2 Compelling Reasons You Should be Using Online Video

Leveraging Online Video for Business (Part 1)

It’s not the future of the web … it’s the NOW

Internet users (that’s you) are watching an average of 186 videos per month¹ … 186! … per month!

A friend called me and said, “I was researching something today, and I just visited about 6 web sites. I’m at the point now where if I don’t see a video on someone’s home page, I’m gone!”

Is he alone? Absolutely not.

 

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what about a video?

Recently, I was hired by a great company to present and train at their national sales meeting. Although referred to me by another client, the vice president of sales listed her primary reason for hiring me as a 93-second video she saw on YouTube.

 

T.M.I. = A.D.D.

As the hours and minutes in our days seem to lessen, the amount of available information and often distracting messaging continues to grow. How many times have you gone to your computer to do one specific, quick task only to find that 30 minutes or more have passed in a flash? It’s almost as if many of us have A.D.D. when we’re sitting at our computers – quickly losing focus and easily becoming diverted, distracted or sidetracked. There’s just too much information out there.

 

Here are 2 compelling reasons why I believe you should be using video:

1. Three Paragraphs of Text Can’t Compete with a Play Button

Given the choice, most people will watch a 90-second video rather than read 90 seconds worth of text. Did you know reading just one book a year places you in the top 20% of readers the U.S.? In other words, 80% of our population doesn’t even read one book a year². In fact, if just 15% of the people that receive this article in the form of an eNewsletter actually click through to this blog post – and then read it – experts will consider that a “good return.”

And while our society may have lost interest in reading, we’re really good at watching online videos. How good?

• 2 billion videos are viewed each day on YouTube alone
• 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube every single minute
• YouTube is now the 2nd most-used search engine in the world (Google is #1 … but you already knew that)
• And, as stated earlier, Internet users are watching an average of 186 videos per month¹

 

Bottom line: Given the option between 90 seconds of reading text on a screen vs. clicking Play on a 90-second video … people are much more likely to watch the video.

Facebook Newsfeed

If you’re a regular Facebook user, do you notice how much more appealing those [Read more…]

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March 7, 2011 by 2 Comments

Go-Givers Sell More

Everything You Learned About Sales Is Backwards

[Guest Post by: Bob Burg and John David Mann, coauthors of Go-Givers Sell More*]

“I’m no good at selling!” Have you ever heard someone say that? Or maybe said it yourself? (Now, tell the truth.)

We hear it all the time. Everyone who is not in sales thinks, “I could never sell” — and most people who are in sales secretly think the same thing.

Go Givers Sell MoreThere is a reason people feel this way: most of us look at sales backwards. Backwards how? In the most fundamental ways.

For example.

They see sales as convincing people to do something they don’t want to do. It’s not: it is about learning what people do want to do and then helping them do that.

They think sales is about taking advantage of others. Not so: in fact, it’s about giving others more advantage.

Most people think of sales as a talking business. Nope: it’s really a listening business.

Classic sales training focuses on the “close.” The true sales greats hardly notice the close — they are too busy focusing on the open.

But the biggest inversion of all, the great upside-down misconception about sales, is that it is an effort to get other people to do something. Ask most anyone to define sales and you will hear some variation of this: “Sales is getting people to buy something.”

The truth about sales is that it isn’t about getting at all. Sales at its best, at its most effective, is precisely the opposite: it is about [Read more…]

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February 17, 2010 by 4 Comments

How “Warm” is Your Company?

Do your clients want to do business with a person, place or thing?

In last month’s article, I included the phrase “… referrals are where it’s at!” A loyal reader replied to me with an e-mail that read, “Not that I’m knit-picking, but it should be ‘referrals are where it is!’ … Unless you are writing colloquially, which it appears to be the case.” Maybe that guy was onto something …

There are two schools of thought on the topic of business etiquette. One school tells us to remain completely professional at all times, while the other says, “C’mon man, loosen up a little!” Is it possible to be friendly and warm while remaining professional? Absolutely! Why is this important? Because by and large, “loosening up” (a.k.a. “warming up”) is becoming a requirement if you want to attract and retain more business.

 

4 Tips on Warming Up Your Brand

1. People do business with people they like AND people like people like themselves.
Who are your clients? Perhaps more important, what type of client do you want to attract? If your clientele is completely “buttoned up,” then the loosened up approach may not be the best. (This should only apply to a few of you.) The rest of us, however, are dealing with everyday people; people who want to deal with … everyday people. So how can you be perceived as more of a “real” person?

2. Be Accessible
In a recent video message, the wildly successful (and always-charismatic) wine expert and branding guru, Open Door Policy (Humorous)Gary Vaynerchuk, shared his insights on “consumer expectations” and advises that your clients want to know and feel that you are accessible.

Here’s an example we can all relate to: Just a few years ago, it was a big deal to have contact with your favorite author. Now, personal replies from famous writers are becoming the norm (I’m in touch with several). If your clients can reach out to their favorite author and receive a response, shouldn’t they be able to reach you? Gone are the days of burying your phone number and e-mail address in the basement of your [Read more…]

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February 11, 2010 by 8 Comments

I Have a Referral for You

Making Referral Business Your Business

 

How to turn even your toughest client into a referral source

When I was selling Acuras, I’d reached a very comfortable and rewarding 70% repeat and referral business. The breakdown is what’s important to note… While 30% of that total business came from repeat buyers, that number was only trumped by the amount of referral business, responsible for 40% of my total sales. Said another way, 4 out of 10 clients that bought from me, were referred by previous clients.

Now, I don’t care what your product or service is – referrals are where it’s at! What higher compliment could you receive from an existing client, than their referrals? Let’s face it – Whether they showed it or not, this client was impressed with you. So impressed, in fact, they were willing to put their name and reputation on the line.

This is a win-win-win:

For your existing client, they know how much their friend will appreciate them for having found you. For the referred client, the weight of anxiety and lack of trust [Read more…]

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January 16, 2010 by 5 Comments