Video for Sales: The Power Tool You Need

Video is the single most powerful tool you have for selling in the 21st century. We’ll share different types of videos, when to send them out, and how to get the whole company involved.

Video allows your salespeople to talk directly to a client face-to-face without being there. The fact that a video is there when the prospect is ready to view it is one of the things that makes it so powerful. Instead of needing an appointment and setting aside time, a prospect can learn what they need when they’re ready.

Closing deals remotely is difficult for many salespeople who are used to a one-on-one approach. Emails and phone calls can feel very cold and sterile. Video helps to close that gap.

In this article, we’ll look at the different types of videos you can make, when you can use them, and why they’ll work to promote your sales.

Why use video for sales?

The Video Strategy

• The important numbers

Getting the Team’s Buy-in

Getting Started with Asynchronous Sales Videos

Start today

Lots of companies use videos for product demonstrations and to make elaborate commercials, but using video throughout the sales process is one of the most effective ways to increase participation and sales. 

Asynchronous videos, delivered via email, LinkedIn Inmail, Twitter DM, and other direct messaging methods, are the strongest way to speak directly to your prospects.

Why use video for sales?

“It is estimated that the average person will spend 100 minutes every day watching online videos in 2021.” – Smart Insights

Everyone is watching videos, all the time. From learning to fix a sink to how to get through the next level of a video game, video is the medium that most people prefer to learn new information.

That play button on the front of a video is almost a compunction. We see a play button, we have to push it to see what’s going to show up on the screen. 

Most people will push play on a video before they read the copy of your video.

Sales Videos work:

1. Email messages with video get nearly 300% more responses
2. Complex topics are much easier to explain on video than using a lot of writing.
3. Your prospect will feel more connected than if you just message them.
4. Stop wasting time writing when a video takes a lot less time to make.
5. The whole sales process can be sped up using videos at every stage.

“With personalized video content, sales and marketing teams can grab prospects’ attention and make lead generation more successful. Businesses using a video-based content management solution to do so can quickly scale the personal interaction between prospects to humanize your brand without losing out on outreach scale.” – Sales and Marketing

Video in the Sales Cycle

Many salespeople confronting the question of when to use video during the sales cycle get confused. Should I use it to introduce myself? What about when I send a proposal? Or a thank you video after a meeting? 

The short answer is all of the above and more. Video can speed up the entire sales process at every stage, from introduction to retention messages.

Get Noticed

Putting “video” in your subject line can increase opening by about 800%. Then, once the recipient has opened the email, they are far more likely to click the button than to click away. 

If you really want to wow them, make your thumbnail a moving gif. The motion itself will get their attention and draw them toward clicking to see the rest of the video.

Where to Use Video

Video is perfect for all types of electronic written communication. Emails, LinkedIn Inmails, Twitter DMs, Facebook messages, everywhere you would write out all the answers to your prospect’s questions. 

Because videos are so quick to make, you can make personalized messages for every prospect. Instead of a canned response, each message can be customized to meet that client’s needs. And most importantly to say their name.

The Value Proposition

Every sale requires that you explain your value proposition. You can send massive emails with a ton of attachments or simply record a video that explains everything in your own words. Most people can explain 15 pages of intricate details in about a minute and a half through video. 

The video walkthrough is very powerful. For example, if you’re a web designer, using a video to walk through the prospects website will make it very personal. They don’t have to visualize what you’re talking about; you’re showing them “live.”

Video Stages

Many deals go stale because it’s hard to keep a prospect interested and motivated, especially if you just keep sending notes. Using video makes it personal. They can see your face and you speak directly to them. Your prospects will feel like they know you even before you meet in person. 

The video reminder

A quick selfie video to your prospect reminding them of an appointment is a great way to make sure they remember. You can cut your no-shows down to almost nothing by sending out a quick, personalized video reminding them what time to meet. 

It’s very hard to stand someone up when you can see their face. Video makes you a face, instead of a name on an email or a voice on the phone. 

The video objection

Some sales will get stuck on objections from stakeholders that are difficult to overcome with writing. By creating short, targeted demos for your prospects, you can answer their objections and wake up the deal.

Because you make each video customized, it’s like you’re answering their questions right in the room. Because you’re using an asynchronous video system, like Belel, they can view it at a time that’s best for them when they can focus on what you’re saying. 

Keep going

Every stage of the sales process can use video to keep people engaged. You can create videos for the team of stakeholders or for each person individually. 

There isn’t a stage in the sales process that video doesn’t work for.

Styles of Sales Videos

There are four major categories of sales videos: screen share, selfies, personalized marketing videos, and the curated playlist. Knowing what they are can help you decide which one you want to use for any given prospect and stage in the process.

Screen share videos

These are, as they sound, a video of you sharing your screen with someone. We often do this live, but doing it as part of asynchronous video lets the prospect watch the video on their own time. 

This is perfect for looking at a website or social media profile. Anyone who is talking about something that can be shown on a computer screen can use a screen share video to convey a lot of information quickly.

Selfie videos

Selfies videos, or webcam videos, are videos that feature you in an informal setting. Often, you’ll make a video like this to remind someone of an appointment, share an event, or send a personal, touch-base message. 

You don’t have to use a fancy camera and lighting; a smart phone and quick message make the whole process very personal and even fun.

Personalized marketing videos

The key to sales, now as ever, is to speak to the prospect directly. Often, when we create mass marketing videos, the viewer only connects with a small portion of the message. By creating personalized marketing videos, you speak directly to the clients’ needs and pain points. 

You can direct the message either to an individual, a company, or a job title. No matter what you do, the targeted approach of a personalized marketing video will have a huge impact on your prospect.

Curated video

Most marketing departments have videos they’ve created to sell their services. A salesperson can place these videos into a personalized video. A quick message saying, “I think this will answer your questions,” is a great way to use those videos effectively.

This can give your messages a lot of production value without needing to make a new, expensive video every time.

Sales Video Best Practices

Making great videos isn’t difficult. All it takes is a bit of attention to detail and a few pieces of equipment. 

The video

• Lighting – Make sure the lighting is good. You don’t want to be backlit. If you need one, you can buy a ring light inexpensively and attach it to your laptop or phone. 
• Sound – Use a lapel mic or the microphone in your headset. Nothing is more off-putting than the tinny sound of the built in microphone. Also try to record in a quiet place.
• Backdrop – Your backdrop should convey a message that your viewer cares about. If you have a scene that’s relevant to the conversation, use it. Otherwise, find a backdrop that doesn’t distract from your message.
• Notes not scripts – If you’re conveying a longer message, write some bullet points to refer to. Don’t write a verbatim script unless you can memorize it. Hang the notes near the camera so you can just glance over if you lose your way.
• Be clear – The message you send needs to address your recipients pain points or talk about relevant information. A rambling, disconnected message will simply be turned off.

The Delivery

• Interesting thumbnail – Make sure the thumbnail you use is interesting and doesn’t look silly or irrelevant. If possible, choose your own thumbnail. Use a whiteboard or chalkboard with the recipient’s name on it, if possible.
• Hosted – Find a service that will host the video on their servers. Short videos might be small enough, but a 2-minute video might prove too large for some email system and simply get removed before it gets to the recipient.

The Video Strategy

The use of video for sales should be a department-wide project, not something only a few people do. This allows everyone to learn from each other, come up with new ideas, and develop a consistent brand that includes personalized videos.

The ultimate key to success with video messages is analytics. The data you gather can help you fine tune your practices until nearly every video is viewed and responded to.

The important numbers

The numbers to look at include:

• Email opens
• Video clicks
• Amount of time spent on the video
• Number of responses
• Complaints and spam reports
• Booking rates
• Win rates

You can save a lot of time by having a marketing video system that delivers these numbers directly to your CRM. The CRM can use those figures to create the necessary reports and charts. 

If it’s linked correctly, the CRM can also notify salespeople when someone is watching a video, how far through they are, when they’re done, and more. This can trigger new sales funnel stages and prompt follow-up calls at just the right time. It will also show you when people jump out of the video, so you can make changes.

Getting the Team’s Buy-in

There are only two directions that videos for sales will enter the sales force: bottom-up or top-down.

The difficulty for many sales teams is that not everyone can see the value immediately, some people are techno-phobes who don’t think they can do it, and some are video-phobes that don’t want to be on video.

Answering these objections is no different from answering objections from a prospect.

The way to convert people is the same no matter which direction you’re working from, the top or the bottom.

1. Use statistics to prove that this is powerful.
2. Run an A/B experiment to show how well it works in a controlled environment.
3. Have some of the tech-savvy salespeople start as proof-of-concept.

One of the places to start is to discuss with the sales team where, in the sales funnel, do they struggle. Is it the top of the funnel getting initial interest? The middle, keeping people interested and not losing them? The bottom, getting the final close? 

Once you know that information, you can make videos for that precise stage of the sales process. All of this is extra important when the sales process is long and the price tag is very high. The team can use video to stay in touch as the slow-moving decision-making process carries forward.

Getting Started with Asynchronous Sales Videos

Launching a video program for your sales team requires a plan to do it well. If you just toss them in with a new piece of software and cameras, they’re going to flounder until they give up and go back to the old ways.

1. Choosing the right software – Use a video software that’s intuitive and does what you need. It should be easy to personalize, show lots of analytics, and tie into your CRM.
2. Training for everyone – Some of the team won’t need a lot of training. Others will need more. Make sure that everyone gets the level of training they need.
3. Bringing In other teams – Marketing and IT will probably need to be involved so they can synch their efforts and provide support.
4. Examples work – Start everyone out with examples that make sense. Show them what an initial contact message looks like, an objection video, etc.
5. Setting expectations – Set individual quotas for videos created. This will ensure that everyone on the team is continuing to use the product.
6. Follow-through – Reach out to everyone (by video?) to who the rollout is going for them and to offer assistance and guidance.

Start today

Belel offers a free trial and free demos. We’re happy to show you how powerful this medium can be. All you have to do is get started.

Video will continue to grow in the next five years. Facebook, for example, expects to be 100% video in just a few years. 

Get started today before every sales team, especially your competitors, figure out how powerful video is for making sales and generating revenue.