Guide
How to sell video services to clients: show a sample, answer their doubts, propose a small test
Updated
Clients buy video when they can see what they will get and the first step feels small. Show a sample, answer their doubts honestly, and propose a short test with a review date.
In short
- To sell video services, show a client a sample made for them, answer their doubts and propose a short test.
- Your existing clients who post but rarely use video are usually the easiest to sell to, because they already trust you.
- You can price video per video, as a monthly package with a set number of videos, or as part of a retainer.
- The three usual objections are "we tried it and nobody watched", "nobody will go on camera" and "we have no footage".
- A good proposal sells a test plan with a review date and never promises views, followers or sales.
Which clients to approach first
Start with businesses that already post online but rarely use video. They know content matters, so you only have to show what video would add.
- Your own clients are the easiest start, because they already trust your work and you know their business.
- Businesses that run ads with only images are a good fit, because a short video gives them a new ad to test.
- Service businesses with one person who explains things well, like clinics, trades and coaches, can film talking-head videos on a phone.
- Before you reach out, look at their Instagram, TikTok or Facebook page, so you can say exactly what video would add.
What to show as a sample
A client decides faster when they see a video about their own business. Your general showreel does not show them that.
- Make one 30 to 60-second vertical video from something they already have, like a customer review, product photos or a short clip of the owner.
- If you have nothing of theirs, show a video you made for a similar business and explain what theirs would look like.
- Show the sample on a phone, because that is where their customers will watch it.
This is the whole editor
Highlight a phrase and a clip lands on those exact words. No timeline, no keyframes, no layers.
How to package and price video services
Package video so the client knows the cost in advance. A fixed number of videos a month is easier to approve than an open-ended hourly rate.
- Base the price on your own hours for filming, editing, revisions and account management, multiplied by your hourly cost, plus your margin.
- Write the number of videos, their length, the formats and the revision rounds into the package, so extra requests have a price.
- For comparison, social media retainers averaged $2,107 a month in HeyOrca's 2024 survey, for three platforms, posts, community management and reporting.
Ways to package video services
| Package | What the client gets | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| A test month | A small set of short videos and a review date | A client who has not used video before |
| Price per video | One finished video at a time | Clients who need video now and then |
| Monthly package | A set number of videos, one filming session and one round of notes | Clients who post every week |
| A line in a social media retainer | Videos as part of the monthly fee | Clients you already manage |
Package: A test month
- What the client gets
- A small set of short videos and a review date
- Best for
- A client who has not used video before
Package: Price per video
- What the client gets
- One finished video at a time
- Best for
- Clients who need video now and then
Package: Monthly package
- What the client gets
- A set number of videos, one filming session and one round of notes
- Best for
- Clients who post every week
Package: A line in a social media retainer
- What the client gets
- Videos as part of the monthly fee
- Best for
- Clients you already manage
An example pitch message
Keep the first message short: what you noticed, what you would make and one small next step. Here is an example you can adapt.
- "Hi [name], I read your Google reviews. Customers keep saying you explain every repair before you start."
- "That would make a strong 30-second video of you explaining one common repair, filmed on a phone."
- "I made a short sample for your business, so you can see what it would look like. It is attached."
- "If you like it, we could make four videos this month and look at the results together at the end of the month."
Objection 1: "We tried video and nobody watched"
Do not argue that video works. Ask to see their old videos and when they posted them, then explain plainly why they did not work.
- Motion's study of 550,000+ Meta ads found that only 5 to 8% of ads become winners.
- At that rate you need roughly 13 to 20 videos to expect one winner, so six is too few to judge.
- If nobody saw the videos, more videos will not fix it. The client needs a way to reach people first.
Why their old videos did not work
| What went wrong | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| The video opened with a logo or a greeting | Say the point in the first sentence |
| A wide video was cropped to vertical | Film vertical, with text clear of the app's buttons |
| They stopped after six weeks | Plan a test long enough to compare several videos |
| Few people saw the videos | Add ad spend, an email list or another way to reach people |
What went wrong: The video opened with a logo or a greeting
- What to do instead
- Say the point in the first sentence
What went wrong: A wide video was cropped to vertical
- What to do instead
- Film vertical, with text clear of the app's buttons
What went wrong: They stopped after six weeks
- What to do instead
- Plan a test long enough to compare several videos
What went wrong: Few people saw the videos
- What to do instead
- Add ad spend, an email list or another way to reach people
Objection 2: "Our people hate being on camera"
Take this one seriously. Someone who does not want to be filmed usually looks stiff on camera, and viewers notice.
- You need one willing person, not the whole team.
- Ask who already explains things well to customers. It is often a service manager, a founder or a technician.
- Tell the client honestly that a video with one of their own people on camera usually builds trust faster than a voice-over or text on screen.
If nobody will go on camera
| Option | Best for | What you need |
|---|---|---|
| A customer on camera, in a short chat | Most businesses | One happy customer and ten minutes |
| A voice over footage of the work | Trades and clinics | Footage of the work and a script |
| A screen recording with a voice | Software | A screen recorder and a microphone |
| Text over footage | Anyone | Good footage and short text |
Option: A customer on camera, in a short chat
- Best for
- Most businesses
- What you need
- One happy customer and ten minutes
Option: A voice over footage of the work
- Best for
- Trades and clinics
- What you need
- Footage of the work and a script
Option: A screen recording with a voice
- Best for
- Software
- What you need
- A screen recorder and a microphone
Option: Text over footage
- Best for
- Anyone
- What you need
- Good footage and short text
Objection 3: "We have no footage"
Footage is rarely the real problem. The client is picturing a film shoot, while a phone video is enough.
- A phone, a window for light and one person who can talk is enough to start.
- A clip-on microphone is the one thing worth buying, because sound matters more than the camera.
- Most businesses already have photos of finished work, products and screen recordings they forgot about.
- Before-and-after shots and the team at work, filmed on a phone, also work well.
- Stock footage is fine for two seconds over a phrase, but never in place of the client's own product.
- With no footage, no speaker and no product, the client needs hired creators or animation, which costs more.
When the client is right to say no
Sometimes video is the wrong next step, and telling the client so is the honest advice.
When to talk a client out of video
| Situation | What to do instead |
|---|---|
| No way to reach people: no followers, no ad budget, no email list | Fix how they reach people first |
| No clear offer | Fix the offer first, because video only spreads an unclear message |
| A tiny market, like 400 named companies | Contact them directly |
| No time to be filmed, briefed or to review | Wait until they have the time |
Situation: No way to reach people: no followers, no ad budget, no email list
- What to do instead
- Fix how they reach people first
Situation: No clear offer
- What to do instead
- Fix the offer first, because video only spreads an unclear message
Situation: A tiny market, like 400 named companies
- What to do instead
- Contact them directly
Situation: No time to be filmed, briefed or to review
- What to do instead
- Wait until they have the time
What to put in a video proposal
Sell a test plan with a review date, not only a number of videos. A plain number of videos is easy to compare with a cheaper quote.
- The test plan says what you will change between videos, how long each version runs and what you will measure.
- The proposal also says when you will stop or change the plan if the results do not improve, for example after eight weeks.
- The review date says when you meet and which results you will bring.
- The production plan says who is on camera, how often you film, who approves and how many revision rounds are included.
- The proposal never promises an outcome, a view count or a growth curve.
Where Cutroom fits
Once the client says yes, Cutroom can do the editing of talking-head videos. You upload one clip of someone talking and get a finished 9:16 video back in about a minute.
- It transcribes the clip, writes a hook, and adds b-roll and captions in one of 40 caption styles. On the Punch and Native styles, it also removes the ums and uhs in the transcript.
- You change the video by editing the transcript, not a timeline.
- It only takes clips up to 3 minutes and only exports vertical 9:16 MP4, with no landscape version and no subtitle file, so tell the client which formats they will get.
- Cutroom has no approval tool, so clients keep approving videos the way they do now.
- A 30-second video costs 110 credits: 100 to edit, plus 20 per minute of export. Lite is $19.99 a month for 1,250 credits.
- Your first video is free, with no card, and you have 7 days to make it. It carries a Cutroom mark; Lite removes it.
Questions people ask
- How do you find clients for video services?
- Start with your own clients and with businesses that already post online but rarely use video. Look at their pages, make one short sample for their business, and send it with a short message that proposes a small test.
- How should an agency price a first video project?
- As a defined test, not a discount. Set the number of videos, how long they run, a review date and when you would stop. A first-month discount sets the client's idea of your price, and that is hard to undo at renewal.
- How do you sell video to a client who says they already tried it?
- Ask to watch what they made and when they stopped. Failed attempts usually come down to a slow opening, the wrong format, a test that was too short, or nobody seeing the videos. Explaining their own results earns more trust than arguing.
- What if nobody at the client will go on camera?
- Find one person who already explains things well to customers. You need one willing speaker, not a team. If there is nobody, use a customer, a voice over the work or a screen recording.
- The client has no footage. Where do you start?
- With a phone, a window, one person who can talk and a clip-on microphone. Sound matters more than the camera. Then use what they already have: product shots, screen recordings, before-and-after photos and the team at work.
- When should you talk a client out of video?
- When nobody would see the videos, when the offer itself is unclear, when the market is small enough to contact directly, or when the client has no time to be filmed and review.
When the client says yes, upload one clip and get the finished video back in about a minute. Your first video is free.