I run a membership site that provides marketing tools for loan officers. I recently began performing live demo’s using GoToMeeting.
The demonstrations have been a big hit for me, in that the conversion ratio is nearly 40% (Quite substantial in this industry) and prospects love the idea of seeing a demo before joining.
However, the drawback is that the demo’s are quite time consuming, and hosting demo’s to more than 1 person at a time seems to drastically reduce the effectiveness, as prospects don’t ask many questions, and are a bit withdrawn knowing others are on the line.
So here’s my question:
Could you offer some advice regarding a potential compromise. In this case, an automated demo? Perhaps a flash movie, or a PowerPoint video showing screen shots, with screen capture of a walk-through of the site?
I feel that there are 2 things to consider here:
1 – An automated demo would allow me to capture emails as they “register” to see the demo. This is a plus. Next, it would allow me to distribute the demo on a much more extensive scale, and I of course, could dub some great audio walk throughs to accompany the video.
2 – Here is the “but.” I feel that this method of delivery of the demo would water down its effectiveness. Without the personal attention and live feedback I can provide, I feel the conversion ratio would be diminished, and there is not quite the same level of urgency. There’s something to be said for 1 on 1 salesmanship.
There you have it. My current decision to be made. I realize web metrics come into play, but I don’t have a whole lot of captured data to go off of, as this site was not a major focus of mine for the last 6 – 8 months.
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Jay’s Answer: Consider your positioning. For example, what is the lifetime value of a new client? $1000? $100,000? The more valuable they are to your organization, the more effort you should expend to woo them.
Likewise, does your company tout it’s great personalized service? If so, then a 1:1 demo shows that from the get-go.
You might have people who are interested in your services answer a few questions, and direct them to a prerecorded small demo that focuses on their needs (if you can group your prospects into various categories). Then, schedule a follow up, either via demo or a simple phone call to discuss their specific needs after seeing the video.