The fastest way to establish yourself as “The Expert” in any field or specialty is to give seminars.  When people attend a seminar some part of them has already accepted the speaker as an expert, otherwise they would not have shown up.  REALTORS putting on seminars is nothing new.  However, traditional seminars are expensive and time consuming.  Thanks to the ever evolving Internet, there is a much more powerful and easier way to put on seminars for nearly any size audience at a fraction of the cost of renting a room.  Here’s how you get the most new business bang for your seminar buck…

Virtual Seminars – Better Than “Being There”

A virtual seminar is a live event with a main speaker (you) where your screen is viewed via the Internet and your voice is heard through the phone or computer speakers.  Another more common term for virtual seminar is Webinar.  The advantages to you and your audience (i.e. prospects) are many:

• Convenience – your prospects don’t have to get into a car and go somewhere (nor do you).  They can participate right from the comfort of their home or office which means they are more likely to attend;
   
• Control – attendees will have less fear of being “overpowered” by a sales pitch because they are not physically present and can click off at any time;
   
• Interaction – most Webinar systems give the speaker the ability to interact directly with attendees using real time polls, “hand raising” to ask questions verbally or type questions;
   
• Feedback – some Webinar solutions allow you to automatically launch a survey immediately after the seminar ends.  This is a great tool to receive candid feedback to gauge how well you did, how you could make it better and expression of interest (i.e. buying signals);
   
• Cost – if you choose wisely, you can put on a Webinar for a fraction of the cost of a traditional seminar;
   
• Content – if your Webinar system allows you to record your sessions, then you have a ongoing source of updated multi-media information for your Website or blog.

At this point you may be wondering “Okay, great –but does it really work to generate new business?”  Let me put it this way, as a professional international speaker for nearly 15 years, I can attest to the business generating power of seminars.  And in the last six months or so, Webinars have been my only method of delivery.  They have empowered me to make more money reaching more people with just a fraction of the effort and time of traditional seminars.

You too can use Webinars to establish yourself as The Expert, reach far more prospects and convert more of them into clients.  The key is to follow the Webinar success guidelines detailed below that will save you many missteps and propel you to Virtual Star status in no time…

Webinar Logistics – The Right Tools

Here are the things you want to have in place before announcing your first virtual seminar:

• Webinar System – the one I recommend is GoToWebinar.com from Citrix.  It has all the bells and whistles, it’s easy to use and best of all it is much less expensive than most of its competitors.  They offer a very reasonable “all you can meet” pricing model either by the month or annually.  This means you can use the system as many times you want, with as many people as you want (up to 1000) at any time.  This works out to be far less expensive than being charged $/person/minute typically used by other Webinar providers.  You can even try it free for 30 days.  Do not confuse GoToWebinar.com with GoToMeeting which is made by the same company.  GoToMeeting does not offer the ability to launch polls or surveys, has no way to register attendees or provide after session reporting and is limited to 16 people at a time.  IMPORTANT: practice using GoToWebinar until you are totally comfortable on how to operate its main functions —your first Webinar is NOT the time to do this!
   
• Internet Connection – make sure you have a reliable broadband connection because you will be broadcasting your voice and your computer screen.
   
• Cordless Phone Headset – during a Webinar people will hear your disembodied voice and see whatever you are sharing on your computer screen —that’s it!  This means your voice has to do the heavy lifting to keep the group engaged their energy up.  The easiest way to do that is to stand up and move while you are talking.  This automatically imbues your voice with that extra dose of energy and enthusiasm.  Only a cordless headset can give you that freedom.  HelloDirect.com has many to choose from, I personally prefer the GN950e which gives you 350’ of cordless freedom and you can also use it as a cordless computer headset as well (i.e. microphone / headphone pair).

Setting Up Your Webinar

Here are the things you want to do to set up your Webinar so you have no surprises when it comes time to put on your show:

• Schedule day & time – set the time, duration and date that works best for your prospects.  Try to keep the duration to no more than one hour until you develop strong confidence in your presentation skills.  Also, be aware of what time zone you are using.  Obviously use your local one if all your attendees are local.  Otherwise for North America, use EST / EDT which attendees outside of the Eastern Time Zone can calculate for their own time (at least you hope they can )
   
• Describe the webinar – give your Webinar a title and description. Make sure your Webinar title is very compelling and attractive to your intended audience; otherwise they will not even bother to read on or register.  Also, it is crucial that the Webinar description copy needs to bullet point the benefits they will receive by attending.
   
• Add panelists – these are people that either present with you or help you present (more on this later).
   
• Customize the Webinar theme – this is the look and feel of what attendees will see when they first login and when they receive your email announcement.  You can change the color, upload your logo and your photo.
   
• Set up registration form – these are the questions (mostly contact info) that your attendees will need to fill out to register.  Avoid mandatory fields whenever possible (GoToWebinar forces mandatory name and email address, everything else is optional).
   
• Set up your post-Webinar survey – think through the questions you want your attendees to answer and be sure to ask if they would like to schedule an appointment with you (the call to action).
   
• Set up you polls – polls are a way to get attendees to anonymously interact with you and each other in real time.  They are typically used for larger audiences (50+).  If you expect to use them, set them up well in advance of your Webinar and be sure to practice using them with a friend.
   
• Set up your email reminders – determine when email reminders are sent to the registrants (which are fired off directly through the GoToWebinar system) and what they will say, which you can modify.

Once you have your Webinar set up, you are now ready to announce it.

Announcing Your Webinar – Getting People to Register

There are two primary ways to announce your Webinar:

1. Email – GoToWebinar will send you an HTML email announcement which you can then forward (with some additional words of your own) to your prospect list.  This message contains the Webinar registration link.  CLICK HERE to see an example of an email announcement that was sent out to members of the Maryland Association of REALTORS not too long ago.  We used the basic format generated directly by GoToWebinar and then modified it slightly before sending it out.  Notice the attention-grabbing title and benefit bullet points.  We received close to 1,000 registrations because of this email announcement!
    
2. Web – you can post the registration link (using suitable promotional copy) on your Website, blog or social media sites you belong to.

Don’t hesitate to use affiliate relationships (title companies, mortgage lender, attorney’s etc.) to help spread the word.  In terms of emailing the announcement, we have found that three times over about a 45 day period works best, with the last one just a few days before the Webinar date.  You can log into your GoToWebinar account at any time to see who has registered, who they are and if they had any pre-attendance questions.

Pre-Webinar Preparation

Here are some things you want to have ready before your Webinar goes live:

• Prepare your materials – make sure that you have pre-loaded any Websites and/or your PowerPoint presentation well in advance of launching your Webinar;
   
• Adjust your screen resolution – make sure your screen resolution is set to 1024 x 768 especially if you have a high-resolution screen.  Otherwise your attendees may have a hard time viewing details on your screen.
   
• Make a friend a “panelist” – it is very important to have someone run the typed in questions via the Q&A box of GoToWebinar that knows your content and can answer most questions.  There is no way you can do this yourself and keep your presentation flowing smooth and sound professional.  When your friend logs in as a panelist be sure to make them an “Organizer” (right-click on their name) so they can see and respond to the typed Q&A questions.

I’m going to save the details of how to deliver a high-performance and engaging Webinar for a later article.  However, just to get you started remember these things:

1. Have a killer opening – briefly introducing you and why they are there (keep it benefit oriented) in a way that will grab them immediately;
    
2. Give an overview – tell them what you are going to cover (stress benefits);
    
3. Give the presentation – keep it benefit oriented and allow for audience interaction which is much more engaging than just listening to someone.  NOTE: don’t overwhelm your audience with PowerPoint slides.  Use as few as possible and fill in the blanks with your personality and words;
    
4. Review what you just covered – stick to three main points and the benefits they received from learning them;
    
5. Close with call to action – thank them for attending and be very clear what it is you want them to do (be sure to remind them to complete the post-Webinar survey too).  In addition to establishing you as The Expert you want to use this opportunity to have them take action that will cause them to eventually become your clients.

Just doing those five steps will put you light-years ahead of even some very seasoned speakers.  Many speakers who are perfectly comfortable on stage do not do well on Webinars simply because they either didn’t prepare or haven’t realized that it is an entirely different communications medium.  CLICK HERE to view how I used GoToWebinar to present to hundreds of MAR associates last April.  Watch and listen carefully how I used the five steps above.

Thanks to the Internet and the latest in affordable Webinar systems, having prospects come to the conclusion that you are “The Expert” has never been easier or more fun.  The best way to learn is use the tips and advice given above and then just jump right in, don’t wait.  There is a whole new world of business-generating opportunity waiting for you!

NOTE: Mr. Internet®, RUSSER Communications, its staff and officers receive no compensation whatsoever from any third party vendors (unless he/they are directly involved with the creation and/or improvement of a vendor service or product), and make no recommendations as to the suitability of the products or services mentioned in this article. Always thoroughly investigate any product or service before trying or purchasing.

This article is reprinted in its entirety from the July 2009 issue of REALTOR® Magazine by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. Copyright © July 2009. All Rights Reserved other than mentioned above. Mr. Internet® is a registered trademark of RUSSER Communications.