No, i’m not slinging tik tok here 😅

Video in sales can be a phenomenal sales tool. Some studies show that you can 5X your email open rate and 8X your click-through rate, all by using video. 

Just the other day, I was scrolling through LinkedIn and discovered a thread where poor email response rates were being discussed. Some folks were suggesting to send more “personalized emails”, some hinted towards having sales cadences in place.

Almost none of them mentioned video, which came as a surprise to me. Since we’re way past the “3-word subject line” and keep your “email under 140 words” era. Prospects now have more information on their hands than ever before. They are also more immune to the cold emails they get in their inboxes every single day.

And don’t even get me started on the same recycled email templates that almost every sales rep uses. These templates might’ve worked in the past but they sure as hell aren’t as effective as they once were. When you’re freshly reaching out to a new lead, it’s so important that you stand out and get noticed. 

And that’s where video in sales comes in. Personalized videos help you capture attention with an audience that doesn’t really know you yet. Taking the time, researching their business and going the extra mile by creating the video (just for the prospect) gives you an edge over any other cold email they might get. 

Video as a sales strategy will help improve your response rate, help set more appointments and leave a brand impact. In this blog post, I will dive into reasons why you should be using video in sales. And how you can make it part of your sales process. 

Why use video in sales?

So, why does video work so well? There are 5 reasons: 

1. Video helps you stand out. Who’d you rather respond back to? A sales rep that sent you the same old cold email template that smells like a sales pitch from a mile away. Or a sales rep that did his/her homework, created a personalized video just for you, explaining what and how they can help your business grow? The latter, right? I sure hope so.
2. Video is easier to remember. Video helps everyone remember the details a lot more effectively than text. I’m willing to bet they don’t get videos in their inbox very often.
3. Video helps you connect. Prospects are more willing to trust a sales rep that they can see the face of. It helps them connect on a human level and think of not think of the sales rep as a typical spammer.
4. Video gives you a lot more freedom. You not only can say a lot more things but show the prospects screenshots of your product. Video gives you a much bigger platform to being able to express yourself and captivate the prospect’s attention.
5. Video shows that you care. If you’re willing to spend time creating a video for a prospect, researching their business. It truly shows that you care about what you’re selling and genuinely believe you can help the prospect. That right there is a breath of fresh air for the majority of the people that get those god awful cold emails every single day.

The number one difficulty that salespeople face nowadays is getting a response. Video in sales if used strategically can be a very effective tool in order to boost the response rates. 

Now, let’s go ahead and take a look at how you should use video in sales.

When to use video in sales

Video in sales can come into play at every stage of the sales conversation – from initial outreach to post-sales follow up. However, we will be focusing on two stages in the sales funnel where it can be a gamechanger:

Initial reach out

Cold emails work, there is no doubt about that. But despite the fact that they work, salespeople can’t get most of the prospects to respond back to the emails. If you’re in B2B SaaS and do outbound sales, you’d be lucky to get a 25% response rate. 

Is it due to the fact that the leads are bad? No. It’s the strategy that needs fixing. 

If you know your ICP and you’re contacting them and they don’t respond. That simply means that the message of the email does not resonate with them. You’re not piquing their interest and failing to build value. 

Your prospect likely has no idea who you are. Plus, you’re fighting for a tiny sliver of their time and energy. Video can tip the scale in your favor because it’s unique and it draws prospect’s attention. It shows that you’re a normal person and you put effort into reaching out to them. 

Bonus points for salespeople who share their screens and show prospects what “pain points” they can solve for them by giving examples. 

If you pull this off well, and it takes time to perfect this. If it was easy, it wouldn’t be worth it, right? When you pull this off, their curiosity about what you have to say turns into an interest in buying your product. And that right there is how you put your foot in the door. 

Pricing proposals

If you’re anything like all the subscription-based businesses out there. I’m willing to wager you have a few pricing plans/tiers. It can be really exhausting for the prospects to go through them all and still be able to tell the difference or know which is the “best for them”.

If you’ve already qualified or have had a discussion with a prospect and they ask for a proposal to be sent to them. What better way to explain the proposal than to create a short explainer video what the proposal contains. 

This gives you a lot of flexibility and you can use the notes that you made from the conversation you had with them earlier. Explain why that proposal is a good fit for them based on their needs and reiterate the next steps you agreed on.

Yes, video is unique and shows the prospect that you care. It also saves a lot of back and forth since you can answer any questions they might have on the video. 

I personally use wistia to create videos. It free and gives you the added benefit of seeing if somebody watched your video, for how long and how often. Which can be very pleasant knowing if the prospect watched the video or went through the proposal. Video can also be very useful in sending out RFPs and explaining some points in detail. It helps you stand out and makes it a lot easier for the POCs (Point of contacts) to share the videos with their teams and help answer any questions they might have.

How to use video in sales 

When creating videos, I recommend following these sidelines: 

1. Keep it simple. There is absolutely no need to have Starbucks as your backdrop or anything spectacular for that matter when recording. Stick to your message and let that be the highlight of the video. 
2. Keep the video short. Don’t, for the love of God create videos that are 10-20 minutes long. Keep them short and sweet. Prospects don’t have that much spare time on their hands, so drive your point home and do it fast. 
3. Make sure your audio is clear. Invest in a good microphone, your airpods won’t cut it especially if you have any background noise. You don’t need a $300 microphone, but buy one that helps you record videos that have clear sound. 
4. Always be direct with your ask. You put all this effort creating this video and reaching out to the prospect. What’s the end game? What is the CTA? Ask the prospect what you want them to do. For example, if you’re trying to book a meeting, don’t ask the person if any day next week works for them. Instead, say something like, “How does Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. CET sound?”. Not only does this show confidence, but it also suggests that you have other things going on. Be articulate!

Let’s dive into some of the tools that you can use for video.

Tools to help you with Video

Look, I’m a big fan of keeping things simple. Before you go ahead and purchase thousands of dollars worth of equipment to make videos. It’s best to first try out and see if this strategy is something that will or can bring results for you. 

Start small and scale it from there. Chances are your laptop, current microphone and any tool similar to wistia is enough to get the job done and bring you results. 

There is absolutely no point buying all that expensive equipment and making a grand total of five videos out of it and letting the equipment gather dust or use it to play Call of Duty online. 

With that in mind, here is the list of tools that can help you create videos in sales.

• Wistia – my personal favorite
• Soapbox – it’s an extension of wistia and lets you edit videos as well share your screen
• Loom – Love the interface, they offer a desktop app and to top it all off, they are free. Need I say more?
• Camtasia – heard good things about them 
• Vidyard – Love these guys.

There you have it, folks. At the end of the day, it’s not about the tool you use, it’s all about execution. There are a ton of ways to get creative with your outreach and video.

Sometimes, a new approach is all it takes to break through the noise and get a response. Happy selling!