Sales teams are increasingly looking to video content to improve their sales outreach. Through personalized video content, brands have found a new way to stand out from the crowd, quickly build relationships, and boost sales.
Those who do it right can break through the inbox sludge, seeing 3x greater response rates using personal video content.
But utilizing video has benefits way beyond prospecting. Yes, it’s a great way to grab attention and show a potential buyer you are, in fact, not a bot — but it also has far-reaching benefits throughout the sales process.
Sales leaders can use video to follow up or check in with a prospect. It’s a great way to recap what you may have agreed upon or make sure a deal is still alive. Sellers can also use post-sale videos to send a thank you note or open the conversation to possible cross-selling and upselling.
Using video content to improve the sales cycle
There are several ways to use video content throughout the sales lifecycle, including everything from Zoom meeting screen shares to webinars to case study testimonial videos. Two of the most popular ways sales teams use video to connect with potential buyers are through animated explainer videos that simply break down their products or services and video prospecting through email, LinkedIn InMails, and Twitter DMs.
Explainer videos
Animated explainer videos are short pieces of content (usually less than 2 minutes) that illustrate complex ideas in simple and engaging ways. They typically describe a company’s product or service as a solution that solves the target audience’s problems.
These informational videos have been shown to generate leads, reduce bounce rates, foster brand awareness, and increase conversions.
Video messages
Additionally, sales leaders are turning to tools like Vidyard, which help produce video content that can be sent through email or social media. This type of content adds a personal touch often lost in remote sales and can be used at every stage of the sales cycle. When prospecting or trying to land an account, a video email rather than the traditional text script is more memorable, attention-grabbing, and personal. Video helps you stand out and can even help close a sale after discussions have ceased.
Benefits of Video Content for Sales
We’ve discussed how to use video content in sales outreach, but here are five reasons why you should consider adding video to your sales toolbox.
- Video can help you achieve your goals faster. Some companies have even been able to cut their sales cycle in half with video. This can be seen especially during the prospecting process as video content can help the salesperson establish that personal face-to-face relationship faster. A video shows the potential buyer you are a real person who is there to help them achieve their goals.
- Video can earn buyer trust. Video content adds a personal touch and helps sales leaders connect with potential buyers. Once a prospect sees the seller’s face, they become a person they can relate to and trust. When you can’t meet in person, video is the next best thing.
- Video keeps your company relevant. Video content is not new, and consumers have come to expect it from brands they trust. Today, video accounts for more than 75% of all of the world’s internet traffic, and Cisco’s Visual Networking Index forecasts that by 2022, video will account for 82% of all internet traffic. Using video content to close offers prospects an experience they are familiar with and is becoming standard practice. In fact, 87% of marketing and sales teams use video regularly, up from just 63% in 2017.
- Video is memorable. Potential buyers are more likely to remember a sales pitch made with video content and, most importantly, the person behind the video. People are flooded with email — and not just from other sales reps. A personalized video message stands out in their inbox and leaves them with a lasting impression.
- Video allows you to show, not tell. Video can help make complex topics simple. As we outlined above, content like animated explainer videos can showcase a product or service instead of verbally explaining it, where a lot can be lost in translation.
Video content is a valuable tool throughout every stage of the sales cycle. While the benefits are clear, your target audience has also likely come to expect it. With overflowing inboxes and more competitors than ever, video is a relatively easy way to stand out, build trust, and close the sale.
More resources from Pavilion
Event Recording: Leveraging Video in Complex Sales (pw: *HZ.hA6a)
Event Recording: Building an Outbound Prospecting Engine (pw: 5W*s8612)
Presentation Deck: Video for Enterprise Sales
