According to a study, more than 70% of sales professionals prefer video emails to text-based ones. This is actually unsurprising; after all, videos are more engaging and certainly, leave longer-lasting impressions on the minds of the target audience. A lot of companies use videos in their marketing systems to increase awareness about their brand. But videos are useful for a lot more than just “awareness creation.” If you’re a business owner looking to improve sales results, what you need is video prospecting. Read on to discover how you can use video prospecting to increase your company’s sales results.
Before we consider how you can use video prospecting to increase your company’s sales results, let’s take a look at what the term “video prospecting” means.
Video Prospecting: What It Really Means
If you’re somewhat conversant with marketing terms or the marketing space, you’ll have certainly heard the term “prospecting” before. Prospecting refers to a process of using “media tools” to contact prospective customers. There are various forms or “tools” of prospecting, but the ones that are mostly used in marketing are calling and emailing.
In more specific terms, video prospecting refers to the use of videos in customer acquisition strategies. Prospecting videos can be used singly (alone) or in combination with other forms of prospecting (calls and emails).
Why Should I Consider Video Prospecting for My Business?
If you’re currently thinking, “Should I use video prospecting for my business?” or “Is video prospecting really that effective?” You should know that the answer to both questions is an emphatic YES! Why? Read on to find out:
#1 Proven Method
It’s okay to be skeptical or cautious about trying out something you’ve not used before, more so in business. This is because you’ll want to ensure you’re not testing out new strategies at the expense of your business’s health. With video prospecting, however, you should know that you have nothing to worry about. This is several studies and reviews have shown that videos are more than 20% more effective than other forms of marketing. So, if you’re serious about boosting your sales results, you’ll really want to consider video prospecting.
#2 Offers Better Engagement
A major factor determining the amount of engagement you get during sales prospecting is the level of “personalization.” Research has shown that sales prospecting strategies that have a more “personalized” feel are more successful than generalized ones. Prospective customers exposed to personalized sales strategies tend to feel more valued and are usually more responsive. You should know that there is no marketing strategy that actively “imparts” feelings of personalization like videos. So, if you want to design a personalized sales strategy, you will need to include video prospecting in your approach.
#3 Builds Trust Faster and Easier
Did you know that customers are more than 50% more likely to buy a particular product or service from a brand they trust? If you didn’t, well, now you do! While you can use traditional prospecting approaches like calls and emails to build trust in your brand, they will do so slowly. The major reason for this is that people are more likely to trust what they can see than what they read.
Using video prospecting tools in your marketing campaign will help you humanize your brand and allow customers to get the feeling that they actually “know” you. This will, in turn, help them build trust in your brand, ensuring your sales strategies will be more effective and yield better results.
Now that you know some reasons why you should include video prospecting as a part of your marketing strategy, you’re likely raring to go. However, you should know that there are a number of things you’ll need to know first. Video prospecting isn’t as straightforward as simply recording a video and attaching it to an email or post. There are pretty specific approaches you’ll need to follow for creating prospecting videos that are effective.
5 Steps For Creating Highly-effective Prospecting Videos
1. Prospect Research
The trick to creating a prospecting video that is effective is personalization. For video prospecting to be effective, it has to be appealing to your target audience. It has to be something they’ll relate to, something “personal,” and there’s no way you’ll be able to create this without research. This is why you cannot just jump into recording a video for video prospecting. If you do this, there’s a very high chance your prospecting will fail.
Before you go into the actual recording of your prospecting videos, you’ll want to conduct detailed research on your target audience. Identify their likes, dislikes, things that appeal to them, and things that don’t. This will help you design video content that will feel very personal to them and that they’ll be able to relate with.
The best way to conduct research on prospects is to leverage social media. By using social media to your advantage, you’ll be able to learn everything you need to know about your prospect. This will help you craft a sales pitch that is guaranteed to stand out in your prospect’s email inbox.
2. Decide On Video Type
At this point, you should know that there are actually several different types of prospecting videos. Generally speaking, personalized greeting videos are the most commonly-used video prospecting examples. However, they are most certainly not the only type. Some other types of prospecting videos you can include in your prospecting email include the following:
- Testimonial Videos: Simply put, testimonial videos are prospecting videos that show previous customers attesting to how helpful your product has been. Including one or two testimonial videos in a prospecting email will help build confidence in your product. This is because if potential customers see others using your product successfully, they’ll be more interested in making a purchase.
- Demonstration Videos: Demonstration videos are excellent for video prospecting, especially when you’re introducing a new product. Some products can appear complex to use by design, and this can discourage potential clients from making a purchase. Showing them how to use these products, however, will greatly increase conversion and adoption.
Basically, what will determine the type of prospecting video you include in your email is the target or goal of the prospecting email.
3. Write A Video Script
Once you’ve decided on the type of video you want to record, the next thing to do is to prepare for your video recording. When you want to record a prospecting video, it is recommended you write a video script first. Writing a script before recording will help you create a high-quality prospecting video. A script will help you map out all your talking points and ensure you stay on track while you’re doing the actual recording.
4. Record Away
After writing a video prospecting script that exhaustively details everything you want to talk about, you’re now ready to record. For the recording itself, you’ll want to find a quiet environment that’s bright enough to ensure a clear recording. When you want to record, there are several video prospecting tools that you can use. Some of these include the following:
- Loom
- Vidyard
- Bonjoro
- Soapbox
Video prospecting should be done with the right tools. Credit: Unsplash
Record Right With 8MediaGroup
While you can certainly use the above-mentioned tools to record your prospecting videos, the fact remains that you may not get the result you want. This is because the quality of videos you get largely depends on the expertise of the person behind the camera. There’s a lot more to recording a video than just pointing the camera in a direction and hitting “record.”
If you’re interested in recording quality prospecting videos that’ll give you the sales boost you want, then what you need is 8MediaGroup. 8MediaGroup is a Washington DC Metropolitan Area production company that specializes in creating premium-quality media content. We have teams of seasoned professionals that’ll handle your video production from beginning to end to ensure you’re able to generate impressive leads with video prospecting.
If you want video prospecting results that resonate and you want your brand represented right, reach out today and let’s help you smash those business growth targets.
5. Supplement Video With Compelling Copy
Did you think that recording the prospecting video was the last thing to do? If you did, then you’ve made a mistake. This mistake is one that a lot of companies actually make, and it costs them in sales results. There is no questioning the fact that video prospecting is very effective when used by itself. However, you should know that it’s even more effective when used in combination with other sales prospecting approaches. Sales prospecting statistics show that the best sales and lead generation results are obtained when videos are combined with text prospecting approaches.
So, once you’re done recording your prospecting video, you’ll also want to ensure to supplement it with a highly-engaging copy. This copy could be in the form of a brief yet compelling introduction that leaves prospects wanting to hit the play button on the video. You’ll also want to include a call to action (CTA) text or button in your video prospecting mail.
