Your sales team’s got skills. They do an amazing job reaching out to new leads and ushering them through introductions, demonstrations, free trials, and more, until they finally close the sale. But, deep down, you know sending countless emails that say, “Are you still interested?” just isn’t cutting it. Could you be doing more?
If you run a successful company, you probably ask yourself this question all the time, and the answer is always yes—of course you could be doing more! Sales technology continues to advance. There are CRMs, data management systems, sales forecasting, and more, but it seems a lot of the personalized messaging that used to be at the root of a sale is all but missing. How can you bring that one-on-one feeling back to your company without sacrificing efficiency or success rates?
Most sales teams have yet to incorporate video marketing into their sales processes. This is one of the easiest ways you can take a more personalized approach to optimizing your sales cycle, even at scale. Today, we’re taking a look at how to do just that.
But fair warning – adding video to your emails and sequences takes dedication to get off the ground. If you’re going to do it, you want to do it right, so make sure you and your entire team is on board and ready to take it on.
Your team might be amazing at closing deals, but it’s unfair to expect them to know everything there is to know about marketing, technology, and more. Get them ready to incorporate video by following a few steps.
Your focus should not be on creating the next great high-quality feature film. But you should focus on creating something that will impress any customer who sees it.
- Teach your sales team their way around a camera—at the very least, their computer or smartphone camera.
- Create a do’s and don’ts list for filming that covers lighting, appropriate settings (like a clean office, not an office broom closet), angles, video length, and more.
- Create a script template your sales team can customize for their clients. This will speed up the video creation process.
- Create your version of a perfect video as an example each sales person can emulate.
You don’t want to have each person on your sales team creating tons of video and sending it out haphazardly without communication or organization.
- Decide where your sales videos will be hosted – YouTube? Vimeo? Third-party hosting platforms?
- Create a system for video review and approval, at least initially until you’re confident in the quality and consistency of your teams’ videos.
- Sales videos should be shot in one take – but if you have any editing or quality concerns, make software available to each person on your sales team.
- What customer touchpoints are best for video communication? Make sure your whole team knows when to send them out – first introduction, first demonstration, a check-in after inactivity, etc. Including a video in every email you send, for example, might be a waste of effort and resources.
Your focus should not be on creating the next great high-quality feature film. But you should focus on creating something that will impress any customer who sees it.
- Teach your sales team their way around a camera—at the very least, their computer or smartphone camera.
- Create a do’s and don’ts list for filming that covers lighting, appropriate settings (like a clean office, not an office broom closet), angles, video length, and more.
- Create a script template your sales team can customize for their clients. This will speed up the video creation process.
- Create your version of a perfect video as an example each sales person can emulate.
You don’t want to have each person on your sales team creating tons of video and sending it out haphazardly without communication or organization.
- Decide where your sales videos will be hosted – YouTube? Vimeo? Third-party hosting platforms?
- Create a system for video review and approval, at least initially until you’re confident in the quality and consistency of your teams’ videos.
- Sales videos should be shot in one take – but if you have any editing or quality concerns, make software available to each person on your sales team.
- What customer touchpoints are best for video communication? Make sure your whole team knows when to send them out – first introduction, first demonstration, a check-in after inactivity, etc. Including a video in every email you send, for example, might be a waste of effort and resources.
- Decide where your sales videos will be hosted – YouTube? Vimeo? Third-party hosting platforms?
- Create a system for video review and approval, at least initially until you’re confident in the quality and consistency of your teams’ videos.
- Sales videos should be shot in one take – but if you have any editing or quality concerns, make software available to each person on your sales team.
- What customer touchpoints are best for video communication? Make sure your whole team knows when to send them out – first introduction, first demonstration, a check-in after inactivity, etc. Including a video in every email you send, for example, might be a waste of effort and resources.
You’ve got your processes and templates worked out, your whole team knows the benefits of using video, and they’re all on board. It’s time to start sending your videos out!
Again, knowing when to include video in your email communications is crucial – below, we’ve got some video ideas you might want to consider. But as you start sending your videos out, keep the following in mind:
Keep your videos short. Be friendly. Provide valuable information your lead might not receive otherwise, like how your product or service is especially suited for their needs, and how you’re personally committed to answering their questions.
How many of your prospects are converting when you don’t use video and how many convert when you do? Which video is getting the most playbacks? Which video is helping close the most sales? Keep a record of all this data so you know what’s working and what isn’t.
Getting the initial process off the ground is the hardest part. Once you’ve got a system in place, start testing optimization methods for your videos, the times you send them, the copy, etc.
You likely A/B test your email communications and phone calls – do the same with your video content! Test which days you send your videos on, test the time of day you send your videos, and test subject lines and script copy just like you’d test anything else. This is how you optimize and adjust your strategy.
Test different messaging strategies for each of your videos. For instance, your first introduction video might focus on introducing the sales person, or could take a deeper dive asking the prospect specific questions about their needs.
Honestly, some people aren’t natural on camera. That’s OK! Not everyone is comfortable being recorded, and some sales people might have a higher closing rate over the phone or via email than they do on screen. Don’t force it if it isn’t working.
The magic of video is how efficient it can be in getting almost any message across. With so many opportunities, we’re breaking down a few of the most common types of videos that have helped sales teams do their job better.
This video introduces the sales person, well, personally! It helps a prospective client see the human side of your company, and lets them know there is a real, live person reaching out to them. You might want to include details about yourself, like where you’re from and how you found this prospect, and thank them for taking the time to open their email and watch this video. Also, let them know you’re available any time if they have further questions or want more information.
You likely A/B test your email communications and phone calls – do the same with your video content! Test which days you send your videos on, test the time of day you send your videos, and test subject lines and script copy just like you’d test anything else. This is how you optimize and adjust your strategy.
Test different messaging strategies for each of your videos. For instance, your first introduction video might focus on introducing the sales person, or could take a deeper dive asking the prospect specific questions about their needs.
Honestly, some people aren’t natural on camera. That’s OK! Not everyone is comfortable being recorded, and some sales people might have a higher closing rate over the phone or via email than they do on screen. Don’t force it if it isn’t working.
The magic of video is how efficient it can be in getting almost any message across. With so many opportunities, we’re breaking down a few of the most common types of videos that have helped sales teams do their job better.
This video introduces the sales person, well, personally! It helps a prospective client see the human side of your company, and lets them know there is a real, live person reaching out to them. You might want to include details about yourself, like where you’re from and how you found this prospect, and thank them for taking the time to open their email and watch this video. Also, let them know you’re available any time if they have further questions or want more information.
Honestly, some people aren’t natural on camera. That’s OK! Not everyone is comfortable being recorded, and some sales people might have a higher closing rate over the phone or via email than they do on screen. Don’t force it if it isn’t working.
The magic of video is how efficient it can be in getting almost any message across. With so many opportunities, we’re breaking down a few of the most common types of videos that have helped sales teams do their job better.
This video introduces the sales person, well, personally! It helps a prospective client see the human side of your company, and lets them know there is a real, live person reaching out to them. You might want to include details about yourself, like where you’re from and how you found this prospect, and thank them for taking the time to open their email and watch this video. Also, let them know you’re available any time if they have further questions or want more information.
This video introduces the sales person, well, personally! It helps a prospective client see the human side of your company, and lets them know there is a real, live person reaching out to them. You might want to include details about yourself, like where you’re from and how you found this prospect, and thank them for taking the time to open their email and watch this video. Also, let them know you’re available any time if they have further questions or want more information.
How do you use your product or service? Use a how-to or demo video to walk your prospective customer through the process. Go over initial setup, specific use cases, troubleshooting, and more. These are especially useful videos for products or services that are more complex than average, like certain types of software, apps, and digital products.
Next to customer service representatives, sales people in particular know the types of questions prospective customers most often have. Why not use video to answer these questions? It will save you time in the long term and addressing these questions before they’re asked will increase your trust and credibility. Questions might cover pricing, features, product specs, and more.
Haven’t heard from your lead in a while? Send a quick hello via video. This will help remind them that you’re there and bring your brand top-of-mind. It also adds that personal touch, going a long way with relatively little effort.
Made a sale? Congratulations! Onboarding videos are typically used to welcome new employees to a company (which you can also do!) But they’re also useful in helping onboard a new customer, showing them how to get started with your product or service, and sharing a few useful tips and tricks.
Your sales teams and marketing teams should be best friends. Combing the power of video marketing throughout the sales cycle is an often untapped resource you should take full advantage of if you want to take your sales to the next level.
Don’t wait! If you need help getting started, give us a call – our creative producers aren’t sales people, but they know what it takes to make an effective video and are eager to share their expertise.