Part 1: Before the Webinar
Webinars or web clinics are ubiquitous. Their growth is a result of automation, the need for cost effectiveness, and our limited bandwidth. I think they also are a way for prospects to get information without having to face a sales person. As effective as they are, I’ve been an attendee at many webinars that just don’t cut it. Either there were technical issues, or the subject matter was too dull, or they had some other issue. Putting on a good webinar takes skill. Here are a few tips to help.
1. Research your subject. This is the single most important step. Will the subject be of interest to your prospects? It doesn’t have to be interesting to everyone and cover everything, but take time, talk to prospects and test your ideas.
2. Capture their attention. I’d rather hear about “Not Charlie Sheening My File Storage” or “Five steps to Never Losing Data” than “Self Redundant Cloud Array Storage Systems.” Think like your prospects.
3. Let people know the when, what, who and why. Be brief. Be compelling,
4. Make registration easy. Too many times I’ve had to fill out ten form fields in order to register. The most pleasant experience I’ve had recently was to simply “click here” to add to my calendar.
5. Limit registration if appropriate. Would you rather have a handful of very interested prospects, or a lot of prospects of which many are bored, and only a few are interested?
6. Rehearse the technical aspects as well as the content. They first rule of webinars is the same as Murphy’s. I’ve been on two webinars recently with hundreds of participants when sound failed, or slides failed to advance, or some other problem prevented a good experience. It’s going to happen so be prepared for it. Content rehearsal is even more important. The optimum length is covered in the next section, but I guarantee the attention span of those giving the webinar is often more than those listening. It’s why we like to hear ourselves talk.
7. Cut five slides, and then cut ten words from each remaining slide. This step is key whether you are speaking in person or during a webinar.
8. Call your attendees in advance. I once received a call from a person at the webinar sponsor asking me if I had any specific questions I would like answered during the webinar for which I registered. I felt special. There was no sales pitch.
9. Give prospects multiple invitations. There is a debate on how many emails one can send in advance of a webinar. Conventional wisdom is you get one or two shots. A recent trial by Steve Kellogg at Astadia followed registrants against the number of emails and time before a webinar. With increased urgency, 43% signed up the day of or the day before the event.
10. Make sure you have three really beneficial “take-aways.” What are the three things that your prospects can really use? Give these to them. Be explicit. Be generous. They will remember.
Do Great Things!
Lee Stocking
Prairie Sky Group
Making Sales Cry With Qualified Leads
lee.stocking@gmail.com
651-357-0110 (Cell 24×7)