[The Selling 7] How to create cost videos that speed up your sales cycle (incl. examples)

You've just started our marketing and sales program, and as part of it you need to start producing Selling 7 videos. One of the videos you need to produce is a cost video, a type of video that raises a lot of questions for videographers working on it for the first time:

• Isn't it a little crazy to make videos about the cost of your products and services?
• Aren't you driving customers away if you are open about your prices?
• And if you do make a cost video, how do you go about it?

As a head coach at Buzzlytics, I have experienced cost videos from both sides. I've made cost videos myself with my colleagues, and in my current role, I coach videographers in our marketing and sales program on a daily basis to create their first cost video. So I know exactly what you can run into and how to deal with these obstacles.

In this article, I explain exactly what a cost video is and why it's so important to be transparent about your prices. You'll get concrete tools for making an effective cost video and I'll show you how other companies have approached this with practical examples. After reading this article, you'll know exactly what the are of a good cost video and you'll be able to start making your own right away.

If you are secretive about the cost of your products and services, your prospects will have less confidence in you.

Here at Buzzlytics, we teach our clients how to create sales-promoting video content called the Selling 7. These types of videos have been proven to help increase sales for all kinds of businesses.

One of the Selling 7 videos is about cost (or price) and this explains the price of your products and services. This is how you help prospects make a purchase decision faster.

Think about the last time you wanted to make a bigger purchase. What was one of the first things you wanted to know?

Indeed: what does it cost?

Now imagine finding a website that sells what you're looking for. But instead of a clear price (or price range), it says, "Contact us for a quote." Now you have to invest your time with a company you barely know to get a price that may not even fit within your budget.

A prospect who does not find what he is looking for on your website does not contact you, but goes to another website that does give him the answers he is looking for.

There are a few things wrong with this "Contact us for a quote" approach:

• Your potential customers know that you know what your offer costs. If you refuse to tell them this, it means to them that you are withholding information, and that automatically makes them trust you less.
• Your customers' buying habits have changed. 80% of the buying decision now takes place online. If your customer does not find the information he is looking for on your website, he does not contact you (as many companies think), but simply goes to another website that does provide that information. To then buy from that other company.
• If everyone interested in your products and services contacts you, you spend a lot of time with prospects who will never buy anyway. As a result, your sales cycle is longer than it needs to be.

I do understand why companies do this. They want prospects to contact them so they can control the conversation and explain how great their products and services are. They hope these prospects see the value of their offerings and will buy, no matter what the cost.

But this is the result:

• Sales is spending a lot of time on ill-fitting prospects
• Sales has mínder time for well-matched prospects

You could have avoided this by simply stating the cost of your products and services on your website.

If you make videos about the cost of your offer, you automatically fill a huge gap in your buyers' search results.

After all, most companies don't talk about costs on their website - let alone make a video about it.

Take Marcus Sheridan, for example, who years ago wrote an article for his pool company about the cost of a fiberglass pool.

Because no other company in this industry had ever shared this information before, the article generated more and more traffic. And Marcus soon realized that these were not just prospects, but qualified leads.

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

Cost videos fill a huge gap in your buyers' search results.

There are three objections we often hear from (potential) customers who do not want to be open about the cost of their products and services.

Even custom work costs something. If your services are so special that you can't give buyers a final price, give them an indication. Any information is better than no information.

Chances are your competitors have long known what your price is. And why let your competitors determine what you share with your prospects online? They don't pay your bills. So focus exclusively on your buyers and their needs.

Explaining costs doesn't scare your customers away, but withholding this information does. You have this information and your prospects know it. And if you do not share this information with them, they will feel that you are withholding something from them and will not trust you.

If you are not willing to address the cost question and explain how factors such as materials, production or location affect your pricing (essentially explaining the market to your buyers), your buyers will not understand why your product or service is priced the way it is priced.

And in that case, they will always look for the cheapest option, regardless of value.

Customers who do not understand why your product or service costs what it costs will always look for the cheapest option.

According to Marcus Sheridan and Tyler Lessard in The Visual Sale, a cost video should include the following components:

1. Address all the factors that affect the cost of your product or service. What can reduce costs and what can increase them?
2. Discuss the market, including why similar products or services are more expensive or cheaper
3. Talk about your products and services and explain why they cost what they cost

You don't have to name the exact price anywhere, but answering these questions will help the buyer make the best possible buying decision, rather than going for the cheapest option.

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

Also, make the videos as long as necessary to answer the question thoroughly. We have seen good cost videos of two minutes and others of 10 minutes.

Now that you understand how cost videos can help your business, here are five examples of effective cost videos.

• Bill Ragan, the owner of the company, begins by explaining that while he is going to discuss costs, there are many factors that can affect those costs.
• Ragan goes on to explain those factors (severity of damage, leaks, improper installation, how steep the roof is, etc.).
• He points out that he cannot go into everything that can go wrong, but he addresses the most common problems, covering the basics.
• He ends up giving an estimate and actual figures so prospects have an idea of the cost, even if that's not exactly what their roof will cost.

• This expense video uses a fun and engaging tone to both educate and entertain the audience, including a bit of humor.
• The video explains that RetroFoam's option is more expensive than some others, but focuses on the "why" to explain the value.
• There is very little text so that the audience gets the gist and is not too distracted.
• The video talks about the market and explains how prospects can find all the information they need.
• The video ends with a CTA to visit RetroFoam's website and learning center to answer more questions.

• Although River Pools sells only fiberglass pools, the video also explains the cost of concrete and vinyl pools.
• The video explains how the costs for each of the three options vary - in the short term and also over time.
• The tone is more helpful and informative than "salesy," which is a better approach to building trust with your prospects.

• In this video, the marketing manager is the content expert. When your marketing team creates content, they build their own subject matter expertise and can also be the face of your company, as this example shows.
• While their audience learns about the cost of virtual tours, they also learn about the process (information about hiring a video production team, the cameras used and even the software needed).

• This is a strong example of how to go through all the pricing options of a physical product.
• The setting includes a background of the warehouse, giving prospects an idea of the company's process and brand.
• These videos are posted on "The Particle Analysis and Filtration Channel" on YouTube. Instead of calling it their company's name, they have given the channel a name that matches their buyer's needs so that it comes up more easily in searches.

By being open about your costs, you build trust and shorten your sales cycle.

Creating a costing video doesn't have to be complicated. By explaining the factors that influence your price, giving insight into the market and telling why your products cost what they cost, you help your prospects make the best possible buying decision.

The examples in this article show that your prospects really don't run away if you are open about your prices. On the contrary: by being transparent about the costs of your products and services, you build trust with your target audience and shorten your sales cycle.

At Buzzlytics, we have helped many companies create effective cost videos. We see time and time again that these videos contribute to more sales and a shorter sales cycle. Sales staff spend less time on prospects who are not going to buy anyway and can focus on prospects who are a good match.

Do you also want to get started with the Selling 7? Then read our other articles on Selling 7 videos:

• Why most corporate videos don't generate sales (and which ones do)
• [The Selling 7] How do you create an effective 80% video that speeds up your sales process?
• [The Selling 7] Employee videos: Win prospects' trust in 2 minutes