Selling online registration to your clients, boards and bosses.

Most people contacting online registration providers are already sold on the
idea of using the internet to collect information from event participants. They
see the many benefits including saving time and money and eliminating labour
intensive tasks.

From talking with these event planners, meeting managers and admin assistants we
often hear that they have to sell the idea of online registration to their
clients, boards and bosses and all too often they hear things like it’s not in
the budget, it worked fine last year or we aren’t ready for it.

These types of reactions are usually the result of a lack of understanding about
how online registration works and its many benefits.

To help you sell online registration to your clients, boards and bosses, we have
outlined seven helpful ideas for you to consider.

1. Compare costs.

Comparing all of the costs associated with different registration methods will
be a big help when working with people focused on the bottom line. To do this
you will have to make some assumptions and estimates, but you should be able to
come up with a reasonably accurate list of costs.

One of the biggest costs is labour. Start by brainstorming a list of all of the
tasks involving labour, then estimate how much time is spent on each task. Here
is a sample list of tasks.

Next, consider how much your labour costs are per hour. This is a little more
difficult as the real labour rate is always much higher than what an employee
takes home. For some costs to consider, see our list. Now, with some
multiplication you should have a reasonable estimate of your labour costs.

Next, consider material costs. Here is a partial list to get you started.

At the very least, the price comparison sheet you generate will help you realize
that many of the costs associated with event registration are often just
absorbed by an organization.

Also, don’t forget to factor in intangible costs such as errors in registration.
These can be very difficult to estimate, but are very real cost to business.
Here are some intangible costs and benefits to consider.

2. Do a pro/con comparison.

Brainstorming the pros and cons of anything can be a useful decision making
tool.

We have started a sample pro/con chart on our website to get you started. The
pros and cons will be different for every event and organization, so adapt what
we have started to your situation. Try to include examples from past events as
well as anticipated pros and cons of continuing with manual registration.

3. Show examples of online forms.

Showing an example of an online form similar to the one your event requires can
be all that it takes to convince someone that online registration is a good
thing to do. Many people may not be able to visualize how it will look and work
so an image really is worth a thousand words.

The ePly website has several examples of different online forms for different
events. You can find on the portfolio page.

Besides visual examples, examples of how other organizations have successfully
used online registration will help support your case. Ask your potential online
registration supplier for testimonial letters or for past clients that you can
speak with.

4. Get a formal proposal from an online registration supplier.

Having something in writing detailing exactly what an online registration
supplier will do, what you have to do and how much it will cost will help. With
a good proposal, you will be able to confidently give prices and details and
confidently answer questions.

5. Make online registration a part of a larger online strategy.

Many organizations spend a lot of money developing a website. Even more is spent
trying to get people to visit. Online registration is a perfect way to get
people familiar with your site. While they are there to register, you will have
the opportunity to show them what other information is available.

Another strategy is to use online registration to build a database of email
addresses. This list can be used for future marketing efforts or other online
initiatives.

6. Look at the competition.

If someone isn’t convinced that online registration is the way to go, look at
what competing organizations are doing. You are certain to find people using
online registration in nearly all industries and this may be enough to convince
skeptics to try it for their next event rather than be out done by a competitor.

7. Have someone from the online registration company talk to the decision
maker.

If you know that the people you are working with are going to have a lot of
questions about online registration, it might be best that you involve a sales
person from the online registration company you want to use. They will know the
intricacies of their system and will be able to offer extra advice and ideas.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any
questions or comments about this article.

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