How to Get Better Qualified Leads & Faster Sales with Video (Checklist Included)

We don’t like to brag, but getting our customers qualified leads is our forte. In our latest case study we saw an over 20% increase in conversions! The truth is that Explainer videos, done right, are assets. Assets that continually produce a return on your investment.

Here are just a few ways explainer videos can support and amplify your marketing and sales.

• More Leads: Getting qualified leads is every sales & marketing teams’ dream. An educated buyer who understands your story and is ready to commit to your product or service after seeing your explainer video is the dream customer.
• Continuous Leads: More qualified leads, on a daily basis. No more days of sporadic or zero qualified leads. A great explainer video is an evergreen marketing campaign that brings you new qualified leads. Consistently. Predictably. That you can rely on.
• Educate Prospects: Use the power of explainer videos to support your marketing and sales process by educating your site visitors and transforming them into qualified leads. An explainer video is not just a video. An explainer video is valuable marketing and sales asset that you can use at the right time, to educate your potential customers, speed up buying cycles, and generate qualified leads.
• Create “Buying Demand”: Generate interest without any hardcore selling. Forget the obnoxious hype and exaggerated claims. An explainer video creates excitement, hope, and an eagerness to buy within your newly qualified leads.

But B2B Software and Technology Companies Aren’t Getting the Most Out of Their Videos

Qualifying leads as a B2B software and technology company has dramatically shifted, even in the past few years alone.

Most companies are lagging behind or not using video in the right way to capitalize on this change.

By pure numbers, video is changing online marketing:

• Video is projected to claim more than 80% of all web traffic by 2019.
• Adding a video to marketing emails can boost click-through rates by 200-300%.
• Embedding videos in landing pages can increase conversion rates by 80%.
• 90% of customers report that product videos help them make purchasing decisions.
• 64% of customers are more likely to buy a product online after watching a video about it.
• A third of all the time people spend online is dedicated to watching videos.
• Video ads now account for more than 35% of all ad spending online.
• 59% of company decision makers would rather watch a video than read an article or blog post.

For your company, having an explainer video can have a bigger impact beyond just attention and clicks.

Competing on features is no longer good enough to be able to stand out from the crowd and win sales.

It has also become indefensible because today’s competitors can copy your product’s features virtually instantly. (yeah, we’re talking about you Instagram Stories.)

However, the only thing your competitors can’t replicate is the trust that customers feel for you, your team, and your product or service.

The explainer video is one of the first touch points a business has with their prospects. If you can clearly explain what your company does,  your value proposition, so that your soon to be qualified lead is able to reach a moment of clarity and make an informed decision to get more information about your product or service.

You can reach (and even exceed) your objectives with custom explainer videos that simplify your message and drive your audience to take action.

But, as you’ll see in a moment, there are three crucial mistakes that most B2B enterprise software and technology companies make that prevents them from getting the qualified leads they need from their videos.

These Easy-To-Make Mistakes Can Turn Your Explainer Videos Into Liabilities, Instead

Most enterprise software and technology companies make these assumptions or mistakes when it comes to their videos.

Let’s make sure you don’t fall into these traps.

MISTAKE #1: Trying to use ONE video everywhere, for everything

This mistake will prevent you from getting results from your videos – Here’s why:

You’re asking a video to do too much: One video cannot do the job of both marketing and sales, in 90-seconds or less. But if you give a video a specific task, like attracting the attention of your target market, or sharing a compelling reason to get on the phone with you, your video stands a much higher chance to convert.

You’ll either drain or clog up your pipeline: Not all leads are equal. Many will be a waste of your time and efforts. One video might attract some attention, but unless you have videos that further qualifies your leads, chances are you’ll end up with tire-kickers and time-wasters. If you gamble everything on just one video, you might end up with few to no leads at all. Don’t entertain tire-kickers or an empty room. Only attract those who are the perfect fit and repel everyone else.

MISTAKE #2: No plan for the launch, promotion, or the “lifecycle” of your video

This mistake will also prevent you from getting results from your videos.

Here’s why:

You’re wasting a good opportunity: Your customers don’t all buy for the same reasons, at the same time, or in the same way. If you just put up a video with no plan for how to promote it or use it in your marketing or sales process, you’re leaving qualified leads behind. With a simple plan and strategy, the same video could account for triple the number of leads and potentially double the number of sales.

You’re not selling the way people like to buy: When it comes to enterprise software and technology, sales cycles tend to be on the longer side. If you’re not actively engaging with your leads and prospects throughout, they could forget about you and go with a competitor. Explainer videos are the perfect medium to catch and keep attention, and move people forward through the pipeline with the right mix of emotionally and intellectually compelling messaging.

MISTAKE #3: Focus only on your features and what you can do

This is another mistake that will prevent you from getting results from your videos – Here’s why:

You and your competitor are the same: In the world of tech and software, it’s easy for your competitors to replicate on features and what you do. Sure, there may be something proprietary in your products or services, but your prospects don’t see a difference. And their perception is what matters. Tell a story about the world you’re your customers want to be a part of. Then, tell everyone, at every stage of your funnel, the story of your business.

You’ll make sales a lot harder: Your leads will “comparison shop,” evaluating you on criteria that aren’t in your favor. They won’t know, like, or trust you – and they’ll have no affinity with your brand. Every time you only speak about features or the tactics of what you do, you’re making it even harder for sales to happen.

Instead of making these mistakes, here’s how to avoid those pitfalls and make explaining what you do, and getting qualified leads, easier.

Our Diamond in a Haystack™ Process Helps Us Get There

Key Point: Your explainer video is capable of moving people through their buyer’s journey, giving them the right mix of emotionally and logically compelling messaging to keep taking the next step

Step 1: Uncovering Your Goals and Objectives

We’ll stop at nothing to reach a deep understanding of your company’s goals, objectives, and Core Message.

We’ll have you fill out our video needs assessment and schedule a Kickoff Call with you and your team. From there, we’ll immerse ourselves in your public-facing media, your internal assets, sales decks… anything we can get our hands on to help us become your brand experts.

You talk, we listen… all the while digging for the insights needed to make your project a success.

Step 2: Scripting and Crafting the Message

Now that we have a deep understanding of what you do, let’s turn it into a creative, engaging script that hits your target audience where it counts.

We’ve got the know-how and experience to tell stories that stick, but we’ll tailor our writing to your brand’s unique insights. This script is your unique value… in 60-90 seconds! By telling your best story, we’re building the foundation for a great video.

You’re too close to your business to explain it clearly. As outsiders, we sift through all the potential stories you could tell and find the message that will resonate best with your audience.

Step 3: Storyboarding and Design

After developing your brand message, we’ll craft storyboards, style frames, and design boards based on your brand’s unique style and tone. We take the time to build up your video’s skeleton to ensure that we design the perfect images to uphold your message.

We’re committed to quality and collaboration. This step is a big differentiator from many of our competitors, but we want our clients to have a say in the creative process from beginning to end.

Step 4: Finding the Perfect Vocal Talent and Graphics

We work with some of the best voices in the business. We’ll hand-pick auditions of your script and help you choose the voice that says, “This is us!”

Just like a Gemologist combines the perfect cuts to bring the beauty out of the diamond – we combine the script, sound effects, and animated graphics to bring out the wow factor that makes sure your audience perks up and pays attention.

Step 5: Crafting the Animation and Sound Design

After everything else is perfect, we’ll bring your video to life!

This is the heavy lifting – thousands of pieces broken down and reassembled into moving parts… we’re talking painstaking design, frame by frame, so that you get detailed, top-notch motion graphics that set you apart.

When we’re done, it’s more than a video – it’s a valuable piece of beautiful content.

The core message uncovered can be used throughout your organization to explain and inspire. Plus, we’ll provide tips on how to best use your Explainify video to exceed your project goals.

Checklist: What You Can Do Now To Instantly Improve Your Videos

Important: Ask yourself these questions whenever you’re thinking about videos you need in your marketing and sales process.

• I know what the business purpose of this video is
• I have a clearly defined target audience for this video, and I know what it will be for
• I know what the buyer’s journey looks like for my target audience
• I know what struggles and pains my target audience has, and what problem I’m solving
• I know what the status quo is for solving the problem, and I know why it’s not enough
• I have a clear next step and call-to-action in mind for this video
• I’ve cut out all the jargon and language that my target audience won’t understand

Take the Next Step With Your 1-on-1 Strategy Session

We normally offer this session as part of a 1-day, $10,000 workshop. But if you share with us your most important questions about using explainer videos, we’ll walk you through a customized solution for your problems at no cost.

No sales pitch masquerading as a “free consultation”. No strings attached.

Why are we doing this? Because we want you to be our next success story.

These kinds of results don’t happen by accident. Unlike our competitors, we don’t just crank out videos. We help our clients produce valuable marketing assets that have a specific purpose: help them get more customers.