Why have an operator assisted call?
When you’re making an announcement or giving a presentation with more formality to an important audience in a managed environment – operator assisted calls are the answer. Software based collaboration solutions like WebEx and Unified Meeting do allow you to control the audio connections with basic functionality, but then you of course have to manage that yourself which can be a challenge. With a fully managed operator assisted call a highly trained operator handles everything like assembling presenters, making a formal introduction, monitoring for sound quality, conducting a formal Q&A session, and a formal announcement to end the call. For more details on how exactly this service works click here. How much will it cost? There a some factors we need to examine first…
Desired interaction (call purpose)
This is an important place to start as it will determine what will be required to ensure your specific needs are met. Up front you’ll want to determine how important the participant information gathered is to you. If you don’t need it at all then automated entry using a code makes sense. If you generally know who will be there and can glean who attended based on multiple items then prompting participants for information and having that information transcribed can be used to avoid potential hold times. If however, you need detailed information about each person or need to restrict them in some way the operator greeted entry is the right fit.
Then, it’s a matter of how you’ll allow participants to interact with the Leaders or Speakers. While you can make everyone interactive, generally with a large audience you’ll want to have everyone in a listen-only mode. If you would like to take live questions from the audience via a formal Q&A session or ask a polling question these are included in the per minute rate. When the Leaders of the call are ready, they’ll give a verbal queue to the operator who will communicate the prompts to the audience.
Pricing factors
It starts with the variable cost. Connections are metered on a per minute, per connection basis for callers who dial in and surcharges added for international connections. To estimate the cost here you would multiply the number of attendees you anticipate dialing in by the expected duration of the call which would give you the minute total. That would then be multiplied by the US Domestic rate per minute. If you anticipate international connections you have two options. You can either provide them with a US Toll number that can be used from anywhere in the world where they pick up the toll and transport on their end. Or ITFS (International Toll-Free) and ITL (International Local) numbers which would be specific to their region and you are incurring the toll which is added to the per minute rate in the form of a surcharge. Then, it’s a matter of customizing your call with the added features.
Features required
These are the fixed costs depending on which features are important. The complete list of available features can be viewed here. Let’s talk about the ones that tend to be more frequently used. Usually there is a need to obtain a roster of who dialed in on a participant list which is sent after the call. Recording features are frequently requested and can include an Mp3 file, hosted audio replay, or transcription. Maybe you’ll want to use Leaderview for a real time look at who’s on the call and the ability to manage the Q&A. For a high prolife call you might want one of the most senior, tenured “Specialized Operators” and you may want them assigned to all your future calls which we can help arrange. For specific pricing of these features click here. If you’re looking to provide a VOIP connection option, have visual content you’d like to share, or want to screen typed in questions then we can add a managed Webcast or assist with a web-conferencing platform.
How to arrange a successful call
Well, start by Contacting Us. As detailed as we’ve tried to be here there are still many features and unique applications that are available or possible, but require further discussion. It’s helpful for us to talk via phone or email, whatever’s easiest for you, to cover all the details. Then, we can ensure the appropriate customizations are implemented to accommodate your requirements. We would encourage a dialogue with us before leaving calls this important in the hands of someone lacking the experience to provide such consultation. If you already have an account with us you can make a reservation here.
