Did I get your attention?
If that weren’t true, if your sales videos didn’t perform the way you want them to, you wouldn’t be here reading about how to fix it.
Sure, it’s not pleasant to accept that. But just like AA meetings, admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery.
Good. Let’s work together on how to design sales videos that keep your customers’ eyes glued to the screens and their fingers pressed on the Add to cart.
Contents How to have videos for sale that actually… sell
- The element of the grabber
- The primal instinct
- Be bold
- Mind reader
- Awakens curiosity
- Offers hope
- Storytelling
1. The element of the hoarder
If I had to name one thing that makes the difference between a disappointing sales video and one that makes every marketer envious… it’s the first minute or even the first few seconds of it.
Why is the beginning so important?
Because if the first few seconds of the video don’t attract the lead, pique their interest and keep their attention, people won’t continue to watch it.
Just think, he probably has about 5 apps open at the same time, 3 notifications on Facebook or Instagram and a conversation on WhatsApp.
If the highlight is weak, it doesn’t even matter how good the rest of the video is – very few people will watch it to the end.
That’s why it’s so important. You have to capture attention.
The same rules you learn from copywriting about TITLE apply to starting a sales video.
Don’t let your potential customers leaf through your material. Make them consume the content line by line or, in this case, second by second.
Okay. The question now is: How do you “force” your audience to watch your sales videos?
Don’t think simple or easy. Aim for shock and awe!
There are multiple ways you can approach the beginning of a sales video correctly. Here are just 3 ideas:
- You can offer a fascinating or out-of-the-ordinary but relevant information. Always ask yourself what would make YOU keep watching the video.
- You can use a sound, picture or strange statement to create a “what was that?!” effect. in people’s minds. Just be careful that it has some connection to what the rest of the video contains, otherwise you risk the audience feeling they’ve been tricked into watching it.
- You can use a a clip from a relevant news story so as to change their perception from watching another sales video to curiosity and interest.
Now it’s your turn. How can you short-circuit your customers’ minds so that they pay attention to your sales video and put aside what else they are doing?
This is your mission, whether you use curiosity, shock, awe or just plain weirdness. It all works. Try it and see what works for you.
Read also: How to organize your content strategy to boost your sales [Checklist]
2. Primary instinct
The easiest and quickest way to bring a video sales sprout to life is to make it elicit emotion.
It’s not the first time you’ve heard that from us. People buy emotionally, and then justify their choice with reasoning.
Parents still don’t buy a toy for their children because they really need it… they buy it to feel proud that they are the best parents in the world when they see the excitement in their children’s eyes.
They buy an excitement, and then use the price or occasion as justification for the purchase.
In the niche of slimming or survival products, you can best see how primal instinct works as a monopolizing element in sales videos. Because the HOPE of a slim body and FEAR are two of the most motivating emotions.
And if we leave aside the products we eat every day (bread, for example), all other buying decisions are made emotionally.
How can you use emotions in your sales video?
Use the most impressive testimonials you have from your customers. Add powerful words and incorporate them into emotional scenarios to increase their impact.
Your potential customers need to be able to relate to the character of the story in your sales video and go through an emotional rollercoaster because the situation could be worse than they ever thought… without your product.
3. Be bold
Luck favors the bold. Especially in sales.
The content and words used in your sales videos should be powerful, impactful. I’m not saying shout, but have bold ideas that stop people from scrolling by uniqueness.
To sell, you have to demonstrate confidence in yourself, your products and your business. You can communicate this through bold copy: powerful words, vehement statements and decisive examples.
Read also: 365 ideas for small and medium-sized businesses [marketing & vanzari]
4. The mind reader
“Nobody really understands me! I wish there was someone who understood what I’m going through!”.
That’s the thought that keeps rolling around in your clients’ minds. They feel misunderstood, unappreciated, unloved. By the time they get to see your sales video, they suffer.
And they’re looking for something that will ease pain. And that’s where you come in.
You have to get inside the conversation in their minds. That’s the secret: EMPATHY.
Strong words, copywriting techniques, good structuring practices… all of these don’t end up making an impact on your customers if you can’t identify their pain points and address them in your sales video.
People want to feel understood, validated and appreciated.
When you do that in video, it automatically creates a connection. You make a connection. That will make them follow you, click and buy from you.
When you show them that you understand their pain points and have the right solution for them, the feeling that a stone is being lifted from their heart will make them much more open to buying.
How do you read your customers’ minds?
The trick is to turn your situation 180 degrees so that you see your sales video from their perspective, not yours.
It’s easy to fall into the trap and write about yourself, the benefits of the business and how you do things. Instead, you should try to live in the minds of your customers:
- What’s most important to them?
- What are the problems they face?
- What primary emotions do they feel and which are they most influenced by?
- What objections occur to them before buying?
- What motivates them?
- WHAT KEEPS THEM AWAKE AT NIGHT?
The information in customer avatars and discussions with potential customers gives you answers to these questions.
Use them wisely in your sales videos and you will succeed in building trust so that you can stimulate their buying decision.
5. Raise curiosity
Do you want your potential customers to watch your sales video with bated breath?
Make them curious.
Make it so they’ll be MUSIC to know what’s next. How can you do that?
The easiest way is to open a loop.
You’ve probably seen clips like “I’ll tell you the 100% surefire way to make your first million, but first…”.
It’s somewhat obvious what’s about to happen. It works, but you can do it more subtly, so that the sales video flows naturally.
Here’s an example:
“Maria managed to get €5,000 in sales in the first week of launching using a simple system, without spending all her savings, without needing specialist assistance and without previous marketing experience.
It’s a system that can work for you.
And to do that, let me tell you about…“.
Or another example:
“Adrian managed to lose 10 kg in just 6 weeks using a handy system, without special diets, without complicated exercises and without starving himself.
It’s a system that will work for you.
To apply it, I’ll tell you about…“
It’s more subtle to start with proof that your product or service works. At the same time, you’re dispelling their most important objections (“without spending…”, “without starving…”to arouse their curiosity.
Read if: 5 Ways to Increase Online Sales
6. Offer hope
Once you have the attention and interest of your customers and have proven to them that you understand them (through empathy), it’s crucial to offer them hope.
Answer. Solution.
You own it, and they want it.
However, don’t put all the cards on the table at once. That would be a mistake.
Offer them hope, create a picture of an ideal outcome and warm them up to be super receptive to your solution and the good things that follow after buying it.
7. Storytelling
Think of good movies that keep your eyes glued to the screen.
For me, when I was younger, it’s movies like Indiana Jones, The Mummy (1999), Jurassic Park, Man in Black or Jaws.
Stories that draw you on a ride or rollercoaster.
If you pay a little attention to the structure of successful movies, you’ll notice how they punctuate the story and the unfolding action with action scenes.
The more explosive (literally or figuratively), the better. Why?
Because it captures your focus, gives your attention a SOC.
You are, naturally, caught up in the story, the characters and bam, suddenly something blows up, someone dies or something major happens and blinds you.
There’s a rhythm to these kinds of films, a rhythm you want in your sales videos, even if you don’t have Hollywood effects or explosions at hand.
Use traditional storytelling techniques and pay attention to the rhythm your videos have. Keep potential customers glued to your screens and eager to hear your solution.
Read also: Storytelling in eCommerce – How to sell without giving the impression that you are selling something
I hope today’s material gives you some ideas on how you can improve your sales videos and conversion rate.
The most important thing I can tell you is to test as many things as possible, preferably quick and relatively cheap. Because you never know what you’ll get once you start bringing traffic to them.
You’ve come so far, you’ve built a funnel, you know where you are in terms of conversions, and now you’re one step closer to formidable sales videos.
It’s time to enjoy the results.
PS. Make sure your website – the place where transactions happen – is ready to sell. Use platform features to the fullest to achieve profitable online sales time and time again.
Passionate about entrepreneurship and eCommerce, I started my online activity in 2000.
Together with my team I have helped over 2,200 companies grow their business on the unosoft platform.
