There are no silver bullets in this business. Just hard work. 

And despite all the glitz and glamor surrounding video prospecting, that statement still applies. Gimmicks are still gimmicks, and just because your prospecting is in video form doesn’t automatically make it more compelling.  

So, sure, doing it’s hard work. But I’m here to make that work a little easier. I’ve compiled seven of my most effective cold outreach video prospecting tactics to make it extra easy for you to steal these awesome ideas. May they serve you well. 

If you’re looking to improve your team’s prospecting results, feel free to reach out. We’re experts in all things sales, and we’d love to talk.

The 3 Rules for Successful Video Prospecting

Successful video prospecting begins with a practical and realistic view of what your video prospecting will achieve. I have three rules to help me do this. 

Remember that cold outreach has mixed efficacy - this will take time to test out. 

Video is only a vehicle for your cold outreach message, and picking the right place to use it - where it will be the least gimmicky and most impactful - is a process. Don’t expect to get it right the very first time. I’ll give you my best advice on where and when to use each tactic, but this is not an exact science. 

Start with automation and keep investment reasonable. 

In sales, your time really is money. Do not waste it. Video is already a pretty steep investment (just the time it takes to create a video is significant), so I’d recommend automating as much as you can. Save time and effort for the parts that matter most for your bottom line. 

Invest your time where it is most valuable, don’t waste it on flashy ideas. 

As I just mentioned, video is a bigger investment of time and resources than other forms of outreach, and it’s a little gimmicky. So if you’re sinking money into it, you want to be sure it’ll pay off. Flashy ideas are cool, but unless it’s truly inspired, I’d stick with a small and safe strategy. 

With this realistic take on video prospecting, I’ll walk you through the ideas that have actually worked for me. 

If you’re looking to improve your team’s prospecting results, feel free to reach out. We’re experts in all things sales, and we’d love to talk. 

My 7 Successful Strategies (And Which to Pick)

You probably won't use every single one of these strategies, so I’ve tried to boil these down to the essentials - what you’ve got to do, how long it’ll take, and how well it works. 

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1. Fully Personalized

A “fully personalized” video is exactly what it sounds like - a video created specifically for a single prospect. When it comes to the personal impact of your outreach, that’s about as good as it gets. 

You can pick and choose where to focus your personalization efforts, and have some parts of your video remain static, while others are personalized for maximum effect. For example, you can have the same intro for every video, but personalize the ending with your industry knowledge and prospect research. 

Here’s an example of a fully personalized video that I’d send to a prospective customer:

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Transcript: 

“Hi Dan, it’s Kyle Vamvouris, with Vouris.com. I was taking a look at LinkedIn and I saw that you were hiring sales development reps, and it looked like your first team. So congratulations! 

It’s super exciting - that growth - that energy is always special! I work specifically with early-stage startup companies to help them build that inside sales function, from SDR to AE. I’m not sure if it makes sense for us to have a conversation, so I wanted to shoot you a video and reach out directly.

Let me know! We can help you build that team right the first time, which will save you a lot of heartache, I promise. I’d love to connect - either way, let me know. Shoot me an email, message me here on LinkedIn… I look forward to connecting soon!”

Summary Bullets: 

• Time Investment: Relatively High
• Outreach Style: Personal + Engaged 
• Goal: Make a personal connection with the prospect and show you’ve done your homework. 

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2. “Hello From The Top of a Mountain”

I once sent prospects a partially personalized video I had taken from the top of a mountain. 

Yup. I hiked to the peak of a nearby mountain, held up a blank chalkboard, and gave a little pitch. When I got back, I personalized the video by putting my prospect’s name on the chalkboard and sent them out.

Gimmicky? A little. But it worked. 

I netted a 23% reply rate (and probably upward of 2,500 calories lost).

You don’t need to copy my exact route for this video - you don’t even need to climb to the top of the mountain, but you do need something to make your pitch cut through the noise. 

Summary Bullets:

• Time Investment: Moderate-High
• Outreach Style: Showy + Upfront 
• Goal: Make a real impression on your prospects without investing too much time.

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3. Educate Your Audience  

This one’s pretty much the opposite of the last tactic. Flashy has its place, but one of the most effective ways to get someone’s attention is to say things worth listening to. Providing your prospects with helpful information is one of the most effective ways to utilize video. 

The power of this tactic is in how useful you can make it. The more interesting, relevant, and valuable the information you offer in this “educational” video, the more credit you’ll earn for yourself and your business. These videos can be significantly longer than other prospecting videos, and don’t need as rigid a script, because the focus is education rather than sales. 

Here’s a video showing how I’d do this. Note that I jump right in to the topic. This isn’t about sales, it’s about offering valuable insight. 

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Summary Bullets:

• Time Investment: Low-Moderate
• Outreach Style: Helpful + Educational
• Goal: Impart valuable information and show off your expertise. 

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4. Inbound Video For First Impressions

Inbound video prospecting, done right, can help prime prospects for demos and boost their chances of following through. Sending prospects a personalized video post demo-request shows you’re engaged, prepared, and invested in their interests. 

The perfect inbound message doesn’t need to be music-video polished, but it should be 100% authentic, quickly-paced, and pinpoint the problem/solution in entirely unambiguous terms. 

Here’s an example of an Inbound Prospecting Video: 

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Transcript: 

“Hey Sarah, I just got your demo request - I’m super excited to walk you through the solution and show you how we help companies achieve X result. 

A few things to know before the meeting: what we’re going to be discussing is a little bit about your goals, how you guys are currently doing things today, then I’m going to share with you how our solutions help other companies like yours achieve X result. And then finally we’ll make a decision if it makes sense to continue the conversation, which would be more of a technical deep dive into the solution.

Anyway, super excited to talk, meet you, and walk you through our solution! Thanks so much and we’ll talk soon!”

Short, sweet, and to the point - this video doesn’t waste the prospect’s time with fluff, it just sets their expectations for the meeting and makes a good first impression. 

Summary Bullets:

• Time Investment: Low
• Outreach Style: Professional + Prepared
• Goal: Increase chances that prospects with show up to meetings.

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5. The Facebook Group Combo Strategy 

I’ve written before about a prospecting strategy that goes something like this:

Step One - Find a relevant FB group (that you belong to). 

Step Two - Rip the list of group members. 

Step Three - Get the contact info for that list.

Step Four - Reach out with a relevant message. 

You can check out the detailed step-by-step guide here, and then combine this tactic with video outreach. 

Combining the personalization of Facebook group prospecting with video creates an even more effective and engaging strategy than either of these tactics alone. Essentially, you’re doubling down on being personable -” hey, we’re in the same group”, and “hey, this is who I am” wrapped up into one. 

Summary Bullets:

• Time Investment: Low
• Outreach Style: Engaging + Authentic  
• Goal: Leverage Facebook and video for double effective outreach.

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6. Social Media Messaging 

When a social media platform performs particularly well for your business, you have the opportunity to exploit the native video tool for incredibly effective prospecting. 

Using in-platform messaging applications for your prospecting and outreach results in a seamless and authentic experience - exactly what you’re trying to achieve. 

Here’s what this looks like on LinkedIn:

Summary Bullets:

• Time Investment: Moderate
• Outreach Style: Casual + Intimate 
• Goal: Quickly reach out in a low-stakes and inviting way. 

7. The Video Sales Letter

A video sales letter is exactly what it sounds like, the video form of a sales letter - pitching the product directly to the prospect, in full. 

A video sales letter is probably one of the bigger time/resource investments on this list - longer videos take more time to make, and if your messaging is going to change frequently, you’ll be making a few of them. Nevertheless, if this strategy is right for you, it can have an incredible payoff. Although on the line between marketing and sales, it’s still within the sales team’s domain. 

Here’s an example of a Video Sales Letter script:

“Have you ever [something that they are struggling with or worried about that is directly related to the problem that you solve].

If you have, you’re not alone. Most [industry/department] are in the same boat.

Well, what if I told you that there is one thing you can do to [desired result].

Let me tell you about [customer or “we”] who no longer [the problem you solve] and have [results they have achieved since implementing your solution].

It wasn’t always that way…

[Customer or “we”] was struggling deeply with [problem]. They knew that [problem] was holding them back from [desired result].

They tried [common subpar solution] and it did [result] but [why it didn’t work in the long run].

They even tried [common subpar solution] and it did [result] but [why it didn’t work in the long run].

Then, they discovered that [the solution to their problem, NOT the name of your solution] is what was holding them back from [desired result].

[Benefit] started happening and they [result].

Then [benefit] started happening and they [result].

Of course [result] isn’t 100% because of what we do at [company name]. They have a great product, team, and execution. 

However, they do give us a lot of credit for helping them [result].

If [problem] is something that you have been struggling with, let’s hop on a quick Zoom and I will walk you through exactly how we can help you [result].

Just reply to my email with some times that would work for you. Or, if it would be more convenient, click the calendar link.

I look forward to a conversation with you."

Fill in the blanks and tweak as you like, or write your own from scratch - just get it before you turn on the camera. 

Summary Bullets:

• Time Investment: High
• Outreach Style: Professional + Authoritative 
• Goal: Come right out with your strongest and most well-developed pitch. 

Video Prospecting Is Not A Secret Weapon

It does not automatically make all sales and marketing more effective. It is, however, more of an investment. 

So think of video like a designer suit. Big style. Big investment. 

If your sales messaging is looking really good- it’s tight, controlled, and appealing, dressing it up in that “designer suit” will make a difference. If your sales messaging is shabby and poorly planned, stuffing it into expensive trappings won't fool anyone. See what I mean?

In the end, think of these tactics as ways of enhancing, rather than underlying, your sales success. 

If you’d like to discuss these tactics in more detail, or just get some perspective on your sales strategy, Vouris can help. We partner with early-stage startups to build, scale, and optimize their sales teams to drive rapid and sustainable growth. In a quick call we can evaluate your sales operations and provide key insights for improving your team.

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