What is 1:1 personalized video training and do I really need it?

Video isn’t just a tool for marketers anymore.

In fact, more and more sales teams are discovering the power video can have in their sales process, especially since, according to a benchmark report done by Vidyard, 90% of customers say that video helps them make buying decisions. 

When we talk about videos that sales teams are using, we aren’t just talking about your typical sales enablement videos or even The Selling 7.

We're also talking about personalized, 1:1 videos. 

What is personalized video, you ask?

A personalized video is a video created for specific person or specific group of people.

It’s not meant to be overly-produced but instead created through your webcam or phone to recreate the experience of having an in-person, one-on-one conversation, when that's not possible. 

You want your prospect to feel like the video was created to speak directly to them; to address their specific needs and concerns, not those of hundreds of potential prospects like a more formal video would. 

This individual attention helps build a personal bond and sense of trust. It creates comfort that makes the prospect want to work with you more. 

Sounds nice, right?

But like everything in life, it's easier said than done. 

1:1 personalized video is harder than it seems

The truth is, video is equally if not more important for sales teams to use than it is for marketing teams.

In marketing, you speaking to the masses, but in sales, you are speaking to individuals. 1:1 personalized video is the answer to this need. 

Many sales teams recognize this and want to take it on. 

They want to succeed with it, but are faced with a host of problems, objections, and concerns about resources and being on camera. 

Instead of being concerned about wasting internal time and resources figuring out how to do things successfully, one of the most efficient and effective ways to overcome these issues head-on is through 1:1 personalized video training.

What is 1:1 video training?

1:1 video training is when you work with an expert video trainer to learn how to create and use personalized video effectively at each stage of your sales process  .

The training provides guidance on how to build a culture of 1:1 video, teaching your team how to use video, how to feel comfortable with it, and best practice tips so everyone has a solid foundation.

 It then goes into how to effectively map out what a video selling program will look like for your sales process and how to continue to optimize on your efforts to ultimately result in increased sales opportunities, a shortened the sales cycle, and the ability to close deals faster. 

How do you know if you need it? Here are five signs. 

5 signs I need 1:1 personalized video training

1. Management doesn’t support or understand the value of video selling 

Having little to no management support means there is typically no top down motivation to help make it successful. 

That might mean you’re not given resources for training,  the tools you need, or that you face endless questions on why you’re “wasting time” on that. 

They might hang on to the old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” 

In order to see the most success, it’s imperative that there is support from the top down. Management and leadership needs to believe in what people are doing. 

It is also important that consistent work is being put in and that when you are working with outside help that you’re not only consistently creating videos, but that you’re following feedback and instruction as well. 

The beginning of 1:1 training should start with alignment with management to help provide more insight into success stories, to define what goals are, and to clear up any questions or concerns that they have.

2. You’re getting started without a plan or strategy 

If you aren’t sure where to begin when it comes to 1:1 video training, you’re going to stumble through what works and what doesn’t. 

The problem with this is you’re going to see slower results, you and you’re team are going to get frustrated and chances are give up easily. That’s where a strategy of how this is going to work, where you’re going to use it and how will help you ramp up faster from the beginning. 

Video training will help you identify how to strategically add 1:1 video into your unique sales process. It will help document the types of personalized videos you need to implement and how at each stage of your sales process. 

Training will include the types of personalized video, what they should each include, best practice tips, and who should be creating the videos. This ensures that you have a solid plan to begin prioritizing the videos that need to be made and deciding how they should be made.

3. You and/or your team are terrified of being on camera  

One of the biggest push backs that sales managers face from their teams is that a majority of people don’t want to be on camera. 

That means that people are either going to refuse to be on camera, or they are going to be extremely uncomfortable with it and it will show in the videos. 

You don’t want to impact team morale, and you don’t want people to get started with a sour taste in their mouth. You want to provide guidance and support so that team members want to use video rather than run away from it.

Training is geared towards making sure that your team has the tools and tips to build up their confidence on camera so that they are more open to adopting video into their process. 

One of the biggest reasons sales teams struggle to get adoption is because if there isn’t proper training to make your team feel confident in wanting to use it, it won’t stick. 

4. You’re not being as efficient with video as you could be

Time is money and, as a sales person, you want to make sure that you are doing something as efficiently as possible. 

Personalized video doesn’t have to be a time-consuming task. In fact, it should be saving you time. 

Training will help you understand how.  You’ll learn how long your videos should be, how to cut down on the amount of time it takes to record them, and when you should be creating canned videos that can be used more than once versus when you should be creating unique videos. 

You also want to avoid making mistakes and wasting time in the beginning. 

During training, you’ll also have access to an expert who will be reviewing the videos you’re creating and giving you specific feedback so you can optimize your efforts. 

This allows you to continue to grow faster than figuring it out on your own. This expert will be able to help identify how you can strengthen the videos your team is creating to see success faster. 

5. You don’t know the difference between bad and good 1:1 videos

If you’re new to creating 1:1 videos, you probably aren’t certain when one is good or bad. This is the easiest way to learn what to do and what not to do, and to have examples to look back at as you record videos and optimize your efforts. 

As you’re going through mapping out the types of videos to create and how to create them, you should also be looking through inspiration of what makes a good and bad personalized video. 

In training, you’ll learn what a good 1:1 actually looks like and learn how to apply the skills to learn to create one.  

A good training program will share case studies that allow you to quickly learn how to do things correctly, rather than wasting time figuring it out the hard way.

This also allows you to visualize the process a bit better and evaluate the videos you’re creating against the examples. 

How to see the quickest success with 1:1 personalized video  

Adding video into your sales process will soon be a necessity rather than a nice to have in order to stand out and engage with your prospects. 

It’s not about whether you should get started with it, but rather when and how. 

Starting with a new tool and strategy comes with a lot of unknowns that can make things hard. 

As a salesperson, time is money and the last thing you want to do is stumble, waste time, and turn your team off from a tool that can really help them. 

The point of any training is to develop your skill set and improve performance in what you do by someone who is an expert in the field. 

Going through 1:1 personalized video training will cut down on the amount of time it would take you to self-educate. It is also meant to help you see faster wins than testing and figuring out things yourself. 

Just as any new tool or tactic, it’s best to not waste time, but rather start off on the strongest foot possible to see the best results.