Many small business owners find no value in marketing online, or they have no idea how it works so they stick with the old tried-and-true methods that are slowly becoming extinct.
So, it's in this vein that I introduce the concept of webinars to the local business crowd.
Some of you may have heard of it, while others may be totally confused as to its purpose, but to put it simply - it's a sales presentation given to people who WANT to listen to what you have to say about your industry, product or service.
The more you learn about it and start using it as a marketing strategy, the better off your business is going to be.
Here are some quick points to make your webinar even more effective: 1) Do A Webinar - yes, I know, makes no sense.
How can this be a key, right? The fact is most people never get around to taking any real action - even small business owners will procrastinate on things that can have a positive effect on their business.
Why? Who knows? I guess it's human nature.
I know I procrastinate on many things in my life, however, if you want to start seeing results from your marketing efforts - you're going to have to do some things today to make it happen.
The webinar strategy is the closest you're going to get to having a one-on-one presentation with someone.
I come from a background of selling insurance, face-to-face with people at their kitchen tables, in their home.
This is by far the best way to sell, because you are totally engaged in the process and you can tell right away just how good or bad your presentation is going by seeing the emotions of the person you're presenting to.
Maybe at some point in the future, we will have some kind of technology that can replicate that but for now; webinars come pretty close WITHOUT having to spend so much time with just one person.
As great as that strategy is, it's still one sale at a time, and it takes too long to build up a stream of income that way.
What if you can get 75% of the effectiveness of a one-on-one presentation but increase the audience by 10, 20 - maybe even 100? Add to that equation the fact that this presentation happens every week, or every other week, and you now have yourself a money-making machine...
but none of this happens unless you actually do a webinar, screw it up and learn how to get better at it.
2) Give Grade-A Content - There's nothing worse than jumping on a webinar or having someone give you a presentation that doesn't provide any value whatsoever.
Have you sat through a presentation, knowing exactly where it was going but not learning anything while waiting for the pitch at the end? Isn't that terrible? As a small business owner, webinars can be the key to helping you stay in business, especially when your profit margins are low, but they will never do you any good if you're using the webinar as a pitch-fest and not giving your audience something that they can use that evening or the very next day.
It has to be "valuable content.
" Unfortunately, too many people don't understand what that means, and we won't be able to dive into that concept here, but realize that people won't stay with you if all you're talking about is you and your products.
3) Be Careful Not To Give TOO Much Content - You've heard it said that most people would rather be dead than do any public speaking or most people hate the sound of their own voice on a recording, I've had a different experience when it comes to speaking and giving presentations.
I've had the good fortune to train people in the area of sales and presenting to an audience and what i notice is that once a person gets over the initial fear of speaking - you can't get them to shut up!! This can happen on a webinar as well.
You, being the excited business owner, can get a little too enthusiastic and dump too much information onto your potential clients and customers.
This is easily remedied however - cut it down to 3 main ideas and build your webinar around them.
4) Add Great Bonuses To Your Offer - The webinar is based around the value of the product or service you'll be selling at the end of the presentation, BUT...
if you add some kick-butt bonuses, you're going to get your prospects even more interested in your offer.
Take that up one more level - if you add a bonus or set of bonuses (bonuses come free with the purchase of your product or service) that have a HIGHER perceived value than the original offer, people will buy just to get their hands on the bonuses.
The key is not to spend a bunch of money creating a bonus or set of bonuses that rock, but instead find a concept or set of tactics that complement the original offer.
This will create a connection in people's minds that gets them thinking, "If I don't get this, I can't use (product) to its full potential" and they end up buying to settle their sense of completion.
Remember, many people do the oddest things just to feel better about completing certain tasks.
If you can tap into that, it'll go a long way in your marketing efforts, especially on webinars.
5) Have A List Of All The Usual Concerns Your Customers Give You - If you've been in business for any amount of time, you already have an idea of all the concerns your customers give you.
Take time to write them out and write out a well-thought out response that doesn't attack the person asking the question.
Sometimes when we're asked a question, we believe it's the person taking a shot at us or our business and this is not the case nine times out of ten.
On the whole, people ask questions because they're seriously interested in purchasing but they're interested to know other aspects of the product or they aren't sure about you or your business and they may want to check out your level of expertise.
Either way, build the response around the benefit they'll receive when getting the products and ways for them to get it.
6) Have A Timeline For The Bonuses - Some people aren't fans of the "scarcity" tactics often used online, but the fact of the matter is they work, have always worked and will continue to work.
I understand that we're tapping into certain mind controls with this tactic but it's my own personal belief that if you're using these tactics to get your product or service in the hands of as many as possible because you truly believe their lives will be enriched due to the results they'll receive from using or implementing the strategies and concepts you're providing; then you have no reason to feel guilty about any marketing ideas you use - especially if you know for a fact that you're not hurting anyone in the process.
(Mini-rant about to start) Too many people get wrapped up in saving others from drowning while they're own boat is a few minutes away from sinking.
The economy is terrible, we all know this, but it doesn't mean you tank your business to help everyone else get your products or services "on the cheap.
" Small business owners tend to forget the two main reasons why they usually start a business: 1) To live a quality of life that allows them to spend more time doing what they want to do, not doing what they have to do 2) Creating enough of a profit for their business so they can achieve step 1 That's it, if you want to cure the world's problems, then beginning and running a small business may not the best place to achieve that goal.
(End or mini-rant - apologies.
) Offer your bonus for the next few days and let them know they'll never see them again.
What you mean is that you aren't going to present those bonuses with that specific offer, it doesn't mean you won't present the offer somewhere down the road in another offer...
but they don't have to know that, and you don't have to feel like you're lying to them - because you aren't.
If you don't apply a little bit of leverage, your prospects will believe they can pick this product up sometime in the future when they get around to it.
Fact: people forget about your business the minute they leave it, and it's your "business" to keep it in front of their faces as often as possible, without becoming a spammer of course.
7) "If You Want To Work here...
Close!!" - The famous line said by Alec Baldwin's character in the movie "Glengarry Glen Ross" should be etched into every business owners mind.
Everyone on your team, including yourself, should be well-schooled on how to get the prospect from point A to point C in a few minutes, and in this case, "C" means CLOSE.
This also applies on a webinar.
Too often a marketer will go on and on with the concepts they're teaching and take about two or three minutes discussing their own product before they end the webinar...
and will have the audacity to wonder why they made little to no sales! You have to be extremely proud of what you offer and know the ins and outs of why people need to own it.
Remember, people don't like to buy, but they love to own - so give them all that reasons why they should own and they will.