If you use IM to communicate with your customers and prospective customers, right IM software will actually analyze these communications and help you develop a list of frequently asked questions. FAQ’s are great time savers and effective business tools.

And IM is not impersonal. Use audio and video chat features and have a true face to face conversation without leaving office! Think of money you’ll save on traveling. Not only can you see other party’s face, you can see other things such as new product designs and product demonstrations. If it’s viewable, it can be seen using video chat.

If your business requires you to place international phone calls, you can save money on your phone bill, too. Adjust volume, record and playback, even use chat like you’re using a walkie-talkie so other party hears only parts of conversation that you choose. Pause, rewind and playback conversations, bookmark important points in your conversations, and search through past conversations by keyword or phrase.

Plus you can keep all of your contacts separated into categories yet contained in one easy to locate place. You can also have different contact lists under each of your various screen names.

And best of all, you can install IM software on your company network painlessly. Sharing files, communicating with co-workers, and knowing what’s going on in your office without leaving your desk is easy.

Trillian Pro connects to AIM, ICQ, MSN, Yahoo Messenger and IRC. And by using plug-ins, it can connect to many different services. Instant Messaging really is a valuable tool and one that will fit well into your business. Start chatting today!

The best way to place your call is to dial “0” followed by number you wish to call, such as 0-123-456-7890. This will help make connection faster. This method could be less expensive depending upon carrier.

The standard way is to dial “0” or “00” for International calls and tell operator number you wish to call and any special instructions such as collect or person-to-person.

• Prepaid Calling Cards: Using a prepaid card is yet another way to save money on International calls. Prepaid calling cards are portable and provide some protection against unseemly practices by telecoms. You need to consider if there are any extra charges for time and place of your call such as connection fees, maintenance or monthly fee, billing increment of your call, and expiration date of card. If you intend to use calling cards on a regular basis then consider a rechargeable card that will not expire.

• Calling FROM a U.S. Based Cell Phone: There are countless horror stories on Internet about how much some consumers have been “charged” (ripped off) by cellular providers for International calls. Fortunately, you can save substantial sums of money on these types of calls by planning ahead. You need to look for "stand alone" International calling plans that allow you to dialaround your cellular carrier, essentially bypassing their network for International part of call. The stand alone plan provides a substantial discount off cellular provider’s rates for International calls. The best part is that you do not need to change your cellular carrier to use system. Simply register your cell phone number with system provider and dial their U.S. access number provided to you before making your International call.

• Placing Your Call: As mentioned above, if you are dialing direct you would dial: 011 + country code + city code + number. On other hand, if you are using a dialaround provider, you would dial: 10-1x-xxx + 011 + country code + city code + number. In addition, keep in mind that there are about 20-countries outside of U.S. where you would just dial 1+ without dialing 011.

The “10-1x-xxx” represents specific dialing code for provider that you have selected. Contact your selected dialaround provider for exact dialing requirements to access their system.

• Voice over IP (VoIP): Voice over IP (VoIP) stand for Voice over Internet Protocol and can be a very inexpensive way to handle International calls. You need to have a broadband Internet connection available, such as a DSL or cable connection, and a touch tone phone. Using VoIP can also provide unlimited long distance service as well. Plans can be obtained for about $50.00 or less per month. For more information about VoIP, go to http://www.globalvalueconnect.com/VoIP.htm