Quiz: Test Your Sales & Marketing Radar

Below is a little experiment, which is followed by a quiz, to help determine the sensitivity level of your sales and marketing radar. For this experiment, you are going to play the role of the customer. We need to pretend that you are a customer who is exploring purchasing solar panels for your home. For you to feel the full effect of the experiment, it is important that you follow the instructions in order without skipping ahead to see what the next step is.

First, please read and react to the following, which we will refer to going forward as Email #1...

Hi Mark and Maureen,

Thank you so much for the opportunity to come meet with you earlier today. Please look through the information I left with you and let me know if you have any questions.

Also, you had asked for a testimonial from one of our customers. Please read below for a testimonial we received from a local area customer…

“Our summer bills were between $300 and $400, as it is really hot out here and we needed to run the air conditioner continuously. As the summer months would approach we would anticipate having to a pay a higher price and it was quite stressful knowing those high bills were coming.

What I like about Solcius and what is different from other solar companies that we talked to is that they sell the energy and not the solar panels. Because we didn’t have to buy the solar panels, there was zero down payment.We thought it was a really good thing for our family.

I also like the fact that going green means we save energy, which is good for the environment. I’d like to teach my kids the same thing. Going with Solcius was definitely the right thing for our family and I would recommend them to anybody.”

Temple Henry—Solcius Customer since May 2014

Mark and Maureen, please let me know if there is anything else you need at this time. Otherwise, I look forward to hearing from you by the end of the week with your decision. It would be an honor to earn your business!

Johhny Salesman, Solcius Solar

OK, next we want you to read and react to Email #2 below…

Hi Mark and Maureen,

It was great to meet with you earlier today. As promised, I have included some additional information for you to review. Please click the image below for a brief personal message from me, which is followed by the testimonial that you had requested to see…

Mark and Maureen, thank you for watching the videos. Please let me know if there is anything else you need at this time. Otherwise, I look forward to hearing from you by the end of the week with your decision. It would be an honor to earn your business!

Johhny Salesman, Solcius Solar

Thank you for taking the time to review both of the example email messages above. Now it’s time to determine how you engaged with the email messages you read above and how they made you feel…please answer these 7 questions below, record your answers on a piece of paper and then find out how you score...

Question 1: Did you read the entire Email #1 (the text based message)?

1. No, I skimmed through it.
2. No, I bailed while reading the testimonial.
3. Yes, I followed your directions.

?Question 2: Did you read the note and watch the videos in Email #2 in its entirety?

1. No, I read the email but I didn’t bother to click to watch the videos.
2. No, I read the email and watched the first video but bailed before the videos had finished playing.
3. Yes, I read and watched it all.

Question 3: What are your thoughts on the personal messages that were included for Mark & Maureen in both the first and second emails?

1. I thought that Email #1, which contained the note to Mark and Maureen was just fine for a follow up message like this.
2. In Email #2, I liked the personal video message follow up from the salesperson better than the plain text in Email #1, but it likely wouldn’t have any influence on my decision as a consumer.
3. I found the personal video message in Email #2 to be highly effective. Assuming the product and the price are relatively similar, I can see myself being more inclined to work with this company because of the level of personal follow up I received.

Question 4: What are your thoughts on the testimonials that were included for Mark & Maureen in both the first and second emails?

1. In Email # 1, I thought that the text based testimonial was just fine.
2. I liked the testimonial video from a real customer in Email #2 better than the plain text in Email #1 but it likely wouldn’t have any influence on my decision.
3. I found the professionally produced testimonial video in Email #2 to be highly effective. Assuming the product and the price are relatively similar, I can see myself being more inclined to work with this company because of the well-produced, authentic video that used the customer voice.

Question 5: Did the image that was included in Email #2 make it more appealing to click to watch the video?

1. No, not really.
2. Yes, I guess it did but I didn’t really notice the image.
3. Yes, I found that the image was highly engaging and relevant and it compelled me to click on it.

Question 6: In Email #2, what are your thoughts on having the personal video message and the professional testimonial video together in the same playlist?

1. I didn’t really notice.
2. I noticed that the second video was queued up to play after the personal message, but I would have been just fine if the videos were accessed via separate links.
3. I thought that having the videos that I was sent to watch all in one place was very cool and efficient (and was different from what I normally see).

Question 7: Which best represents your career philosophy?

1. I prefer to keep things simple using tried and true methods.
2. I’m willing to try new things once I have seen others have success.
3. I’m always looking for new ways to stand out and differentiate myself.

OK, now it’s time to score yourself. Add up the scores from the seven questions above. The first answer to every question is worth 1 point, the second answer to every question is worth 2 points, and the 3rd worth 3. Note that the title of this post referred to testing your sales and marketing radar…we chose that title as opposed to “check your readiness for using video in sales and marketing” to remove the bias you might have had when taking the quiz.

Based on your total score, here is your rating…

• Up to 12 Points—An important part of any sales and marketing strategy you undertake is believing yourself that it will be effective. If you scored in this range, you are probably not a good candidate for implementing a video strategy at this time in your own business.
• 13-16 Points—Like the majority of consumers, you find things that are easy to use, yet different from the norm, to be more effective than previously held norms. You are a good candidate to consider a video strategy to improve your sales and marketing communication.
• 17-19 Points—You are a great candidate to be a leader in sales and marketing effectiveness using video in your industry because you recognize how important standing out in your communications is to your success.
• 20-21 Points—Blackjack! If you aren’t already on the video sales and marketing bandwagon, time to place your bet today…you are someone who really gets it!

Share your score from this quiz by commenting on this LinkedIn post!

Vizoodeo provides a comprehensive solution to help real estate professionals stand out by doing video right. If you are a real estate professional, we’d be happy to send you a video demo of our solution that you can review on your own. If you are in an industry other than real estate but are interested in a partner for video, please contact us and we’d be happy to recommend other qualified vendors for you to research.

The example company(s) that were referenced in this article were used for illustration purposes only and the references do not constitute an endorsement.