Yell
Yell is the number 1 for managed digital advertising for local businesses among direct competitors ¹ in the UK, offering tailored marketing solutions to get businesses found and chosen online. Their field sales and welcome teams partner with thousands of busy tradespeople, professionals, and firms with minimal digital know-how or limited time.
Yell faced challenges engaging time-poor SMB clients. Using CrankWheel’s asynchronous video reviews and prospecting tools, they increased reply rates by 60% and converted 50% of unresponsive leads. With turnarounds as fast as 7 minutes, CrankWheel unlocked scalable customer engagement. Asynchronous communication is now a key component of Yell’s sales and onboarding process.
¹ Those that target local businesses regardless of industry (MBrain, 2023)
Reply rate from “hard to contact” customers after sending CrankWheel video reviews
(Pilot trial data)
Conversion to “Go Live” for previously unresponsive clients
Fastest customer turnaround from sending a video review to full approval
CrankWheel isn’t just about screen-sharing anymore. Video reviews are now a vital bridge to Yell’s busiest and often hardest to reach customers, enabling decisions in minutes, not days. For new customers, prospecting videos from sales work exceptionally well. They are an engaging way to share information and gain interest as well as ‘wake up’ leads that have gone cold.
Yell’s onboarding team needed to guide customers through their new websites, ads, and online solutions, but their core audience (roofers, electricians, solicitors, specialists) are hard to pin down by phone.
“Our customers are small to medium businesses, time-poor and always on the move… We’d be phoning, emailing, WhatsApp-ing with no response for days or weeks. Every hour’s delay meant lost opportunity and sometimes lost clients.”
Rikki Sollis, Team Manager, Welcome DepartmentYell supports a remarkably diverse customer base—everyone from independent tradespeople to established law firms to care home entertainers. Often, customers feel overwhelmed or simply lack the bandwidth to deal with digital marketing setup and campaign decisions, which are Yell’s forte. The onboarding and field sales teams face a dual challenge: connecting with clients who are difficult to reach and helping them make important, sometimes time-sensitive decisions around their digital marketing investments.
Instead of chasing live appointments, Yell onboarding agents now record CrankWheel video walkthroughs of completed websites and campaigns, then send a personalised link via email, WhatsApp, or Messenger. Customers open videos at their convenience—often on their phones in between jobs or after hours. On the sales side, account managers use CrankWheel prospecting videos to ‘wake up’ leads that have gone cold, or to initially pique their interest. These videos quickly demonstrate value and encourage prospects to respond, even after weeks of going silent. Playback notifications and engagement metrics allow sales agents to see which prospects are interested, and follow up with them at the most appropriate times. Recording a video in CrankWheel is as simple as starting a live screen share, which Yell teams had already mastered. With just one extra click, an agent can turn any walkthrough into a recording, tailor the messaging for a particular customer or prospect, and share it via their preferred communication channel, with an animated preview included when shared in supported mediums like email. The entire workflow mimics what agents already do, only now it’s asynchronous and massively scalable. Steph James recalls one early breakthrough:
“My record is 7 minutes from sending a video review to a full-go decision. With live meetings, it would’ve taken days just to get hold of them!”
Steph James, Digital Specialist⊳ Pilot with hard-to-contact customers: 50 customers, 60% replied after video review, 50% approved "go live" within days
⊳ Day-to-day: Now that video sharing has been deployed to the entire team, agents aim to send 2–3 video reviews daily; most receive replies in under 24 hours
⊳ Sales prospecting videos: Field reps routinely send personalised videos to new or dormant leads and see increased engagement and higher response rates
⊳ Engagement insight: Agents are notified when customers view the video, indicating a prime time to follow up
⊳ Efficiency: Operational wastage dramatically reduced compared to repeated calls/emails to book another live appointment
⊳ Many customer replies, like “Brilliant. Please go live!” and “Looks good, please proceed,” highlight both the speed and clarity of the video review workflow.
“There’s no more cold-calling for hours and getting nowhere. With prospecting videos, nearly every reply is a warm lead. It’s now part of our daily routine.”
James Haughey, Field SalesBeyond the hard numbers, Yell teams say the new workflow feels less pressured, more satisfying, and leads to better quality conversations. Prospects and customers appreciate seeing their properties “in action” and often respond positively even when they don’t buy—saving everyone time and leaving a better impression. As agents see instant playback notifications, they know exactly when to follow up, making it easier to prioritise hot leads first.
“We’ve had prospects who ignored our calls for weeks, but as soon as they saw their business featured in a video, they reached out within hours.”
James Haughey, Field Sales⊳ Agents keep video reviews to ~3–5 minutes, focusing on headline benefits rather than technical details, and positioning Yell as the client’s trusted marketing partner
⊳ Starting each recording with the client’s actual website visually boosts intrigue and playback rates
⊳ If an account manager sees multiple playbacks of their prospecting video in minutes, it signals strong engagement and a prime time to place a call
⊳ For groups of decision-makers, one video can circulate among a teamand avoid calendar headaches. When the video recording process was first rolled out at Yell, agents followed a script and checklist to ensure all features and benefits were demonstrated. Over time, the team quickly learned to adapt the format and delivery to their own styles. This not only made the videos more authentic and engaging, but let agents respond more naturally to each customer’s personality and preferences, further increasing engagement, playbacks, and replies.
“The sooner we get a customer live, the sooner they get results—calls, leads, ROI. Video reviews move that forward by days or even weeks.”
Rikki Sollis, Team Manager“I don’t think we could do our job without CrankWheel. For sales or onboarding, it’s become absolutely essential—especially for hard-to-reach customers.”
Steph James, Digital Specialist“There’s no more cold-calling for hours and getting nowhere. With prospecting videos, nearly every reply is a warm lead. It’s now part of our daily routine.”
James Haughey, Field SalesThe shift to video-based engagement has fundamentally improved the Yell team’s experience. Instead of repeated, sometimes frustrating call attempts or rebookings, agents feel more empowered, less stressed, and more productive. They report higher morale knowing their efforts reach real people with real impact—and that those people are more likely to reply, even just to say thank you. Sharing wins, like lightning-fast approvals or success in hard-to-reach niches, has become a new norm across teams.
⊳ Bring video reviews into your workflow for any client that’s hard to schedule live
⊳ Use the engagement notifications and analytics so you know exactly when to follow up
⊳ Share videos on multiple channels, especially for sales: Email, WhatsApp, Messenger, to get seen fast
⊳ Keep videos efficient, friendly, and focused on your customer’s “thumbs-up” decision
“Be open to the new opportunities… The video reviews are the cherry on top. They tie down customers who would’ve slipped between the cracks.”
Rikki SollisWhile CrankWheel’s live screen sharing is still at the core of Yell’s workflow for onboarding and fulfillment, video recording and sharing have unlocked a whole new layer of flexibility. These features complement the real-time experience, allowing teams to reach customers and prospects on their own schedules and making client engagement a repeatable, scalable process. Whether you’re in sales or customer success, asynchronous video opens up wider and less stressful ways to win deals and delight clients. Ready to experience CrankWheel’s no-install video sharing?