Add a Personal Touch to Your Sales Process with Video

Video may have killed the radio star, but it can breathe new life into your sales process.

The old-school ways of getting sales are just not as effective these days. Even worse, they can be counterproductive. Cold calls, door-to-door sales, and cookie-cutter mass messaging efforts tend to leave a bad taste in the mouths of the very people you want to reach.

So what’s the answer? It’s time to get creative with the ways you reach out to your customers. And one of the best ways to do that is with personalized videos!

Making magic with video.

The characteristics of video that make it a great entertainment medium also make it an incredible marketing tool. Video, when done right, can engage multiple senses, deliver a message in multiple ways simultaneously, and even connect emotionally with viewers. That’s precisely why hundreds of billions of dollars are spent each year on television advertising. And it’s why the digital video advertising market is booming.

But we’re not here to convince you to embrace video marketing. If it’s not already part of your long-term marketing plan, it should be. We’re here to help you leverage video and make some good old-fashioned sales magic!

Those conventional methods (cold calling, door-to-door selling) just don’t work as well anymore, but there’s a reason they’ve stuck around so long. They make getting the sale about developing a relationship with each customer. And that’s what video can do for you today.

In our hyper-connected digital world, it’s become easier than ever to identify and deliver messages to your potential customers. But it’s also become harder to develop a relationship with the people behind the screens. Emails, social posts, and even video ads themselves can only go so far in establishing the rapport you need to truly connect with your prospects.

So, how do we bridge the gap using video?

To successfully leverage this #1 tool for conversions in your sales process, strategically add personalized video content to your existing sales funnel at key touch points to maximize your chance of making a lasting connection. 

In other words, video content shouldn’t replace those emails, social posts, blogs, and so on… it should add value to your existing marketing efforts.

Generally, the best place to insert personalized video messaging is at the prospect stage. You’ve collected some information; a prospect has expressed interest; maybe you’ve made initial contact via email… Now it’s time to forge that personal connection by going beyond marketing and into relationship-building.

Short, sweet, and personal: how to make a video that connects.

As you prepare this personalized video content, the most important thing to keep in mind is to keep it all about your customer. There’s no room for templated approaches here, as a prospect can typically spot inauthenticity from a mile away.

Here are some ways you can create compelling, personalized video messaging that connects with your potential customers:

1. Introduce yourself. A short, simple video that helps your prospect connect a face with your product or service can go a long way toward creating that personal connection we’re striving for. This is not a suitable venue to launch into a pitch or demo all your product or service’s impressive features. Remember to keep the focus on your prospect and how excited you are to have the opportunity to meet and work with them.
2. Show off the goods. A video might be the perfect way to give your prospect more information about your product or service at specific points in the sales process. Showing it in action in a real-world context, without the slick production of an ad, can help your buyer connect with the product or service emotionally as they form a bond with you.
3. Engage the whole team. If you’re selling a B2B product or service, video can be an excellent way to connect with multiple people on the purchasing team. If you need to work out contract details or negotiations hit a snag, a well-timed, well-executed video walking through the terms or demoing a key feature can make all the difference.

If you’re convinced that video can help reenergize your sales efforts but are worried about the equipment and cost involved, we have good news! You can shoot these videos without an enormous budget. Just stick to these simple principles to maximize the quality… and the authenticity:

1. Phones and webcams are fine! The main thing is the light. If you shoot in the office, make sure you have plenty of natural light to make the video feel warm and inviting. Avoid backlighting. You don’t want to look like you’re in witness protection!
2. Short. Short. Did we mention short? You don’t want to come off as scripted in these videos, but you don’t want to ramble either. Have a plan for what you want to communicate and keep the whole thing to a couple of minutes. As Shakespeare once wrote, “Brevity is the soul of wit.” It also happens to be pretty essential to getting people to watch your sales video.
3. Make it personal. Make sure it’s clear that you created this video just for your customer. Some salespeople have written a personal message on a whiteboard and held it up during their video, although we wouldn’t recommend the full Love Actually treatment.

Video can be a powerful way to engage your potential customers. And, when incorporated into a holistic marketing program, it can provide that much-needed and very hard-to-come-by personal connection you need to take the sales relationship to the next level.

If you’re ready to level up your sales process with personalized video, an experienced marketing agency like Asen can help you think through where it fits into your overall marketing goals and help you plan and execute your video strategy. So get in touch!