How to Make Sales Prospecting Videos

You’ve heard about the power of video, right? Businesses everywhere are shifting their strategies to show - not tell. And it’s working. The word “video” alone in an email subject line can boost open rates by 19 percent.

In the remote business world, where more and more emails are being sent, and fewer in-person conversations are taking place, video is a must-have prospecting tool for sales teams. Yet, so many reps shy away from it, and very few teams are getting it right.

The key is to change your perspective on what video really means. Sales prospecting videos don’t need to be overproduced masterpieces. They are simply a way to communicate with your prospects, in a personal and meaningful way. Buyers are looking for authenticity, and sales videos are an excellent way to show it.

Don’t overcomplicate it. In this post, we’ll discuss how to make effective sales prospecting videos and how to use them to connect more personally with potential customers.

What Makes a Sales Prospecting Video Effective?

what makes sales prospecting videos effective Before we jump into the steps to create a sales prospecting video, let’s make sure we understand what makes them effective in the first place. Throwing a video in an email just to say you tried it, won’t work. You have to have a strategic method to your madness. Here are 3 key features you’ll want to make sure every sales prospecting video has.

Personal - Always personalize your videos. That’s how you stand out. By treating your prospects like friends, you’ll boost response rates, and lay a foundation of trust.
Helpful - Use videos to provide something of value to your prospects. Remember, videos are your chance to show, rather than tell. Use this to your advantage, while focusing on your prospects and their pain points. The focus should be on helping them solve their specific problems.
Direct - Keep it short, and make the next steps clear. Don’t drone on and on. Your prospects are busy, so respect their time. It should be obvious and clear what they need to do if they want to continue down the sales funnel.

5 Steps to Create Effective Sales Prospecting Videos

Now that we know what makes a video effective, let’s talk about how we create them. Follow these steps to plan, record, and send videos that make your sales messages stand out and capture the attention of your prospects.

1. Determine Your Strategy

Like we said above, effective video creation all comes down to strategy. So the very first step is to come up with your own plan of attack. How are the videos you create going to fit into your sales process? What type of message are you trying to share with prospects?

We’ll give you a hint. Some of the most effective prospecting strategies incorporate video in every level of their sales process. Don’t just limit it to the first touch. Think hard about creative ways to incorporate personal video messages later in the buyer’s journey too. Here are some examples:

Meeting reminders
Meeting follow-ups
A helpful answer to a question
A way to reengage

Where you decide to incorporate video, will depend on your own individual business. Sit down with your sales reps and map out the buyer’s journey. Think about the areas that see the most drop-off and start here.

If you’re having trouble getting buy-in from your sales reps, consider turning it into a contest. We all know how competitive salespeople are. Reward the top rep who books the most meetings or closes the most deals using videos.

2. Do Your Research

Before you press record, it’s essential to do some good old-fashioned research. Just like all traditional prospecting methods, it’s important to know a little about your prospect before starting a conversation. How else are you going to properly personalize your message? Here’s a quick checklist of some basic information you should know before sending your first video:

Name
Title
Company
What are their main responsibilities?
What are their main challenges?
What are their personal interests?

Once you’ve compiled all this information, you and your team can start creating an effective sales pitch that highlights your solution and how it will meet the needs of your prospect.

3. Plan Your Video & Script

What is the main purpose of your video? Answering this question will help you decide what to include in your video script. Typically, you can recreate your phone script or the talking points you usually use. But if you don’t have these pieces, you’ll need to start from scratch. Here’s a simple framework you can follow. Feel free to customize it based on the purpose and message.

Intro - Smile, say hello, and introduce yourself. Don’t forget to use their name!
Purpose - Mention why you’re reaching out, and why your outreach is relevant, valuable, or important.
Next Steps - Provide a clear and actionable next step for your prospect.
Thank You - Your prospect’s time is valuable. Always end your video with a simple, “thanks for watching”.

This basic framework should help you create a video script that’s short and simple. While creating your script you’ll also want to keep the following best practices in mind:

Personalize - Don’t forget to personalize your script. Include your prospect’s name, role, or other relevant information about their company. If you’ve met them before, include references from your last conversation, or anything that might be relevant.
Keep it short - The ideal length is between 60-90 seconds. Keep in mind that 50 percent of viewers will stop watching a video after the first minute.
Be authentic and conversational - Treat your prospect like your friend. Remember, people buy from people, not businesses. Think of your video script more like a friendly note rather than a sales pitch.
Use actionable language - Your ultimate goal is to get your prospect to convert in some way. Make sure your video uses actionable phrases that encourage a response while making it clear what that response should be.

4. Record Your Video

Once you’ve got your strategy in place, you’ve done your research, and you’ve finalized your script, it’s time to record your video. Don’t let this part scare you. Remember, you’re video doesn’t have to be perfect. Honestly, it’s the minor imperfections that will make you seem more human, relatable, and genuine. That’s what people tend to love most about one-to-one videos.

Easier said than done. We get that. So here are some simple tips to help your video recording go a bit more seamless:

Choose a quiet place - If you work in a busy office, set aside the conference room, or ask to use a private office. There’s nothing worse than getting distracted by office gossip while trying to nail your pitch.
Use headphones with a microphone - This will ensure your audio is at its highest quality. You want your prospects to hear exactly what you say, not have to guess and fill in the blanks on their own.
Be mindful of your lighting - When possible use natural light, which provides the best recording quality.
Don’t stress - Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect. Take a deep breath before you start recording, and just be yourself. Talk to your prospect like you would if they were sitting with you in your office.

5. Send Your Video

Once you have you’re recording, you need to send your video. How you do this will depend on the type of software your using to record your video, as well as the type of platform you use for email marketing. HubSpot user? Great! We’ve put together this resource that walks you through exactly how to implement and send personalized sales videos right in HubSpot.

Don’t discount the importance of your actual email body. The goal is to get your recipient to open, and press play on your video. So what you say matters. Don’t forget these essentials:

Subject Line - Think hard about what you put in your subject line. This is the first thing that a recipient will see in their inbox and determines whether they press delete, or pause long enough to consider opening it. Here’s a helpful hint; using the word “video” in an email subject line is said to increase open rates by 6 percent.
Thumbnail Image - When someone does click open on your email, your video isn’t going to instantly start playing. You need an enticing thumbnail image to encourage the recipient to press play. Consider playing with personalization here. If you can try and incorporate their name in the thumbnail image.
Body Copy - In the actual body of the email, give some context into what the video is. Keep it short, you don’t want to detract from the video itself. One to two short sentences that encourage the viewer to press play is more than enough.

Final Challenge

Sure, including sales videos in your outreach requires a bit more effort than traditional means of prospecting. But if it gets almost 20% more people to open your emails, isn’t it worth it? Dipping your feet into the world of video can help you and your sales team stand out, connect with prospects more personally, while dramatically shortening the sales process.

Don’t let video intimate you. Start slow. Before you know it the steps listed above will feel like second nature. And as you and your team become video prospecting experts, you’ll free up a lot more time for reps to get out for behind the desk, and focus on doing what they do best - selling.