Say it on Video Appealing to today’s millennial buyers by: Eddie Steelman, Smart Technologies
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s you have heard, today’s buyers are doing research and have their minds basically made up by the time they engage with your salesperson. I do not know why we keep hearing this in the industry and in sales talks. It is so obvious and we all do it. How unaware does one have to be to not realize that we run the lion’s share of all our decisions through Google? However, with all the buzz about Buyer 2.0, I still see a huge piece missing that almost no one is talking about — especially inside of dealerships. How is this buyer doing all of his (or her) research? Yes, on his phone and on Google. But what is he actually looking at? Here is my theory: Almost no one is checking out testing laboratory articles or awards. About the same number are visiting the manufacturers’ websites. So, what is the buyer reading? Ding, ding, ding! Sound the alarm, as you may have missed it: He is not actually reading. How do we know that? Because we are not reading. OK, some of us do read, but halfway through an article, if there is a video we can click on that will not result in 100 pop-up ads, we will watch the video. As you read this, you know it is true. But what are you doing about it? Are you adapting your outreach and selling strategy to mirror the way you — and everyone in the world — buys? If not, why not? The videos we consume in our buying cycle come in two flavors — the customer review and the sales/marketing video. You see, the new buyer does not actually have his mind made up before he engages with an actual salesperson. He engages with a salesperson on his own time and terms as soon as he gets the idea that a purchase may be the solution to his needs. He is just looking for a salesperson to tell him instantly, without conversation, how to solve his problem. Or, with the customer review video, he is seeking a referral. Why? Because nobody wants to feel like he is being sold to. When it is on the buyer’s terms, the buyer feels more in control.
So, let’s appeal to that and to the prospect’s love of customization. You do not have to wait until he decides to buy from you to start selling. Customize videos for your prospect. He will watch them and you will be planting the seeds of a buying decision and positioning yourself as a resource as he makes his decision on his terms. Have personalized videos for prospecting and funnel them into customized videos to educate prospects on your process, your product and, most of all, you. Create videos for every aspect of your business. It is crazy to think that with all of this “digital” going on that buyers are still craving real relationships with real humans — but they are. Your prospects want to trust people. Having great video content can build your credibility and establish that trust before your first handshake or even your first phone call. Millennials are a crazy bunch, I know, but should we complain about them or figure out how to adapt our methods to create successful relationships with them? It should be stated that, in the next few years, millennials will occupy three-fourths of the decision-making roles in the marketplace. Why are many of us sitting on the sidelines? Millennial buyers are much more educated on our products when we get the chance to have encounters with them. So, instead of waiting to battle with them during a meeting, work to get out in front and interact with them on their terms before you have the actual appointment. Become one of the inputs they are using to educate themselves. There is an old saying: “The sale starts when they walk on the lot.” That is not true anymore. The sale starts way before that, when you do not know who the customer is, what he looks like and you are not much more than a URL. So, maybe the “lot” has become cyberspace. I know what you are thinking: Making these videos will be really expensive and I do not have the talent on my team to do it, right? Wrong. You can make phenomenal videos
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4/30/20 3:02 PM
