Your video outreach can look great and still get ignored by the exact executives you're trying to reach. This one is pulled from the archive, and it earned that spot because the problem it solves hasn't gone anywhere.
Tyler Lessard, VP of Marketing and Chief Video Strategist at Vidyard and co-author of The Visual Sale, joined me to break down what actually gets enterprise buyers to open, watch, and reply to a prospecting video.
Rethink What Actually Counts as a Video
- A lot of people still picture video as a polished, one-to-many production with drone footage and professional editing, and that assumption alone keeps plenty of reps from ever hitting record.
- A simple webcam recording or quick screen share works fine, because the goal is communicating an idea clearly, not producing something that looks like a commercial.
- The real shift is seeing video as a faster, more effective way to answer a question or explain something, not as a special project that needs a production budget.
Treat Video as Part of the Rhythm, Not a Silver Bullet
- Sending ten prospecting videos and expecting five replies sets the video up to fail. It's one piece of an outreach sequence, not a standalone bet that has to prove itself in isolation.
- Video doesn't replace phone calls, social touches, or written emails; it adds a layer of familiarity that makes the rest of that sequence land better.
- Once a video sits inside the regular rhythm instead of being judged on its own, the fear of it "not working" stops being a reason to skip it altogether.
Write a Subject Line That Creates Curiosity
- A subject line like "Donald, a quick video for you" works because it creates a curiosity gap, and the brain doesn't sit well with an unanswered question without clicking to resolve it.
- Naming the word "video" directly in the subject line raises open rates on its own, since it stands out against a sea of plain, text-only subject lines.
- This curiosity effect holds across seniority levels, from an entry-level buyer to a C-suite executive, because it taps into basic human psychology rather than a specific title.
End With a Low-Lift Call to Action
- Asking for thirty minutes of someone's time on a first video is the same awkward ask reps already overuse in cold emails, and it falls just as flat on video.
- Offering to send a second, slightly more detailed video is a much easier yes, since anyone who already watched the first one has shown they're open to watching another.
- A low-lift CTA like that opens the door to more face time with a prospect without asking for a meeting before any real trust has been built.
Make the Visual Do the Talking
- Recording with a prospect's own LinkedIn profile visible on screen behind you turns the video thumbnail into something personal enough to earn a click on sight.
- One memorable example involved a rep showing his own search results next to a competitor's ad, with five-star reviews stacked underneath it, proving a point visually instead of describing it in a sentence.
- Showing something instead of explaining it saves the viewer the work of looking it up themselves, and that shortcut builds trust faster than a written pitch ever could.
Use Video Beyond the First Cold Outreach
- A short video attached to a meeting reminder lift shows rates, because it puts a real, energetic person in front of the invite instead of another plain calendar notification.
- A quick recap video after a meeting can travel further than expected. If a champion forwards it internally, it introduces you to decision-makers who were never on the original call.
- Recording a short answer to a question you get often, once, and reusing it saves real time on every future deal that runs into the same question.
"It's about connection, not perfection." — Tyler Lessard
Leadership Advice, Books, and Quotes
Tyler's core message throughout this episode is that video works because it's human, not because it's polished. Every tactic here, the subject line, the low-lift CTA, the visual proof on screen, is really just a way of making a message feel like it came from a real person rather than a template. His book, The Visual Sale, co-written with Marcus Sheridan, goes deeper into how to build that kind of visual communication into a full marketing and sales process.
Resources
Connect with Tyler Lessard on LinkedIn to ask about video strategy for your own enterprise outreach.
Check out Vidyard for video tools built for sales and marketing teams.
Pick up The Visual Sale by Tyler Lessard and Marcus Sheridan for the full framework.
Tell me how you're using video in your outreach on LinkedIn.
Connect with Tyler on LinkedIn
Sponsorship Offers
- This episode is brought to you in part by Hubspot.
With HubSpot sales hubs, your data tools and teams join a single platform to close deals and turn prospects into pipelines. Try it for yourself at hubspot.com/sales.
- This episode is brought to you in part by LinkedIn.
Are you tired of prospective clients not responding to your emails? Sign up for a free 60-day trial of LinkedIn Sales Navigator at linkedin.com/tse.
- This episode is brought to you in part by the TSE Sales Foundation.
Improve your connection on LinkedIn and land three or five appointments with our LinkedIn prospecting course. Go to the salesevangelist.com/linkedin.
Credits
As one of our podcast listeners, we value your opinion and always want to improve the quality of our show. Complete our two-minute survey here: thesalesevangelist.com/survey. We’d love for you to join us for our next episodes by tuning in on Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Stitcher, or Spotify. Audio provided by Free SFX, Soundstripe, and Bensound. Other songs used in the episodes are as follows: The Organ Grinder written by Bradley Jay Hill, performed by Bright Seed, and produced by Brightseed and Hill.
