Picture this: You’re sifting through a pile of emails you received in the last hour, just trying to stay on top of it all.
You come across an email with this subject line (and your name is Kim):
Do you click?
Of course you do! We love video. It’s impossible to resist.
When you open the email, there’s a thumbnail of a video with your name again.
Do you watch?
Yes! That little round play button is one of the most compelling calls to action on the web.
Sales management: Video is the next greatest asset for your sales team.
Video is a great tool for capturing prospects’ attention and helping build more personal connections. These statistics don’t lie:
- Adding the word “video” to an email subject line can increase open rates by 2-3x
- Using video in sales emails can increase click-through-rates by 5x
- Creating a personal sales video can increase open-to-reply rates by 8x
Because of this, sales management must develop a strategy to coach reps around integrating video in their sales process. Here’s how.
4 steps for sales management to help reps use video
Step 1: Lead by example
Running a video-focused sales organization starts at the top. If you want your sales reps to use video, you need to use video. Sure, you’re not prospecting your team (although one could argue that you kind of are … in terms of getting them to adopt video!), but the power of video is best learned through experience.
Find ways to communicate with your team through video. This might include recording a sales tip of the week and sending through email or providing feedback or thoughts on a recent deal through a short video. Even having a video call with remote employees instead of using the phone can foster a video-focused approach.
When you’re first implementing this new video selling strategy, ask yourself in every single communication you have if video can be used. If it can, do it!
Step 2: Set guidelines
For many in sales management, the idea of handing their teams the reigns to create their own video content and send it out at will is nerve racking. They wonder if their reps will say the right things; if they’ll represent the company properly; and whether they present a consistent front.
When you think about it, your team is already doing all those things through email and phone communication. Video is no more or less risky. But the uncertainty is understandable – It comes with the territory of any sort of change.
Set some guidelines around what’s expected and how to create a great video. You may want to lay out a template to follow, list the tools that everyone must use (like headphones and a quality webcam), or even provide example videos like these as a guideline.
Step 3: Use the right tools
To create a professional first impression, ensure your sales team has the proper tools to create a high-quality video. That doesn’t mean you have to invest in $1,000 studio equipment for every rep. Quite the contrary. This is a basic list of what your team members need:
- Recording tool: The best recording tools capture both your webcam and screen, then let you send straight from your email. Check out the free screen and webcam tool for Chrome called ViewedIt.
- Audio tool: No one wants to watch a video with crappy audio. Make sure your reps have access to a quiet space and proper headphones with a microphone.
- Lighting tool: Sales videos can be recorded from anywhere. But the best location is in front of a window (with the sunlight on the rep’s face). No additional equipment required!
Step 4: Incentivize appropriately
You know better than anyone … no change is made without a good incentive, right? To encourage the adoption of video in your reps’ processes, try incentivizing the following:
- Number of videos sent
- Number of responses to video sends
- Seconds of video viewed
- Best video
The full transition to using video in your sales team’s outreach can take some time. But the ROI will come from those skyrocketing opens, giant response rates and stronger relationships.
