About six months ago I got my hands on a brand new product that no other salesperson had access to before. And it changed everything.
Drift Video has helped me start conversations and sparked a kind of creativity that is compelling impressing C-level sales and marketing leaders from enterprise organizations to take a meeting with me.
Or perhaps more exciting for the quota-carriers out there, Drift Video has helped me hit my meetings quota just two weeks into the month!
Here’s what I do: I record 30-second videos of my face, talking to prospects as if they were on FaceTime or a Skype call with me.
I start off every video with a nice wave to show my prospects that there’s a video behind the GIF. It looks a little something like this?
Not bad, right?
Recording videos is so simple and effective, but there’s not a ton of us doing it. Prospecting constantly ebbs and flows. Just because someone liked what you sent today doesn’t mean they’ll like or appreciate it tomorrow.
It’s worth giving a new approach a shot.
And that’s why I’m finally letting you in on my secrets and sharing what I’ve learned after using Drift Video to book meetings for the better part of this year. Soon you’ll have prospects that once ignored your emails and voicemails chatting you back in real-time as if you were two friends texting.
The 6-Month Chase Turned Into 3 Minutes
There was this one account I’d been chasing for six months. My manager knew who they were because I’d taped their logo on my desk and made it a weekly goal to get a meeting with them.
After attempts with four teams, 22 contacts, and 176 touches on one single account, it was a 30-second Drift Video that resonated and had a key decision-maker ASKING me for the meeting. When you’re measured on generating pipeline, there’s no better assurance that the time you’re spending recording videos was worth it!
Okay, enough build-up. Here’s the playbook for creating Drift Videos that get clicked, viewed, and replied to.
Step 1 – Make It About Them
Spend 30 seconds thinking about what that person cares about – based on what they do or who they report to. It’s even better if you have some insider knowledge about upcoming projects they’re working on or goals their team needs to hit.
Making it about them – not you, not your product, not your company – is what matters.
Step 2 – Be Human
When you have an idea or two in mind of what you’re going to say, get ready to press play! It’s key to be human and allow yourself to make mistakes. So introduce yourself, say your intro research, and share why you made them the video. Then you have a couple options to sign off. A personal favorite (that’s proven to work) is, “More than anything I’m looking for feedback, so please share what you think!”
Step 3 – Send It
Copy and paste the Drift Video link into your email or LinkedIn message and press send – no message necessary. Seriously. The GIF speaks for itself and will intrigue someone enough to click. Especially if you’ve got that “I’m dying to talk to you” smile on your face.
More on what that looks like?
Or this?
Step 4 – Get Ready To Have A Conversation
Wait for them to click. Once they do, you’ll get desktop and mobile notifications so you can jump straight into a conversation with them in real-time.
The goal is to get them to continue watching, so use ask open-ended questions that would make you want to reply and start a conversation:
Your opener can literally make or break whether or not you get a reply to your video. Also, timing is everything. So when you see that notification, jump right in.
Pro Tip: Just be yourself. Casual and excited that they’re watching.
Getting That First Reply In Drift Video
So you got your first reply…now what? If your goal is to book a meeting, let every action guide that! The replies you get are typically going to be compliments – because your prospects will think it’s pretty cool that you took the time to make this one person their very own video ?
So reply with a thank you and sentiment that is genuine. Don’t reply “Thanks for watching.” Trust me, you won’t get a reply. The key is to show them that there’s a human on the other end, since so much of what salespeople send today is automated.
Let your creativity fly and keep your end goal in mind. Be helpful and ask for the meeting. You’ve heard this before, but remember that you’ve got to give before you get?
And keep giving?
Maybe You’re Asleep When They Watch
This actually happens a good amount. Maybe you’re in a meeting, at the gym, or even sleeping.
You might wake up with or walk out of a meeting with a reply to your video like this?
Or this?
What If They Don’t Watch?
Yeah, that’s definitely going to happen from time-to-time. My best suggestion is to just follow-up. Pass along a friendly note that is helpful, not salesy. This has worked to get people to click?
And this too?
So, What Are The Results?
I book about one meeting for every 10 videos I send. That means if I make 10 personalized videos, at least two to three people will reply, and one will ask for a meeting.
Video sends to meetings also fluctuates depending on the channel I use to send the videos. Usually a LinkedIn message or an email the prospect has already replied to have proved to be most successful at starting a conversation.
Also, prospects can hardly believe how fast they are willing to give their time ?
Or, you might even send a video, jump in to start chatting when they’re watching, and then have them ask you to call them right then and there?
Final Thought: Have Fun & Be Authentic!
If I can encourage you to do just one thing with Drift Video, it would be to figure out what will make yours stand out from the rest. There’s no wrong way to get started.
