[VIDEO] PandaDoc closes the deal with a point-of-sale testimonial

Customer videos are meant to be watched. Shipped, tossed around, scuffed up. Don’t let them sit in a dusty virtual cabinet. (Looking at you, Google Drive…)

The point-of-sale (in B2B, often signing the proposal) is a perfect place to include social proof as validation. Think of it as “Sign me, you’re doing the right thing.”

Check out how PandaDoc did just that.

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Right place, right time.

I hate switching tabs. It’s distracting. To minimize link overload, PandaDoc put a customer story front and center in their proposal (sent via PandaDoc, obviously) under the headline "The PandaDoc Impact".

The video featured Jonathan Gerhard from Verified First. (And it’s 👏, but a smidge long at 2:41.)

The page links to the full customer testimonial and includes a few quick facts on the customer - which competitor they switched from 😈 and which CRM they use.

Presumably, these criteria are used to select a “like customer” to the signee, though this wasn’t the case for us.

Get multimedia with it.

The B2B world is behind. The world is a magical place full of technology and innovation… and here we are, somehow living in the world of 2000-word case study PDFs.

Instead, PandaDoc embedded a customer testimonial video into their proposal. They used this bottom of funnel tactic to boost social proof and validate a prospect's purchase decision by showing them: 

1. "We have customers like you" (who you've probably heard of)
2. "They're happy with their purchase” (and thus, you will be too.
   

Nailed it!

Steal this idea.

1. Understand your prospective customer’s pain points: Stop sending the same old case study to all your customers. Instead, segment your target audience and send a relevant, hand-selected (or automated, but seemingly hand-selected) customer story.
2. Make it clear that it’s a video: Sounds obvious, but don’t just put a text link. Drop the video with a thumbnail showing your happy customer at the top of the proposal. 
3. Write an eyeball-grabbing headline: Cut to the chase to tell the viewer what the video is about and what the subject accomplished.
4. Make the video an actionable lesson: Instead of a traditional testimonial where the user raves about the product, add in some context-rich explainer content. Show the customer talking about how they used the product, so viewers can borrow their strategies.
   

Your turn to validate your almost-customer’s buying decision!