If you are the owner of a business that is just starting out, then you know the struggles of ensuring that you are making every single cent that comes out of your pocket will count. There are a ton of things you will have to shell out cash for, and one of these things may have to be the dreaded in-person meetings and conventions. The average cost of airfare these days is not exactly friendly on the wallet, pocket, or bank account, either. According to data outlined in an article by Airlines for America, the average cost for a domestic flight per passenger was around $363.98, excluding the reservation fee and bag fee. What more would you have to spend on an international flight these days, not to mention the need for decent board and lodging?

With that in mind, when should you bother booking a flight to another city, town, country, or even continent? When should you just convince the other person to talk about the subject over a nice cup of virtual coffee—that is, by starting up a video conference with you on a reliable web meeting software? In this article, we will give you a few reasons why you may want to hold off on buying any airfare and hotel room accommodations for certain discussions that you have to participate in.

Book a Flight for That Meet-Up If…

You Want to Have a Better Idea of How a Person Interacts with You.

An article written by Caroline McMillan for the website The Muse notes that there are often subtle body movements you make that could affect how other people see you as a person. You can easily look a person up and down and make your own assessments about their personality from head to toe if you were able to see them in person.

On the other hand, if you rely on a video call, then you will not be able to see the person’s entire body language from the waist down. In most online meetings, you only ever get to see a person from the shoulders up, depending on how they have decided to angle their camera. What if they are actually tapping their foot impatiently because they want you to stop talking already? What if they have their legs crossed because they really do not feel comfortable around you? What if they are actually just lounging around in their underwear because they cannot find any reason why they should take the extra effort of putting on some decent pair of pants? There is a lot that you will not get to see that could tell you volumes about a person’s attitude toward you, so sometimes, it can pay to shell out some cash, especially if you are going to try to seal the deal with a new client or a new business partner.

Do Not Get on a Plane If…

You Need a Really Quick Response to an Urgent Question That You Have

Do you need a super quick reply to a very urgent problem? In cases like this, it will be so much easier for you to relay your message via a quick live chat, a video call, or even by leaving somebody an e-mail if it really cannot be helped. Whether you are in a pinch or want to conduct these types of calls regularly, video conferencing in business can be done over reliable platforms such as BlueJeans. It is super easy to pick up and use, which means less time wasted on troubleshooting any errors.

Are you hoping to meet up to discuss some rather in-depth plans, instead of resolving a potential crisis? Even then, e-mail, chat, or even video calls can still do a better job than all the effort it would take to pack your bags and fly overseas. All you need to do is to make a note of what you absolutely have to tackle in your discussion, and then figure out an action plan by working together on a solution.

In Conclusion: Do You Want a Complete Picture or Do You Just Need a Speedy Response?

Though web conferencing software does allow you to see the other person, you will only get to see them from the waist up, which is sometimes not enough to give you a complete picture of how they are feeling about your conversation. For example, you will not be able to see if they are crossing their legs, which may imply that they are getting impatient or that they are closing themselves off from you. You will also not be able to see whether or not they bothered to put on a respectable pair of pants that day, either. For all that you know, they might actually be wearing their favorite pair of worn-out and cute pajamas.