Using Video in the Sales Process: The Perfect Times to Add Motion

The human brain is designed to register sound and motion. Video attracts our attention better than still images or text because it’s kinetic and feeds into primordial needs to turn to see what’s moving. 

Using video as part of your sales process is one of the best ways to guarantee success. Some businesses will use video once or twice, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t make video the core of your process, from prospecting to closing to follow-through.

In this article, we’ll look at the many times you can and should use videos to promote your products and/services. 

Prospecting and Branding

• Inbox Chatter
• The Valuable Value Proposition
• Getting Personal
• Events can Really be Events
• The Ultimate Follow-up
• Power Metrics

Moving to Closing

• The Hand-off
• Fewer No-Shows
• Follow-up and Follow-through
• The Post-Interview Q&A
• The Mini-Demo
• Video Proposals
• Sales Training made Easier

Growing and Keeping Your Business

• Resolve Customer Concerns Quickly
• The Endless Handoff
• The Real Customer
• Re-engage Easily
• Sell, Sell, Upsell

The Easy Video Message

Prospecting and Branding

Often, the longest stage of any sale is the prospecting period. In some cases, salespeople will spend years showing potential clients what they offer and trying to get the sale.

Using video at various points of contact and events, you can get your prospects’ attention faster and more naturally than with text or photos. 

Inbox Chatter

Everyone gets a lot of emails every day. Many of us will click on emails from familiar names and businesses just to see what’s new. 

Placing a video in an email, a LinkedIn Inmail, a Facebook message, or anywhere else that you’re sending a one-on-one message is a great way to get the recipient’s attention. 

Put the word “video” in the subject line. This increases opening rates as much as 8 times.

Always resend messages to people who didn’t open the first one you sent. Change the subject line and send it again. Sometimes, it’s the subject line that doesn’t attract their attention.

The play button in the middle of the screen just begs to be pushed. Put one on your videos, every time.

The Valuable Value Proposition

You need to tell your prospects about your offerings. The problem is that they know when they hear it’s you on the phone, they’re going to give up 20 or 30 minutes of their busy day. 

You can fix that by offering them a video value proposition. Using still shots, screenshots, and live action video, you can tell the same story even more effectively. 

By sending prospects your value proposition on video, they can watch them anytime that suits their day. 

Using the right program, you can see when they start watching the video and when they get done. 

Creating a great value proposition and posting it on your website, prospects you didn’t even know you had can watch the video and make contact while you’re sleeping.

Put a value proposition everywhere, but make it personal in your emails and messages.

Getting Personal

Account-based marketing is one of the latest catchphrases. It’s talked about as if it’s a new idea – customizing messages to the specific person or company that you’re marketing to. The reality is that, until a lot of technology got in the middle, every sales message was “account-based”; we spoke directly to the person in question and spoke of their needs.

Because videos are so easy to make, you can create individualized videos in a few minutes for each person/company you’re sending messages too. Rather than just creating a bunch of anonymous TV commercials, create messages that speak to the viewer, mentioning their name and their specific needs. 

Create personalized videos that speak directly to the person you’re trying to contact. The personal touch will move your sales process forward faster than any fancy video or a dozen phone calls.

Personal messages are the keys to success in marketing with video and everything else.

Events can Really be Events

If you’re planning on going to a conference or trade show, use video to speak to the attendees, invite them to your booth, and even update them as the event unfolds. 

If you’re wearing a uniform or a specific outfit, wear that in your video. If you have a giveaway, show viewers what you’re giving away.

Arrive a little early and set up your booth. Creating a video shows recipients exactly where the booth is located in relation to landmarks and what it looks like. 

Video can bring your events to life for your prospects and attendees, before, during and after.

The Ultimate Follow-up

With powerful video software, you’ll know when any prospect starts watching a video, when they’re halfway through, and when they’re done. 

One of the most powerful moments to make contact with your prospects is while they’re watching your video. Call them as they’re halfway through and your face is on the screen.

It will create a personal experience that will virtually guarantee that you stay top of mind when they think about buying later. 

Calling at the right moment is the key to your success.

Power Metrics

Software that tracks views, where someone reviews, and where they stop the video can tell a lot about your video and your prospects. 

If everyone seems to stop after 1:30, you might have a video that’s too long or strays too far. If lots of people rewind over one section, it’s either confusing or intriguing. 

Knowing which parts of a video your prospects pay the closest attention to lets you know what to focus on when you’re speaking with them.

Use metrics to make your videos more powerful and effective.

Moving to Closing

As the sales process moves forward, video can become an even more powerful part of your success. Make every stage a personalized video so that the client knows that you’re thinking about them. 

The Hand-off

In many sales processes, there’s a hand-off from the warm-up team to the sales staff. Use a video to make introductions. 

It doesn’t need to be long, but a quick video that shows the prospect who they’ll be working with will help them feel more at ease with the changes.

K: “Hi, Peter. This is Karen. I’m going to hand you off to Maria for the next step.”

M: “Hi, Peter. I’ll give you a call in the next day or so to get to know each other.”

K: “I’ll be here if you need me, but Maria’s phone number 202-555-1212.”

Peter now has everything he needs, including the face of his new contact, making the hand-off much easier and safer.

Fewer No-Shows

When you’re someone who has to make appointments to meet with clients, either virtually or in-person, you get used to being stood up. So often, your prospects forget or simply skip the appointment.

Use a personalized video to follow-up with each appointment. A smiling face that says, “I’m looking forward to meeting with you Friday at 2,” is a lot harder to ignore. Suddenly, you’re not just a time slot in their calendar, you’re a face and a person.

Send a short follow-up video to let them know you’re waiting for them. Your appointments will almost certainly be there when they’re expected.

Follow-up and Follow-through

After an appointment, a follow-up is required. You want to stay in their minds. The easiest, fastest way to do that is to send a short video. A video note saying thanks for meeting and you’re there to answer questions can go a long way to closing the appointment well.

The Post-Interview Q&A

Using video to answer questions that arose during a conversation is much faster with video. Keep notes of what your contact asked. Then send them a video with all the answers they needed. 

Invite them to use video to ask any other questions as well. Because most of us can think more clearly when we’re talking about a subject, a video is just like conversing. 

All of this can reduce the number of emails and text messages back and forth.

The Mini-Demo

Sometimes, your prospect wants to know or see something that’s not right at hand. Use video to do the demonstration you couldn’t do at the time. 

One great example from a client of ours was when a prospect asked about how his company processed food in the factory. The presenter promised to show them all the important points. 

After they hung up from the phone call, she went to the factory floor and made a video of the process, the sanitation procedures, and more. She sent a five minute video to the prospect that day. 

This showed the prospect that what they were seeing was how it was every day, but they didn’t need to be there live for the walk down the hallways and from department to department.

Video Proposals

While you still need a contract on paper, you can walk the client through the documentation step-by-step on video. Cover each item in-depth so they can feel confident they understand the contract. It also allows them to back up to the points they don’t understand or pause to make notes of issues and concerns. 

For some businesses, like leasing offices at apartment complexes, they might spend hours each week going over every point in a lease with every new tenant. By recording it and asking the new tenant to watch it in their office, they can be there to answer questions and get signatures, but be free to do other things while the person watches the video.

Sales Training made Easier

Walking your sales team through every stage of the sales process can be long and arduous. A room full of people might not be able to sit still as you explain the finer points of the sales process. 

Using video, you can do all the initial training while they watch and listen. 

Even more important, when an objection is raised by a client, you can convey the answer to your team in a concise and easy to remember manner, rather than having a meeting with everyone.

Growing and Keeping Your Business

The goal of all marketing is win new customers and keep the ones you have. Video communication is the best way to do both. 

Above you saw some amazing ways to use video to win new clients and move them through the sales process. Now let’s take a look at how to use video to retain clients and improve customer service. 

Resolve Customer Concerns Quickly

Every customer complaint is a little different. If your customer has taken the time to tell you they have a problem, it can be very easy for you to take the time to create a personalized video that speaks to their needs. 

All you need to do is take a few minutes to read through their issue, then send them a direct message with your response. 

The Endless Handoff

Over the life cycle of a client, they are often passed from one account manager to the next. The best way to do the pass off is to have both managers on video introducing themselves and talking about who they are. 

Finding that you’ve been handed to a new person after years of working with someone can be disorienting. Using video to make it personal is much easier on the client.

The Real Customer

Your existing clients need love too.

All you need to do for your current clients is to send a personal message periodically. Consider how nice it will be for your client to receive a nice “How are you doing?” message addressing them by name. 

Set aside a few hours a week to do personal messages. Touch base, ask how they’re doing, and share some news that might be interesting for them.

The more you treat each of your clients as individuals, the more likely they are to stay with you long term.

Re-engage Easily

Reach out to everyone you’ve lost recently. A short message that asks how they’re doing and asking to re-engage will be a great way to put yourself top of mind.

Using video is the most personal and informative way to speak to clients, even if they’ve lost faith in you. The one-on-one aspects of these personal messages can make it a lot nicer for everyone.

Sell, Sell, Upsell

Every in-person salesperson will tell that upselling is much easier if you can see the person’s face. 

When you need to upsell, use video. You can show them your smiling face, hear the inflection in your voice, and more. 

The best videos are made to speak directly to what your client wants and needs. 

The Easy Video Message

Sending a video in a message, whether it’s to a new client or an existing one, can be burdensome for the clients email or messaging system.

Belel hosts the videos on our servers so you’re not sending a large video in the message. This is even more important with Twitter DMs, LinkedIn Inmail, and other messaging systems where you want to keep the message light enough so that the system doesn’t strip out your video.

Video messages are powerful. Belel makes them very easy to do.