every day.  Being a startup junky, Shawna joined ReadyTalk after working at multiple startups in the Denver/Boulder area. Outside of work, you can find Shawna in the mountains with her family, skiing, biking, hiking, swimming, or just sitting outside in the Colorado sun.

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

Getting Feedback from your Participants just got Easier!

March 19th, 2012 by Beth Toeniskoetter

What is one of the best ways to improve your next webinar? Ask for feedback!  We currently offer customers the option to display a post-event survey after a meeting has ended. Prior to the start of the meeting, the chairperson can modify the messaging that precedes the survey, add custom questions, attach files, or even direct  participants to a 3rd party survey tool.

But what happens if a participant leaves the webinar early, or if the chairperson doesn’t immediately end the meeting?  In the past, you may have missed the opportunity to get valuable feedback.  Now, you can include a link to the post-event survey in your follow-up email to anyone that attended the meeting, but didn’t fill out the survey.

Check out this new functionality:

  • How to Include the Post-Meeting Survey Link in Post-Meeting Email
    • By default, the functionality is enabled and is only included in the Post-Meeting Email to Attendees who have not completed the survey. This will avoid duplicate responses from your participants.

  • If the box is checked to include the post-meeting survey link, the text and button highlighted below for the post-meeting survey link will always display in the preview. However, if an attendee already completed the survey prior the post-meeting email being sent, the text and button will not be included.

  • Do you want to include a custom survey link instead?
    • If you choose to send attendees to a custom survey link, the option to include a post-meeting survey link in the post-meeting email is automatically disabled and no longer available.

Edit Post-Meeting Survey Page

Edit Post-Meeting Email to Attendees

It’s that easy! What are other ways that you get feedback from your participants before, during, and after your webinar?
Beth is a Product Marketing Manager and works with our customers to understand their needs as they relate to Event Services and ReadyTalk’s Conference Center, which is used to setup the details of our clients’ upcoming meetings. Outside of the office, Beth loves to spend time with family and friends, cook, and hit the slopes.

 

 

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

Is company culture a selling point? Absolutely.

March 16th, 2012 by Nicole Qualtieri

Google. Whole Foods Market. Zappos. Apple. Facebook. Patagonia.

What do these giants of industry first bring to mind? For me and many other consumers, it’s a positive company culture and a dedication to support that is unparalleled by their competitors.

As a member of ReadyTalk’s Inside Sales team, I work on the front lines of our service, taking inbound calls from prospective customers, hosting live demonstrations of our audio and web conferencing services, and acting as a point person through many of our clients’ first experience with our product. With ReadyTalk being a Best Company to Work For in Colorado for more than five years running, I’ve found that—much like Google and the aforementioned companies—culture has become one of my go-to selling points at every stage of introducing prospects to our conferencing services.

If you’re fortunate to work at a company dedicated to building a culture that is people-centric, you should absolutely be incorporating this aspect into your initial sales conversation. I’ve found the following points to be really helpful in not only engaging clients but creating a company identity that reaches much deeper than simply being a fantastic conferencing software provider with an awesome platform:

1. Incorporate cultural material into demonstrations. Maybe it’s an example of your company’s mission or a slide showing the availability of your support team or a picture that embodies the spirit of your workplace, any of these create an opportunity for a talking point that allows for engagement on the end of the prospect.

2. Frame the conversation from the prospects’ perspective. It’s all well and good that you and I have a great, amazing, awesome, totally sweet workplace, but how does it affect the prospect?? I tend to explain it from the support side:

“What a people-focused culture means for you is that you are going to have a live Customer Care representative who is happy to help you with whatever it is you need,  and we’re available to help seven days a week, 24 hours a day.”

Who wouldn’t want that?? I want that! In every aspect of my life! But of course, this also begets the third piece….

3. Dedicate yourself to the follow-through. Every time you connect with a prospect, you are creating a framework for their experience with your company. Build a strong foundation, and hit it out of the ballpark every time.

If there is anything more fun than actually being in such a great workplace, it’s being able to share the experience with the users’ of your technology. And if you are looking to be able to work more from a referral basis, this is a key way to stand above competition in a way that is atmospheric.

Do you have different ideas about how company culture can factor into the sales process? Do you have experience being sold on a company culturally? We’d love to hear about it!

 

Nicole Qualtieri is a member of ReadyTalk’s Inside Sales team, where she acts as a first point of contact for future clients. Prior to working at ReadyTalk, she worked in a corporate leadership development program and spent a year volunteering as an AmeriCorps VISTA in Boston, MA. Outside of her professional life, Nicole is an avid writer, horseback rider, and contributor within Denver’s stand-up comedy and story-telling community.

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

NEW: Sign Up to Access ReadyTalk’s Pre-Recorded Video Playback Beta

December 6th, 2011 by Paul Carollo

Today we are excited to announce the beta of our pre-recorded video playback feature. Pre-recorded video playback gives your trainings, sales demos, and webinars a more engaging, personal feel by incorporating short video clips into the live presentation. Your meetings will never be the same and your participants will thank you for incorporating rich video content in your presentation. With pre-recorded video playback, you can:

    • Upload pre-recorded video clips to your access code
    • Playback video clips during your meeting for participants to see and hear your content
    • Record your meeting with the pre-recorded video content included

To sign up for beta access to pre-recorded video playback please fill out this form. You will receive an email within 1 business day providing you with instructions on how to get started.

Currently the process for uploading and playing back your pre-recorded video clip is a 4 step process (see diagram below). For more information please be sure to view the recorded demo, the Quick Start Guide, and the Best Practices and Known Issues documentation to gain valuable tips and tricks on how to use pre-recorded video playback in your meetings. When this feature becomes generally available (first half of 2012), the process for uploading and playing back your videos in the live presentation will be very similar to uploading and inserting slides into the ReadyTalk Conference Controls.

We’d love to hear about your experience with pre-recorded video in the feedback form or in the comments below. Tell us how the feature is working, if you’re experiencing any issues, or if you have any specific feature requests. If you have any questions about this feature please contact ReadyTalk Customer Care at 800.843.9166.

Paul was formerly an Account Executive at ReadyTalk gaining valuable experience with competitors and the state of the web and audio conferencing industry. Currently in his role as Product Marketing Manager, he is in charge of the competitive landscape, on-demand audio products, and the web meeting interface. Paul loves the outdoors, his pup Huck, his wife Jess, and getting to the ski slopes as much as possible.

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

I’m Not Listening.

November 9th, 2011 by Bo Bandy

 

Verizon has gotten amazing mileage out of its “Can You Hear Me Now?” campaign. I think it has stuck around because we can all relate; there’s nothing worse than having a conversation with a friend and having their line cut in and out.

Unreliable audio is acceptable among friends. When it comes to business, it’s another story. 

This week, I was on an audio conference with a vendor who sells content marketing solutions. Since we’re mapping our content and identifying next year’s content marketing plan, I was very interested in hearing what she had to say. But, I couldn’t pay attention.

The sales rep was using a free audio conferencing service. With free audio conferencing, you pay for what you get and what she got was static, delay and choppiness. I tried really hard to focus on what she was saying but the poor audio made it really hard to pay attention. Poor audio makes it hard for even the best sales reps to be successful.

Analyst firm, Frost and Sullivan recently put together a white paper on the topic of free services, The True Costs of Free Conferencing: Why Consumer Services Can Hurt Your Business. In the paper, they write, “Anyone who uses free conferencing services with customers puts their professionalism and credibility at risk.”

I couldn’t agree more. What do you think? Is the savings worth the risks?

 

As the marketing communications and PR manager, Bo gets to wear many hats (but her favorite is a tiara). When she isn’t tackling branding, messaging, social media and collateral, she enjoys skiing with her husband, running with her dog and playing board games with friends. You can find her on Twitter @bo_knows_

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

Drum roll please….ReadyTalk Introduces Five New Web & Audio Subscriptions!

October 18th, 2011 by Beth Toeniskoetter

The world of conferencing continues to change. First, it was bringing small groups of employees across various office locations together on the phone, followed by the need for web conferencing to show others what you were working on.  Now, those groups are no longer small, or limited to your own organization.  The use of audio and web conferencing has grown to much more than a way to cut down on costs, but as a successful way to generate leads through webinars, or train users on your product.  The use cases seem endless, and maybe even complex.  But something that should not be a brainteaser? Pricing.

ReadyTalk understands that our customers want to concentrate on the subject of their meetings, or content of their webinars, instead of the possibility of the unpredictable costs of their audio and web conferencing use.  We want to provide the highest quality, service and reliability, as part of our pricing.  With that expectation in mind, we introduce our five new web and audio subscriptions:

  • Web Meeting Pro (25, 150)
  • Webinar (500, 1000, 3000)

What’s unique about these? High-quality audio, included with every package.

The Web Meeting Pro subscriptions include unlimited web conferencing and a bundle of included toll and toll-free domestic audio minutes, at a flat monthly fee.

The Webinar subscriptions include unlimited web conferencing AND unlimited Broadcast Audio, enabling participants to stream high-quality audio through their computer speakers. Again, for a flat monthly fee.

So how do you know which subscription is right for you, or your company?

Do you conduct a fair amount of smaller, internal meetings or  present projects to external clients and vendors where high-quality audio is critical?  Then the Web Meeting Pro options are right up your alley.

Are you managing larger webinars for lead generation, online training, etc, more than once a month?  The Webinar subscription options can give you the cost-effective solution you are looking for.

Interested in learning more?  Contact us today to find out more about our new subscription plans!

 

Beth is a Product Marketing Manager and works with our customers to understand their needs as they relate to event services and our conference center, which is used to setup the details of our clients’ upcoming meetings. Outside of the office, Beth loves to spend time with family and friends, cook, and hit the slopes.

 

LinkedInEmailShare

Digg This Digg »

NEW: ReadyTalk Quick Launcher

October 5th, 2011 by Paul Carollo

Today, we are excited to announce the launch of ReadyTalk Quick Launcher – a tool available on your desktop that makes it easier and faster to start, join, and invite others to meetings. This tool will be a favorite for people who would like a quicker, persistent way to connect to their ReadyTalk accounts. If you are tired of logging into ReadyTalk through the browser to gain access to your account then this is definitely the tool for you. Quick Launcher gives you the ability to:

  • Start an On-Demand Meeting with a single click. The Quick Launcher stores your account credentials eliminating the need to type in any numbers or codes.
  • View a list of Scheduled Meetings in Conference Center and choose the meeting you’d like to start.
  • Skip all audio prompts with the Start Audio Meeting feature. The Quick Launcher will dial you and immediately connect you to your Audio Meeting. It remembers the last 10 numbers you dialed so you can quickly select connect to your cell phone, desk phone or conference phone. Check the option to “Launch web controls on connect” to open up the web meeting controls for managing your audio meeting or for running an On-Demand Web and Audio Meeting.
  • Instantly create an email invite with Invite Others. All the login information is included giving your participants a quick and easy way to join your ReadyTalk meetings.
  • Join a Web Meeting faster when you’re colleague hosts a ReadyTalk meeting. Simply enter the 7 digit access code of the On-Demand meeting you’d like to join and the Quick Launcher will drop you right into the meeting, bypassing the registration process.

     

    The Quick Launcher can be opened by double clicking on the optional desktop icon, left or right clicking on the tray ico. The goal of this tool is to be available for you anytime you need it, but to not be in the way when you don’t.

    The ReadyTalk Quick Launcher is available today free of charge and can be downloaded for Mac or Windows here: http://www.readytalk.com/support-training/downloads. If you have any questions about the Quick Launcher or are having any issues downloading please contact ReadyTalk Customer Care at 800.843.9166. As always, if you have feedback, feature enhancements, or questions give us a call at any time or leave them in the comments below.

     

     

    Paul was formerly an Account Executive at ReadyTalk gaining valuable experience with competitors and the state of the web and audio conferencing industry. Currently in his role as Product Marketing Manager, he is in charge of the competitive landscape, on-demand audio products, and the web meeting interface. Paul loves the outdoors, his pup Huck, his wife Jess, and getting to the ski slopes as much as possible.

    LinkedInEmailShare

    Digg This Digg »

    Are You Cooperating or Competing with Your Channel?

    October 4th, 2011 by Tracy Williams

     

    Over the years, I have seen many companies chose to build a channel program but immediately fight themselves on their decision. It is common for there to be a misunderstanding about the role of channel partners and that can lead to arguments as to whether an indirect channel program is beneficial. Some will argue that it costs too much while others see the value right away. Before proceeding to build a channel program seek buy-in internally from key stakeholders.

    As a channel marketing manager, my role is to help the company decide which channel is relevant to the sales organization (reseller, VAR, developer, retail, etc.), how to grow and manage that channel, and what to expect out of the growth of the channel over the years.

    One of the first things to tackle is cooperation with channel partners, especially with the direct sales team. There are endless ways to avoid competition and encourage cooperation – just make that a goal and measure your program against it.

    Of course a channel program should be designed for generating sales and supporting customers. Some examples include:

    • Setup alliances between direct and indirect teams so that partnering becomes second nature and you will foster cooperation.
      • Team sales reps with channel partners when there is a value add to the customer.
    • If sales management deals with both channels, distribute sales quotas to promote cooperation. If not, the first signs of competition will show up.
    • A main part of managing both direct and indirect channels is managing the leads of all parties and creating fair and reasonable guidelines for lead tracking.
      • Typically conflict arises when both direct and indirect sales are competing for the same business. Lead tracking can minimize the competition and help management make decisions.

    Create a program that fosters cooperation between both teams and you have a win-win.

    Tracy focuses on channel and partner marketing at ReadyTalk, building out marketing programs to recruit partners and reinforce engagement with them. When she’s not coming up with marketing plans she likes to compete in canine freestyle Frisbee and ride her Ninja motorcycle.

    LinkedInEmailShare

    Digg This Digg »

    Questions/Answers from Webinar: Convert Leads Faster by Integrating Webinar Data with Salesforce

    September 28th, 2011 by Anita Wehnert

    While we knew that marketers and trainers were tired of the hassle of getting webinar data into their CRM system, we were surprised by the great turnout at yesterday’s webinar on the value of integration. If you had a chance to join us, we hope you found the event worthwhile!

    Many thanks to Helena Brito from Mandiant, Jill Myers from OverDrive, and Pat Buchanan and Dave Kornegay from SchoolDude.com for speaking on the event. Each of them shared fantastic insight into how the integration has made a difference in their business and responded to questions from our audience during a lively panel discussion.

    Because we had so many great questions, we couldn’t get to them all during the live event. In fact, we had such a high volume of questions that answering them all would make this blog post painful to read.

    So, here is my take on the top 5 and you can access a full transcript of the Q&A here. You can also sign-up for a demo and learn more about ReadyTalk for Salesforce here.

    1 – Q. How does sales use webinar information to close more deals? Did you face any resistance to adoption within your sales organizations?

    A.  By having access to webinar data directly from the Lead or Contact record, sales can instantly see which topics their prospect is interested in and tailor their message to speak to the prospect’s specific use case or pain point. And, because attendance data is captured in Salesforce immediately after an event, sales can strike while the iron is hot and capitalize on opportunities rather than delaying follow up until marketing can do the manual work to get the data into the CRM.

    Each of our panelists shared that ReadyTalk for Salesforce has been very well-received by their sales organizations because it:

    • Gives them timely and convenient visibility into valuable webinar data right from the Lead and Contact record
    • Makes it easy for them to invite prospects and customers to webinars and online trainings directly from the Lead or Contact record

    In fact, Helena from Mandiant shared this feedback from one of her account executives during the webinar:

    “Awareness of participation in events by potential customers allows me to enter the conversation with relevance and value, thereby earning their attention.”

    2 – Q. When I look at a customer record will I be able to see a history of their webinar interaction directly associated with their customer profile?

    A. Yes, ReadyTalk for Salesforce attempts to match each participant with a Lead or Contact record in Salesforce based on email address. From the related Lead or Contact record, you can see all of that person’s meeting activity and drill down to the Meeting Member record for full details.

    3 – Q. Is there a diagram or goal funnel (visualization) to see drilled down results quickly at a high level?  Will we be able to see a report generated from an event?

    A. Yes, ReadyTalk for Salesforce provides a high-level view of event stats including the number of people invited, registered, and attended as well as the details for each individual Meeting Member. We also include a dashboard and canned reports that provide insight into information like attendance rate by event and number of registrants for upcoming meetings.

     

    4 – Q. Does ReadyTalk for Salesforce check for duplicates and create a new Lead or attach to an existing record?

    A. Yes, ReadyTalk for Salesforce uses email address to attempt to match an event participant with an existing Lead or Contact in Salesforce. If it finds a unique match, it automatically attaches the Meeting Member to that Lead or Contact. If it does not find a match, you can have the application automatically create a new Lead or use our matching tool to try to find an existing Lead or Contact using additional information (e.g. name, company, etc.). And, if it finds multiple matching records, it will add the Meeting Member to a queue of “Unmatched Registrants” so you can select the Lead or Contact that you want related.

    5 – Q. Do all of the panelists use Eloqua as well or do they use different email marketing tools in conjunction with ReadyTalk and Salesforce?

    A. SchoolDude.com has used Eloqua for a number of years and OverDrive is excited about deploying Eloqua in Q4 2011. ReadyTalk also uses Eloqua as an integral part of our webinar marketing efforts.

    While ReadyTalk gives you the ability to send email invitations through our system, you have the flexibility to use a marketing automation system or another email marketing tool for this task. ReadyTalk for Salesforce is designed to support this use case, so you can still capture registration and attendance data in Salesforce even if you don’t use our invitation capabilities.

    In addition to our integration with Salesforce, ReadyTalk also has a direct integration with Eloqua through the Eloqua Cloud Connectors for ReadyTalk. You can learn more about that integration here or install it from the Eloqua App Cloud.

    LinkedInEmailShare

    Digg This Digg »