Fiona* is one of my long term clients and here she is telling me “There is NO WAY that I’m attending your webinar.”
“Why would you not come to my webinar?” I asked
“I don’t want anyone to see me” she said.
“No-one can see you” I told her. “It’s not the same as Skype.”
I went on to explain that she would be completely unseen.
“People still know I’m there” she insisted.
This had me thinking about other reasons why people might not attend webinars, and especially why some of you reading this may not feel comfortable enrolling to attend – even if you know and trust me and know that the content will be terrific and relevant!
I’ve done some research and here is what people told me regarding their reluctance to sign up for webinars:
· “It takes too long for most webinars to get to the point.” I totally agree. There can be a whole lot of background and my story and their story and what you’ll learn and why this is important….
I like to think we get to the point in my webinars. A bit of introduction about who is speaking and then straight into the terrific content.
· “Too much blah blah blah and housekeeping at the beginning” – If you are a webinar regular some of the instructions may be a bit repetitive.
I’m working on how to help the newbies navigate the technology while not boring everyone else to bits. Please let me know how I’m going with this when you attend my next webinar.
· “Way too much selling” – Totally agree. Interesting the “whole purpose” for some people to run webinars is to sell, sell, sell. Sigh.
I recently signed up for a webinar given by someone I knew quite well and there was almost no actual content. There were lots of reasons why knowing this would be important and then it was just sell, sell, sell.
My commitment to you is that I do not sell on my webinars. My whole reason to offer webinars is to create information and education for you as you create, start and grow your own business. My webinars are a “Sale free zone.”
· “They try to keep you hanging onto the end” – Totally agree. This is where they say some thing like “And if you stay with us to the end we have a special bonus for you.” Again this is a sales tactic/ technique.
I’m not selling anything so I don’t need to do this.
Fiona* also said: “Everyone knows I am there.”
“Everyone knows I am there.” This can be true. The webinar I mentioned earlier, the full participant list was available to be viewed, so while I waited for the host to actually say something useful I jumped into LinkedIn and searched for the other participants. Naughty, I know. But that’s what I do when I’m bored and there is a list of names in front of me for the world to see!
I believe individual privacy is very important. Your name is not on display during my webinars.
My guess is that you are here because you are curious about what it might be like to start a business?
Perhaps you’ve been wondering if you have what it takes? If your idea will work or even how much it actually costs to build a successful business?
I’ve written a book that can answer pretty much all your questions “So You Want to Start a Business” and you can download the first 20 pages at www.thestartupsteps.com
15 years of experience working with start up businesses are condensed into this book.
It’s your step by step guide to launch your business smarter and faster and I’m so excited to be sharing it with you and can’t wait to hear about your progress.
Are you ready to grab your excerpt? Click here www.thestartupsteps.com
Happy reading!
“It’s not always easy to listen to webinars at that time of day.” Another thing that someone said to me is that they have a full time job and have a “side hustle”. They are unable to tune in on their phone and headset to be able to listen live. Another issue is international time zones!
Here is what I’ve done to try to help with both of these issues.
Everyone who registers for the webinar receives the link to the full recording of the webinar so they can listen later and at a time that works for them.
Everyone who registers can send me questions beforehand so that I can include the question and the answer in the webinar and they can hear it in the recording.
If you have has any suggestions for anything else I can do to make my webinars work better for you, please let me know and I’ll do my best
“I’m not really all that technical” – I can understand that this might be of concern to some people. A webinar is similar to attending a lecture or a presentation, except you are attending virtually. A bit like watching a live tv show.
It will require your having an email address and access to the internet at the time as the webinar. (Unless you choose to listen to it later, of course).
Finally, I strongly suggest if you have never attended a webinar in the past to click the “test your connection” part of the email before the webinar kicks off.
It’s also a good idea to add the webinar to your calendar – as you would if you were heading to an actual physical event.
On the day make yourself available and be 100% present. Have your notebook and pen ready, or your tablet if that is your preference (but try to stay off Facebook or Insta – you might miss some of the best parts of the webinar. 😉
Then attend the webinar and enjoy learning new things!
I trust this helps your thinking about webinars. Please feel free to email me regarding any of these points and I’ll do what I can to make it easier for you to attend and participate.
- As always Fiona is not her real name!