How To Leverage Video To Succeed As An SDR

Video is everywhere. According to Cisco, online video traffic will reach 80% by 2019. Video drives authentic relationships, and it empowers personal connection through stories that touch the heart better than text ever could. What’s also true is that people are receiving more emails in their inbox than ever before. With the increase of marketing automation and sales automation platforms, it’s only getting worse.

How can you differentiate yourself, capture someone’s attention, and stand out from the noise?

Through video! Video moves people, and through video, I’ve been able to connect with my target audience like never before. There is no better way to engage and entertain your audience. It’s human. It’s memorable. It’s a powerful experience. Including video in an email has proven to increase open rates by 19% and click-through rates by 65%!

So why aren’t more SDRs including this into their process?

The biggest misconception is that adding video to your prospecting strategy is difficult to do. This scares a lot of salespeople off from incorporating it into their outreach. Video is actually not hard. It can be clunky and time-consuming at first, but once you have the process down, you can churn out videos like clockwork.

So how do you get started?

Shoot your first video! Start small and simple. Some things to consider when shooting this first video are background noise, lighting, location (inside/ outside), and audio. All you need you get started is an iPhone or your computer’s camera. For the latter, there’s a bunch of screen and audio recording software options that you can download and that are free and easy to use. Some nice to have items are a lavalier microphone (you can get some quality ones off Amazon for cheap), lighting, and an iPhone stand, but these are not necessary.

Think about your goal for this video. Think about your audience. What do they care about? Where are they coming from? What’s the next step once they watch the video?  Then write out a short script. Read through the script a few times to familiarize yourself with it. Don’t over-script it or you’ll sound artificial.  Imagine you’re leaving a voicemail, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be you. Film your video. Typically I’ll keep the videos short, ranging from 15-45 seconds. Peak your viewer’s interest just enough to get them to the next step. Capture their intention and make a good first impression.

Again, start small and simple, with a process that is not scalable at all. Just get comfortable and familiar with the process. Get a video out there. Worry about scalability, efficiency, and production value later. A good way to start small is to create a video for a prospect that is a part of a high priority target account, or a prospect that you have had a difficult time connecting with. Film a video intended for them.

So how do the nuts and bolts work once you have a video?

If you’re using an iPhone, once you have a video, upload it to a video platform like YouTube or Brightcove. If you used a screen recorder, it should be easily accessible from there. Nearly every modern email system will strip out the video embed code due to security reasons, so I don’t recommend including the actual video in the email. Instead, include a thumbnail that hyperlinks to the video. This teaser image will drive awareness and traffic to your content. An animated gif also works well.

Craft an email, and put the video towards the top of your message. Hit send!

From there, create more videos for other prospects. Scale up from there by creating videos for target personas, or target industries. Make a video voicemail, letting your prospect know that you just called them and are leaving a voicemail in the form of a video. Creating a sequence and disperse video throughout it. I’ve found success having an intro video for the first email, a middle video that says I’m a real person, and a final email detailing how it may not be a good time for the prospect, and that I’ll reconnect in a few months.

Be creative! The possibilities are only limited by your own creativeness and thought.

Once you’re ready to scale up, think about how you’ll track analytics and measure performance. A video platform like Brightcove allows you to easily see who’s watching your videos, and for how long they’re watching them. Think about syncing your videos with a marketing automation platform. Think about landing pages. The possibilities are endless!

Using videos in my prospecting efforts has dramatically increased responses, meetings booked, and opportunities created. These videos will really help humanize who you are as a sales professional and will highlight the value you can bring to your prospects. It will transform your emails and your message, and make them powerful. Hopefully, it will differentiate you from your competitors, allow you to capture a prospect’s attention, and inspire them to take a meeting with you so that you can show them the value of your product or service.

Good luck! Please share other ideas in the comments below.

—-

Michael is a SDR for Brightcove’s digital marketing business unit and is incredibly passionate about video. Michael has a background in video strategy consulting and sales prospecting and has worked with global brands to deploy measurable, results-driven video initiatives for both B2B and B2C organizations.