Webinars are becoming more and more popular as business owners are beginning to realize the power they have with regard to client retention and acquisition. As a matter of fact, online presentations have proven to be so effective that even the United States Government uses them. A well-prepared webinar can not only cause new customers to want to purchase products and services, but cause existing customers to want to upgrade the products or services they’re already paying for. With that said, today we’re going to discuss things that you can do to ensure that any webinar you host proves to be a success.
Chose a Quality Webinar Hosting Service
When searching for a webinar hosting service, you’ll quickly realize that there are thousands of options to choose from. However, only a handfull are highly trusted by the business community around the globe. As an example, ClickWebinar stands out in the sense that it offers a variety of features such as webinar recorder or live language translation. Another alternative which is trending recently is Google Hangouts On Air which is free and has a Google + integration. The bottom line is that the last thing that you want is to have technical issues during a live webinar that’s streaming to hundreds or even thousands of potential and current customers. So researching and choosing a provider that’s known for quality visuals, sound, and constant up-time is well worth the effort.
Speak With a Purpose
In most cases, the ultimate goal behind a webinar is to sell a product or service. With that said, your audience is not only listening to what you have to say, they’re listening to how you say what you have to say. Studies show that consumers are more likely to buy products from sales people that seem to be more confident in conversation. Therefore, by portraying confidence through how you speak, you can increase the ultimate conversion rate of your online presentation! Here are a few tips to keep in mind when speaking to a crowd…
- Don’t Be Afraid To Be Loud – You know the old saying, “the squeaky wheel gets the grease”. Well, that saying is true in more than just problem solving. People who are louder when demonstrating the power of a product or service tend to exude confidence in everything they do. So, if you’re soft spoken, it may be a good idea to practice speaking louder than you normally would an hour or two before your webinar starts.
- Speak Slowly And Clearly – When hosting a seminar online, you have to imagine that your audience will be all around the world. In each demographic, consumers are used to a different dialect. So, to ensure that everyone joining you can easily digest everything you have to say, make a conscious effort to speak slowly and clearly. This involves avoiding the use of slang.
- Don’t Get Stuck On A Stumble – Studies show that the average webinar lasts about 45 minutes. In that amount of time in a live meeting, you may stumble on your words. However, it’s important to move back into the conversation quickly. Believe it or not, most people may not even notice the fumble if your recovery is quick enough.
Planning Is Important
No matter what we do in life, planning tends to be the key to ensuring that what we’re doing goes smoothly. When planning your webinar, it’s best to make what I like to call a 15 minute plan. With the average webinar lasting 45 minutes, this plan gives you the ability to set up a beginning, middle, and end. When doing so, keep these tips in mind…
- The Beginning Is The Hook – The vast majority of your audience will either become enamored with what you have to say or lose interest within 15 minutes. So, when planning the beginning of your presentation, make sure to do something that will hook your audience. This part of the presentation should be high impact, hard facts, and high energy!
- The Important Information Comes In The Middle – In the middle of your presentation, you want to go over the technical side of your message. Answer the basic who, what, when, where, and why questions revolving around your topic. Essentially, the middle 15 minutes of your presentation will be the “meat”.
- End With The Sale – When closing your webinar, you want to move back into high energy, high impact mode. It’s time to get your audience excited again because if you don’t, as soon as the webinar is over, they’ll never think of you again. So, find an exciting way to close your presentation that will make consumers want to buy into what you have to offer!
Final Thoughts
Client acquisition and retention are the most important aspects of any company. After all, without clients, companies have nothing. While there are several ways to go about acquiring clients, recently, webinars are proving to be more and more successful at the task. By using the tips above, you can ensure that your next webinar is a big hit.