# When to send an async video instead of a call with a prospect

When to send an async video instead of a call, when the video should earn the call rather than replace it, and how to offer a prospect both in one message.

By Pranav Reddy, founder of hi.video. Published 2026-10-05, updated 2026-10-05. Canonical page: https://hi.video/blog/personal-video-vs-discovery-call

## Short answer

Send a short video instead of a call when the prospect mostly needs to see who you are, or to see a document explained, before they decide. Book the call when there are real unknowns on both sides and someone may need to say no out loud. Usually the video comes first and earns the call. Offer both in one message and let the prospect pick.

"Do you have thirty minutes this week?" is a common ask in consulting outreach, and an expensive one to say yes to. From the prospect's side it means thirty minutes with a stranger and a calendar invite they will have to move twice. There is also the small dread of a call that turns into a pitch.

A fifty second video costs them fifty seconds, and they can stop at ten. That difference is why a video can get watched when a call does not get booked. But a video cannot do everything a call does, and pretending it can leads to long, lonely recordings that few people finish.

## What a short recorded video does well

A video is good at the things that do not need a reply in the moment. It lets someone see who you are before they decide whether to talk to you, and it can explain one idea in under a minute or show a document on screen so they understand it before a meeting rather than during it. It can also answer a question they asked in writing, when the answer is easier to say than to type.

It also travels, because the prospect can forward the link to a partner who was never going to join the call. And it waits: they can watch it on the train or at eleven at night, and you find out it has been viewed without having to ask.

The other thing a video does is lower the cost of the next step. Once a prospect has seen your face and heard how you talk, a thirty minute call with you is no longer a call with a stranger. That is the main reason the video usually comes first.

## What a call does that a video cannot

A call lets the other person interrupt you. That sounds like a drawback until you remember that discovery is mostly interrupting. The prospect says something, you ask why, and they say the thing they did not put in the brief. None of that happens in a recording.

Calls are also where people say no. Prospects will type "we are reviewing it" for weeks rather than write "we chose someone else," but on a call they are more likely to tell you, and knowing early saves you weeks of follow-ups. Pricing conversations and objections belong on a call too, as does anything where you need to read a pause.

And some prospects simply want to be heard. They reached out to talk, and for them a video in place of a call feels like being handed a brochure.

## When the video replaces the call

The video is enough on its own when the prospect's question is small and the stakes are low. Here are a few cases where I would send a hi and not ask for time at all.

- They said "send me something" and meant it.
- You are introducing yourself before a proposal and the proposal will do the talking. [Video introduction before a proposal](https://hi.video/blog/video-introduction-before-a-proposal) covers that message.
- You are taking over an account and the client just needs to know who you are.
- They asked one question in an email and the answer takes a minute to say.
- It is early, their intent is low, and a call would be you doing discovery on someone who has not decided they have a problem yet.

In each case the ask at the end of the video is a reply rather than a meeting, and the button under the video goes to your email.

## When the video earns the call

Most of the time the video is the thing before the call rather than the thing instead of it. A short recorded introduction makes the call easier to agree to, and a screen walkthrough of a draft makes the call shorter when it happens, because the first ten minutes of explanation are already done.

Send a video to earn a call when the prospect has shown interest but has not committed time, or when the deal has gone quiet and a meeting request would feel like pressure. In those cases the ask at the end is a booking, and the button goes to your calendar link.

If the thing you want to show is a document, [walk a prospect through an idea with screen and camera](https://hi.video/blog/walk-a-prospect-through-an-idea-with-screen-and-camera) covers how to structure that in a few minutes.

## How to offer both in one message

You do not have to choose for them. Offer the video as the cheap option and the call as the next step, in the same message, and let the prospect pick. The message stays short because the video carries the explanation. Here is one, to a made-up prospect called Jonas.

> Subject: One minute on the reporting project
>
> Hi Jonas,
>
> Rather than ask for a meeting straight away, I recorded a one minute hi about how I would approach the reporting problem you described: [link]
>
> If it is useful and you would like to talk it through, the button under the video books twenty minutes with me. If a written reply is easier, just answer this email.
>
> Pranav

On hi.video the page the prospect opens shows their name, your note and the video, with the one button you chose. If you want to leave both doors open, point the button at your calendar and say in the note that email is fine too. Keep the note to two lines. The video is the message, and the note explains why there is one.

The prospect does not need an account, and the link is unlisted, so only people who have it can find it. You will see when it has been watched. If it has been watched twice and nobody has booked, the prospect may be interested but hesitant, and a short follow up email can help.

## A rough guide to picking

If you want a rule of thumb, use this.

- Nothing to discuss yet, and they just need to know who you are: video, and ask for a reply.
- Something to show, and a decision depends on understanding it: video walkthrough, and ask for a call.
- Real unknowns on both sides, or money is about to be discussed: call, with a short video sent alongside the invite so the call starts warm.
- The deal has gone quiet: video, ask for a reply, and mention the call only as an option.

## The mistake of recording a call with nobody on the other end

The failure I would worry about most is a video that is secretly a meeting. It runs eight minutes of someone talking through everything they would have said on the call, with no one to interrupt them. The prospect opens it, sees the length and closes it.

Keep the introduction under a minute, and keep the walkthrough under five. The free plan on hi.video allows one minute per video, which is the right limit for a first message, and the [Pro plan](https://hi.video/pricing) allows up to ten minutes for walkthroughs that need the room. If you find yourself wanting more than that, the thing you are recording is a call, and you should book one.

A prospect deciding whether to spend thirty minutes with you is partly deciding whether you are who you appear to be, so it should be you, recorded recently. A generated presenter would answer that badly. hi.video has no AI avatars and no uploads, and the [trust page](https://hi.video/trust) explains why.

If there is a call request sitting in your drafts right now, try replacing it. [Record your first hi](https://hi.video/app), put the calendar link on the button, and send that instead. If the prospect ignores it, you have lost a minute of recording.

## Questions people ask

**Is a video message better than a meeting with a prospect?**

Neither is better in general. A short video is better for being recognised or for showing a document, because it costs the prospect under a minute. A meeting is better for discovery and for hearing a no. Most of the time the video comes first and makes the meeting easier to agree to.

**When should I send a video instead of asking for a call?**

When the prospect said to send something, when you are introducing yourself before a proposal, when you are taking over an account, or when a written question has a one minute answer. In each case ask for a reply rather than a meeting.

**How do I ask for a call without being pushy?**

Send a short video first so the prospect knows who you are, then make the call optional in the same message. Point the button under the video at your calendar link and say that a written reply is fine too. The prospect picks the cheaper option, and that is still progress.

**What is an async video in sales?**

A recorded video the prospect watches whenever they like instead of joining a live call. It is usually under a minute for an introduction or a few minutes for a walkthrough of a document, with a link they open on any phone or laptop and a button to reply or book time.

Related: https://hi.video/blog/walk-a-prospect-through-an-idea-with-screen-and-camera, https://hi.video/blog/video-introduction-before-a-proposal, https://hi.video/blog/video-prospecting-first-touch-that-gets-replies