An argument for moderated guest chat session

Now I understand why Hollywood celebrities always have a professional typist handle their responses for them when they participate in online chat sessions. I was a guest star (of a much lower magnitude) on B2BTalk.org last week to answer questions about generating B2B sales leads via online marketing. At first after I typed in my welcoming statement nothing really happened, so I thought, 'Oh I'll be able to check email and chat at the same time.' Yeah, right.



Then the screen exploded into seemingly dozens of visitor questions. I had to type faster than I think I've ever typed in my life in order to take care of them. It was insane, and the half hour went by in about 35 seconds. While I think the idea of having an online Q&A with an expert is a great one -- in particular for marketers who have an educational sell to make to their marketplace -- having participated in one now, I'd say it's better to have a moderated Q&A so the flow is a bit more even and everyone feels they got enough attention to their particular need. This would also help with duplicate questions.



One interesting question that came up a lot was - "What's the difference between sales leads you get from bingo cards in trade magazines and those you get from online marketing?"



My answer was that the biggest difference is prospects expect to get their online requests answered within moments or hours. Whereas everyone is used to waiting up to weeks for a bingo card response to come trailing in through the postal mail. Also, online sales leads not only expect quicker fulfillment, I'd be willing to bet they go colder quicker too. Easier-to-respond-to may mean easier-to-forget-about.



Do you have any specific results on how bingo card leads perform vs online leads?? Please let me know and I'll share them with the rest of the list. Thanks -- AHolland@MarketingSherpa.com