Show notes from Podcast Episode 65.
“Hey Nick this is Andy from Louisville KY and I’m a wedding videographer. I’m looking to expand into the corporate market making videos for small businesses, real estate developments and similar things. How can I break into this market?”
Get lots of advice from people in the industry but I’ll give you a perspective you probably won’t get anywhere else on this. I’m assuming you already know how to make great video, edit it, put it online and show it off with a flashy website.
Videography is competitive because it’s a passion project. A lot of people love doing video and the equipment needed to record and produce quality content is getting cheaper and cheaper. I almost put this business on my “Businesses I hate list” but then thought better of it. Why?
This business is about sales and marketing. It’s not about the quality of the work. Any college student with a G7 and a hobby can shoot and edit above average video. Don’t get me wrong its important to do quality work. But many are racing to the bottom on price and going hungry because they can’t find work.
Ask anyone who has built a large video production agency what their key to success was. They’ll try to say we just did quality work. Wrong. Somebody was a good salesman. Somebody could lead others on a shoot and walk into a room and convince business owners they NEEDED what they were selling.
SALES AND MARKETING AND NETWORKING. If you can do this stuff and master it you’ll be different. You are generally competing against artists with visions. You aren’t competing against salesmen. That needs to be your play. Focus on sales and getting uncomfortable and building relationships and ASKING for business and you will thrive.
You need to get out and get face to face with potential clients. Thats the only way. Cold emailing won’t work. Cold calling wont work. Making great video and uploading it to instagram and youtube won’t work.
This is very low risk. Put up a bare bones website. Get some business cards. We’re talking $500 or less to get it going and less if you want to put some time into it. Don’t register your business yet. Don’t incorporate yet. Don’t worry about insurance yet. Do all that after you get some business.
As soon as you get that done get out and find people who you know could benefit from your work. Nearly every small business in America needs a nice 1 minute promo video on the front page of their website to gain trust with customers. They need it for the YouTube search results. They need it to help their business grow.
Start local. In your town only. You have to be able to reach out and get face to face with these people to increase your odds of getting some momentum. Analyze local businesses. Find an amazing website like this and then use that to sell other local businesses like this. Strike fear in the business owner that they are falling behind and they’re missing the future of media and online sales because they really are and we all know it.
Find those businesses and walk in the door. Get on the phone. Get a meeting. Get out of your comfort zone. You’ll get rejected. Its a numbers game. On to the next one. Do whatever ritual you need to do in between meetings to keep moving. Take business cards from all of them and follow up relentlessly. Sell sell sell.
Remember that there are two types of businesses. Business that don’t want to pay very much for a video and businesses that do. Don’t waste your time with the low margin businesses or the owners that don’t value your work. The ones that want a video that requires 40 hours of work for $500. Ignore them. They’ll nickel and dime you and it will be tempting to take the work. Especially in the early days. Thats fine for a while to build your portfolio but its critical that you start telling them no and walking away when you spot them.
An introvert? I don’t care. Take an acting class. Find a way to be personable and talk to people about their business and their life. Smile and exaggerate your facial expressions and your body language. SHOW GENUINE EXCITEMENT about what you are doing and the kind of difference it can make. Make it clear you are EAGER to help and you really know your stuff.
Read Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss. Sounds stupid because its coined a negotiation book but its Sales 101. Mirroring and keeping them talking about them. Every sales situation is a very emotional negotiation. Master the EMOTION of it.
This is what 99% of videographers aren’t doing. They suck at sales. They have anxiety making cold calls. They hate talking to strangers and especially hate selling to strangers. They’ll never walk into a business and try to get a sale. They want to do the art and be the artist. But remember this business isn’t about the art. Its about sales and marketing.
You aren’t selling video. You are selling trust. You are selling a first impression on a customer.
Get out and sell the crap out of it and you will be successful.
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