How to Approach Your Leads with Helpful Webinars

WHAT: Your job as a marketer or webinar presenter is to help people make a decision (and to educate them on your product or service). This may seem like an easy task at first: just explain what your product/service does. Wrong – 66% of the buyer’s journey is complete by the time they reach out to you. Telling them what they potentially already know is a waste of their time; instead, try understanding their fears and obstacles, then provide them with the help they need to overcome those obstacles.

HOW: You can help your participants feel ready to make a decision by mapping their (buyer) awareness level into three different categories (or personas): Early Awareness Stage, Middle Awareness Stage, and Late Awareness Stage. Followed by designing three different (30 – 60 min.) webinars to meet the needs of each stage. Someone in stage 1 is going to have different needs to be solved than the person in stage 3; thus, different content will be required of your webinar for each stage.

Here Are The Typical Characteristics And Fears For Each Stage As Well As A Webinar Solution:

Early Stage:

• Characteristics: I have high-level knowledge of your company and services but I am unclear whether you can solve all of my problems.

• Fears:  I have other options, how do I know I’m not wasting my time considering your company?

• Webinar solution: Differentiate yourself from the competition from the start. Make your webinar about why you’re different and better than the rest.

• Real world example:  a marketer has just attended a tradeshow and learned about the benefits of using Marketing Automation to nurture their prospects and leads.  They learned a little bit about many Marketing Automation companies at the tradeshow (yours included), but they don't have time to do a demo with each.  Meet this marketer’s needs by providing a webinar that shows you understand their obstacles, while demonstrating how your company’s service/product can help overcome them (and why you are different from the competitors). 

Mid Stage:

• Characteristics: I know what your company can do for me and I am interested in knowing more.

• Fears: What if I can’t afford you? What if the customer service is terrible?

• Webinar solution: At this point, the potential buyer knows you can do almost everything they need you to do. Now you just need to gain their trust. The best way to do this is by being transparent: don’t hide any set-up fees or important details they should know. It’s also important to discuss the on-boarding process and the support they will receive – people are afraid of the unknown and feel safer making business with a human being not a computer program. 

• Real World Example:  A potential customer has downloaded all of your company’s white papers and signed up for your monthly newsletter, but is still hesitant to approach their manager for final approval. Show them you understand their fears by offering them a webinar that details the customer support your company provides, how new customers are trained or introduced to the product/service, and why they won’t be able to live without it.

Late Stage:

• Characteristics: I have received a personal demo and been in touch with a sales representative for a few weeks now but I can’t decide between your company and another similar option for less money.

• Fears: How do I know I won’t regret my decision? What if I change my mind – am I bounded by a contract?

• Webinar solution: In your late stage webinar, you can cover your policy on customer contracts or trial periods - this is usually the last selling point needed. Most people are willing to try a product or service that does not bound them to a contract and offers a trial period.

• Real World Example: You have been in touch with this potential client for a while now; they even completed a trial period - but are still indecisive. Follow up with a “case study” webinar showing them how you took an existing client from point A to be point B (where they wanted to be) by going into detail on what your product/service did for them and how it will continue to work over time. End your webinar presentation with a link to your customer testimonials page.

Remember, not all leads are the same. Once you have classified everyone into the appropriate awareness stage and created matching webinar content, then you can start using webinars to successfully move your leads along the buying process. 

By recognizing this and addressing each lead accordingly you’ll be on your way to delivering more effective webinars. Learn about The 7 Types of Webinars Everyone is Doing Today and whether you should hire a DIY or Full Service Vendor, by visiting our blog.