The webinar: teach and sell
Lesson 21 of 31 in the course “Million Dollar Sales Course”. Free, with animations and a quiz.
One live, hundreds of people
In lesson 20 you opened and closed sales by email. There’s another strong way: the webinar, a live online presentation where you teach and make an offer at the end. Why does it work? In an hour people see you, hear your voice, ask questions in the chat, and build as much trust as emails build in weeks. Jason Fladlien, author of One to Many, says he once sold almost $10 million through webinars in eight days. He splits any webinar into four parts: the intro (why trust you), the content (how to get the result), the transition (from lesson to offer) and the close (why it’s worth more than the price). His tip: write the intro last. Until you know what you’re introducing, you can’t introduce it well.
The intro: why trust you
Fladlien starts with an image: picture an uncle who’s broke, divorced three times, and giving you life advice. His advice might even be good, but you don’t listen, because his life contradicts it. Webinar viewers think the same by default: “another boring live.” So the intro has to show quickly that you got what you teach. Fladlien suggests three things: a result, a recent result (to show the method still works now) and testimonials from people you’ve already helped. The key rule: show, don’t tell. Not numbers typed on a slide but a real screenshot: a stats dashboard, a chat, a graph. Misha shows his retention graph before and after, a screenshot of this week’s video and a message from his first client.
One idea, one path
Fladlien admits a mistake: on one of his first webinars he decided to “give more” and showed four different ways to get traffic. Sales were weak. People don’t need four paths, they need one clear one that makes them feel “I can do this.” Brunson says the same in his words: the whole webinar exists to get people to believe one big idea. Ask them to believe several things at once, and sales drop. Why? A confused person doesn’t say “yes,” they say “I’ll think about it” and leave. Misha first wanted to show six editing techniques. Now he has one idea: watch time is won in the first 2 seconds, and you can do it on a phone. Every part of the webinar proves it from a new angle.
A goal you can see
“Fuzzy targets don’t get hit,” Fladlien writes. Before making slides, he defines the webinar’s goal in three parts. Who: the narrower the audience, the more precisely you speak to their life. What they’ll feel: usually “easy,” though sometimes “hard, but you’ll be the best.” What result they’d call a success. And the check: can it be done in 45–60 minutes? If not, the goal is wrong. A quick win works best: something people can do right away and see the effect. Why? A small win on the webinar lets them believe a big one is possible too. Misha’s goal: beginners with just a phone will easily, first try, tonight, put together a video people watch to the end.
Steps and a roadmap on screen
Any goal can be broken into steps, and Fladlien sets a firm frame: no fewer than three, no more than five. Fewer than three means you’ve glued steps together. More than five means the goal is too big or the steps too small. Then he shows the steps on screen as a roadmap and comes back to it as he goes: “we finished step 1, now step 2.” Why? A confused person says neither “yes” nor “no,” they just go quiet. The roadmap removes confusion: you can see where we are, how much is left and where we’re headed. Another Fladlien trick: the first draft of content is always 2–5 times too long, and then he cuts. Misha has three steps: a hook in 2 seconds, cut the pauses, add captions and clean audio.
Case: they fixed one section
In 2010 Fladlien and a partner built WP Twin, software for copying WordPress sites, and sold it on a webinar for $67. He was sure it would be a hit, and the webinar made about $5,000. A flop? Fladlien saw something else: people loved it, but at one point they got lost in the tech, and the live chat showed exactly where. They reworked that section in a few hours and came back to the same audience a couple of weeks later. Per Fladlien, by the end of the second webinar sales topped $100,000, and a multimillion-dollar business grew out of it. The lesson: first get the webinar to “good enough to show,” run it, then fix it based on how real people react. Your first webinar doesn’t have to be perfect, it has to happen.
Get half of them to show up
Even a perfect webinar sells nothing to an empty room. Fladlien gives an example: 1,000 people invited. In one scenario 250 showed up, in another 500, and with the same presentation the second made several times more money. What does it depend on? The sign-up page: Fladlien’s is simple, with a short calm headline, the date and a countdown timer, and, per Fladlien, his best ones got 54–64% of visitors to register, versus a market norm of about 37%. The thank-you page after sign-up: it can get people excited to come, or kill the urge. And reminders before the start. Why no big promises? People come to a webinar to learn, and in Fladlien’s experience a calm, honest headline usually beats a loud one. Misha keeps it simple: “Phone editing: a live lesson, Thursday, 7 p.m.”
Do it yourself: your webinar plan
Write down the one big idea viewers must believe. Define the goal: who, what they’ll feel, what result. Check it can be reached in 45–60 minutes. Break the path into 3–5 steps and draw a roadmap for the screen. Gather real proof: an older result, a recent result and a couple of testimonial screenshots. Write a first draft of the content without worrying about length, then cut everything that doesn’t lead to the big idea. Write the intro last. Make a simple sign-up page with a date and timer, and a thank-you page that invites people to show up. Run the live, even if it’s not perfect, and note where “I don’t get it” questions popped up in the chat. That’s your fix list for next time. How to move from lesson to offer and handle doubts, we’ll cover in lesson 22.
Check yourself
- What should he show on the webinar?
Correct answer: One main path that makes viewers say “I can do this”. Fladlien learned it firsthand: four methods instead of one gave weak sales. A confused person says “I’ll think about it.” One clear idea and one path give confidence, and the decision follows. - How should he show his result?
Correct answer: With a stats screenshot and this week’s video. Fladlien: show, don’t tell. A real screenshot convinces, and a recent result proves the method works now, not just once upon a time. - Which webinar goal is better?
Correct answer: A beginner with a phone makes a video people finish, tonight. By Fladlien’s formula it has a who (beginners with a phone), a feeling (easy) and a result (a video tonight). And it’s doable in 45–60 minutes. - What should he do after a weak webinar?
Correct answer: Rework that section and run the live again. That’s what Fladlien did with WP Twin: found where people got lost from the chat, reworked it in a few hours and, per Fladlien, sold over $100,000 on the second live.
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