Communications and meetings are expensive.  Travel, while it can be key to successful business, is expensive.  Perhaps you’re cutting back on your travel budget because of the economy.  Sometimes you need to meet with customers on regular basis. Maybe you’ve even considered online meetings. 

Online meetings and conference calls are often touted as a replacement for getting together face to face.  But let’s face it – the average online meeting isn’t a great experience.  In fact, it’s often downright awful!  Who hasn’t experienced:

• Not knowing who is on the call with you.  Most calls start with a role call – “Is John here? Susan?” -- but even so, you might not know if that person is still there, or has even arrived.
• Interruptions from chime tones, people speaking over each other, obnoxious hold music, or children and pets making a noise in the background. 
• Waiting while one person downloads the document sharing application – time that other people had to sit and wait.