These days you can’t make your way through marketing blogs without coming across a post telling you to incorporate video into your sales and marketing strategy.
What’s more, new platforms and tools seem to emerge weekly that promise to make the video production process easier. Not to mention the quality cameras that most of us carry in our pocket or purse.
But while we all know video is important — and it is becoming easier than ever to produce it — we still might not know exactly where to start.
How do you convince the powers inside your organization that investing in video is worthwhile? More importantly, what kinds of videos should you be creating and how are they going to impact your bottom line?
I’m so glad you asked. In this article, we will:
- Introduce you to The Selling 7 — the seven videos guaranteed to deliver marketing and sales results
- Share examples of each type of video
- Explain you how to get started with creating The Selling 7
Free Course: Video Sales & Marketing Strategy
First things first, what is The Selling 7?
All too often, businesses think they know just what they need when it comes to video: A nice “About Us” video to live on their homepage that will resonate with customers and bring in leads.
Not so fast.
While an “About Us” video can be tempting, there are other ways you can better spend your video dollars.
What follows is what we call The Selling 7.
The Selling 7 are the seven videos most likely to get marketing and sales results and bring in revenue.
They are also the videos we’ve found to most effectively shorten the sales cycle by allowing prospects to navigate more of the process through video.
These seven types of videos are:
- 80% videos that answer frequently asked questions about a product or service
- Employee bio videos that introduce your team and establish trust faster with a prospect
- Product/service videos that describe your product or service and establish who is/is not a good fit for them
- Landing page videos that increase conversion rates by setting expectations and communicating the value
- Cost videos that clarify how pricing works
- Customer journey videos that show how products and services have been successful for others in the real world, thereby establishing social proof
- “Claims we make” videos that prove what you say about who you are and what you sell are true by showing it.
If you hire a videographer to work on your team, that person should be able to turn out these videos pretty quickly and cheaply — much more so than an outside production company.
Or, you could train someone internally to take on this initiative. Just make sure video is a part of your marketing and sales process as soon as possible.
Now, let’s go into more detail of each type of video and see some examples.
Note: To get an overview and primer of The Selling 7, head to IMPACT+ to check out Zach Basner’s free course that covers all of this in great depth: Video Sales and Marketing Strategy.
1. 80% videos
On average, every salesperson answers 5-10 of the same questions in every meeting.
They have their answers rehearsed and sometimes even scripted. They can recite them in their sleep, and honestly, they’re probably tired of having to answer them all the time.
Enter the 80% video.
80% videos are those that answer the most common questions all of your prospects ask (and proactively answer a few they haven’t thought of).
You can record just one video and send it to all of your prospects before your connect calls so you can go into your conversation ready to get to the nitty-gritty and not waste so much time answering the same old questions.
Here’s an example from IMPACT client Fire & Ice:
Imagine how much more productive a sales conversation would be after a video like this.
See more 80% video examples
2. Employee bio videos
One of the biggest reasons why video is such a powerful tool is it allows your prospects to see, hear, and know you before you actually meet.
With an employee bio video, people can see your face, and learn to recognize your voice, mannerisms, and energy.
It allows them to build familiarity and trust with your brand and especially your people, which is why employee bio videos are so effective.
Employee bio videos are exactly what they sound like: short videos where your team speaks directly to the camera and introduces themselves.
Start with your people in customer- or client-facing roles. Once you have the videos recorded, put them in your employee’s email signatures or even your website. You’ll be surprised how many views they get.
Here’s an example from IMPACT client Schellman.
Hema Saxena, Director at Schellman
A video like this helps prospects feel like they know a company before they actually get on a call or go into a sales meeting.
See more employee bio video examples
3. Product/service videos
There’s no way to communicate the value proposition of a given product or service more efficiently than through video.
The average attention span of an adult online is eight seconds. And with its use of sound, visuals, and motion, video is scientifically proven to get messages across faster and in a more engaging and memorable way.
It also breaks through the noise of all the words on the rest of your site.
Here’s an example of a product/service video from Sticker Mule:
In this video, the sticker company does a great job of not only explaining what the product is and the types of customers who buy them, but also walking through how their process works — all in just 35 seconds.
See more product/service video examples
4. Landing page videos
Any page that has a form should have a video.
Think about it: Right before you fill out a form and hand over your contact information, you have questions and doubts.
You’re wondering, “Should I fill out this form? These people are probably going to contact me, sending a million emails, or maybe even phone calls…all I want is this eBook/template/checklist…”
Landing page videos can help address those fears and build trust.
These videos help the landing page visitor realize it’s in their interest to share their info with your company since they provide a passive engagement medium where visitors can experience your message with very little effort.
They need to be reassured you’re not some evil corporation who’s going to send them annoying emails and call them 14 times a day. Plus, studies have shown including these kinds of videos can increase conversion rates by up to 80%.
Here’s an example from IMPACT client River Pools:
With your fears addressed, you’re more likely to fill out the form. (And you’ve gotten to know more about the company in the meantime!)
See more landing page video examples
5. Cost videos
When you’re on a website, looking for information about cost and price but you can’t find the information you’re looking for, what’s the emotion you experience?
Frustration?
And in that moment of frustration, what do you do? Keep digging on that website? Pick up the phone and call?
Not likely.
You’re probably going to keep looking until you find a website or a company that is willing to tell you what you need to know. And, generally speaking, when you find that company, they get your business or at least first contact.
And if this is how you and I act, is it possible that your prospects feel the same way?
If we want to earn the trust of our buyers, we can’t be scared of tipping off competitors, scaring away customers, or saying our solution is “too customized.”
The competitors already likely know how you do your pricing, customers are scared away when you don’t talk about price, and of course, your solution is customized. That’s why we have to be willing to discuss the factors of cost.
Here’s an example from IMPACT client Bill Ragan Roofing:
A company that candidly addresses cost upfront immediately wins the trust of its audience.
See more cost video examples
6. Customer journey videos
Everyone knows having social proof on your website is a must.
Having a quote, name, and even photo has become a standard practice. So, how can you stand out?
How are you differentiating from your competitors already parading out their happy customers with quotes and names?
One way to get ahead of the pack is by putting your best customers on video.
Not only will they be totally honored when you tell them they’re one of your most impressive clients and you want to feature them in your marketing, but they’ll also be smart enough to realize it’s pretty much free marketing for them and their brand as well.
Not only will having these videos help you close more business, but it’ll strengthen your bond with your most important client relationships at the same time.
Here’s an example from our friends at HubSpot:
Need some tips on how to get these awesome video testimonials from your customers? Zach Basner shares some useful tips here!
See more customer journey video examples
7. ‘Claims we make’ videos
How many claims do you make that your competitors also make? Things like, “our people are the best” or “our customer service is world-class.”
How are you backing up those claims? How are you differentiating yourself from your competition who make the very same statements?
At the end of the day, words aren’t enough. It’s just noise until you show it. One of the most effective ways to show it today is with a “claims we make” video.
Make a list of the claims you make, and see how many you can show to your audience.
How can you demonstrate you’re not just making claims in the interest of self-promotion? How can you show you back up your claims with examples?
Anything you can do to demonstrate your value will go a long way towards building trust.
And here’s a final example cashmere company Naadam:
Suddenly, their claim of being “the fairest and more sustainable cashmere company” feels a lot more genuine, doesn’t it?
See more examples of “claims we make” videos
Getting started with The Selling 7
Video is a fundamental piece of any marketing strategy in 2022 and beyond.
These seven examples of marketing and sales videos can help take you from, “I want to invest in more video” to “I’m going to invest in these kinds of videos.”
Are you still feeling unsure about how to get videos like these created and into your sales and marketing?
Check out our free IMPACT+ course “Video Sales & Marketing Strategy” to dive deeper into The Selling 7 and other aspects of video strategy. Or better yet, talk to one of our advisors. We help businesses like yours make video a part of their culture.