The Selling 7: How To Create the Best Cost Videos (+ Examples)

Many of the companies we work with are initially hesitant to post cost and pricing information on their websites, let alone entire videos about it.

When someone tells you that you need to talk openly about cost in order to grow your business, there’s usually hesitation. You might be thinking, “Wait a minute, our solutions are so custom that we can’t possibly talk about price. Plus, our competitors will find out what we’re charging for our products and services!”

Then there’s the ultimate fear: “But we will scare away our customers…”

If you’re wondering why on earth you’d want any of these scenarios to unfold, we completely understand. Believe me, we get it. But we promise there's a powerful reason why such content is needed. 

We teach and encourage our clients to create articles and videos about cost and pricing for one simple reason: They work!

We’re not only talking about a handful of our clients snatching up a few extra dollars either. Time and time again, the cost and pricing videos we teach our clients to create have generated show-stopping revenue for years on end. 

Such is the case with countless of our clients who have implemented They Ask, You Answer, including our own Marcus Sheridan’s swimming pool company. River Pools can trace over $6 million in sales from a single blog post: “How much does a fiberglass pool cost?”

In this article, we’ll share everything you need to know to create these revenue-generating videos yourself, including:

• What cost videos are and why you should create them.
• What information you must include in your cost videos to make them effective.
• Cost video examples we love and why they work.

This way, you will know exactly how these videos will help you finally grow your business with inbound marketing.

Here’s how cost videos can transform the way you market and sell.

What are cost videos and why should you create them?

Here at IMPACT, we teach our clients how to create sales-driving video content called The Selling 7. These seven types of videos are proven to drive revenue for businesses of all kinds.

One of the Selling 7 topics is cost (or pricing), which explain the pricing of your products and services so prospects can make their purchasing decisions more quickly.

Your buyer’s perspective on cost

As a business, it’s important to understand your buyers. This includes how they think and what motivates them to buy.

In the spirit of doing so, think about the last time you were looking to make a larger purchase. What’s one of the first things you wanted to know when you saw something you liked?

That’s right; How much does it cost?

Now imagine you find a website selling what you need, but instead of a clear price (or price range) you see "Call for a quote!" You now need to give your time to a business you barely know to maybe get a price range that could be out of your ballpark anyway.

Talk about a major hassle!

There are a few things wrong with this approach:

1. Your customers know that you know the cost of your products and services. When you refuse to tell them, they automatically trust you less.
2. Your customer’s buying habits have changed. And if they’re looking for information on your website and they can’t find it, they quickly leave and find the information — and give their business to — the company that does answer it.
3. By forcing everyone who is interested in your products and services to reach out to your business to get pricing, you are preventing bad-fit prospects from eliminating themselves, thereby lengthening your sales pipeline.

We get why businesses do this. You want prospects to reach out to you so you can control the conversation and explain how great your products and services are. You hope these prospects will see the value in your company and purchase regardless of cost. 

But if this is how you operate, you’re already limiting how much your sales team can sell by creating infinitely more work for them. They’ll be wasting time pursuing poor-fit leads that could have eliminated themselves if you’d just shared the cost of your products and services in the first place.

Why cost videos are so effective

When your business creates videos about cost, you are automatically filling a giant gap in your buyers’ online search results.

For example, when Marcus Sheridan wrote “How much does a fiberglass pool cost?” something incredible began to happen.

Because no other businesses in the fiberglass pool industry had ever provided that information before, the article generated more and more traffic. And he quickly realized these weren’t just any prospects, they were qualified leads. 

The article resulted in millions of dollars in revenue the company would never have earned had they not taken the plunge and written openly about cost.

The case for creating videos about cost

Marcus initially refused to address cost for many of the same reasons you might be hesitant. After giving it a shot, here’s what he eventually learned about each of the three major objections we hear from clients who don't want to address cost openly on their website:

• “Our solutions are custom.” Even custom solutions cost something. If your services are so custom that you can’t provide buyers with a definitive price, give them a ballpark. Any information is better than none.
• “Our competition will know.” Chances are your competitors already know what you charge. Furthermore, don’t let your competitors dictate what you share with your prospects online. They do not pay your bills! Focus on your buyers and their needs — exclusively.  
• “We might scare customers away.” Explaining cost doesn’t scare your customers away, but keeping this information from them will. You know the answers, and your prospects know you do too. And if you don’t share cost information with them, they will feel like you’re withholding information and won’t trust you.

If you’re not willing to address the cost question and explain how factors such as materials, production, or location affect your pricing (in essence, explaining the marketplace to your buyers), they won’t understand what goes into your process.

And if they don’t understand how your marketplace works, they will always seek the cheapest option, regardless of value.

What information to include in your cost videos to make them effective

If and when you do choose to create cost videos for your website, here is the information you need to include, as written by Marcus and Vidyard’s Tyler Lessard in The Visual Sale:  

1. Address all the factors that drive the cost of your products and services up and down. 
2. Discuss the marketplace, including why comparable products or services are cheaper or more expensive.
3. Talk about your products and services and why they cost what they do. 

Although you don’t have to give your exact pricing anywhere, when you explain the factors in and around the various costs, it helps your buyer understand how to make the best purchasing decision possible.

Create a video for each product and service you offer. If you have hundreds, start with the products and services you offer that are the most profitable. 

Also, make the videos as long as they need to be to answer the question thoroughly. We’ve seen incredible cost videos that are two minutes long, and others that are ten. 

Cost video examples

Now that you understand how cost videos can truly help your business, here are five incredible cost video examples from some of our B2B and B2C clients.

1. Bill Ragan Roofing Company — How Much Does a Roof Repair Cost?

Why this cost video works:

• The owner of the company, Bill Ragan, begins by explaining that although they’ll be going over cost, there are a broad range of factors that can affect those costs.
• Ragan continues by explaining those factors (damage severity, leaks, improper installation, how steep the roof is, etc.).
• He points out that he can’t cover everything that can go wrong, but he addresses the most common issues, covering most of the bases.
• He ends with giving a ballpark estimate and actual numbers, so that prospects have an idea of the cost, even if it isn’t exactly what their roof will cost.

2. RetroFoam of Michigan — How Much Does RetroFoam Cost?

• This cost video uses a fun and engaging tone to both educate and entertain its audience, including a bit of humor.
• The video explains how RetroFoam's option is more expensive than some others, but it zeroes in on the “why” to explain the value.
• There is very little text, so the audience gets the main point and is not too distracted.
• The video talks about the market and explains how to find all the information prospects need.
• It ends with a CTA to visit RetroFoam's website and learning center to have more questions answered.  

3. River Pools — How Much Do Concrete, Fiberglass, and Vinyl Liner Pools Cost?

• Even though River Pools only sells fiberglass pools, the video explains the costs of concrete and vinyl pools too. 
• The video explains how the costs vary for each of the three options — in the short term and also over time.
• The tone is more helpful and informational than “salesy,” which is a better approach for building trust with your prospects.

4. AQUILA Commercial — How Much Does It Cost to Produce a Virtual Tour for Your Commercial Property?

• This video features the marketing manager as the subject-matter expert. As your marketing team creates content, they will be building subject-matter expertise of their own and can also be the face of your business, as this example shows.
• While their audience is learning about the costs of virtual tours, they’re also learning about the process (information about hiring a video production team, the cameras they use, and even software needed).

5. W.S. Tyler — How Much Does Filter Cloth Cost?

• This is a great example of how to run through all the pricing options of a physical product.
• The setting includes a backdrop of the warehouse, giving the prospects a feel for the company’s process and brand.
• These videos are posted on the “The Particle Analysis and Filtration Channel” on YouTube. Instead of calling it the name of their business, they named the channel according to their buyer’s needs, making it easier to come up in search. 

Start creating your own cost videos today

When your business is ready to step up and answer all your prospects’ questions — even the tough ones — you’re committing to educating your customers and keeping their best interest in mind. 

Take the next step toward creating cost videos that generate revenue by learning more about They Ask, You Answer and The Visual Sale.

When you’re ready to begin, schedule an appointment with one of our advisors who can walk you through how to alleviate your video marketing challenges and help your business grow with inbound marketing.