Hosting Webinars for Lead Generation

After helping 150+ founders and executives grow their personal brands, I realized getting attention is simply not enough. Hear me out: 99% of the people I reach with this post aren’t ready to buy. Some just aren’t my ICP, and that’s fine. Many could be great clients/partners - but not right now. Maybe they: • are still weighing their options • don’t trust me enough yet • aren’t even aware of their problem yet If they just keep scrolling, it’ll be up to the LinkedIn algorithm whether they ever see me again. That’s what the retention engine is for. It’s a direct distribution channel with no algorithm and no text limits. Once someone signs up, I can stay connected and continue providing value, regardless of any social media channel. It’s easy to ignore (I did for too long), but it’s essential to a content founder. And it’s not complicated to build. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭: 𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁 Moving your audience from a social platform like LinkedIn to your own email list is called going from a “rented” audience to an “owned” audience. It’s “owned” because I control distribution and I can engage on my terms. I’m not held hostage by someone else’s rules, algorithms, or admins. In the past, I’ve used lead magnets to grow my email list. Lead magnets are free resources that are valuable to my ICP. It should be a complete package - not an unsatisfying teaser for something bigger. Some examples: • In-depth breakdowns of successful content founder playbooks • Education email courses sharing the theory behind our service • Notion templates to solve smaller sub-problems The goal is never to promote a product. It’s to educate potential customers. Also, the lead magnet can’t suck. If it does, and my ICP feels like I’ve tricked them into giving over their email, I’ve lost them. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮: 𝗠𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗰𝘁 From here on out, my goal is to send my audience great content that: • Interests them • Solves their problems • Entertains them • Educates them Don’t buy the hype from gurus who claim you need a complex retention engine with 1,000 moving parts. In my experience, the best way to do it is with a simple newsletter. Don’t overdo it. We started out with 1 issue/month. We now do 2. If it adds value, people won’t get annoyed no matter the frequency. This week’s topic is… Retention engines! I give an in-depth breakdown of how to set one up, take a look at the Buyer Readiness Breakdown, and even share my latest playlist for deep work on Spotify. Find it here: https://lnkd.in/e6W-Mm2K

In October 2021, we generated 250 sales leads in 2 hours without coding, AI, or sales expertise, and we have never looked back. Here's exactly how we’ve used webinars to generate $3M+ in pipeline since launching our company. A week after launching Chezie's ERG platform in August 2021, we hosted a simple webinar that changed everything. The idea came when we noticed most ERG content online was outdated (think black-and-white websites from 2014; it was dark out there). We saw an opportunity. Here’s our process: 1. Find your topic     Look for LinkedIn conversations in your niche. Use tools like Perplexity to research what people are actively searching for.     2. Get the right host     We reached out to my friend Morgan Matthews (she/her), who was working as a DEI Manager at Peloton at the time. Your host should either have a strong following, work at a notable company, or ideally both.      The more notable your speaker, the easier it is to drive signups.      3. Structure your event     We titled ours "From Intent to Impact: How to Get the Most Out of Your ERGs." Morgan gave a 45-minute presentation and left 15 mins for Q&A.      Keep it simple – a fireside chat format lets your host prepare answers in advance.     4. Capture leads strategically     Have attendees share key info during registration (company size, current solutions, etc.). This helps you qualify leads before the event.     5. Execute and follow up       Some tips for a smooth event:       • Host on Zoom (everyone’s familiar with it by now)   • Pay attention to which participants are most engaged   • Share recordings after via email to warm the inbox   • Focus follow-up on qualified leads      Fast-forward to today: We've hosted 60+ events and turned webinars into our #1 go-to-market channel, even as we've expanded to other strategies. If you have questions about the process, qualifying leads, or anything else around webinars as a GTM motion, comment below; I’m happy to help! 👇🏾

Top reps ask 4x more implication questions than average ones. Here’s why SPIN Selling still works. Most reps jump straight into pitch mode. They ask a few surface questions, then start talking features. That’s not selling. That’s presenting. SPIN flips the script. It gets the buyer to sell themselves. Start with Situation questions. Learn their current state, but keep it short. Experienced reps ask fewer of these than you’d expect. Move to Problem questions. Uncover what’s not working. Where they’re stuck. What’s costing them time or money. This is where small deals get won. But for complex sales, you need more. That’s where Implication questions come in. Show the consequences of inaction. What does this problem cost them? How does it affect other areas? What’s the revenue impact? Top performers ask these 4x more than average reps. They build urgency without being pushy. Finally, Need-Payoff questions. Let the buyer articulate the value. How would solving this help? What would the impact be? Why is this important? When they say it, they believe it. Here’s the key insight: Buyers don’t just want you to solve their problems. They want to understand why solving them matters. SPIN gives you the framework to guide that conversation. Not through charm. Not through pitch decks. But through the right questions in the right order. Save this framework. Use it on your next discovery call. Watch how fast urgency builds.

The biggest lie in tech sales is that more activity = more success. I’ve coached over 1,000 tech sellers. The reps struggling the most usually say the same thing: “I’m working my hardest but not getting the results” But when we actually look at their calendar… Most of their time is spent on things that don’t move deals forward. Internal calls E-mails Slack messages CRM cleanup Busy work High volume, low quality prospecting And when they are meeting with customers, it’s usually transactional deals with mid or lower level managers, not Senior Execs. It feels like hard work. But it’s not generating any revenue. Some of these sellers will scrape and claw all year to barely hit quota, but most will finish under. It’s a nonstop grind to get average results. Top performers think and work differently. Instead of thinking: “If I work hard all day I will get results” They ask: “What should I be working on that will lead to results?” Here’s what the top 1% focus on: 1. Executive conversations A single meeting with a VP or C-level leader can accelerate a deal faster than months of working with middle management. 2. Real discovery Not product demos. Understanding the business problem deeply enough to tie your solution to revenue growth, cost takeout, or risk mitigation. 3. Creating urgency by providing clients with a compelling reason to change Great sellers don’t wait for customer urgency. They help executives see the cost of doing nothing and calculate the monthly cost of delay to create natural urgency. Every month you delay costs you $500k is how this sounds. 4. High quality prospecting Developing a strong POV hyper-personalized at the account level, and sharing it with Senior Executives who stand to gain or lose the most from the outcomes in the POV 5. Protecting focus Top reps ruthlessly eliminate distractions. They structure their calendar around revenue generating activities, and say no to busywork. Because in enterprise sales: 1 great conversations > 10 random tasks. When I was early in my career, I thought success meant grinding harder. Later I realized the truth: Sales isn’t about working more hours. It’s about working on the few things that actually matter every single day. Less is more. High quality over high quantity. What’s the one activity you do that drives the majority of your revenue? Curious to hear from other top sellers.

Why Salespeople Struggle to Create URGENCY: Urgency gets buyers to act now. But most salespeople create urgency that feels like a gimmick.   “We will no longer be offering this type of package." “Prices go up next week.” “Buy now, and I’ll throw in a discount.”   That’s not urgency. That’s an enticement wrapped in a ticking clock.   It’s price-driven. Not purpose-driven.   Real urgency doesn’t sell pressure. It sells impact.   Urgency isn’t about what they’ll save. It’s about what they’ll miss.   Challenge them to self-reflect. To feel the cost of inaction. To ignite urgency and create ownership of the consequences and impact, ask: 1. What are your biggest challenges in X-area that you'd regret not solving six months from now? 2. Who is impacted by this, and how? 3. What happens if nothing changes? 4. If you could achieve these results now, how would it impact you, your coworkers, company and customers? 5. What’s the long-term cost of waiting?   These aren’t scripts. They’re implication based questions.   They turn your buyer from passive to proactive. From “maybe later” to, “I need this now.” Don’t tell them to act now. Help them see why they need to.   That’s not pressure. That’s salesmanship.   It’s not manipulation. It’s motivation.   Let them sell themselves on why now matters.   Urgency isn’t yours to push. It’s theirs to discover.   When customers articulate their urgency, rather than being told, you’ll never need to, “drop your price” again. #sales #selling

Your webinar just ended. 300 people registered, 120 attended live, and 50 watched the replay. 💀 Hopefully you can see that level of segmentation in your CRM 💀 — I partnered with the Contrast team for this post because after using their HubSpot integration for the last couple of years I’ve never had to wonder how a contact engaged with a webinar, before, during, or after 🔥 — Now what? Sending the same follow-up to everyone is a mistake. Your "in pipeline" prospect who had a demo last week needs a different message than a first-time website visitor. Here's how to build an automated follow-up workflow in HubSpot that converts webinar engagement into pipeline (specifically segmented to your 🔥 leads): 1. Create your segmentation lists → Webinar Registrants with Open Opportunities → Live Attendees (>70% completion) → Registrants Without Live View 2. Build your engagement workflow ⚡️ Trigger: → List membership includes "Live Attendees (>70% completion)" 🛎️ Action 1: Send Slack alert to sales → Channel: #sales → Message: 💻 {{ contact.firstname }} {{ contact.lastname }} from {{ company_name }} attended more than 70% of the {{ contact.contrast_last_registration }} webinar. 🤖 Action 2: Enroll in personalized sequence → Name: Engaged ICP Webinar Follow Up → Sender Type: Contact owner → Contact Owner: Contact owner 💡 Sequence step ideas: → Send a personal email → Call the prospect → Share relevant content at the next level of intent → Add value around the webinar topic they engaged with ✅ Alternative Action 2: Create a task (HubSpot pro tier) → Name: Follow Up With Hot Lead → Task Type: Email → Assigned To: Contact owner Providing sales reps real-time insights on how their current prospects are engaging with webinar content gives them both a reason to reach out, and something to say to help move their deal forward.

Marketing to sales: Here is a list of webinar sign-ups, follow-up with them. Sales:...Ignore... Here is how to make webinar sales' favorite playbook, not the most hated: Step 1: Co-create webinar narrative together with sales to make sure it addresses the interests and challenges of target buyer persona. To avoid blatant product pitching, start by answering a question: Imagine having a 60-min lunch with your target buyer persona who is not aware of our product and is not in the market. How would you highlight potential challenges, seed the grains of change and explain the solution? Step 2: Agree on promotional plan. Make sure sales actually want to invite their target accounts. Agree on: Accounts and titles (how many?) Touchpoints (e.g. sales - email + LinkedIn, marketing - newsletter + LinkedIn ads) Step 3. Develop post-event playbook based on account engagement history. What sales hate is when marketing marks all sign-ups as MQLs and asks to follow up. It's a waste of time because of misalignment with the intent: Webinar sign-ups ≠ buying intent. Instead, agree on post-webinar analysis: matching contact engagement to account engagement identifying tier 1 & tier 2 accounts that are already engaged identify new tier 1 & tier 2 accounts (first engagement) for account research define "brdige" activities (e.g. free strategy sessions) to book discovery calls instead of pitching a demo Step 4. Develop a post-webinar nurturing content hub. Content hubs are microsites with nurturing content: - Recording - Slides - Useful resources - Bridge activity - Case studies The beauty of the process? Your buyers will come to the hub multiple times, might share with your team, while you receive notifications about the content consumption and engagement. It creates a perfect opportunity for timely, fully personalized follow-ups. For the last 2 years, our go-to tool for content hubs has been Aligned. It allows us to create post-webinar content hubs in a few seconds and send content engagement to HubSpot by automatically matching buyers to accounts. *See the example of the hub for the most recent webinar here: https://lnkd.in/ddSFQJ5y Step 5. Track content engagement and develop personalized follow-ups with sales. We used this process with top-performing sales reps in "conservative" markets: customs software, real estate, climate data, background checks and were always able to book discovery calls with strategic accounts (feat. Bowin Cai, Raf Schroons, Peter Slater, Samuel Adu-Febiri, Jalynn Close, P.T. Vineburgh). --- TLDR; If sales don't see a value in the webinar, they will never promote or follow-up with webinar "leads". Educate -> engage -> create demand -> research and understand the buyer journey stage and current needs of your prospects -> create "bridge" activities / buyer enablement. This is how you influence the buying process with webinars and generate pipeline TOGETHER. #alignedpartner

9 out of 10 deals I’ve closed had one thing in common: urgency. (Not pressure. Not gimmicks. Real urgency that moved the deal.) Early in my AE career, I’d ask: “Do you want to move forward next week?” Most would say: “Let us think about it.” And the deal would stall. Now? I build urgency from the first conversation. Here’s exactly how I do it—step by step: 1. Uncover the “why now”—not just the “why” → Ask: • “What happens if this isn’t solved in the next 30–60 days?” • “What’s the risk of doing nothing?” Why it works: No pain = no movement. You’re not selling a tool—you’re solving a clocked-in problem. 2. Tie impact to real numbers → “You’re spending 10+ hours/week on this—what does that cost your team each month?” → “What’s the financial impact of this delay?” Why it works: Numbers create gravity. Pain becomes measurable. 3. Anchor urgency to company goals → “You mentioned a Q3 rollout goal—how does this align?” → “If we don’t start this month, do we miss your internal deadline?” Why it works: Now you’re tied to their priorities—not your quota. 4. Use deadlines to guide, not force → “To hit your timeline, we’d need to sign by [date]—does that work on your side?” → “If we miss that window, what’s the fallback plan?” Why it works: Creates shared accountability without pressure tactics. 5. Keep urgency alive in follow-up → “Just saw your team hired 3 new ops people—still a good time to move forward?” → “Wanted to make sure this doesn’t slip off your radar—what’s your updated timeline?” Why it works: Re-centers urgency without feeling pushy. The result? — More deals with momentum — Fewer stalls — Stronger alignment at every step My take: Deals don’t die because of budget or timing. They die because no one made waiting feel risky. Want to move deals faster? Build urgency that belongs to the buyer—not just to you. #sdr #ae #coldcalling SDRs of Germany

This year we decided to try webinars. Honestly, I was skeptical. But the results surprised us: • 45,000+ registrations • 1,500+ discovery calls • Multiple six figures in revenue (For clarity, these are the combined results across the 15 webinar iterations we’ve run so far.) Now, you might be wondering… “What do webinars have to do with email?” The answer? A lot. Email plays a key role in pretty much every part of a webinar funnel. So today, I want to walk you through the 3 pillar email sequences that help us squeeze every ounce of juice from each webinar we run: Sequence #1: The Launch Sequence This sequence is all about one thing: maximizing registrations. Your email list should be your warmest, most loyal audience - which makes it one of the biggest levers you can pull to fill your webinars. How to structure it: • Target segment: Everyone on your list who hasn’t bought the product you’re promoting • Sequence length: 5-10 emails over 5-7 days (start with 5-7 if you’re new) • Send cadence: 1 email per day, with 2 emails on Day 1 and 2 on the final day Common themes we use: • “You’re invited!” announcement • Sneak peek (what they’ll learn) • Success story (proof it works) • Last chance (urgency) Sequence #2: The Post-Registration Sequence Here’s one of my biggest lessons: Getting people to register is only half the battle. The other half? Getting them to show up live. Because that’s where the money is made. This sequence has 3 main goals: • Ensure people add the event to their calendar • Get them excited about attending live • Build trust and affinity before the event (especially for cold traffic from paid ads) How to structure it: • Target segment: Everyone who registers • Sequence length: 2-7 emails (2 is the bare minimum) • Send cadence: Confirmation email immediately, day-of reminders at specific times Common themes we use: • Confirmation email (with calendar add link) • “Origin story” email (build trust) • Common objection email (address doubts) • Day-of reminders (30 mins before, 10 mins before, 5 mins after start) Sequence #3: The Replay Sequence Most conversions happen during the live webinar. But here’s the thing: You can still get an extra 10-20% revenue lift from implementing a Replay Sequence. Which makes it totally worth it. The goal: Leverage your webinar replay to maximize conversions from people who registered but didn’t convert yet. How to structure it: • Target segment: Everyone who registered and hasn’t converted • Sequence length: 4-7 emails over a few days (not forever) • Send cadence: 1 email per day, with 2 on the final day Pro tip: Only promote the replay for a few days, then make it expire. Once it closes, have a mini “squeeze period” where you pitch one more time with urgency/scarcity. And that’s it! Hope it's helpful. PS - I put together an AI prompt that helps you draft your entire webinar Launch Sequence in a fraction of the time. Comment “webinar” and I’ll send it over.

Client ran 12 webinars last year. Average attendance: 31%. Watch time: 11 minutes. Pipeline generated: Zero. They'd blast the database, get 200 registrants, 60 show up, 50 drop after the intro. Meanwhile sales is asking why webinars are such a waste of time. Because you're not running webinars. You're running hour-long product demos nobody asked for. Here's the system that actually gets people to show up and buy: 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 1: 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁𝘀 Most companies: Blast everyone, hope someone shows up. We flipped it. Pick 20 target accounts. Build the entire webinar for them. One client went from: - Old: 200 registrants, 31% show (62 people), zero pipeline - New: 40 invites, 85% show (34 people), 3 opportunities Fewer people. Actual pipeline. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 2: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗴𝗲𝘁𝘀 72% 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀 3 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁: Call your top 20 accounts. Actually call. "We're covering [problem you mentioned]. Want a spot?" 2 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝘁: Get a customer to co-present. Their network shows up. 1 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗼𝘂𝘁: Send the actual deck. People show up when there's no mystery. 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲: Text your top 10 registrants. Yes, text. 90% show rate for those who respond. 𝗗𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗳: Calendar hold 1 hour before. Start exactly on time. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 3: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 30-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 - 2 min: What you'll learn - 10 min: Customer shows actual results - 10 min: How they did it - 5 min: Live Q&A - 3 min: Next steps No company overview. No product tour. Just value. Watch time went from 11 to 27 minutes. 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄-𝘂𝗽 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻 2 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀: Everyone gets: - Recording + customer's templates - Implementation guide Target accounts get: - Personal video - 15-min working session offer (not a demo) Others: - 3 emails on implementing what they learned Result: Client went from 12 useless webinars to 6 that drove $1.8M. Half the webinars. Triple the results. The problem isn't webinars. It's that you're running them for everyone instead of someone. This week I'm fixing fundamentals: Monday: ICP Yesterday: Events Today: Webinars Tomorrow: ABM Pick 20 accounts. Build your next webinar just for them. Watch what happens when you stop trying to please everyone.