How to Create a Sales Video That Converts: A Step-By-Step Guide

Meeting face to face, shaking hands, sharing a coffee – the way salespeople used to meet prospects – is long gone.

The average sales person now spends 21% of their day writing emails, in addition to creating video demos, and setting up Zoom meetings.

And while this is great for flexibility, it can be hard to stand out in a crowd of digital competitors since we send and receive on average – 121 emails everyday.

What if your sales emails, social media posts, and phone calls are slipping through the cracks? How to help you and your sales team stand out in a saturated landscape?

The answer is simple: Video.

Leveraging video can help you bring the long-lost human element of an in-person meeting to a digital format and make a prospect all the more likely to engage along the way. Read on to find out how to increase sales effectiveness with videos that get a response.

A sales video is a more engaging email introduction

First things first, a sales video is distinct from a video call or sales meeting with a prospective client.

Why? Because rather than a two-way chat, a sales video puts sales reps in the driver’s seat, offering a chance to create a one-way communication that prospects can watch on their own time.

Video is highly adaptable and delivers some big benefits when compared to other methods of communicating, like cold-calling. For starters, video is more engaging than other types of media and captures the attention of viewers; just compare a block of text to a video message. It’s easy to see why communications are more compelling when they come in the form of a video.

It boosts response rates

Prospects are more likely to respond to a sales video than a cold call or an email outreach. In fact, some sales professionals have seen as much as a 3x increase in responses when they switched to video. Why? Videos are innately impressive—the professional look and feel of a personalized sales video shows you’ve gone above and beyond right from the beginning. Always a good look.

It builds strong relationships

It sounds simple, but the chance to see the salesperson behind the screen helps prospects feel more connected and brings a personal touch to communications. Good sales is all about building trust, and it’s much easier to trust a living, smiling sales rep compared to a disembodied email address.

Strategic selling means your material is not only personal but speaks to your prospective client’s specific mindset and needs—for more effective sales, video is one more way to win customer-loyalty and boost win rates.

3 types of sales videos: webcam video, screenshare videos, personalized marketing videos

Sales videos lend themselves well to a variety of purposes. Here are just a few of the styles of sales videos that are guaranteed to get attention and help you be successful.

Webcam Videos

Got a laptop? What about a phone? If you have access to a simple recording device, you already have almost everything you need to optimize sales with a one-of-a-kind video. This type of content is all about staying memorable.

Why not record a video to introduce yourself, follow up with a prospect, or announce the latest and greatest product launch your business has to offer? All you need is your own knowledge and enthusiasm, a camera, and perhaps an online video maker like PlayPlay to help make your video shine.

This short and sweet video is nothing but a salesperson, a camera, and some creative editing, but the effect is much more than the sum of its parts. Matt comes across as friendly and approachable, exactly what you want from an introduction video.

Screenshare Videos

Got something slightly more complex to share than a simple “Hello?” Creating a screenshare video is a great tactic to walk your prospect through a more detailed pitch or get into the nitty-gritty of what your product can deliver.

In this video from Lemlist, the company’s CEO and co-founder walks you through how to automate outreach on Linkedin. It’s a great example of how screenshare videos can help walk the viewer through a process that needs a bit of extra attention.

Personalized Marketing Videos

Make your prospect feel like more than the recipient of a mass email or a Linkedin message. Try recording a friendly video that addresses your prospect by name and even shows off your knowledge of what they do. These types of videos show you’ve done your research and are sure to impress. After all, who doesn’t like a personalized greeting?

This video is a seriously impressive example of using a customer’s name to personalize a marketing video. The little touches, like the customer’s name on a sign at the beginning of the video, are truly memorable. For instance, making customer testimonial video can really boost your commercial video strategy.

A sales video for every phase in your sales process

Videos work well at all points in the sales pipeline. Particularly for lead generation at the beginning of the cycle, sharing an outreach video can be a highly effective way to break the ice and help your prospect put a face to your company name. Use this as your chance to show a prospect that you understand their specific pain points and share how your product can help address those needs. You can use a sales pipeline CRM to manage your entire sales process and keep an eye on every lead that moves through various stages before closing.

Once you’ve piqued a prospect’s interest, an impactful follow up video where you share more details, start a friendly and casual rapport, and even share some relevant content like case studies, infographics or metrics, can help keep the momentum going and ensure your sales leads don’t turn cold.

Closing the sale at last? Now that you’ve got a sale on the horizon, a video works well to demo the product or service in question (especially because it’s super simple for your contact to share the video with other decision makers at the company). Now you can really get into details, feel free to share screen captures and recordings that help explain what the prospect can expect now they are a bona fide customer.

How to create sales videos that gets responses

Convinced adding video to your sales plan is for you? Ready to take your sales skills to the next level and create your own? Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you get started.

Research your prospect/audience

Laying the groundwork for a successful sales video is crucial. Now’s the time to get to know everything you can about your prospect or audience. Are certain pain points typical? What’s going on in their particular industry? Have they presented at any big events lately you can reference in your video? It never hurts to show you’ve done your background reading and understand your prospect’s world—building credibility is all about aligning your product with a prospect’s business needs.

Choose your timing in the sales cycle

Is there a roadblock or objection in your sales cycle you keep hitting again and again? Maybe video is the way to add a little extra oomph to the parts of your sales cycle that tend to stall. Identify when a video is most likely to have an impact—depending on your product it could be the outreach or prospecting stage or the more detailed pitches that require a bit more energy.

Decide the format of your video

Decide what you think your prospect will respond to the most—is it a personalized greeting complete with the professional-looking flourishes you can create with a simple recording of you speaking, or an in-depth demo of your product that incorporates screen-recordings and ends with an actionable next step?

Write a script

Another advantage of sales videos? The format gives you a chance to try and try again till you get it perfect. Even so, it’s good to have a script ready so you don’t find yourself faltering, even if you are filming in the privacy of your own home.

Make sure your prospect comes away from the video crystal clear on why you’ve reached out, what you have to offer, why now is a good time to engage with your business, and ultimately, how your product or service can change their lives for the better. Don’t forget to end with a strong call-to-action.

Film and create your video

Lights, (web) camera, action! When filming your video, make sure the details like ample light and a clean, professional-looking background are on your side. Try as many takes as you need to get your delivery as effective and natural as possible—as if you are talking to your prospect directly and not a camera.

Edit away

Once you have your footage, it’s time to edit what you have into a quick, memorable piece of video. Turning to a simple-to-use and intuitive online video maker will help make your life easier. Try adding subtitles, text animation, motion design and stock footage, all from within your video creation tool.

Share your creation

Now you’ve crafted a compelling sales video, it’s time to send it out into the world. Make sure the email you send has an attention-grabbing headline (you don’t want your video to arrive wrapped in a boring email box).

One final touch – make sure you select a good thumbnail for the video (think, a bright piece of text animation rather than a picture of you mid-blink). It makes all the difference.

Sales videos can improve your response rates

Adding video to your marketing and sales approach can increase your email open and response rates better than any other type of content. And it’s easier than you think. Ready to try your hand at creating your own video? Try a 7-day free trial of PlayPlay and see how your quota can benefit!