Consultants have a hard job. They have to do the obvious which is consult with clients about the particular field they specialize in. Hardest and not so apparent, however, is trying to convince people that their services are not only needed, but that they are the expert who is perfect for the job! Not an easy task sometimes.

Word-of-mouth has typically been the most common form of marketing for consultants… but I came across a site I thought was really inspirational as to the power of video to help people see what they otherwise cannot. Personally, I think it’s even better than word-of-mouth! Read on … I’d like to know if you agree!

I learned of a great site today while listening to the podcast, Startup Nation. On this particular episode, the guest was Rob Chen of Visa. He was talking about marketing in the digital age, and as part of the discussion they mentioned Visa’s contest — Business Breakthrough — to help business owners overcome the many obstacles they face. I had to know more, so off to the web I went.

The main part of the Business Breakthrough web site is a collection of videos showing the problems different businesses face, and the solutions offered by the consultants Visa sends in to help. These videos each give a very nice synopsis of the particular business: showing the team in action, interviewing the management teams who talk about the troubles they’re having, and showcase each consultant identifying problem areas and providing solutions that will help each business find success.

I think videos like this, that show the consultant in action (identifying the problem and providing a prescription for an effective solution) — not only help convince people that they truly are consultants who know what they claim to know… but more importantly, they show real businesses with real problems — and that resonates with other business owners who may not be so willing to open up the old checkbook just because someone claiming to be able to help says they can help.

Because video can show the problem and the solution of a real-world example, I feel it’s even better than the “so-and-so does consulting in that area, they might be able to help you with that problem” word-of-mouth-type of marketing.

Do you agree? I’d like to know.

See also my recent post on Video Testimonials — which I believe can augment the examples I mentioned here.

1. Introductions

2. Presentations

3. Invitations

4. Testimonials: Customer testimonials are not only a powerful way to build trust with potential customers, but they’re a great way to reach out to your existing customers and show them that you are serious about earning one from them — it also gives you an opportunity to discuss any reasons why they might not be willing to provide you with one!

John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing believes that “…when a prospect reads a credible comment from another person, endorsing the promise of your marketing message, it does have an impact.”

Written testimonials are very effective, it’s true. However, by using Video testimonials, you allow potential customers to see and hear — and trust — what your existing customers have to say about you and your business.

I posted before about how video can be a great way to introduce yourself… but there is no denying the fact that an introduction by a third party is much more effective. Imagine, video testimonials allow your best customers to make introductions for you! And best of all, they can easily be shared with others at the click of a mouse — spreading them to people you may never have reached otherwise.

In a recent newspaper article, sales guru Jeffrey Gitomer said it simply, “In VIDEO format, customer testimonials are the single most powerful sales tool on the planet. They provide the proof that you can only brag about… Without video testimonials you are alone in the selling process. With them, you will have one thing the competition won’t have — the order.” (emphasis mine)

What story do your customers have to tell about you?

Additional reading:
Drew McLellan on making your clients the hero
Alfred Rocks! - by Andrew B. Clark

Next time: announcements 

I came across a really great tool that I plan to start using on a regular basis to help me post video to more than one video sharing site… get this… by uploading ONCE!

Yep, you heard right! Just upload video to TubeMogul and it takes care of the rest, by automatically posting the video to many other sites. What a time saver! Each video upload takes several minutes, and to post multiple videos to multiple sites, well the math quick turns against us.

As of right now, they support the following video sharing sites: Google Video, Metacafe, MySpace, Revver, Yahoo!, AOL Uncut Video, DailyMotion, YouTube, Crackle, Imeem, StupidVideos, and Veoh. They keep working to add more, so it’s going to get even better over time.

Check it out: TubeMogul.com

Continuing my “web video focus” on the seven types of online video marketing…

1. Introductions

2. Presentations

3. Invitations: Recently I received an invitation in the mail to attend a charitable event. The invite was simple enough — date, time, location, brief mention of the reason for the event… but after reading it I was left feeling a bit puzzled regarding what the particular event was about, let alone why I should attend.

As business folks (and especially non-profits) we all periodically send out invitations to events, open houses, dinners, speaking engagements, etc. My question is, does the recipient really know why they should attend, or what to expect when they do? Do these invitations do much to inspire or excite people about the event?

In my view, it’s not really a problem of the message so much as it is the fact that the invitations are limited to one medium — print. Don’t get me wrong, I like printed invites. They’re handy. You can hang them on the fridge, or pin them on the bulletin board. Print is limited, however, to a very finite amount of space, so the message has to be very concise.

This is where I believe video can augment printed invitations, and in many cases can replace them altogether. Video invitations can do the same things paper can (who, what, when, where, why) but also improves the message in several ways:

1. Personal - Video invitations can include a very personal message from key people within the organization. Whether it be lighthearted or serious (depending on the spirit of the event) video helps the recipient make an emotional connection to the event.
2. Inspirational - Especially in regards to charity events, people want to be inspired to attend and inspired to open their checkbooks. So much more can be done to inspire attendance by using video.
3. Excitement - It’s difficult to get excited about an event by reading about it… but to visualize it — that can generate some excitement. I think you probably see my point by now… but you can show much more visually with video than with print.

Sound like it makes some sense? I’d be interested to know what you think, and would be thrilled to hear from someone who has tried it!

Next time: Testimonials

What’s your porch pitch?

“My what?” You ask.

I recently posted about using video to introduce yourself to your customers and prospects, and wanted to follow up on that today.

My friend Mike Sansone and I had a recent conversation about using video introductions (some dub them elevator pitches.) Mike’s thought was that we don’t really have all that much time to talk in elevators, and nobody really feels comfortable talking in elevators anyway… so why not call them something different. I saw a light bulb pop up over his head, and suddenly he had the name. A porch pitch.

Why not? I thought. Standing on someone’s porch is a lot more friendly and conjures up fond memories of days gone by when neighbors would drop by to introduce themselves to the new family on the block. (Anyone do that anymore?)

I liked it. Mike liked it. The name stuck.

Here’s Mike’s porch pitch. Where’s yours?