How to Use Video in Your AV Proposals (And Why It Works)

A 60-second video at the front of an AV proposal does something a polished cover and a strong summary cannot: it puts a face and a voice on the company. Done well, it lifts open rates and shortens the time from sent to accepted. Done badly, it adds awkward filler. Here is how to do it well.

Why video works in an AV proposal

Three reasons:

1. AV is a relationship sale. Clients are choosing the team that will turn up on site. A video shows them who.
2. Video is the most-clicked element in a digital proposal. If a client opens the proposal and sees a video thumbnail, they will press play before reading anything.
3. It signals modern operations. A proposal with a personalised video at the top reads as a company that takes the document seriously.

The companies that consistently include short video introductions in their proposals tend to see better engagement metrics on those proposals. It is not the only thing that matters, but it stacks with everything else.

What to put in the video

A working 60-second script structure:

• First 5 seconds: name yourself, name the client and the event. "Hi Sarah, thanks for sharing the brief for the Acme Q3 conference."
• Next 15 seconds: mirror back the brief in your own words. "You are running 600 people in person and 400 online, two breakouts in the afternoon, with the keynote captured for on-demand the next day."
• Next 25 seconds: the headline of your approach. "Our plan covers the main room with a four-camera capture, a dedicated breakout AV package, and a hybrid stream handled from a separate gallery position."
• Last 15 seconds: soft close. "The full proposal is below. Any questions, just reply to this thread."

That structure works because it mirrors the proposal structure itself: confirm understanding, state the approach, invite the next step.

What to leave out

• Long company history
• A list of past clients
• Music underneath
• Reading the proposal out loud
• Anything longer than 90 seconds

If you cannot make the point in 60 to 90 seconds, the script needs to be shorter, not the video longer.

How to film it

You do not need a studio. You need a phone, a window, and a quiet room.

• Frame: chest-up, slight angle to the camera, eyes just above the top of the frame
• Light: sit facing a window, no light behind you
• Sound: quiet room, phone close to mouth, or a lavalier mic if you have one
• Background: clean and unremarkable; the focus should be your face

Two takes are usually enough. If you find yourself doing six takes, the script is the problem.

Where the video belongs in the proposal

At or near the top, just under the cover or executive summary. The aim is for the client to land on the proposal, see the video, press play, and watch it before they start scrolling. If the video is buried on page eight, they will not see it.

In pro-posal.io, video lives as a dedicated section type with a thumbnail and play button. You can either upload a video directly or paste in a YouTube, Vimeo, or Loom link. The client clicks play in the proposal itself, no new tab.

Personalised vs reused video

The most effective version is personalised. The script names the client and the event.

The fallback is a single 60-second company introduction video that you reuse across proposals. This is better than no video at all, but it does not get the engagement of a personalised one.

A practical compromise: a reused company intro for small jobs (under £5,000), and a personalised video for any job where you would otherwise be polishing the proposal for hours.

What about a Loom or screen recording

A growing trend: instead of filming yourself, record your screen scrolling through the proposal while talking the client through it. This is genuinely useful for complex proposals where you want to flag the key trade-offs the client should look at.

It is best used as a complement to the proposal, not a replacement. A screen recording explains; a personal video sells trust.

Measuring whether it works

If your proposal tool tracks views per section, you can see how many clients press play and how long they watch. After 10 to 20 proposals you will have enough signal to know whether the video is earning its place.

pro-posal.io includes a video section type and tracks view counts per section. Try it free for 60 days: pro-posal.io.