Webinars are everywhere. If you type the word in Google, you’ll get about 8 million results. There is just so much out there and most are hosted by organizations and professionals in the US. Within the Philippines, there are just about 13,000 results and take note that not all of them are hosted in the country.
Being in the webinar business for years now (and learning it years before starting it), I’ve talked to a lot of people and all of them were very interested in the technology and thought it would be a great idea to implement. But, the reality is that only a few were willing to go through it. Despite the benefits, it wasn’t enough to propel them to do webinars. There were several reasons but underneath it all, it seems that they didn’t completely understand why and how they should start it.
With that being said, here is a list of reasons why others are doing it. I’m hoping that this would help you move to the next step and realize that it isn’t complicated after all.
Convenience
A traditional trainer or speaker would normally accept a session for a couple of days and have to travel to different venues. If traffic was terrible (and it always is), he could be late. To make sure he gets there on time, he has to allocate more hours to travel to the destination. That could mean losing sleep to wake up early or rescheduling other tasks for another day. With so much time needed for just one session, other opportunities can’t be accommodated. This can be stressful.
Webinar speakers, on the other hand, are less stressed and can handle more sessions. They are always on time for their sessions, they can conduct the session anywhere (home, office, internet cafe, coffee shop), and even not to stress on what to wear! They have more time to do other tasks and can now spend time with family and friends.
Cost Savings
Renting a venue to accommodate 25 people or more can cost from P3,500 or more. Traveling to the venue will mean spending a few hundred of pesos on gas or even a cab ride. For destinations outside of your city, you will spend more for airfare and hotel accommodations.
Those who do webinars see the value of cost savings. A speaker or trainer can still charge the same professional fee (based on content) but the bottom line is bigger. Organizations that do webinars can now offer more training sessions to internal staff with the existing budget. Webinar attendees also benefit since the price can be lower and they get the same content.
Shortens Sales Cycle
On average, a salesman conducts the same presentation once or twice a day. This means 10 leads a week or even less since follow up meetings are done in between. If he wanted more, he’ll have to sacrifice more hours to accommodate more people.
Organizations that offer webinar sales presentations maximizes their sales force, get more leads and focuses more time on getting the contract signed. They manage to talk to several leads in one session instead of just one. Some have less people in their team, which makes it now possible to have them earn more on commissions.
Value Added Service
Professionals and organizations alike are constantly looking to bring more to their customers. Value added services are often expensive but we know it’s worth every penny to keep a customer loyal.
Some have used webinars to extend customer support and further educate a consumer. Say, Company X now offers monthly webinars to existing customers for them to manage common questions. This has then decreased the number of calls in their call center and customers are more satisfied. The possibilities are endless.
This is just the tip of the iceberg and there are more reasons why YOU should start implementing this technology in your organization and professional life. Stop hesitating and start one today.
If you’re still not sure if it’s something you should implement, list down your apprehensions and write it on the comments box. I’ll go through each one and do follow up posts, if necessary. Better yet, I’ll schedule a webinar for those who would like to get a deeper understanding of what webinars can do for you. Let me know.
Was there a time when you were on the phone with someone and thought how awesome it would be if you could show them exactly what you’re seeing on your computer? Or imagine being a sales agent and wishing you could give a presentation to a prospective buyer without having to travel at all?
For most of my college days and working career, I’ve attended a good number of seminars and forums. What drives me to attend is the thought of learning something new, taking into consideration the topic and more importantly, the speaker’s credibility. But what I hate about attending traditional seminars is that one has to physically get there, whether by car or public transportation. One has to consider factors such as time, transportation costs and the stressful traffic conditions just to get to the said venue. One also has to worry about parking facilities and the thought of having to sit uncomfortably through the whole session in a tacky chair. Plus, you just can’t snack during the session when your stomach starts to rumble. You go through all that hassle, only to find out that the seminar you attended was a complete waste of energy. Bottom line, there has to be a better way to make attending seminars a better experience.
