Webinars and webcasts are a key tactic in lead generation toolkit. The challenge with webinars is that if you don’t do a super job, attendees will bail on you and they may never register one of your events again.
That’s why I found this chart What Causes Webinar Attendees to Bail? by MarketingSherpa useful. According to their research here are the top reasons attendees say they bail on a webinar.
- Content was not as advertised
- Presenter(s) read directly from the slides
- Webinar began with company/sales information (pitches)
- You were familiar with the information in the first few slides
- The webinar was an hour long
- Presenter(s) spoke slowly
Avoid these turnoffs and you’ll increase the odds of return visitors to your webinars.
Please share your comments on other reasons why you bail from webinars and hopefully we help reduce the number of cruddy webinars out there.
Relevant Post: Tips for getting more ROI from webinars and webcasts
Lead Generation, Web/Tech, Webcasts/Webinars, Word-of-Mouth
Last year, I wrote a post on giving away ideas to proactively educate and attract future customers. I was surprised that it generated such a lively discussion.
Michael Stelzner wrote the following comment on my post back then, “I have been giving away my trade secrets for years (against the advice of advisors). The results have been amazing. The fact is that folks look to you as a thought leader when you share your secrets. In addition, the discussion that comes from sharing results is a better idea.”
Today, Michael just launched a series of videos on how he is leveraging educational techniques to pull in inquiries and generate leads. Michael told me he’s got a bunch of videos he plans to release over the next few days telling how he generated over 60,000 inquiries and leads for his business by giving away his ideas.
Watch his first video, "How To Generate Mass Interest in Your Business During Tough Times." (No need to do anything special, it will just start playing.)
Update: I just did a teleseminar on generating leads via white papers Michael Stelzner and you listen to the recording here.
Marketing Strategy, Referral Marketing, Thought Leadership, Weblogs, Word-of-Mouth
In B2B marketing, when you have many potential buyers who are involved in the buying process, how do you connect with these people in a memorable way?
If you look at most lead generation messages, they often contain industry jargon and abstract ideas. Interestingly, that’s part of the reason many of them don’t work.
Our future customers are weary of messages, pitches, hype, buzzwords, and corporate speak, that they quickly forget them. So how do you create marketing and lead generation messages worth remembering?
Read more…
Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Lead Generation, Marketing Strategy, Sales Leads, Word-of-Mouth
Would you like some inspiration or some fresh ideas for your marketing and lead generation strategy?
If so, MarketingSherpa just released their “Business Technology Marketing Benchmark Guide 2007-08” and I had the privilege to interview Anne Holland about this year’s findings. Very useful stuff. Download the Executive Summary
During our in-depth interview, Anne shares some terrific insights and helpful data on numerous marketing and lead generation tactics.
Three data points that I found particularity interesting:
1. Teleprospecting works. As we all know, tech buyers are a notoriously tough crowd to cold call. Sherpa’s findings contradict the "calling doesn’t work" line we’ve heard for years. Their data shows that over 50% of tech buyers admitted to short listing a vendor after receiving a well timed and relevant phone call.
2. Sherpa’s data shows that more decision makers (not just influencers) are attending webinars and watching archived events. This indicates the importance of relevant educational events and online content for lead generation.
3. Companies who provided fewer but higher quality "sales ready" leads to their sale people have better sales conversion rates than those that send lots of early stage leads and that creating a "cost per lead" culture just does not work.
Listen to podcast now (31 min MP3)
Read more…
B2B Telemarketing, CRM, Current Affairs, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Event Marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Management, Lead Nurturing, Lead Qualification, Leadership, Marketing Strategy, My Podcast, Podcasting, Public Relations (PR), ROI Measurement, Referral Marketing, Sales, Sales Leads, Thought Leadership, Web/Tech, Webcasts/Webinars, Weblogs, Word-of-Mouth
As someone in B2B, do you feel left out of the social media buzz? I read a good article on "What’s Wrong With Social Media For B2B Marketing" by John Miller who also writes the Modern B2B Marketing blog.
John’s article highlights something most of us in B2B marketing have come to accept. B2C marketing gets the vast majority of links and clicks while B2B hears the quiet sound of crickets chirping.
I remember when I started blogging in 2003 and there was only 11 true B2B marketing related blogs. Now there’s are over a hundred. John lists about 80 of them on his blog.
John concludes, "The result is that there are fewer pundits and thought leaders writing about B2B marketing, resulting in fewer links to those early adopters who do write about business marketing techniques. And since links mean leadership on the web, the result is that the less-trendy subjects in B2B marketing—like marketing accountability and lead management—get left behind."
Personally, I think the reason B2B marketing receives less attention comes down to time and momentum.
Read more…
Current Affairs, Lead Generation, Leadership, Marketing Strategy, Podcasting, Thought Leadership, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Word-of-Mouth
Before the Internet and social media tools, companies could only communicate through the filter of advertising or media ink placed by a PR firm. But fortunately the rules have changed.
I just interviewed David Meerman Scott author the new book, The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly. The book was officially released on June 4, 2007.
David also writes the Web Ink Now blog and has been named to the MarketingSherpa Viral Marketing Hall of Fame for the past two years in a row. During our interview we cover a variety of topics that are relevant to lead generation, PR and marketing.
Show Notes
- The New Rules of Marketing & PR
- Strategies for reaching more buyers directly via the web
- The role of content in reaching people earlier in their buying process
- Building your online credibility and authority
- Thought leadership and the changing role of media and journalists
- PR tactics that work
Listen to podcast now (MP3 27 min 12 MB)
Subscribe to the Start With the Lead Show
David is a friend and colleague so I’m happy to see his book is doing so well. As I write this post his book is ranked in the top 100 of Amazon Best Sellers. Congrats David! Get your copy of The New Rules of Marketing & PR on Amazon.
Books, Marketing Strategy, My Podcast, Podcasting, Public Relations (PR), Thought Leadership, Web/Tech, Weblogs, Word-of-Mouth
When it comes to lead generation, the dating analogy is nothing new. But I liked what Tom Myer at the tdog.blog said on the topic of lead nurturing in his post, "If you don’t remember me on the second date, why should we go on a third?"
Myer writes:
“If lead generation is like dating, and we’re all out there on the singles scene, most of our effort goes to landing first dates. We do everything we can to catch someone’s eye, fetch up the nerve to ask them out, and work really hard on making a good impression that first time around. We may also have well-meaning friends and families setting us up on blind dates (aka referrals), and we may also run into those people who have heard good things about us from other people and want to get to know us better (aka word of mouth). (Yes, it’s a neat metaphor, and I’m not the first to notice it, but I digress.)
All of this dating stuff aside, lead nurturing is like getting to know someone better (except in the business context multiple relationships are not only condoned but encouraged!). If you spend all that time and energy getting a “first date”, why would you blow it by not remembering important facts about your prospect on the “second date”? Also, if you’re on that second date, why not take this chance to get to know them a little better?”
I agree. He goes on in the post to talk about how to use your relevant and educational content as part of the lead nurturing mix.
As important as information gathering is, it is important to not get too personal on the first date. Think about your web forms. Are you asking for far too much information before you’ve earned their trust? I wrote about this in my post, Why Most B2B Sites Fail to Convert Sales Leads.
Read more…
Lead Generation, Lead Nurturing, Marketing Strategy, Referral Marketing, Sales Leads, Web/Tech, Word-of-Mouth
I had coffee with a potential partner and our conversation ebbed to a discussion about marketing philosophy and lead generation. He said something like, "I think companies [like yours] give away many of their trade secrets on their website. They provide too much information. If I wanted to compete with you… all I would need to do is read your website or blog. The purpose of a website is to solicit interest… you’ve got to get people to respond… to generate leads."
My response…
People use the web for research; they are looking for fresh ideas, insight and actionable information. Intellectual property is difficult to protect and is quickly commoditized by the market. Why not leverage some of your IP to your advantage? Leverage it and demonstrate your thought leadership.
It’s difficult to defend technology that can easily become commoditized and your processes can be copied or improved upon as well. You can’t even keep all of your people indefinitely. There are more protections for tangible products but not many for service based business, which most companies are evolving to anyway.
I have a friend who is a NASCAR fan and what he loves is that it’s more about the driver than the car. All the cars are the same. It’s the driver and the crew that make the difference. It’s kind of like that with business now.
Most companies have the same basic car. It’s really about how well you drive it. The driver and crew in this metaphor can be seen as thought leadership; the ideas and talents that set the team apart from others. It’s what people remember and identify with. Features and benefit are cool, but sooner than later everyone’s car has the same features anyway.
This is particularity important for companies engaged in a complex sale, where up to 70% of a customer’s perception of your brand comes from their interactions with your sales people. I believe that the people and companies who succeed today are those who learn faster and teach others what they know more effectively.
Read more…
Lead Generation, Lead Nurturing, Leadership, Marketing Strategy, Personal Messages, Thought Leadership, Web/Tech, Word-of-Mouth
Would you like to be more visible and generate sales leads on a limited budget? Become a thought leader! Thought leadership gives you an edge to combat commoditization and attract more business.
RainToday recently released the results of a new, year-long research project called How To Become A Thought Leader. The report was written for service providers but I believe the core ideas also apply to most companies with a complex sale. Thanks goes to Britton Manasco for reminding via his blog post, "It Pays to Be a Thought Leader."
As I wrote a while back in my post, "in defense of thought leadership," there are just a few select thought leaders in every industry and field of study. So everyone can’t be one. But if you have the vision, desire and passion to do it, this report tells you how.
I was humbled to be interviewed, along with eight other business leaders, and to be able to contribute to this report, which includes:
• 100 Pages of expert analysis on how to become a thought leader in your field
• 95 Pages of stories and advice from thought leaders in professional services
• 20 learning checklists and questions for self-evaluation
• Down-to-earth views of how passion, relevance and reach work together for you
Download my 14-page interview on thought leadership (243K PDF)
Get more info on the report at http://www.raintoday.com/thoughtleader.cfm
Current Affairs, Lead Generation, Leadership, Marketing Strategy, Sales, Sales Leads, Thought Leadership, Word-of-Mouth
I had a great time chatting with Todd at 800-CEO-READ on lead generation. This is the first of three podcasts 800-CEO-Read is doing on B2B sales and marketing.
Here’s what Todd says about it:
"In this podcast, I talk with Brian Carroll, author of Lead Generation for the Complex Sale. Next week, I interview Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies. In week three, I bring Jill and Brian together to talk about the interface between marketing and sales."
Like many of Todd’s podcasts; this one is a high-level discussion geared for business leaders and those who support sales people. While you’re there, I encourage you to take some time to visit 800-CEO-READ’s other websites. They are a super resource for anyone who reads business books.
Listen to podcast now (MP3 43:47 min 30.1 MB)
B2B Telemarketing, Books, Cold Calling, Direct Marketing, Email Marketing, Event Marketing, Lead Generation, Lead Management, Lead Nurturing, Lead Qualification, Leadership, Marketing Strategy, My Podcast, Podcasting, Public Relations (PR), ROI Measurement, Referral Marketing, Sales, Sales Leads, Web/Tech, Webcasts/Webinars, Weblogs, Word-of-Mouth
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