When it comes to business, any new technology will ultimately be judged on how well it contributes to improving productivity and profit. If you are selling goods or services, online web conferencing can improve your bottom line by boosting sales and lowering costs. Here are five reasons why this is so:

1. It allows you to meet with more prospective clients

If you have to physically travel to a client's office or location, there is only so much that you can do within any given period. Let's face it, travel is exhausting and expensive not only in terms of the direct costs that you make when you travel, but also in the way that your productivity is affected every time you have to pack up and leave your office.

You can meet with more clients online than you could ever do by trying to visit them all physically. Web conferencing is one of the best ways to get this work done.

2. Online Conferencing allows your prospects to put a face with the voice over the phone

A lot of selling is done on the telephone, and some people are very effective with a simple telephone. If you are able to sell on the phone, think of what you could achieve if your prospects and clients could see you by simply opening their browser and entering a few mouse clicks and keystrokes! People prefer to deal with people, rather than faceless voices. Video conferencing allows you to project your warmth and sincerity and will enhance whatever selling skills you already possess.

3. Conferencing allows you to get together with more decision makers

Many purchasing decisions require the input of more than one person, and web conferencing allows you to get all the decision makers together in one meeting. For example, suppose John in New York wants you to also meet with Lisa in London, you can do so very easily. Instead of trying to arrange a face-to-face meeting, you simply have to get all parties together in a web meeting.

Easily arranged online conferencing means that you will be able to shorten the time necessary to close complex transactions involving the input of several parties.

4. Online conferencing enables you to sell more "add-on" products to your existing clients by giving you the ability to be in a meeting with them at any time and within minutes.

The more time you spend with any prospect, the more opportunity you have to build your rapport and to explain in detail what you have to offer. Someone who contacts you for a simple service, upon getting to know you well online, will probably go on to purchase your other offerings. If that prospect is limited to a short phone call, the chances of selling them something else is far less than it is with them seeing you.

5. Web conferencing allows you to offer better after-sales service

Customers are not only interested in what you are selling today, but on what kind of service you will be able to offer them tomorrow. Web conferencing opens up great service opportunities. For example, your technicians can "visit" your clients online. Some conferencing applications even allow a person in one office to remotely "take over" and operate a computer in another office.

When your prospective clients and customers understand that you have the capacity to remain in touch with them and help them online, they will have one more reason to want to buy from you.

Once you try your hand at it, you will probably be able to add a few more points to this list by devising new ways to improve sales with online web and video conferencing.