When searching the internet for new software that our company could use, I regularly come across webinars or videos that give me a quick impression of how a software solution works and what its typical uses are. This helps me to assess with little effort whether the tool could be suitable for us and if it is worth looking at more closely.
Great, found a good webinar!
It was like that again the other day. While searching for a planning and controlling software, I discovered a solution that, after a few clicks and a short read on the provider’s website, interested me. I was delighted to find out that there would be a 45-minute webinar a few days later about the basics of the software.
The contents of the scheduled webinar were summed up nice and clearly. I decided to sign up. Fortunately the registration form was short, so there were not many personal details I had to reveal. So far so good. I submitted my registration, looking forward to the day of the webinar.
Bad practice: Potential customers ‘successfully’ put off
The next day I received a phone call from the provider. A salesman wanted to talk to me about the software. This really upset me. I had registered precisely to find out more about the software through a webinar – and nothing else. But before that could happen, a salesman was after me. What the heck?
Of course, as Managing Director of LUMITOS, I know exactly what the software provider wants to achieve with its webinars, a means of upstream lead generation. But in this case, the company was clearly overreaching. This example shows how a provider with the wrong lead management strategy can ‘successfully’ put off potential customers.
Avoiding mistakes in online lead generation
Online lead generation is a powerful tool. However, we must accept that a potential buyer has the right to get informed about products and services without being hassled. In my view, this also has to do with respect for the people you deal with. Let them decide for themselves when they want to disclose what personal data and when they wish to contact a sales rep.
Four tips for sales lead generation using webinars
- For webinar registrations, ask only for the personal data that are necessary to allow you to address the participants in person in the e-mail containing the access data. That’s basically their name and e-mail address.
- Under no circumstances phone up the participants before the webinar takes place. This is a waste of time anyway.
- After the webinar, send the participants a recording of the event so they can review the webinar closely if they wish – and in peace and quiet.
- Wait and see. If the webinar was good enough to interest and excite the participants, they will contact you. At this point, ask yourself again whether you did give them personal contacting options.
My conclusion
I was so put off that I didn’t participate in webinar after all. I have not spent time on the software tool since. Instead, I have looked into other solutions whose suppliers did not molest me with undue phone calls.
In part 2 of our small series we will show you how to do it better and use webinars to attract new customers.
