While You’re At It

During the show, your goal is to collect as many new leads as possible and figure out where they belong in the sales funnel. Having a follow-up webinar to offer them provides a mechanism for evaluating their needs and interests.

There are many ways you can use the webinar to your advantage at the show. One obvious approach is to ask the prospects you talk with if they would be interested in attending a webinar after the show. This helps you gauge their interest not only in a webinar, in your products as well. For those who are interested in attending the webinar, solicit their input for what they want to get out of it. This demonstrates your regard for their needs, and the information they give you can be used to tweak the webinar for maximum effectiveness.

You can also advertise your webinar and invite people to register for it at the show. If you use on-line registration, you can set up a registration station for them to do it right then and there. Or, you can use a sign-up sheet or collect business cards to send out registration
invitations later. Again, it’s a good idea to ask them what they want to learn more about so that you can modify your webinar accordingly. A good way to do this is by customizing the registration page.

In any case, make sure your entire show team knows about the webinar and understands how to position it during the show. Remember that the webinar isn’t just something else to “hand out” at the show. It’s a powerful tool in the sales process to educate and nurture prospects.

Make It a Moving Experience

The whole idea of the follow-up webinar is to move qualified leads another step along the sales process by educating them and spending some quality time with them. Some of your show leads may not need what your webinar will provide. Others may be ready for the personal attention of a sales account manager. Try to manage your invitations to make sure everyone who attends your webinar gets something positive out of it.

So, your first job after the show (or better yet, during the show) is to evaluate your show leads and determine which ones it makes sense to invite to your webinar. This depends on the leads as well as the content of the follow-up webinar. Ideally, you’ll offer a choice of webinars, tailored to the needs of each lead category.

If you advertised the webinar at the show, some of the attendees may have already registered there or told you that they want to register. In doing so, these leads have demonstrated their interest in your product, so you definitely want them to attend the webinar. This is also true of everyone who may have registered for the webinar through any advertising you did outside the show.

Depending on the size of the show, the mix of traffic through your booth, and the content of your follow-up webinar, you may just decide to invite all your leads. If so, be sure to let them know in the invitation exactly what the webinar will cover so they can make an informed decision whether or not to register. Ultimately, they will be the ones to decide, but you want to minimize the possibility that they will attend the webinar and leave disappointed in what they got out of it.

CONTINUED

Once you’ve decided whom to invite, send out the invitations. The best way to do this is by e-mail with instructions on how to register. If possible, try to get the invitations out within 2-3 days of the show to keep the leads warm, and to give yourself time to make final preparations for the webinar. Keep in mind that some of the people you invite may be new to webinars and uncomfortable with the concept, so make it clear in your invitation how easy it is to sign up and attend.

Don’t forget to collect input for the follow-up webinar from show attendees and your show team. This is valuable information for perfecting your webinar. As you develop and refine the webinar, try not to simply “replay” the show; they’ve already been there. For example, if you gave an overview demo of a new product at the show, consider giving a detailed demo in the follow-up webinar, showing how the product solves a specific problem or meets a certain need. And, unless you advertised your webinar as a sales presentation, focus on delivering useful information and keep sales hype to a minimum.

It will take some time for invitees to register and for you to put the finishing touches on your webinar. Don’t wait too long to hold it, though. The show attendees will return to work and get busy, and their interest in your product will quickly be replaced by the pressure to get things done. Try to hold your webinar within 2 weeks of the show. If you can, offer the webinar more than once so invitees have a choice of times to attend.

During the follow-up webinar itself, make it as interactive as possible. This is another “face-time” opportunity with your prospects, and the more you can involve them, the better. Use the chat feature, encourage attendees to ask questions, and leave plenty of Q&A time at the end. Don’t, however, go over your time limit. Respect the fact that you attendees have other things to do.

Always record the webinar for later use, and follow-up with the attendees to get their feedback on the webinar. Offer a variety of ways for them to get more information and encourage them to contact you with further questions. You can use their feedback to the webinar, or lack thereof, to help determine the next step in the sales process.

And That’s Not All

With a little planning, some inspiration, and good execution, your follow-up webinars will be successful. But they can always be better, so build a continuous improvement process around them.

Work with your show team, marketing, and sales to evaluate the content and effectiveness of the webinars. Look for ways to streamline the development process. Feedback from webinar attendees is also essential for polishing the content and your delivery.

And finally, how do you show that this is all worthwhile? If you haven’t already done so, set up a process to track show leads throughout the sales process to see which ones turn into sales and how long it takes to do so. Decide how you are going to assess your tradeshow ROI, and do it. Don’t forget to include the costs of follow-up. You’ll probably also want to take into account intangible benefits from the show such as brand awareness and relationship building.

Making your tradeshows count means a lot of work before, during, and after. Following up your tradeshows with webinars probably won’t make your job easier, but they can definitely make your tradeshows more worthwhile. So while you may not totally get rid of those post-show blues, there just might be some bungee logo rockets in your future.

From Whitepaper: Using Webinars to Land Your Tradeshow Leads