The Unspoken Parallels of Sales and the Creator Economy

Since the start of this year, I decided to pick up a new hobby/skill to learn — mastering the video-editing software DaVinci Resolve, among the tools used by professional studios to produce the movies you watch in cinemas. While it sounds fancy, it’s actually quite intuitive to use, and super fun. 

So why did I choose to learn this skill?

I genuinely enjoy the whole process of manipulating an image/clip to make it more engaging. It puts me in immediate flow state, which is very satisfying.  

Secondly, I think any skill related to making content will become more valuable in the future — I think any one with entrepreneurial ambitions should learn how to make content and building out their portfolio of digital assets.

There’s a reason we are seeing more and more content creators build successful businesses and it is because we are shifting to a creator economy, where individuals who have audiences can break into industries that were previously dominated by big conglomerates. 

But, in learning the art of making well-crafted videos and studying how they are received by audiences on YouTube, I noticed some parallels to the concept of maximizing viewer retention and my job in sales. 

What is viewer retention?

Viewer retention measures how well viewers are staying with the content from the beginning to the end, rather than dropping off at various points. It matters because platforms like YouTube reward channels with high viewer retention, because it means that these channels are able to keep viewers on the plattform for longer, which means that users are exposed to more ads. More ads = more revenue for YouTube.

As an editor there are various things you can do to this maximize this important metric — the use of effective story-telling, appealing visuals but also more subtle effects like sound design, transitions, coloration and pacing. The list goes on. It’s a whole art in itself that takes years to master.

While I’m by no means a pro (yet) I’ve come to learn about one truism in the gospel of good editing: it is a balancing-act of giving the viewers enough stimulus to stay „hooked“ but not too much such that it becomes overwhelming. 

Each shot has the intention of prolonging the viewers journey to the next one until ultimately the viewer has reached the end satisfied. Exceptional creators on YouTube have an AVD (average view duration) of 50-60%. This means that if a video is 10 minutes long, viewers are watching for 5-6 minutes on average. They find a way to minimize drop-offs, points where viewers lose interest, or get bored. 

A YouTube channel is essentially a storefront of videos where viewers are taken through a funnel. They view a thumbnail, click on the video and spend time engaging with the channel.

So how does content-creation relate to being a seller?

Both are in the business of persuasion and leading the viewer/buyer through a funnel.

The sales funnel is just the experience the buyer has from the first contact with the seller to finally placing the order.

And along the way, both sellers and content creators have to be mindful of minimizing the risk of people losing interest and opting out of the funnel completely.

It's a very similar game.

While the top content creators, as mentioned, have a AVD of 50-60%, the comparable metric to sellers would be their conversion rate.

Top performers in the SaaS space have a blended conversion rate of 25-35%, meaning that at least every 4th account they are talking to turns into close.

These reps are great minimizing points in the sales cycle where buyers ditch the process for a competitor. 

To me, thinking about the buying process like a well-crafted video is helpful — if you look at the buyers experience through the lens of a video-producer, you will start to incorporate effective story-telling techniques, and retention hacks to keep your buyer engaged. 

Learning the art of story-telling has heightened my sensitivity to the importance of keeping your prospect engaged, and it's made me a better seller.

Many of the top-sellers I know are really good at this one skill: having the awareness to track the prospects engagement, and the story-telling skills to craft a narrative that makes the buying experience an enjoyable one.

Good story-tellers are the best sellers — they are sensitive to the way the brain likes to receive and digest information through the use of hooks, a well-crafted narrative and ultimately a satisfying ending. 

Those who take a purely data driven approach to sales miss the emotional component, the most crucial component of any buying process. 

Master the art of story-telling and you will become a better seller. 

If you like my content, please subscribe, or pass it on to some one who will enjoy my blog. Happy story-telling!