Lead Generation Webinars – Opportunity Producer or Waste of Time?

A common business development strategy used today is lead generation webinars. The idea behind them is to attract mass audiences to virtual events and then have the salespeople pursue the registrant lists to convert them into sales.

I often get calls from frustrated executives who say their salespeople cringe when they see webinar registrant lists in their inboxes. Perhaps, a better way to describe these executives is confused. After all, what salespeople wouldn’t want hot leads?

Through some quick analysis of their so-called “lead generation webinars,” the problem is identified. The driving concept behind lead generation webinars is that, by people enrolling in the events, they are expressing interest in that topic. Thus, they are primed for meaningful sales conversations afterwards.

The disconnect is that, when companies deliver virtual events that have no correlation to what the company offers or the problems their products address, they are not really generating “leads” for their salespeople. These are amassed lists of people… people who don’t understand why your sales folks are calling to follow-up on a webinar which has nothing to do with the topic that was delivered. You thought the salespeople were confused? What if you were one of the prospects receiving these calls!

Here’s a crazy example, but it makes the point. Imagine a paint company putting on a lead generation webinar on prospecting techniques delivered by a big name speaker. It certainly would attract a large audience, but none of them would be leads. What does prospecting have to do with paint? Nothing! The topic certainly doesn’t open the door to meaningful conversations for the salespeople.

When selecting content for your lead generation webinar program, don’t just look for interesting topics that attracts mass audiences. Pick topics that correlate with the solutions you offer…that is, if you want those attendees to morph into revenue.

See you next time on the Sales Management Minute.

 AUTHOR:  LEE B. SALZ

Lee B. Salz is a leading sales management strategist specializing in helping companies build scalable, high-performance sales organizations through hiring the right salespeople, effectively onboarding them, and aligning their sales activities with business objectives through process, metrics and compensation. He is the Founder and CEO of Sales Architects, Business Expert Webinars and The Revenue Accelerator. Lee has authored several books including award-winning,  best-seller “Hire Right, Higher Profits.” He is a results-driven sales management consultant and a passionate, dynamic speaker . Lee can be reached at lsalz@SalesArchitects.net or 763.416.4321.