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Work in sales? If you’ve done your homework and found a lead or prospect, it’s time to put your best foot forward and reach out to them. You’re probably thinking—should I give them a call? Or send a simple email? We say use a video.
Your first impression can make or break a deal, so make it count. Videos are visual and memorable and recorded to increase your click-through rate by up to 300%.
It also helps you stand out when you send videos via other channels like LinkedIn and Twitter. The result? An engaging, non-traditional outreach with higher chances of conversion.
Learn how to make your sales outreach more effective with video prospecting below.
1. Create catchy email subject lines and clickable video thumbnails
It’s no good creating a video your prospect won’t even click. Remember, prospecting is still the first phase of the sales process, so you want to interest prospects to click the email and play the video.
The best way to go about this is to use a catchy subject line with the word “video” in it. Then, add an attention-grabbing thumbnail for the video you've linked to. We recommend an animated GIF to build curiosity. No, not a cartoon but featuring a friendly face. To personalize it, you can also type in your prospect’s name on a whiteboard, and hold it up to the camera. Then, animate yourself smiling or waving with a friendly grin—it will build trust.
Want to make your own prospecting video using a template? Check out Clipchamp's sales template library.
Pro tip: Do your research before deciding on your email provider. Outlook and Gmail are probably the most popular now so make sure you read up on Outlook vs. Gmail resources first before you make a decision.
2. Be creative and personalize the pitch
Don’t be afraid to get creative. You have a chance to engage the viewer from the moment they press “play.” If you’ve thoroughly researched this new prospect, you might know some of their interests like their favorite sports team, birthday, or company products.
So, you could wear a jersey from their favorite team, hold up a product from their company or use a clown prop wishing them a happy birthday. That will help grab their attention and humanize your video. You’ll put a smile on their faces—and on yours.
3. Focus on what you can do for the prospect
After you’ve gotten their attention, the next thing is to sell what you can do for them and focus on it. You have about 60 seconds or less to introduce yourself, the reason for reaching out, and cap it off with a call-to-action (also, here's how to write a powerful video CTA).
You could do the following to make your video strategy work:
First, leverage pre-recorded videos to answer recurring questions. These videos can be demo or explainer videos. But you’ll have to edit and include the new video sequence after you’ve made your first introduction. Or, simply include it after a copy. That helps to show empathy and tell the prospect what to expect.
Keep it short and simple (KISS). It’s best practice to wrap up your video in 80 seconds or less. If you have to add an explainer video towards the end, target an extra 60 seconds at most, as just 57% of people would watch it all the way through, if it's more than two minutes.
Use a personalized email copy and a powerful CTA. A prospecting video cannot stand alone in an email. You must introduce it with a short intro and sign off with a CTA in-and-off video to show you mean business. The more relatable your supporting copy is, the better.
A good example of how to incorporate the video thumbnail into your email is from this marketing agency.
The email is straight to the point and uses video prospecting best practices—a personalized subject line, thumbnail, and an actionable CTA.
4. Opt for account-level videos for major clients
You don’t need a one-to-one video for prospects within the same company or group.
Instead, create one customized video including sales forecast, price monitoring, and competitor marketing strategies, which caters to the specific needs (of a team) in that organization and send it to all. That way, you up video efficiency, keep things personal, and reach out at scale. You need to understand your customer persona to make this work.
If you’re sending an explainer video or product demo, don’t be too serious. Here's a bold a look at this Dollar Shave Club explainer video starring the CEO, Mike Dubin.
It’s not the usual explainer video. The video strategy was bold but captured attention and explained what the company is about succinctly. The video was also a hit, raking in 5,000 new subscribers in just a day of releasing it.
5. Leverage video analytics
Chances are your email provider has a built-in analytical tool that lets you keep track of open and click rates. Leverage that and use the data to determine which emails work.
Is it that email with that serious-sounding subject line or that one with the fun one? Maybe a red CTA button works better than a white one?
Consult with your email marketing team member and use it to inform your video prospecting campaigns.
Ready to give video prospecting a go?
Sales teams have gone virtual and video prospecting is necessary to hit and even exceed your sales goals. Watching a video is more straightforward than scanning blocks of text so make it easier for your potential customers to connect with you.
Prospecting videos will give you a chance of getting your prospects to the next stage in the sales funnel. All you need to do is prepare your video beforehand and focus on what you will offer.
Keep it short and simple, and send the video out with a unique thumbnail and punchy subject line. Don’t forget to include the word “video” in the subject line. Finally, top it off with a strong sales call-to-action like "book a call". You’ll see you’ll amp your chances of a reply.
Good luck with video prospecting.
