Erick Simpson’s MSP Newsletter | 10 Tips for MSP Client Webinars That Convert Like Crazy

Webinars have become an essential tool for managed service providers (MSPs) to generate leads and recruit new clients. A well-executed webinar allows you to connect with dozens or even hundreds of prospects in real time to deliver your value proposition and build interest in your services. Compared to other new MSP client lead generation activities, webinars allow you to create an emotional connection at scale to influence your prospects to engage with you.

In this article, I’ll cover 10 strategies to create a results-driven webinar based on my two decades of experience crafting and delivering over a thousand of them and generating upwards of 200,000 registrants for myself and my clients. Like a popular insurance company’s slogan, “I know a thing or two because I’ve seen a thing or two,” and I’ll share these proven tactics to help MSPs maximize their webinar ROI.

From identifying your target audience to webinar follow-up, I’ll explore the methodology to create webinars that attract more of your ideal MSP client prospects, effectively communicate your value proposition, and generate a steady stream of marketing-qualified MSP client leads.

Here are my 10 tips for creating engaging, conversion-driven new MSP client prospecting webinars:

1. Identify Your Audience: Understanding who your ideal clients are—their challenges, goals, and industries – is foundational. You need to have a crystal-clear picture of who your ideal clients are, what challenges they face, and what goals they are trying to achieve. Tailor your webinar content to address their specific needs and interests, ensuring a more targeted and engaging presentation.
   
   
2. Craft Compelling Titles and Abstracts: Your webinar’s title and abstract should grab attention and clearly articulate the value attendees will gain. Use powerful, curiosity-sparking words and focus on benefits related to the audience’s pain points. Your title should create curiosity and highlight the core benefit attendees will receive. For example: “5 Secrets to Keeping Your Business Data Secure from Hackers.” The abstract expands on the title to communicate the tangible value attendees will gain. Explain the specific insights, frameworks, or takeaways they will walk away with.
   
   
3. Choose Knowledgeable Presenters: Select hosts and guests who are not only experts in your webinar topic but also engaging speakers. Like me, I’m sure you’ve attended many memorable webinars where the host and guests made all the difference, for good…and bad. The right host and guests can uplift your content and engage the audience, while the wrong ones can produce yawns and early exits. Including client stories or guest insights can add credibility and relatability to your webinar.
   
   
4. Focus on Problem-Solving Content: Develop your webinar around solving your audience’s most pressing problems. Avoid hard sales pitches; instead, provide valuable insights and actionable advice that positions your services as solutions. With the right balance of education and promotion focused on their needs, your presentation will motivate your prospects to learn more and do business with you.
   
   
5. Streamline Registration Processes: Make the registration page simple and user-friendly. Simplifying the registration process as much as possible, requiring just a name and email address reduces abandonment. If you are marketing to your own prospect list, you should already have all the additional registrant information needed to facilitate your post-webinar follow-up.
   
   
6. Design Engaging Slide Decks: Less is more in your webinar slide deck. It should complement your speaking points, not compete with them. The biggest mistakes I see are decks overloaded with too much text, complex charts, distracting animations, and slow or unnecessary transitions. The slide deck keeps the audience focused on your verbal delivery. Understated design, clean typography, and ample white space help maintain attention on you and keep attendees from being easily distracted by their other screens.
   
   
7. Incorporate Interactive Elements: Utilize polls and Q&A sessions to engage your audience actively. This not only makes the webinar more interactive but also provides valuable insights into your audience’s preferences and challenges. Keep polls short and concise and don’t overuse them. Ask about your attendee’s pain points, interests, and perspectives related to your topic. Share poll results on-screen after each one closes so attendees feel heard; and discuss key takeaways.
   
   
8. Promote Active Participation: Encourage attendees to ask questions and participate in discussions via chat. The chat function allows attendees to ask questions and interact with the host and presenters in real-time and is one of my favorite tools, allowing me to add spontaneity and a little fun into my webinars. It keeps the audience involved and allows for real-time feedback in ways that polls simply can’t, influencing deeper engagement.
   
   
9. Optimize for Engagement: Keep your presentation dynamic by varying your content types, including stories, case studies, panel discussions, client testimonials and live demonstrations, along with your slides. This diversity maintains interest and helps illustrate your points more effectively.
   
   
10. Follow Up Strategically: Following up after a webinar is critical for driving new MSP client conversions and ROI. It is so important that I won’t conduct a webinar until there is an effective, time-sensitive follow-up strategy. Ultimately, the most important metric you will measure from your webinars is their conversion rate. Schedule one-on-one calls with your most promising attendee prospects within three days to discuss their needs and next steps. Segment your follow-up based on attendee interest and engagement level to nurture your leads more effectively. Send post-webinar surveys to understand attendee perceptions, share additional resources, and continue the conversation.
    
    By sticking to these 10 tips, you can craft webinars that captivate your target audience and drive meaningful engagement and lead conversion for new MSP clients. The key is to remain focused on delivering value and solving audience problems, ensuring your webinars become a powerful tool in your marketing arsenal.