The World Just Gets Smaller and Smaller

Technology is something I like to think I have a fair grasp of but sometimes I still get surprised by how simple life is becoming.

The majority of my clients come from overseas and mainly English speaking countries. Various logistical issues arise from such a client base not the least of which are travel or teleconferencing costs.

Trying to encourage a prospective client to utilize your services and getting them to call long distance to discuss the matter can be something of a challenge.

Two recent additions in the office have been telephone lines in Miami (786 623 5562 ) London (020 3239 6220 ) and Sydney (02 8007 5458). This allows clients to contact us on a local rate telephone call and just as importantly allowing me to market my services more effectively. The service is also available 24/7

I do not pretend to have offices at these locations the facility is simply provided to make life easier for our clients and us. All calls are routed direct to our office and / or staff cell phones when out of hours. As all calls are on voice over IP the costs are negligible.

The next phenomenal tool is www.gotomeeting.com which allows teleconferencing in multiple locations. There are quite a few such services however the kicker with GoToMeeting is that it allows people on the teleconference to see exactly what is on your PC during the call. Very handy for sales and complex case discussions.

Tallying it up the other day we have been contacted regarding work by 16 different methods. (Five emails, fax, five telephone numbers in four countries, Skype, MSN, Yahoo Chat, Facebook and LinkedIn.

What amazes me is that it is within my memory that it was necessary to book a long distance call several hours in advance with the operator. And I do not count myself as old by any stretch of the imagination.