Why You Need to Use Video in 2022 2022 is almost here, approaching at a rate that feels impossibly fast. Are you slowing down and falling into the holiday haze, or are you gearing up to tackle your...

2022 is almost here, approaching at a rate that feels impossibly fast. Are you slowing down and falling into the holiday haze, or are you gearing up to tackle your resolutions head-on in the new year? If you fall into the former, I want to give you something to consider; I think you should challenge yourself to learn one more skill before year-end, and that skill is video.

You Need Video in 2022 Todd Hartley

Video is the Premiere Game-Changer for 2022

Video has been a game-changer for my business for many years now, and in the remote world we've adjusted to, it's become more important than ever.

Looking back from where we are now, the pandemic changed buyer expectations and caused the sales world to react. And while many are talking about life getting back to normal, it's essential I keep you focused on where business is headed and why you need to lean into using video in every aspect of your business in 2022.

We know buying habits changed in 2020. In October 2020, Mckinsey & Company released a study on B2B (Business-to-Business) buyer behavior data in the wake of COVID.

McKinsey & Company discovered only 20% of buyers want to return to in-person sales. That means 80% of B2B buyers prefer going through a buying experience online…without face-to-face hand-holding from a sales rep. BUT a lot of businesses weren't prepared to meet this type of basic buyer expectation, so for some, closing deals became that much harder.

Now, a little over a year later, lots of us are still in the same place. It's easy enough to see the writing on the wall: most of us are not going back to business as usual with the ease and convenience of taking calls from our home office. However, the costs saved by not traveling and the extra assurances of one's own health remain benefits to maintaining this "new" normal.

In fact, in that same McKinsey study, they found that 70% of B2B decision-makers are open to making fully self-serve, or remote purchases up to $50,000, and 27% would spend more than $500,000.

So, why is this important to know for your business?

If you position your business to sell your products and services the way your buyer prefers to learn, you're going to crush your revenue goals.

To start creating change, you need to realize most buyers believe salespeople suck, and they want to sidestep them at every opportunity. Are you and your team any different?

If more than four out of five B2B buyers want to go on their own journey, shouldn't your website be prepared to meet the buyer's needs and expectations?

This means, for each type of buyer persona involved in your sales process, you need to have a hyper-relevant customer journey, with videos that also align with the needs, pain, and frustrations of a very specific buyer.

For example, you need relevant videos on your customer journey page because people are 4X more likely to watch videos than to read text. So while buyers prefer to go on their own research journey — they ALSO don't want to read.

Why?

Reading requires buyers to burn far too many mental calories.

So, you have to make learning easy and simple. If you confuse them, you lose them, and you definitely don't want that. And what's easier than watching a video that gets you all the information you need to know in a quick and concise way? Honestly, not much.

You might still be asking yourself why should I learn to utilize video in 2022?

The answer is simple: video is everywhere. It's in the ads we see on television and social media, in our feeds as posts capturing tender family moments and significant global events. Video is embedded in the way the majority of us have operated our businesses for well over a year now and it's only going to continue to be a fundamental part of business growth and brand awareness in the future.

In a remote-first world, most people are burnt out from reading emails or articles on laptop screens all day. Imagine you're the 10th proposal email they've received that day. You're setting yourself up to begin fighting an uphill battle. However, if you've integrated a video into your pitching and proposal process, you're already giving yourself a leg up on the competition. You've given your buyer the easy button.

People who know how to submit videos with their proposal that teach and remind their prospects of the details of a particular project or deal end up closing between 41-104% more deals.

My video marketing agency is only where it is now because of how incredibly important videos are in my proposal and sales process, not just for me but also for my top strategists. That's why I've been developing my skills in video for as long as I can remember.

If you're ready to start implementing video as soon as possible, I'd like to offer you a few of my best tips on where to begin when you're creating videos to send out.

3 Keys to Unlocking Someone's Heart With Video

I discovered that there are three different keys that you can use to unlock someone's heart through the usage of video.

My First Key is EYE CONTACT

Eye contact is how people recognize and understand that you have selected them to provide attention to. We know someone is engaged in a conversation when they make eye contact with us, nodding their head and acknowledging that they understand what you're saying.

You wouldn't want to go on a second date with someone who spent the entirety of your first date not making eye contact with you — so why should your prospective clients want to continue fostering a relationship with you if you are not providing them with a similar level of engagement?

Of course, it's easy enough to say "make eye contact!" when you are meeting face to face, but creating this connection becomes much more difficult when you introduce video into the mix.

Making eye contact with the camera, especially on a phone or a laptop, can feel uncomfortable and unnatural and take away some of your natural charms. That's why it's so important to practice your on-camera skills so that when it's time to show up and record, you're ready.

Get your eye contact practice by recording yourself giving presentations or make an effort to create one social post a week where you talk to the camera in as natural a way as possible. If you do this, you'll become an expert at natural on-camera eye contact in no time.

My Second Key is Gratitude

Think of using gratitude in your videos with clients or prospects as though you are a virtual thank you card. This is just another way to remind the people you're connecting with that you appreciate them and their time.

Speak directly to the person you are addressing — reference memorable moments of connection from your calls, and ensure your tone and words get across the genuine nature of your message. After all, you might be trying to close a deal but not everybody loves the feeling of being sold to — try to sidestep that feeling in your sales process by selling from a place of gratitude.

My Third Key is Sincerity

Sincerity is essential. Connect your heart to your whole body when you record a video. Your expression, posture, and tone will all set the stage for how you're going to be received when you appear on-camera.

The tone of your voice should be soft in order for people to want to lean in and listen to what you have to say. You never want to be yelling at or talking sternly into the camera.

Resist the temptation to fire up your broadcaster voice and instead stay soft and approachable. Your expression should remain unstrained and natural, and your body language should convey confidence.

If you struggle with infusing your videos with sincerity, I have a tip for you: take a moment to imagine you're sending the video to a family member or a close friend.

How would you express yourself to them in a way that exuded authentic sincerity? Think about that as you prepare to record a follow-up or reminder video during the proposal process or as you close a deal and want to relay your appreciation back to a client.

When you start to use these three keys in your videos, you are setting yourself and your business up for success.

As we near 2022, most of us have already adapted to a video-centric world, but we're not all masters at the craft of being comfortable with it. So, why not challenge yourself to start using video in your business practices in 2022?

Don't wait to make your new year's resolutions come true in January. Instead of delaying your next great career breakthrough, start impacting your growth in early December.

If you'd like to learn more about how to get started and get comfortable on video before we leave 2021, I'm hosting a week-long challenge that's going to act as a crash course to get you set up for success in 2022.

You can find out more by following this link: https://toddhartley.com/challenge/

The secret to accessing prospects, achieving influence, and accelerating revenue in the new year is obvious: start using video. I'm here to help and serve you on your journey.

Top Image Credit: Terje Sollie; Pexels; Thank you!

Video Credit: From the Author: Todd Hartley

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