A satisfied customer is the best thing to take with you on a call
Who is the most powerful member of your sales team? A satisfied customer.
They can out-sell, out-brag and out-prove anyone in your company including the CEO. Why? They're your testimonial. They are living proof your product or service is the best.
How can you get your best customer to go on a sales' call with you? Videotape them. As simple as that sounds, it can be the fastest way to get your message across. Although there is one small hitch. This has to be a quality video, one that reflects your image and one that tells your story in a scripted and meaningful way. A video with direction and style.
"We bring our prospects and customers to the awareness of the underlying theme and objective of using a video as part of a sales presentation: 'What do you want to happen when the video is removed from the VCR?'" challenges Tim Butler, vice president and sales manager at Sunbelt Video in Charlotte, North Carolina. "The answer to that question is the little known secret of a successful video.
"Too many businesses don't know the elements of a successful video, or they make videos for the wrong reasons," Butler adds. "Video will lead you to a sale, but it won't make the sale that's the job of the salesperson. There must be a smooth transition from the end of the video to the next step in the sales cycle. Our success has come by making videos on purpose, for a purpose to achieve a predetermined objective."
You've heard the expression, "It's the next best thing to being there." Well a sales video may be the best thing to being there. Here's why: Videos don't forget. They never have a bad day. They always ask for the sale (if you tell them to). BUT, the video is only the message. The salesperson is the messenger. Both must be present for maximum results.
Following are some tips for how to make that killer video.
High quality is worth it. Spend the money to make it right.
The video is what you put in it. You can create any message you want.
Less is more. Five to eight minutes is optimum run time.
Before you begin yours, watch other people's videos several get an idea of what you want and what you don't want.
Make your video real. Be animated.
Pre-select which parts (sales segments) you want to include, and write a script before you start.
And the biggest secret: What is said about you is ten thousand times more powerful than you saying it. Let your satisfied customers tell as much of your story as you can.
Here's another expression you've heard: A picture is worth a thousand words. Here's the 21st century version of that expression: A video picture is worth a sale.
If you are worried about the cost of your video, think of it this way:
How much is your image worth?
What's one new customer worth?
What's a consistent sales message worth?
How much is a trained sales force worth?
I hear companies having budget fights about whether they should have a video sales tool. What a joke. A bunch of non-salespeople trying to dictate the future of the company, and omitting a vital tool that will carry them to success. It's like saying, "Let's buy that big boat over there but, ah, let's not get the engine, it costs too much." DUH. If a video is not in your budget, gag (or fire) the bean counters, cut your own pay, or go into debt for it. It's that valuable.
Author's note: I made my first sales video two years ago. It cost more money than I had. Over the last 24 months it has helped me make more sales than I could count. This year I'm making a new one, and spending four times more than I spent on the first one the one I couldn't afford. And (thanks to my first video), I can afford it.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of "The Sales Bible," and "Customer Satisfaction is Worthless, Customer Loyalty is Priceless." President of Charlotte-based Buy Gitomer, he gives seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts training programs on selling and customer service. Inquiries should be sent by fax to the WBJ at (48-22) 646-0576 or directly to Gitomer via e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com
