I still remember the first webinar I ever attended. It was by a guy named Alex Becker, and he was teaching SEO (search engine optimization) strategies for website owners.

I went into that webinar with eyes wide open. "I know this is going to turn into a sales pitch. I'm just here to learn. I'm NOT buying anything!"

An hour later I had bought Becker's program and was his most enthusiast new follower.

Webinars are powerful.

Since that day, I have hosted dozens of webinars. While I'd be embarrassed to look back and watch my first attempts, I've gotten better with each attempt and now use webinars as my primary sales vehicle for some of my online courses.

In fact, when I host a webinar, I now expect to convert participants into customers at a rate that's 14x better than I would if I directed them to a sales page or sent them a sales email.

Again, webinars are powerful!

Now, not every personal trainer needs to begin teaching via webinars. Here's a checklist of questions you should ask yourself:

• Do I have a product or service to sell online?
• Does my product or service require a little explanation? Is it at all complicated?
• Is my product or service selling for a moderate to high price?
• Would people be more likely to buy my product or service if I could sit down and have a quick chat with them?
• Is one of my business goals to get people to know and like me on a personal level? In my business, am I selling myself?

Did you answer YES to any of these questions?

You see, webinars are the perfect sales machine for online products or services that are best sold through a face-to-face conversation. Sure, you could video chat with every one of your prospective clients, but that would take ages. A webinar let's you streamline the process and build excitement.

Also, notice the questions about your program's price. If you're selling a $10 item, say an e-book, skip the webinar. Cheaper products are asking very little from your customers -- there is not much risk on their end. Therefore, a webinar isn't usually needed.

A webinar is ideal when your customers are putting some skin in the game. Either they are paying a fair bit of money (i.e. I'd say $100+) OR they are committing to working with you over the long-term (i.e. recurring payments).

Finally, webinars are likely perfect for you if you do well chatting with people face-to-face. You don't need to be a seasoned public speaker to be a successful webinar presenter. You just need to be passionate about what you're selling.

Best of all, hosting webinars gives people access to YOU. The more they see you passionately speak about health and fitness, the more they will believe that you can help them. Even if you don't sell everyone who attends your event, you're priming them for future purchases.

Right off the bat, I want to change your mindset about webinars....

Your goal is NOT to teach people about health, exercise, nutrition, losing weight, etc. Read that again: It's NOT your job to teach.

Instead, your job is to inspire people. You want to change their mindset from one of doubt and disbelief into one of excitement and action-taking.

"Dave, are you telling me to be one of those slimy salespeople on an infomercial who just goes on and on about my 'revolutionary' program?"

Let me ask you this: Do you believe in your product or service? Do you really believe that everyone who might attend your webinar could benefit from working with you?

If YES, then your job is to get them excited about working with you so that they can experience the life-change you can offer.

Let me give you an example...

This is a teaching webinar for personal trainers who want to take their business online. It's AMAZING - you will learn so much from watching it (seriously, watch it!).

But, it doesn't sell.

If I wanted to sell from this webinar, I would teach WAY less and inspire WAY more. My sole goal would be to have personal trainers thinking, "I HAVE TO start an online business right now!" I wouldn't bog them down with tactics and strategies for actually doing it... that's what they'd learn when they become my paying customer.

Make sense?

So, when you begin preparing for your webinar, ask yourself, "What can I talk about that will truly inspire my audience? What do they need to hear so that they stop doubting that they can change and start believe that their time is right NOW?"

One type of webinar is called a "live" webinar. Like it sounds, you show up and teach at a predetermined time.

An evergreen webinar is pre-recorded, so people can attend at any time, even though you won't ac​tually be there.

A hybrid webinar combines the two. The actual presentation video is pre-recorded, but there is still a specific time when everyone must show up to watch it. Then, because you aren't actually presenting (the video just plays), you are free to interact with your audience via an online chat (which will come with the webinar software you use -- see below).

What do I like to use?

I always start with either a live or hybrid webinar. I want to be there to see what people are saying, to interact with the audience, and to build a lot of excitement around what I'm teaching.

Here's an example of a hybrid webinar I recently hosted. The video played and I chatted with my audience in the chat box you see on the right:

Then, if the webinar goes well, I will convert it into an evergreen webinar so that people can watch it any time, and so that it can sell for me -- I can make money without doing any selling!

Below you will see a "Join Now" button that automatically appears at a designated time during my webinar. Whether I'm live, hybrid, or evergreen, this button will appear and people can buy! (See below to learn how I do this)

If the webinar doesn't sell very well my first time through, I will make some changes and try another live or hybrid version. After a few tweaks, it's pretty easy to come out with one that engages your audience and really sells well. Then you can automate it as an evergreen webinar.

The first time I ran a webinar was stressful! I was sweating like crazy (literally), my video failed, my audience mostly left, and I thought I'd never do it again.

But, those missteps were mostly because I was using the wrong tools. Now that I know what to use and how to use it, webinars are a piece of cake. Here are my recommendations:

Click Funnels: This is what I now use for all of my webinars (whether they are live, hybrid, or evergreen). It's much more than just a webinar platform -- I use it for all my landing pages, lead magnets, sales funnels, taking payments, and more.

Get a free trial of Click Funnels here to see how it works. I HIGHLY recommend it if you're serious about building an online fitness business.

WebinarJam: This is a great option for live webinars only. It has a related product called Everwebinar that will allow you to make those webinars evergreen so that you don't have to show up to present each time.

Zoom: This is a tool that I often use for meetings and interviews, but it does also offer a webinar platform that you can use for live events. 

I do want to comment about pricing before we continue....

Yes, hosting webinars is likely going to cost you some money. When I shifted my business from being face-to-face to being online, I was always hesitant to spend money on anything. Instead of paying for the right software solutions, I'd try to find the cheapest way to make everything work.

In retrospect, the number of hours I wasted trying to save a few bucks was NOT worth it. If I could go back, I would have splurged for Click Funnels from day #1 and I know my business would have grown more quickly as a result. 

You have to make that call for yourself. Either you're going to invest your time, or you're going to invest your money -- which one is more disposable for you?

Selling face-to-face is likely the best way to make just about any sale. But, when you take your business online, your goal is to reach the masses with LESS work on your end.

Webinars are so powerful because they allow your audience to "meet with" you, to get to know you, and, of course, to trust that YOU are the fitness professional who can solve their problems.

Remember, my programs sell 14x better when I host a webinar. Just imagine what that could mean for your business!

Are you ready to bolster your sales with webinars? Then let us know in the comments and share this article!