Don't be Afraid to Use Video Presentations Throughout the Sales Cycle

Michele Warg
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Marketers often use video content to convert website visitors into leads, or to deliver information to customers after a sale has already been made. Although videos are a useful tool for marketers, your marketing reps aren't the only ones who should be using video content. Videos are helpful at all stages of the sales cycle, from qualifying leads to making sales presentations.

The key to helping your sales department use video content is producing videos that support your company's sales goals. To do that, you must produce each video with the customer in mind. Video content must help your salespeople answer questions, overcome objections and show how your products or services are different from those offered by your competitors. Videos are especially helpful for demonstrating products or clearing up some misconceptions about your services.

Using video content can actually help you save money, but only if the marketing and sales teams are both involved in producing your company's videos. If the marketing team produces flashy videos that do nothing to position your brand as the best, you aren't going to be able to use the same videos during sales presentations and other sales activities. If both teams work together, the end result is a video you can use to bring leads to your company, convert leads into customers and provide customers with more information.

Before you produce a video for the sales department, make sure you have a clear purpose in mind. Recording several live testimonials from happy customers gives prospects social proof that your company delivers on its promises. Video can also help you validate product claims, especially if you record product-testing sessions or show how your company's product stacks up against the one produced by a major competitor.

Because video content must represent your brand, never show a prospect a video that does not look like it was professionally produced. If the lighting is bad or the sound keeps cutting out, your prospect is going to focus on the bad production values instead of the content. If you don't have the money to hire a professional videographer, rent professional equipment and have someone with production experience handle the filming and editing.

Once you film several pieces of video content, you must use each one appropriately. A video touting the features of your products is not the best choice for your first meeting with a prospect. During an initial consultation, you want to show a video that talks about your brand or tells prospects why you are different. Once you have their trust, you can talk about your products or services.

Marketers use video effectively in their campaigns, so there's no reason you can't use video content to make more sales. If you decide to use video as part of the sales cycle, make sure the finished product looks professional and tells a story about your brand.


Photo courtesy of Eugenijus Radlinskas at Flickr.com

 

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