The Sales Evangelist TSE 1268: How To Close More Deals Using Videos Throughout The Sales Process
How To Close More Deals Using Videos Throughout The Sales Process
Closing deals using videos is now becoming a very effective tool in the sales process. As a salesperson and an entrepreneur, we’ll talk about how you can incorporate videos into your sales goals.
Doug Davidoff works with companies in the B2B space around customer acquisition and success programs. They examine a company’s sales structure to figure out how to build it in a way that’s scalable, repeatable, a high probability yield, high-margin, and high-growth. Because of this, a sales team can get more done in less time.
The beginning
Doug started working for the company when he was just 16 years old, around the same time when he got his driver’s license. Back then, they were focused on traditional sales advisory sales training. For the last seven years, they’ve been looking into the holistic process of customer acquisition. Every three years, they reinvent themselves in an effort to make it easier for companies to work with ease and efficiency.
It was difficult when they first started using videos. They were among the first companies who were utilizing this new tech and there were only a handful of examples they could use as reference. Doug came up with the idea of making videos the same way as he made webinars, breaking them down into 3 sections. Next to blogging, it was by far his greatest accidental discovery.
If you decide to work with videos, know that it may not yield immediate results. Doug didn’t start with video thinking it would enhance the process. There is a lot of divergence when it comes to what people know about using video, what they are looking for, and what they want to accomplish. Because of this, initial conversations were hard because it was hard to tell a client the specific impact to their sales. Nowadays, with more history, it is easier to see that video is very effective.
Creating the videos
Doug began creating a 20-minute long video for a presentation and later went to an hour, sometimes longer, as needed. Doug’s colleagues advised that prospects wouldn’t watch videos that were this long but Doug wasn’t to be deterred. As Doug gained a greater skill set and his videos improved, the more the videos were shared among key people within the companies he was targeting. This sharing process enabled Doug’s team to know who the key figures, influencers, and decision makers were within these companies. They began seeing that people were watching their videos even before they got to their kick-off. These prospects were watching and using their videos to socialize and share various ideas. This was how they decided to use their videos in segments that could be dropped in each part of the sales process, from market development to customer acquisition.
The video sales process
How a customer is moved through the video process largely depends on how the customer finds Doug. The first video is typically post-discovery where they let their prospects watch any number of videos that are connected to solution pages.
They’ve also tried running a couple of campaigns where they connect to prospects who are difficult to reach by giving them shorter versions of their videos. They ask these recipients to share their top three biggest challenges and Doug’s team then sends a 2-4 minute video that addresses these challenges. This strategy is used during the pre-discovery and discovery process, needs assessment diagnosis, and so on.
Using videos in sales
Doug has been told that videos won’t work in sales but he’s proven this isn’t true. If you are a salesperson presenting a topic consistently, you can save time by putting that presentation into a video. If you prefer initial contact to be live, you can still utilize video in the follow-up. Doing a concept video is also encouraged.
With great editing, the best thing about video is that you get to be yourself, without mistakes. You can also send the video before the sales call and then ask them what part of the video had the most impact on them. This will give you an idea of what you can do for next steps and you’ll be able to gauge if the video was watched at all. If they did watch the video, the conversation will show you how to prepare for any follow-up conversations.
When you offer a video, your prospects are able to watch you at their convenience. It gives them time to think and prepare for your call as well.
Prospect conversions using videos
Doug doesn’t claim the videos are the only thing that leads to closing a sale but it is a great indicator. Video helps to detect how serious someone is about starting a buying journey. Even when people don’t watch the video, you can do more by investigating further: Maybe they don’t believe the video is working. Maybe their problem isn’t a huge concern. Maybe it’s not a good time/ Maybe they’re in the middle of a crisis that needs to be addressed first.
Videos give you information about the buyer. It allows you to gain greater insight and use your time more effectively. When you free up time, you’re able to close more deals. Doug found out that people loved the video strategy. It is difficult to get people on the phone but Doug’s team saw how these videos could get beyond CFOs. As people got to be a part of how they got information, meeting opportunities grew.
What should be in the videos
There are three videos that everyone must have. The first video is the Problem Video Challenge. When you help a client understand what the problem is, it helps to separate you from your competition. How they define the problem determines how they’re going to behave.
This first video is all about communicating the real problem, why it’s a problem, and why it’s so hard to solve.
The second video is the Story Video. It’s both yours and the clients’ story, with the client being the origin of that story. In the second video you address how you’re going to solve the problem. You can have multiple problems and story videos depending on who you’re talking to and what the context of the situation is.
The third video is the Three-Minute Brief. It’s a video where you need to have multiple versions. This video is where you’re going to lay-out everything including the action points you want to talk about and how they can impact your client’s goals. Video is definitely a medium you can use to become a more flexible salesperson. The more you do the better you will get.
Video is not the cure-all but it is a medium and tactic that gives you the flexibility to do what you’re trying to do. #SalesVideos
“How To Close More Deals Using Videos Throughout The Sales Process” episode resources
Get in touch with Doug. Visit his site and his blog. You can also drop him a message on LinkedIn and Twitter.
If you are interested in more sales stories, you can talk to Donald about it. Reach him via these channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook about any sales concerns.
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Mentioned in this episode:
HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS
HubSpot and bluëmago | STUDIOS hubpspot.com/marketers bluemangostudios.com