Maryna RumiantsevaB2B SaaS · Webinars
How Online Events Shortened Time-to-Close by 30%
How an end-to-end webinar program became a brand-building, lead-nurturing and sales-enablement engine for a B2B SaaS company.
30%
faster sales velocity on webinar-influenced pipeline
Measured in HubSpot's SQL-to-won report, comparing SQLs that had registered for a webinar with those that hadn't.
Client profile
An AI-powered supply chain planning platform selling to mid-market and enterprise buyers across North America and EMEA. Buying decisions involved multiple stakeholders and long evaluation periods, so trust and credibility were decisive in the purchase.
The strategic challenge
Three connected problems limited commercial performance:
Limited brand authority in a high-consideration category. In a complex B2B purchase, buyers need evidence that a vendor is credible before they engage with sales. The company needed visible expertise and social proof at scale.
A large share of the market wasn't ready to meet sales. Outbound prospecting reached decision-makers who had no immediate need for an AE conversation. A demo request was too big a step for a cold contact, and there was no lower-commitment way to engage them.
Inefficient conversion and slow progression through the funnel. MQL-to-SQL conversion and SQL-to-won velocity had room to improve, and sales lacked a consistent, scalable way to warm prospects before conversations began.
The solution
I owned the webinar program end to end, from strategy and topic selection to promotion, delivery, follow-up and performance analysis, and positioned it as a full-funnel growth channel and not only a lead-generation tactic.
- 01
Webinars as the low-friction entry point for outbound. Outbound outreach invited prospects to a webinar and not to a sales meeting. This created a value-first touchpoint for leads who were not yet in-market for an AE conversation, and it widened the top of the funnel to an audience that would otherwise never have entered it.
- 02
Localization to lift live attendance. Worldwide English-language sessions produced lower attendance because of timezone and language friction. I introduced localized webinars, adapting language and scheduling to target geographies, which raised live attendance to as much as 40% in the best-performing markets.
- 03
Integrated nurturing and sales handoff. Registrants and attendees moved into automated follow-up and lead-scoring workflows in HubSpot, and engaged leads were routed to sales as qualified opportunities, so webinars worked as a sales-enablement tool.
- 04
Closed-loop measurement. In HubSpot analytics I built a deal-stage conversion report tracking progression from SQL through to closed-won, segmented by webinar engagement. This allowed us to measure the revenue impact of the program on pipeline velocity, beyond top-of-funnel metrics.
Business impact
Over a six-month period:
- Roughly 50% of all registrations came from outbound. For these leads there was no comparable channel or entry point. Webinars brought in prospects who weren't ready for a sales conversation and moved them into the funnel.
- 25–35% live attendance across markets. Up to 40% for localized sessions, compared with lower rates for global English-language events.
- 3–5% of registrants converted into sales meetings. A consistent flow of pre-warmed, higher-intent conversations for the AE team.
- Improved MQL-to-SQL conversion. A stronger SQL-to-won ratio, because leads arrived more informed and more trusting.
- 30% shorter time to close on existing pipeline. In HubSpot's SQL-to-won report, SQLs that had registered for a webinar closed 30% faster than SQLs that hadn't. The effect was the same whether or not the lead attended live, which indicates that the credibility created by a visible, expert-led event program shaped buying confidence, not just attendance.
- Significantly stronger brand awareness and visibility. Plus a library of events that serves as ongoing social proof across the funnel.
Technology stack: HubSpot (automation, lead scoring, deal-stage analytics) · webinar platform · LinkedIn · outbound tooling