Yes, I would say it was full-blown depression.
Dear ,
Every word I'm about to tell you is 100% true.
About 8 or 9 years ago, I decided to do an online webinar for
my lawyer marketing business.
The model I used was to offer a free webinar to attract as many attendees as possible and then pitch them at the end with various seminars and consulting packages.
When putting together a webinar, three things really matter the most:
- Marketing and promoting the webinar
- Providing exceptional webinar content
- Pitching irresistible packages with deals too good to pass up
Within each of these, these are many small details and minutia that actually matter A LOT... and... each one of these parts has to be firing on all cylinders.
Anyway...
I did a great job with the marketing. I used mainly direct mail postcards and ended up pulling about 120 lawyers on the webinar. That's a good number.
In terms of the webinar content, I had used a lot of content from a previous webinar that had done very well in the past and felt confident about it.
As far as the pitching at the end was concerned, here's where I really blew it. I ran a little long in the webinar and just kind of breezed through my sales pitch because I (mistakenly) thought people were getting impatient and wanted to leave. So I barely explained what all the packages contained. I gave the prices, gave some sketchy details and told them how to order.
So What Happened?
Well... I Didn't Even Get One Order. ZERO, ZILCH, NADA.
After spending about $5,000 marketing and promoting the webinar...
After all the time and effort and energy...
I had nothing except a sense of crushing failure and paralysis. 120 potential buyers and I got a big fat nothing!
It was truly a low point in my career. I had anticipated a
$30,000-$40,000 payday and I ended up in the hole 5 G's.
My wife and I had plans that evening with relatives, but I had to back out. I simply couldn't imagine seeing anyone, let alone carrying on a conversation.
It was devastating... and I certainly wasn't a novice; I couldn't chalk it up to inexperience. Up to that point, I had been a leader in lawyer marketing for about 15 years and conducted dozens of seminars and webinars... I had millions of dollars of publicity hailing me as a marketing "guru" and "maverick"...
And yet I failed miserably and made a rookie mistake that cost me big time.
It was a blow to my bank account and ego.
So Why Am I Sharing This Story With You?
Because I know we all experience failures in business at one point or another. No one is exempt. Not even seasoned
veterans.
Although mine is a tale of defeat, the defeat was not lasting.
After I recovered and dusted myself off, I got right back on the horse. I used the failure to propel me to further success. I learned from it, refined my technique and never made that mistake again.
With God's grace, I was able to get back on track and once again make those solid 5-figure days from my webinars. I was even better than before (and more profitable) because I had learned what not to do.
I hope this might provide you some inspiration if you're currently going through any sort of difficulties in your business. It won't last. You are stronger than your defeats and can come back even better, stronger and more profitable! Just remember, UNYIELDING PERSISTENCE IS THE KEY.
As Robert Herjavec of Shark Tank fame says, "Tough times never last, tough people always
do."
I hope you have an amazing weekend!
