Video killed the radio star salesperson.

Ahh VSLs, the rockstar of the marketing world. If you’ve been around the online marketing scene, you’ve probably heard of VSLs, aka video sales letters.

And if you haven’t, well, it’s ok. All a video sales letter is, is a video that does a sales presentation, typically on a landing page.

For example, picture your best salesperson giving a top-notch presentation — they know exactly what to say and exactly when to say it so your prospects are more likely to become customers. That’s exactly what a VSL does; it takes your best salesperson and gives their presentation out at scale so you can you know … make sales!

And this, of course, is powerful. Having a high-performing VSL is like throwing gasoline on a bonfire — it’s going to make your messaging burn brighter, which is what you need to do to sell more.

Never forget, marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin, so you really do benefit from having someone handle the selling, hence why VSL’s are born.

But this begs the question, how exactly do you write a VSL? Well, let’s find out.

Step 1: Write the Introduction

Every sales pitch, whether in person or through a video, kicks off the same way — with an introduction. Your VSL is no different. You want to start off by introducing yourself, what the viewer gets from the video (benefits), and how long it’s going to take.

Why introduce yourself? Because that’s the number one thing people want to know when they meet someone new.

Why state the benefits? We need to give people a reason to stick around.

Why give a time? Have you ever watched a video and immediately wanted to know how long it’s going to take? Yeah. That’s why we disclose the time. It gives closure.

Now, there are two tried & true strategies to kick off a VSL: being straightforward or throwing in a pattern interrupt. (For the rest of this article, I’m going to write a short VSL for a recruiting software company to illustrate my points.)

Straightforward: “Hey, my name is Anthony and in less than three minutes, I’m going to show you how to sign 1–2 clients every month without making one cold call… guaranteed.”

Pattern Interrupt: “Hey, I’m Anthony, and in less than three minutes, I’m going to reveal how lazy recruiters are getting rich, only working 45 minutes a day… guaranteed.”

The key here is to focus on capturing their imagination. You want to give them a good enough reason to stick around instead of scrolling by. For that, I recommend focusing on the #1 problem your product or service solves and nothing else. And if you’re able to offer a guarantee, offer a guarantee, as it helps defeat doubt.

Step 2: Tell the Backstory to Build a Connection

So if we did our job, we have their attention, and now most prospects are going to have one big, bulging question they want answered… “Why in the Hell should I listen to you?” So… let’s answer that!

We answer that question by talking about two things: The problem… and your relationship to the problem so you can build authority. This is your opportunity to set the stage and relate to your prospects.

Your goal is to make them get the sense that you fundamentally understand where they are and the struggles they have. It’s also the opportunity to set yourself up to be the knight-in-shining armor. After all, all sales are, is solving problems.

One of the best strategies I like to use is to simply tell a story about the problem. Using that recruiting software, maybe your story goes like this:

“If you’re like most recruiters, you likely want one thing: more clients. Every recruiter needs a steady stream of clients so you can fill orders and, most importantly, get paid. The problem is though, the prescribed advice of getting clients is the same strategy recruiters have been using for over 50 years.

Cold call companies to build your pipeline. And while this strategy does work, it also works on you. You can feel tired, you get rejected, and it often feels like you’re a nuisance, begging companies for leads. Cold calling is essentially a giant game of finding the needle in the haystack and it wastes time.”

Be sure to spend extra time researching the problem through your customer’s eyes. Use the words they use. Describe the problem how they describe it. This is all to help you do one thing… be relatable.

Step 3: Set Up the Solution

So now that we played the world’s smallest violin and set up the problem, our prospects should feel that we understand their pain. And remember that knight in shining armor we mentioned? Well, it’s here in the VSL where he starts walking to the field of battle.

This step is all about setting up the solution. Use this moment to transition from the problem to the solution by sharing how you found the breakthrough. This is essentially a segue.

In real life, we use segues to make our arguments flow more naturally, and selling is no different. We want this to flow like your 6 PM Buti yoga class. And for example, maybe it could look like this:

“Look, I’m a numbers guy. And after spending all day every day cold calling, I had a hard time accepting this was the best use of my time. I mean with all the technology we have today, we’re still expected to use methods that are decades old?

So I decided to look for a better way, utilizing modern technology to cut out the cold calling, and what I came up with has not only earned me over a million dollars in billings in less than a year, but it became the Apple System. The only recruiting software that’s designed to automate your workflow and give recruiters 1–2 new clients each and every month, without making a cold call… guaranteed.”

Step 4: Sell the System

Ok! Now that we have officially laid down the groundwork, it’s time the knight in shining armor takes the battlefield. This is your opportunity to talk about your system/product/offer.

Remember all selling is, is solving problems. So your goal here is to completely answer how your product or service solves the problem in a convincing fashion. If you approach this step with this mentality, you cannot go wrong.

A basic framework is to say what you do, say who it helps, and explain what the benefits are while handling objections. Keep in mind that this is a conversation, so fit it in where it makes sense. Maybe it looks like:

“What makes the Apple System so successful is that it fundamentally reverses the recruiting cycle.

Instead of spending hours on end talking to people hoping they could use your service, what if you just spoke to people who already did? This is what the Apple System does. It forces you to skip everyone who doesn’t want recruiting help and only focus on people who do, so you only work with warm leads. And the difference between warm leads and cold leads is a green paycheck. 

Our patented software comes with a course that explains how to use it and how to install it into your workflow. Using the software, it’s going to show you how to quickly identify what companies are in the market for recruiting help and come with prebuilt messages that you simply copy and paste over.

The best part is that once you send a message over, your CRM will automatically update to save you from the tedious work. All you have to do is follow the plan, and you’ll get results… guaranteed or your money back — no questions asked. And it works in any industry from finance to fitness and everything in between.”

Step 5: Add Proof & Handle Objections

By now, everyone watching the VSL has their BS alarm going off, and the only way to combat that is to provide immediate proof… fast! In sales, evidence always defeats doubt, so we need evidence to defeat their doubt.

This means you should now show testimonials,  five-star reviews, and share endorsements to help quell the skepticism. This is also an opportunity to use your proof to handle any objections. Maybe it goes like:

“But don’t take my word for it, take Jamie, a rookie recruiter who billed $20,000 in just 3 weeks using the system. Or even Rex, a 20-year industry veteran who wishes he had this when he started. If you want to see more success stories, feel free to read some of our 100-plus 5-star reviews below, from every industry you can imagine. They’ll all tell you the same thing… it works!”

Step 5: Wrap it up with a CTA

Now that you’ve effectively sold the system, backed it up with proof, and done it in a way that preemptively handles objections, it’s time to ask your audience to take action.

Remember in sales, you need to ask people to sign up, not the other way around. This question is the difference between buying and selling. Maybe it goes like this:

“If you’re a recruiter looking to dramatically increase your billings without dramatically increasing your hustle, this system might be for you — or your money back. To learn more about the Apple system, enter your contact information below, and you’ll be routed to our safe and secure landing page, where we break down the details. Listen, it’s time you stop playing hide and go seek to find your business — use our technology to do more work in less time… or your money back.

I’ll see you inside!”

Full Circle

In essence, a video sales letter is a recorded sales call — nothing more, nothing less. And all a sales call is, is you making the case why your solution is the best way to solve their problem. If you can make a case of why your solution is the best  choice— more likely than not, you’ll get the business.

The key here is to really put yourself on the other side of the table. Pretend you’re the prospect and walk a mile in their shoes. Whatever they care about, you need to care about and address to build trust. And when you have a VSL, never forget to test and optimize. Just because you make one VSL doesn’t mean it’s set in stone.  You also want to consider the graphics you use, the sound, and all the factors that make a video a video – these all affect the results.

While there’s many ways to write a VSL and different audiences will respond to different factors, if you really focus on making a case why your product or service is the best, you can’t go wrong.

If you can do that and follow my guide, you will likely be successful. Good luck my friends!

Please like, comment, share and tell me what you think. Need help with writing, coaching or marketing? Let’s chat. Anthony@anthonyrobertagency.com