Show and tell. Deminars – the new conference trend.
Remember the traveling encyclopedia salesman? Or Tupperware parties. Later came the infamously girly nights with honeymoon accessories. Covid changed all of that. All of a sudden human interaction became a luxury. This caused a major upset for the sales teams all around the world and before we knew it, there was a new buzzword: the deminar.
The Urban Dictionary website simply explains this phenomenon as: “A customer demonstration and seminar in one. Often utilized when referring to a combination virtual demo or demonstration and webinar.” What sounds like a rather ‘bleh’ explanation is in fact an exciting opportunity for sales teams and conference venues around the globe.
A deminar combines the informative aspects of a product in a webinar with live demonstrations; it becomes a visual, almost tangible experience for those who take part in the webinar.
In this blog:
- It’s cost-effective for the company.
- It’s really visual
- Reaching more people at a time
- You have your attendees’ contact details
5 WAYS TO PLAN A SUCCESSFUL DEMINAR
- It’s not just talking, it’s about showing.
- Make your audience part of the action
- Questions
- Follow-up right away
- Everybody loves a freebie7
WHAT FORMAT SHOULD I USE FOR MY DEMINAR?
ADVANTAGES OF A DEMINAR
Instead of one salesperson incurring traveling costs, there is now a massive saving on petrol, accommodation and the likes. What could have been a two-week sales trip around the province is cut down to one effective deminar day. Choose a quiet conference venue with free Wifi and good facilities – your small venue hire fee will be far less than the traveling expenses.
The visual aspect of a deminar allows you to share so much detail. It could be anything from macro, technical photos to complicated graphs.
The size of your webinar is only limited to the number of attendees you wish to have there. It could be hundreds of attendees at a time. Your successful pre-marketing of the deminar will determine how many customers you reach at a time.
Your deminar attendees will have to preregister their attendance providing you with valuable sales leads. Make sure you are in line with the POPI act and send regular informative emailers to your target audience. Always provide a link for sales or sign-ups.
Remember to create an exclusive offer – one that will only be available to webinar attendees on the day. Play on the FOMO factor – it’s real. The take-up on your offer provides a measurement of the success of your deminar.
5 WAYS TO PLAN A SUCCESSFUL DEMINAR
“Show, don’t tell” is a time-tested rule in writing and filmmaking that helps viewers draw their own conclusions rather than relying on a spoon-fed version created by the author,” says Jake Hatfield of CXL.
The same rules apply to demonstrating the product the old-fashioned way, so your webinar guests can virtually feel and see what it’s all about. All of a sudden a product speaks for itself through demonstration – seeing how a product works is half of the sales job done. Use different camera angles, zoom in close up, slow down footage – make it super-interesting for your viewers.
Deminars have an advantage over Youtube videos because it is interactive. Engage your audience with questions, online or in real-time, and accurately answer the questions they have about the product. The ‘chat facility’ in Zoom is very handy and if, as the presenter, you may not be available to attend to this yourself, have your product manager answer all questions in the ‘chat’ box. Record your deminar while you are in the process, and only then upload it to Youtube for future reference and marketing purposes.
Being able to ask questions right away is hugely satisfying for your future customers who dialed into your deminar. Unlike a video or being up on a stage at an exhibition, you are not talking into a vacuum but have access to what your audience wants to know at that very moment. Questions can be taken in the comments box or live, and can, later on, be used to compile a Q&A sheet for product knowledge. Don’t leave your Q&A for last as you will lose the conversation thread and that question may not be valid further along the line.
Another brilliant way to engage with your webinar viewers is to put polling questions up while you are showcasing your product. It may be as simple as: “Do you prefer the pink or the blue socks?” The Zoom polling facility will quickly show the polling results and not only will you have interesting info to share, but you will also have effective market research done within your target audience.
Any salesperson worth his salt will tell you that all your trouble is wasted unless you follow up on your leads right away. This may be as soon as the webinar is over or at the very latest a day after. Keep your viewers engaged by answering enquiries right away, or follow up with an interesting video or blog which will encourage further interaction with you or your company. You now know which percentage of the attendees love blue socks – send them the emailers with a few options. If they chose pink socks, make sure your sales, branding and design angle all align. Show them the pair of socks with the pink flamingo design. You may even decide to do some cross-product selling and partner this product with something else in your range, like pink scarves.
Some things never change, and since the days the Kirby salesmen came knocking on your parents’ door to do a demo, getting something free is always nice. In the case of the carpet cleaning salesman, you were often left with half your lounge carpet looking like it’s brand new and the other half looking like your raised a litter of puppies on it. Not only was it a testament to the quality of the product, but you were also gently coerced into buying in.
The digital era is no different. Create an online voucher for a free coffee with every meal, or a free E-book download. Book one night and get a free breakfast. Also, don’t underestimate the power of a competition. You will be engaging your webinar customers longer and the feel-good factor will be resuscitated every time the voucher of gift is used.
WHAT FORMAT SHOULD I USE FOR MY DEMINAR?
Let’s get technical for a moment. You have booked your venue for your webinar – a quiet space with all the facilities needed. What are your options to consider in terms of different formats? Mike Fletcher, a freelance writer and expert in the meetings and events industry, highlights a few formats for your deminar:
The deminar occurs in real-time. Doing a webinar live can be more challenging as there is no room for mistakes, but it also allows more options for attendee engagement through live Q&A or responding to comments in chat.
This is a deminar that is mostly recorded ahead of time, but the presenter jumps on to answer questions in real-time at the end. It can allow you to put more into the production value of the overall presentation.
This is a deminar that is recorded ahead of time so that attendees are logging on to watch a video. This format allows you to push right to on-demand.
A creative way to express concepts, whiteboard deminars draw out concepts and points made by speakers in real-time. It’s a great way to keep attendees tuned in.
TIPS FOR VISUAL PRESENTING
In a previous business blog, we shared tips and tricks for Zoom calls. Many of the visual aspects are similar for deminars – clothing, make-up, backdrops, eyewear, lighting and body language are all essential for a professional-looking deminar.
Prepare a script for your deminar. Start with the headlines or main points. Colour in the gaps with bullet point and supporting facts. Decide where you will pick up your product and demonstrate. If you have IT support onboard or a handy assistant and for instance need to share screens, indicate on your script where this will happen.
A lot of different aspects go into a deminar. Rehearse your presentation in full. This will help you attain the time frames, you will be able to test your look, lighting and audio levels. We encourage you to record your rehearsal, scrutinise it and find areas where you can do better. A rehearsal will also do wonders for your nerves.
If you are working from a script, keep the document at eye level, next to your camera. If you are working with a separate microphone, keep this about 20cm from your face for optimal sound. Always test your audio beforehand, even if your deminar is Zoom-based and you are working from a laptop.
Ready steady go. Are you feeling equipped to host your first deminar? As with all good things in life, it requires a bit of planning but can be a very satisfying exercise. Having the perfect venue is the first step – no disturbances, no lovely puppies or babies in the background and no evidence of your messy study behind you. Let’s keep it professional! Let’s do it.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
CHRISTA BADENHORST
