Which part of the webinar process would you say is the scariest?
When we asked our customers this question, some said it’s the first few seconds of the broadcast.
Is my microphone working? Do I look like I know what I’m doing? How do I sound? How do I look? Is my sweat moostach visible in the lights?
Others were anxious about the first time they asked the audience to respond to a question in the chat box.
What if no one is watching? What if no one cares enough to ask anything? What if I’m asked a question I can’t answer? What if…
But for all the various answers we heard, one of the top three was SALES PITCH terror.
It’s not just that you’ve got to make the transition from expert teacher to suave and persuasive Marketer; it’s knowing this is one part of the webinar you truly can’t “afford” to phone in, or phreak out about. So, naturally, freak out is exactly what we do.
We can stomach mediocre registration conversion rates.
Presentation typos can be overlooked (she says begrudgingly because it’s a huge pet peeve of hers and hopefully you knew “phreak” was spelled wrong intentionally above).
But mess up your sales pitch and everything you’ve worked so hard on goes right to the outhouse.
*Important Note* If your Offer doesn’t convert, DO NOT panic. A busted sales webinar can be saved by reworking your pitch and putting on a second, hopefully more successful, event. Learn from your mistakes and make it better.
It’s Never as Bad as You Think
First, deep cleansing breath in, two, three. Blow it out slowly, two, three.
Better? Good.
If you’re worried about your sales pitch, you’re most likely putting too much unnecessary pressure on yourself.
No one is seriously expecting you to turn into Tony Robbins, or Andy Jenkins, the moment the pitch begins. If your audience is sticking with you that far into the webinar, it’s because they like what they’ve heard and they’re interested in what you have to offer. They’re a warm, friendly audience and they’d rather you were authentically YOU than try to fake a smooth, hypnotic (read: boring) offer presentation.
So, don’t overthink or overanalyze it. Concentrate, instead, on getting these 5 Critical Steps in place, and there’s no reason why your pitch shouldn’t be a roaring success.
1. Make the Offer Awesome
I know, I know. This should be obvious. It’s like saying, “Don’t be naked on camera.” Duh. But, oddly enough, this should never go without being said.
The thing is, if you’re nervous about your pitch, chances are that deep down, you know that the offer isn’t good enough. At least not yet.
The great thing about this step is that you can start your webinar promotion before your offer is even ready, and really take your time to get it right while you’re promoting the event. If you craft your offer into something so amazing, positioned at such a reasonable, no-brainer price, and you can’t imagine anyone turning it down, you’ll arrive at the sales pitch segment of your webinar brimming with confidence.
A world-class sales person can sell a pile of garbage, but all that happens next is a flurry of refund requests. Conversely, if you have a truly amazing offer, even if you’re nervous, twitchy, and fumbling, you’re still going to move some product.
Create your offer early in the webinar production process and then revisit it. Then, revisit it again, each time asking yourself, “How can I improve this?”
2. Add Valuable and Relevant Bonuses
Bonuses are essential to your sales conversions, but their presence alone is not a guarantee of success. Bonuses must have real worth (as in, you could easily sell them on their own) and they must be connected and relevant to the Offer.
Selling a website-building service? How about adding 12 months free hosting as a bonus? And how about a free domain name? And here’s a voucher for a third-party service that gets you 1,000 free business cards.
Just like you’re doing with your offer, spend time before your webinar reviewing your bonuses, adding more, increasing the relevancy, and ramping up the awesomeness.
Then, when presenting your bonuses to your audience, use the “bonus stack” method.
Instead of just listing all the bonuses, describe the first bonus and show a slide containing the offer and the bonus together. Then describe the second bonus and show a slide containing the offer and the first two bonuses. Then describe the third bonus…
And so on… and so on…
It may look and sound repetitive, but it really helps your audience to feel the weight of just how amazing your offer really is. It’s the difference between a bland all-you-can-eat buffet, and a carefully crafted tasting menu where every dish is served individually with increasing delight.
3. Stress the Urgency
One of the reasons webinars are so successful at generating sales is their exclusive nature. If you put up a traditional sales page to allow all of your customers (and your affiliates’ customers) time to view the offer, you typically have to leave it up for several days, at the very least. Even if you have a limited time discount or bonus, you still need to make it available for long enough that everyone gets to see it.
Webinars are different because, if you’re not on the webinar you don’t get to see the offer and you don’t get a link to the order page.
Your audience recognizes this, causing your offer to, as a result, have more URGENCY.
So, lean into this sensitivity.
My coaching master class starts a week from Monday – you must book your place today if you want to be a part of this exclusive coaching group.
Remember… these amazing bonuses are only available if you purchase before the webinar ends.
4. Insist on Scarcity
Emphasize the limited nature of your offer and make sure your audience knows that attendance on your webinar does not guarantee they will be able to make a purchase. There aren’t enough units or placements for everyone in attendance so it has to be first-come, first served.
Soft-selling is always easier. It just feels “nicer” to tell people to take a look when they get a chance, but there’s no rush; take time to think carefully about the offer and then make a decision.
Unfortunately, this isn’t best practice on a sales webinar.
Soft-selling is what you did during the build-up to your webinar. Now that the event is taking place and the pitch is in full swing, you have to go full throttle.
My coaching master class is limited to 25 seats – In order to ensure everyone gets one on one feedback and coaching, once the class is full, it’s full.
No exceptions – this special discount is only available for the next 30 minutes (Boom! Start the onscreen timer).
Everyone else is paying monthly or annually for this service – this is your only chance to get lifetime access for a one-time fee. Once this webinar ends, this offer ends with it.
The audience MUST feel as if they’re going to miss out on something important if they don’t take action right now.
This amazing offer is their reward for having the smarts to show up to the webinar and the commitment to watch the entire event. Your audience has acted wisely, now they must reward themselves by taking advantage of your Out-of-this-World offer.
5. Full-on Risk Reversal
Removing the risk from the customer is usually accomplished by offering a money-back guarantee. But you should go a step further and reverse the risk by, effectively, offering to penalize YOURSELF if your customers ask for a refund.
If you don’t see a complete ROI within three months, I’ll give you a total refund and an extra $100 for your trouble.
If you don’t think this is the best coaching course you’ve ever attended, I’ll give you a 100% refund and I’ll keep working with you until you find the success you’re looking for.
This accomplishes three things:
- Your audience feels safer making a purchase and, therefore, is more inclined to do so.
- It amplifies the perceived value and quality of the product. If you’re willing to take on this level of risk, it indicates that you’re really confident in your ability to deliver as promised.
- If a few of your customers, for whatever reason, do ask for a refund, they won’t feel resentful that you used urgency and scarcity to maneuver them into a decision they later rethought. A refunded customer doesn’t necessarily mean they are unhappy.
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Hosting a webinar can be scary – especially if you’re new to the process. The antidote to this fear is good preparation and confidence in your product. Those are two things that don’t require innate skill, years of training, or the ability to think quickly on your feet.
Following these steps, creating a great offer, and highlighting urgency, scarcity, and risk-reversal is within everyone’s skill-set.
Even better, URGENCY and SCARCITY are built in features for both WebinarJam and EverWebinar! Start Jamming today and be well on your way to a whopping increase in revenue.