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Virtual Meetings Made Easy

A low-cost Web tool now lets you share information easily with a group.

BY MICHAEL RUSSER

Dear Mr. Internet:
Sometimes when I'm on the phone with a client or prospect, I'd like to be able to show them specific listings or pieces of information on my site. Is there an easy way to do this?

Mary Valdez
Keller Williams Realty Group One Inc.
Reno, Nev.

Dear Mary:
It sure can be frustrating trying to describe something on your Web site just using the phone. In fact, I’ve caught myself pointing to my screen and saying, "It's right there," as if the person on the other end of the line could see my finger! Fortunately, there’s a powerful, easy, and affordable new tool you can use to guide anyone through your Web site as if you were both in the same room. And the best part is you can try it out for free within minutes of finishing this article.

This new Web-based service is called GoToMeeting. It was developed by the same awesomely bright folks at Citrix Online who thought up GoToMyPC several years ago. With GoToMeeting, you can have up to 10 people view your screen at the same time. And as the meeting "organizer," you can either control your mouse and keyboard as you move around the site or assign that control to any of the other viewers. In fact, you can even view and/or control other participants’ computers during the same meeting. This is a perfect environment to visually "walk" clients and prospects through your Web site.

GoToMeeting is particularly good for showing online listings because it’s the only online meeting service I'm aware of that shows the true colors of the screen being shared. Most other services reduce the number of colors shown to speed up the screen-sharing process, thus reducing the visual impact of what you are trying to show.

GoToMeeting uses patented technology that allows attendees to join in even if they use a slow dial-up connection. The one catch to using this program is that each viewer has to have the capacity to be on the Internet and the phone at the same time. You can solve this problem with dedicated lines or by using cell phones for the oral part of your virtual meeting.

GoToMeeting is similar to WebEx Communications Inc. and WebConference.com but with several advantages. First and foremost, GoToMeeting is priced as an All-You-Can-Meet™ one-time annual fee. This charge lets you hold an unlimited number of meetings with up to 10 online attendees at any one time. There’s also no time limit on the length of meetings, making it a great way to stay in touch with your sales associates or team members when you’re not in the office. Most other services charge a per-person, per-minute fee, which can get to be expensive in a hurry.

GoToMeeting also gives you the ability to set up the conference call with attendees at no extra charge beyond your typical long-distance call fee. The price is $49 per month or $468 for the personal version. The corporate version, which is not yet priced, will allow you to increase your meeting size to 25 people and have as many as five meeting organizers in your company. As of this writing, you can try out GoToMeeting for free until the end of July for free.

After you register at the company’s Web site, a small Java applet will automatically download and install on your PC. This only happens once. After the applet is installed, you can immediately start or schedule a meeting simply by logging in at www.gotomeeting.com and clicking the appropriate buttons.

An even simpler method is to use the GoToMeeting tool bar that automatically installs in Microsoft Outlook.




With this tool bar addition, you can start or schedule a meeting without having to log-in at the main site. The system also sends an e-mail with log-in information to everyone you want to participate in the meeting. These participants also must download the Java applet the first time they use the program. It will even send out an Outlook calendar entry with the date, time, and reminder to all meeting participants. When you have your first meeting, you will see how incredibly easy this service is to use, which is another major advantage over most other systems.

There are many ways you can use GoToMeeting in your business. Here are just a few ideas:

· Client Demonstrations and Support. You or your assistant can show your clients how to use certain parts of your site or other online services (e.g., checking on their transaction status online if you use online transaction management tools).

· Unforgettable Live Assistance. Armed with GoToMeeting, you or one of your assistants or virtual assistants can help prospects and leads when they phone for more information—imagine the impact you will have when you literally "take them there" over the Net.

· Productive Presentations. Why take the time to travel to your prospects’ homes if you can meet with them online and demonstrate how you are going to sell their listing or review offers with them. This is particularly powerful if you do a lot of relocation business.

· Staff Training. You can use GoToMeeting as a training platform that doesn't require your assistants or sales associates all to be in the same room. That makes it perfect for working with virtual assistants, too.

· Web Design. Now you can show your Web designer exactly what you are talking about instead of trying to describe it.

· Tech Support. Using GoToMeeting, you can invite that techie friend of yours to help you out with software or other computer issues at a moment's notice.

You’re really only limited by your imagination. GoToMeeting provides you with another valuable Web-based tool to connect and interact powerfully with your prospects, clients, and staff with less time, effort, and money than just about any other alternative. And you won’t have any more smudge marks on your computer screen!

Mr. Internet’s Tip of the Month

Think how knowledgeable you could be if you had a tireless research assistant that didn't cost you a dime yet always lets you know when something new shows up on the Web that matches your interests.

Well, the folks at Google are at it, again, ready to help you look like a genius. Inside their Google Labs division (where they let people try out new cool tools and services), they’ve created Google Web Alerts. Google Web Alerts is a great example of what is typically referred to as a "bot," an automated piece of online software that does its work silently in the background and reports back to you when it's done.

This great new software allows you to do automated searches for any topic that interests you. Then either once a day or once a week—your choice—the service will send you an e-mail of any new information that it finds on the Web that matches your search criteria. The service, which is now in beta testing, reviews it’s top 10 news results and top 20 Web results to send you any information you haven’t viewed.

You can use advanced search features within your Web Alerts as well. For example, if you want to know any time some other site links to yours, just put in link:www.yourdomain.com into the search criteria, and you’ll get an e-mail when someone links to your site. (How’s that for a painless way to police your content?) If you set up a similar Web Alert for links to your competitor's site, you will see who is linking to those sites for the first time, which could be very useful information.

This is yet another very cool way to stay on top—without working very hard!

Previously by Ask Mr. Internet:

Hassle-Free MLS on Your Site
Automate Your E-marketing
Plans with Pizazz
Never Lose Track of Passwords Again
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