Let’s face it, texts are not always the best form of communication. You’ve probably struggled to convey your emotions or figure out the true feelings of others through text messages. How many hours upon hours have you wasted with your fingers fixing words and phrases to get it just right? So often, texts mask the true meaning of the original intent. As a busy sales director, you need to implement national sales plans and supervise regional sales managers with the utmost organization. Your time, energy and effort are always being tested.

Well, there’s a new voice notes app called Sound Branch that looks very promising. It will literally take the burden of text away, and personalize what should really be personal. The concept is pretty simple – but highly effective. Just say what you want in 10 seconds and your recording is converted to text. It’s quick and to the point. No more wasting time pecking away on the keyboard. Communication can be private or public. For example, create audio and correspond back and forth with a sales manager – a single private conversation. Need more than one person involved in the discussion? The groups chat feature is the way to go. Want to go completely public? With this option, you can actually have all your texts be a part of a “public timeline”, that anyone on the web can see.

The really cool thing is that all of your text conversations are searchable! Want to refresh your memory on a topic you discussed at a previous meeting? No problem, just enter a few keywords and your conversation will pop up. Your meeting was recorded and everyone has access so there are no questions as to what was discussed.

Sound Branch lets you use your voice to say it with heart! It gives you a place where everyone is on your level and we can all be within reach. Ten seconds is just enough time to keep it concise and to the point! Eliminate rambling and unnecessary chatter. It’s all about just getting down to business.

For Sales Directors this is very convenient to use among your sales team and even with clients. Sound Branch will allow you to reduce the number of back and forth emails and the amount of meetings you have to manage and attend. If you have remote workers overseas, using the app can be a real time saver with keeping up with tasks. In fact, research has shown that people prefer to use voice messaging at home to in the office, something Sound Branch allows you to do seamlessly while you are out and about from the office.

The Sound Branch app is free and is available via the Apple store,  or via Google Play. You can also go directly to soundbranch.com.

Once you’ve signed up, you can create your public Sound Branch profile by simply speaking about your education, experience, skills, certificates and interests. You can then share your profile on social media thru your profile page link. All of your messages will be stored at https://soundbranch.com.
Sound Branch can provide powerful search, both web-based and in-app recording, analytics and dashboards, private group, chat and public voice messaging, audio profiles, speech to text and instant notifications.

So, there you have it. Sound Branch truly is the Voice Messaging App for Sales Directors! If you are ready to supervising your regional sales managers, manage remote teams more effectively, and reduce the need for meetings and missed phone calls, this voice messaging app is definitely worth checking out. The voice of your world is always with you, no matter where in the world you are.

Download Sound Branch and get started with better communication today. Grow your voice at soundbranch.com.

In a Nutshell:
Soundbranch is a similar experience to using email, but way better as you simply use your voice as opposed to your fingers. Sound Branch is a faster way for your team to keep in touch. Discuss your projects, share ideas and make decisions… faster.

In a world where businesses are growing at an unprecedented rate, the need for new employees is inevitably climbing alongside them. With this burst comes a demand for quick and effective recruitment tools to match their fast-paced environments. Enter Sound Branch, a new app with the aim of making the hiring process as smooth as possible – for both prospective candidates and recruiters.

We understand that it’s hard to move away from what companies are used to, but we’ve put together a few reasons why Sound Branch may just be the key to getting round those pesky problems that keep cropping up.

#1- It’s Quick

From setting up to becoming a full fledged user, everything about Sound Branch is designed to be quick. Sign up with your Google, Facebook or Twitter accounts in just a few clicks, follow your contacts, then send your voice notes. It’s as easy as that.

With 10 second recording windows, you are forced to be concise. The information you send becomes more efficient, making the whole process much quicker. For those worried about rambling on, and for those who are worried about details being missed out, you can always send more than one voice clip. Or, even better, use the text box above your recording to write anything you’ve missed. It’s this beautifully quick interface that allows things like preliminary interviews, or even full interviews, to be carried out within minutes, making it easier for everyone involved.

#2- Giving Feedback is No Longer a Chore

In 2015, only 41% of interviewees received feedback from prospective employers, leaving a whopping majority without feedback. And this is a problem that is only worsening. In fact, as Alexandra Levit says, “unfortunately, [the practice of not contacting a candidate if they aren’t chosen for the position] is the norm.” With reasons reasons ranging from lack of time, to other priorities taking hold in the business, typing up a detailed response to candidates is becoming less attractive to employers.

This is where Sound Branch can help. It removes the faff of writing an email, and the temperamental nature of phone calls. Instead, you record their feedback into ten seconds of speech- and that’s it. With employees being four times more likely to consider an employer if they’ve been given feedback, this ultimately benefits both parties, and means that job updates, good or bad, can be sent in an instant.

#3- Removes the Pressure of a Phone Call

These days, it comes as no surprise that 92% of adults admit to being nervous before an interview, with 15% being concerned about giving the right answer. It’s a fear that invokes exam fever. You work hard for it, but then have it thrown away in a few minutes just because the right answer wasn’t in your head at the right moment. For both parties, this hardly seems like the best way to know you’re considering the right person.

While Sound Branch is aimed at promoting fast business, the most unexpected- but often useful aspect- is that you can send and record in your own space, in your own time, not just on the spot. Replay it back and re-record if you need to, tweak that word you’re unsure on. Take a deep breath, and give the best answer, your best self, to your prospective employer.

#4- Makes the Workplace a Social Hub

It’s not just in the recruitment process that Sound Branch helps. From the get-go, cultivating a positive environment in the workplace is essential. So much so, that studies have found that 70% of people with good social relationships live longer, and what better place to start than in the workplace?

A better working environment attracts more interest, and therefore higher-grade applicants. In turn, this helps a business run in the best way it can. Sitting at your desk to email the person in the next room, or running into trouble when someone can’t turn up to work one day is the epitome of this problem. This is something Sound Branch can help with. At the end of the day, debrief your team in personalised huddles, brainstorm ideas, or update those who have missed out. All in the most conveniently social way possible.

At the end of the day, Sound Branch does exactly what it aims to do, and gets things done, and is the perfect app to complete your modern day business.

If you aren’t sure just yet, make sure to try it out for yourself here.

This short video gives an introduction to the Sound Branch voice notes app for iOS devices.

Sound Branch iOS App Video from Sound Branch on Vimeo.

Introduction to Search on SoundBranch.com

Overview of Sound Branch Web Inbox

Audio Profile Overview

We just wanted to say thank you for sharing your feedback for Sound Branch. Our mission is to bring you the best voice messaging app, so it’s great to hear so many of you love it.

Here is how users are finding the app! (Click ‘Play All Clips’)

We are trying hard to make Sound Branch the best voice notes app in the market, so thanks to all of you who have given us such amazing feedback.

If you’d like to share your love for the app please leave an App Store or Google Play review too.

We are always here to help. If you have any questions please get in touch.

In August 2017, the Founder of Sound Branch, Sean Gilligan, was interviewed by Nick Ahad on BBC Radio Leeds.

Sean talks about the benefits of using Sound Branch as well as how the app can be evolved into a billion dollar company.

You can listen to the interview below.

Now more than ever, companies need to focus on innovative workflow solutions for learning. This is a great way to reduce wasted time employees spend looking for information. Interventions at the point of need on the job can dramatically improve the performance of your business.

Staff need to understand the process, the problem and to have access to micro-learning content to improve competency on the job.

The forgetting curve demonstrates that after formal e-learning or staff training a decline of memory retention in time occurs. If employees don’t apply the knowledge – they forget it.

The 70:20:10 model for learning means that 70% of the learning is on the job, 20% is coaching and 10% is the formal learning.  Businesses need to build and implement fast learning solutions for adaptive learning and performance support.

Innovative systems such as Sound Branch can decrease learning time by 50%.

Sound Branch is a next-generation social learning tool based on the power of the voice. It helps businesses to retain and transfer knowledge which can be lost due to staff churn and the fast pace of change in a new age of business.

Businesses need to train, transfer and sustain knowledge through circulation systems such as Sound Branch or other tools which can be used by learners at critical points in the workflow as points of reference.

The most important issue is the application of knowledge.  Employees want on demand information guides with minimal support.  Sound Branch can orchestrate this. Learners want to know the steps, the detail and then practice what they have learnt. Social learning tools allow staff and managers to understand what’s been the most downloaded and what’s been most liked. This can help create accurate business intelligence reports to further help companies adapt and change their businesses to increase workflow. 

All voice notes captured within Sound Branch are converted into searchable text. The main advantage of this is that keywords searches can be conducted on particular issues to help workers revise in their times of need.

If you’re going to build a sales team, you’ll need some sales specialists. And most salespeople fall into different brackets. Largely, the four types of salespeople you’ve got are: inside salespeople versus outside salespeople and business development versus account management.

The reality is that it doesn’t matter what type of salesperson you are,  you have a number of phone calls to make during the working day. Sometimes these calls can be scheduled conference calls or sometimes calls out of the blue.

Out of the blue calls often lead to voicemail because the person in question – the decision maker – is either at lunch or in another meeting. Our top sales professionals know you should leave quality voicemails for the customer or indeed the prospect.

Those voice notes often sound like a sales pitch and quite often it is a salesperson following up with a prospect to see where they might be within the sales cycle.

But what if the voicemail was different? Instead of one person pitching to an individual, how about many people having that ability? Instead of it just being the salesperson how about other types of experts to strengthen the quality of the voicemail. All the people that could be on the voicemail might be product experts or technical experts in pre-sales. Other people that could be included might be technical support, product trainers or even perhaps the finance department. Having many people on the voicemail is very much different to the traditional voicemail that you and I are used to. So why should we change?

Sales is about driving up the average order value, generating more meetings, or indeed increasing the conversion rate. Increasing the quality of the voicemail and turning it into education podcasts should help drive all three of these key performance indicators.

And a final thought. What if voicemails were responded to by the buyer themselves? What if these massive online conversations between buyers and sellers were shared with the key decision-makers? How would this affect the sale cycle and the speed to close the deal?

You can learn more about Sound Branch a new innovative voice social media application by visiting the website below. Sound Branch is the world’s first nano podcasting platform. Use the platform to record audio in just ten seconds.

www.soundbranch.com

Engagement of employees is a very individual thing, and various different factors can come into play which influence it. Age, gender, race, technological uptake, intelligence and motivation can all play a key part.

It is no wonder then, that there is a worldwide issue within the workplace of disengagement.

So how can companies address this? One concept is that of a ‘social mindset’. This is a strategic move by companies to improve and build upon employee engagement over a sustained period of time.

A ‘social mindset’ is a relatively new term. It relates to a higher social skillset than we might have possessed above that of a few years ago, and embraces the social change that has hit our society. It allows companies to reflect on their business from a real person perspective, looking at individuals and their input, as opposed to the overall results. It enables companies to develop individuals to become more than ‘just a number’ and to therefore drive their business results accordingly.

Really, it’s about respect and making the most of skills. It’s a mindset which embraces the views of all members of staff. It leans towards an inclusive culture, and allows the companies and the individuals to grow and engage. It allows individuals to grow and develop at their own pace and within their own comfort zones. It looks to engage them completely in their day to day activities by taking action, as opposed to imposing rules and regulations to drive engagement, which may seem to actually have the opposite effect.

It should be said at this point, that in no way is this a quick process. It’s a cultural change within a company, but the results speak for themselves, and can result in a longevity of staff, and a universal understanding of company goals and strategy, which in turn drives team spirit and camaraderie.

Here are just some ways that a social mindset can improve employee engagement:

Clarification and collaboration

It’s sometimes challenging for colleagues and employers to understand where each other’s strengths and weaknesses lie. A social mindset allows this to be an organic process. Through a social mindset, employees develop their roles and their purpose within the company through collaboration. For example, the company takes on a project – within a social mindset there would be no pre-determined roles, although there would be a certain number of tasks that needed to be completed. Collaborators within the company would have the freedom to volunteer for tasks which specifically matched their interest / skillset, without being constrained to their specific job title or job description. By working in this way, companies can develop and nurture passions within staff, and allow them to enjoy their roles in a much more holistic way. Employers are also given the opportunity to see where true leaders lie, and by giving staff autonomy, can develop the leaders of the future.

Streamline communication

With today’s technology, a social mindset can thrive. Apps such as the newly launched http://soundbran.ch, a voice messaging app, offer the perfect platform for a social mindset’s implementation within a company in a clear and simple way which are not dissimilar to social platforms with which they may already be engaged.

The engagement with Apps such as Soundbranch is in itself an organic process, and allows employers to see how the workforce engage with each other. It also allows remote workers to be part of a team in a much more inclusive way than has historically been possible.

The Social Mindset allows not only communication within teams both publicly and privately, but also allows for real-time feedback on projects, and removes the risk of missed calls / emails / meetings having an impact on company success. In doing so, it builds trust, and ensures ongoing staff engagement.

Teach each other

A social mindset allows colleagues and collaborators to learn from each other, and therefore grow, sharing experience and learning in a social way. Gone are the days of day long training sessions to share expertise and promote best practice – this is far better done through example and illustration, things which a social mindset allow to thrive. A social mindset encourages sharing of the processes of specific tasks as opposed to their results, which allows all staff to learn and develop at their own pace by absorbing skills and asking questions. It also encourages feedback and allows the introduction of fresh thinking, removing the challenges associated with repetitive tasks, and ‘this is the way we’ve always done it’, which can stunt the growth of both companies and individuals.

One way in which the teaching can take place is to assign specific groups, which are led by a perceived ‘expert’ – the expert shares learning and experiences of a specific topic / skill, and allows those interested to engage in a social setting with a less formal atmosphere than might otherwise have been created by training. Leading by example boosts the confidence of the assigned experts, and creates further collaboration by reinforcing their strengths, and allowing others to take accountability for their weaknesses whilst addressing them accordingly.

Develop the individual

Whilst work takes up a significant amount of an individual’s time, it’s in an employer’s interest to harness their skills and passions outside of work as well. If staff are enabled to combine their work with their hobby, then their work becomes all the more enjoyable. They are confident of the company’s engagement in their life outside work, and the social mindset allows them to engage their colleagues in their outside pursuits. A voice notes app for example, can allow teams to form and initiatives to develop quickly and easily.

Many companies already implement this by organising team sporting challenges which may be sponsored by the company / other sources. Not only does this give staff a sense of team and personal pride, it also reinforces the Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) of the company, and gives them good news stories to spread to the outside world. These stories not only boost staff morale, but also reinforce the standing of the company as an excellent place to both work, and do business with.

Sound Branch is described as a free app that combines the best of voice as a powerful messaging tool.

A Transformative Communication Tool

School administration can be very fast paced and detail oriented with many decisions, big and small, made throughout the course of a day. With one principal and two assistant principals, the amount of information that we have to consume can be quite overwhelming. We’ve found Sound Branch invaluable in helping us to stay connected and communicate more effectively during the school day. As soon as there’s a decision that another administrator needs to know about, we no longer need to schedule a meeting, craft an email, or even send a text. Sound Branch provides an opportunity to leave a detailed message that can be retrieved by the rest of the team when time permits.

It also allows us to engage in a more reflective practice with time to consider a response instead of providing immediate feedback. Whereas in the past, we had to carve out time for all three administrators to be in the same place at the same time, we’ve found that sharing, discussing, and even debating ideas via Sound Branch has cut our meeting time down from 6 hours to 2 hours a week, allowing us more time to collaborate with teachers and communicate with students.

A Relationship-Building Tool

As administrators in a school with over 1000 students and 100 staff members, we recognized that, in order to continue meeting the day-to-day needs of our students and staff, we had to establish and enhance relationships with key stakeholders throughout the school and our cluster. This year the administrative team has met with fellow school administrators (any time that we can get them alone for a minute) to introduce them to Sound Branch. Too often we see our administrative colleagues for short amounts of time (at school meetings, staff development, and/or in passing) and rarely get to check in on how they are doing. Sound Branch has allowed us to reach out for a quick hello, to ask questions, share information and news, and update colleagues on changes of plan — and (on rare occasions) share our frustration. What has been most satisfying is that, no matter where we are physically, we are only a vox away from being connected.

Less Meetings and Shorter Meetings

Have you ever attended a meeting where everyone who was supposed to be there wasn’t? If so, then you know that inevitably the information will have to be repeated. It’s a very real challenge getting administrators from the various schools and offices to meet in one place. Sound Branch has allowed us to be strategic not only in when we schedule meetings, but in who needs to be “present” for what. We have established a series of chats with colleagues that allow us to disseminate important information as soon as it’s ready to be shared. We don’t need to rely as heavily on face-to-face meetings for sharing and reviewing information. Whether we’re branching with our Deputy Head to discuss the new math program or with our Assistant Head for Curriculum and Instruction about professional development ideas, communication and collaboration have been greatly enhanced.

Previously, if we needed to share information or seek an answer, our recourse was limited to an email (one of dozens and dozens that we all receive daily) or phone call (that would almost always go to voicemail). Now we send a voice note, and our director has an archived message that is readily available at the push of a button. We found that the majority of seeds we send have a turnaround response time of less than 20 minutes. Our teachers very much appreciate the prompt reply to their curriculum-related questions, and we appreciate not always being caught up in lengthy phone conversations with our colleagues.

Next Steps

In moving forward as a school community, a next step for us is to expand on our use of Sound Branch with the staff. We are excited to see that a few of our teachers have jumped on board. Now the goal is to support them in collaborating as teams to further strengthen their professional relationships and their relationships with their class families, and to maximise their professional growth together.