Introduction
Video is an incredibly powerful medium that makes it easier than ever to evoke emotion and forge human connections at scale. For organizations that sell primarily to other businesses, B2B video marketing has emerged as an incredibly effective tactic for reaching, educating, and nurturing potential customers. And everyone’s creating user-generated content, sharing it, and—most importantly—watching it. From teens on TikTok to brands creating multi-million dollar Super Bowl ads, video is truly everywhere.
In This Guide
01. What’s Video Selling?
02. Selling WITH vs WITHOUT videos
03. Nailing the Right Video to your Goals
04. Getting Started with Video for Sales
Ch 1: So, What’s Video Selling?
For the past decade, salespeople have typically relegated video to the “nice-to-have” category. It’s something they know has potential, but many still haven’t taken the time to invest in it as a legitimate channel for sales outreach. After all, with phone, email, and now chat available to help bridge the communication divide between buyer and seller, is there really a need for salespeople to add video to that list as well?
The short answer, absolutely. According to Erik Devaney’s Drift article, “The Future of Video Selling'', in 2019, video accounted for more than 75% of the world’s internet traffic. Fast forward 3 years later to 2022, and we’ll see video makeup for more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic.
Video is already the dominant medium for global content consumption. It sells narratives, products, services, and lifestyles. It engages users in a unique manner due in part to its dual nature. Visual motion graphics and audio combined engage a viewer’s senses and thus nudge them in whatever direction the video’s narrative finds befitting.
And the stats back this very notion, in an article produced by ADG creative, they found that 90% of customers say that video helps them decide whether to buy a product with 64% of these individuals purchasing a product upon watching a video. Margins as such, speak for themselves.
Ch 2: Selling With vs. Without Video
Video is shared 12 times more than the combined total of text and images. 12 times more. That is profoundly astonishing, however, this makes complete sense when you observe the trajectory of the internet, social media, and content over the past few years.
This too transcends to B2B companies as your consumers are still the people accustomed to video content. We all are. And therefore, video can be used in your favor! Imagine the potential in incorporating video into your cold email strategy.
A recent survey of high-performing cold emails found that a mere 6% included video. Once again, we see untapped potential — especially when you consider that emails containing video have been shown to increase click-through rates by 4x.
Selling Without Video
Imagine the scenario you and your team typically find yourself in, sending out your pre-formatted cold sales emails to companies with at times, little to no avail. Your product/service may be great, but your delivery or, rather, messaging is dated, dry, and lacks personality. And despite your play on typography, font, visuals, your message can only go so far.
Selling With Video
This is where video comes in. Strategically implementing video content in your emails, for example, can assist in your sales. Not only do they better portray your service or product to the buyer, when executed effectively, but they also linger in the psyche of the viewer — creating a movie in their mind in which they can almost fantasize (subconsciously or not), of their life with said product/service. However, the key is to know your audience and their daily situation. This will allow you to properly devise video content in your marketing strategy that will resonate with your buyer, and from there, secure future sales.
Ch 3: Nailing the Right Video to your Sales Objectives
There is a large variety of video content to tap into for your sales videos. Ranging from animation to whiteboard, to personal video recordings, to infographics and screen walkthroughs — we put together this next section to provide clear examples depending on the scenario, content, channel, and audience you’re communicating both to and on:
When connecting with leads on Linkedin
With only 51% of marketing and sales teams taking advantage of LinkedIn’s video environment, this niche platform is a largely untapped source of B2B sales opportunities. Just as teenagers do on Tiktok (and gain thousands of followers and online engagement in the process *cough* Charlie D’Amelio *cough*), you too can do the same fairly easily by creating valuable video content for LinkedIn.
When wanting to say hello or make an announcement
Any announcement, however large or small, can be wonderfully communicated by video. Not only would this add an extra flair to your announcement by being a video, but it also makes the announcement feel more personable than it would in a written email. Simply use the Powtoon Capture web extension to share your face and/or your screen and Powtoon effects where you find it’s most needed!
When wanting to share valuable content
Building a relationship with a prospect is all about value, value, value! Inspire them to register for your company’s upcoming webinar or virtual event with this engaging video template, showing the topics your marketing team will be covering. All you need to do is add your message and swap in your brand logo and colors.
When doing cold lead outreach
Unable to chat live? Sending personalized videos is the next best thing (moreover, it’s a tactic that led one sales team to have a 75% close rate)! Include short video messages in your prospecting emails to achieve higher response rates. Once again, we see untapped potential — especially when you consider that emails containing video have been shown to increase click-through rates by 4x.
When trying to re-engage a cold prospect
Simplify complex topics using animated, whiteboard, and face-to-camera videos that truly stand out. Build personal connections from the start by using videos tailored to every prospect — from branding to CTAs.
When wanting to impress a prospect
No one jumps for joy after being sent a tired Excel report or PowerPoint slide detailing loads of data. It’s just not engaging. Transform those tiring Excel reports and PowerPoint slides into video infographics that showcase your success as a company along with customer stories and testimonials.
When needing to demo a product or service
Reinforce your brand or business’ customer-first initiative by creating product demos and proposal walkthroughs by using Powtoon Capture. Not only does this build brand trust and bolster consumer reliance, but also amicably guides your buyers to the finish line.
When needing to simplify complex solutions
Complex solutions can be easily made digestible for just about any audience member when using video. Making quick bite-sized clips that thoroughly explained the solutions the audience is seeking shortens or eliminates the need for a back-and-forth, furthermore, it adds that extra sprinkle of personability, reinforcing the client/consumer care on your end.
When sending a sales proposal
Next time you send over a price proposal or contract to your prospect, instead of attaching a long PDF to an email, record a quick video showing the proposal on the screen with you speaking over it. This will be a great way to address common questions and objections, and again, adds that extra flair of personability.
When needing to give a training session
Training videos are a given — and no, not the cringe ones from the later 90s, early 2000s. Rather, leveraging the library, templates, and web extensions from online software such as Powtoon can easily streamline and simplify your training process. Moreover, when executed tastefully, they can be both informative and entertaining!
When wanting to impress your boss
When your QBR is around the corner or when you’re preparing for a weekly sync with your VP Sales, prepare a quick infographic video proceeding your sales data, deal stages, and team initiatives with attention-grabbing animations. This won’t only put you in the spotlight but show your manager the effort behind your work.
Ch 4: Getting Started with Video for Sales – Solutions for Reps & Leaders
So, if you’re convinced that video is a powerful sales tool, the next question is, how do you actually start creating video content? Like its predecessor, the answer too is quite simple. You’re assuming you’d need to expand your budget to hire a crew of video sales experts or lose hours of time outsourcing and coordinating with agencies.
Short answer, no. We’re now in the age where there are online services catered to your market, and luckily (or perhaps thankfully), companies like Powtoon make it all the more easy for you to get started using video in your marketing and sales strategy.
Powtoon is designed to allow anyone, no matter their level of creativity or expertise, to start creating and sending sales videos with ease. Whether you’re a sales leader or sales manager, Powtoon makes video creation a breeze:
- IF YOU’RE A SALES LEADER: Your sales reps and AEs receive video templates that can be quickly aligned with your corporate branding. You can then repurpose and personalize each video according to each prospect call or interaction by adding text, images, CTAs, and logo.
- IF YOU’RE A SALES MANAGER: Along with the ready-made sales video templates, sales managers can also record videos of their screen and camera. This is an efficient way to add that extra personal touch to every email or LinkedIn outreach, and even better, it's incredibly easy to execute.
