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Making the Transition Tips from Those Who Have
When it came to making the transition, our interviews revealed that there were two different strands of behavior as represented by two types of organizations. One group, which we call "Planners," takes predetermined steps, both large and small, such as holding demonstrations and training to ensure success. The other group, the "Divers," fearlessly dove into applying the technology, quickly integrating it into the workflow by using it aggressively (and typically needing to get burned once before understanding the importance of practice). We believe neither approach is right for all situations, but instead that one will be preferred depending on the company’s existing technical skills and culture.
Most companies start small by obtaining a few licenses with the goal of gaining an understanding of how web conferencing will fit into their processes – and whether being a "Planner" or a "Diver" works for them. Early success is then built upon. When the time arrives to roll out to sales, be sure to get every salesperson their own license.
Salespeople all need their own licenses. Think of it as a customer visit. You can't book a sales VP into two meetings at once. But other functional areas can share licenses. We've looked carefully at who needs their own licenses and who does not. It becomes a productivity issue when someone can't use it.
– Chief Technology Officer, Financial Services Firm It is important to appreciate that web conferencing is a different communication medium. Know your audience: they are bringing you into their offices – thus they are in control. You may face "competition" from the phone, email, IM messages, and people dropping in. Thus it is essential to retain their attention by keeping conference sessions short, briskly paced, engaging, and to the point. Paying attention to the following details will also help: slide design (keep it simple, use graphics instead of text bullets, do not read the slides – tell the story "behind" them) and the use of pointing and annotation to emphasize key points. For larger web presentations, ask poll questions and encourage questions via text chat to engage the audience.
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