Testimonials
Is there anyone who can speak for you or your business better than you can yourself?
Yes there is – your customer.
Consider that your customer knows what you do, and has had a pretty full experience of the benefits. He knows what you do, and how it impacts him. If it’s a testimonial, he likes it a lot. Also, in offering a testimonial, she has no motive for business gain. She’s just telling it “as it is.” And those who read what she has written get a very clear picture of what your business can produce. Without your interpretation or intervention.
So why is it that 95% of small business owners don’t seek or solicit testimonials?
Would you guess: FEAR!
1. We’re not sure how our client will respond.
2. We’re afraid of what we might find out.
3. We don’t know how to solicit testimonials.
So we don’t solicit testimonials. So what?
Consider the possibility that your competition doesn’t seek or solicit testimonials either! This, despite the fact that testimonials may include the most powerful value statements you could possibly offer to a potential customer. Are you passing up a big advantage? Recently, Kathy Gulrich spoke at a coaching information business I run, the NYC Midtown Coaching Center, on the book she’d written. It’s called Build Your Business With Testimonials: Ten Steps to More Clients, More Customers, More Sales. You can buy it from Kathy’s website, and you should! (Click here). I’m not going to reprise her small but effective book. I am going to challenge you to take her Testimonial Snapshot (Click here). See what you know, and what you can learn. Now, let’s suppose that you’re ready to get started. You need a procedural structure. How about an email inquiry with telephone follow-up – would that be an acceptable process for getting a vote of thanks from a customer?
Sneak a peek.
This document comes from the Famous Fabienne Fredrickson, a superb coach of coaches who, a long time ago, coached me on this topic. Visit her at www.clientattraction.com but for now, sneak a peek and her Testimonial Form and Click here.
Now you know what you know and need to learn.
Now you know how to go about it.
The Word-Of-Mouth (where else would it come from, the elbow?)
Many of us wait for “word of mouth” to bestow its blessings upon us. “Word of mouth” is an unsolicited comment from someone who knows us to someone we don’t know which ultimately results in new business for us. Does “word of mouth” sound unlikely?
It does happen. But you have no control over it! It’s not something you can invest in, like an advertising campaign. It’s not even something you can provoke. It’s just something you sit around and wait for. It reminds me of Blanche Dubois’ lament “I’ve always relied on the kindness of strangers!” Not a good way to build relationships, or a business either.
Getting In Action.
Instead, get in action. Get to the people you think approve of your business. Ask them to respond to you. If they don’t respond right away, call them and go over Fabienne’s process. Might you be amazed at how willing your good customers are to help you?
And get those testimonials on your website where they can be seen. One more story about Kathy Gulrich – who helped me “testimonialize” my website. When she asked me how I managed testimonials, I responded (smugly) “very well!” I’d been using Fabienne’s model very successfully, and I’d put all the testimonials in a section cleverly marked “Testimonials.”. Then Kathy asked me: Did I have a traffic measurement on my site. “Yep.” Would I look at it and see what kind of traffic my testimonials got? Oooops! About 1-2%. I’d carefully hidden them on my website, where 98-99% of my visitors would miss them. What to do?
Kathy advised: “Use them to prove the points you want your website to make. Put them out where your visitors will trip over them!” I did, and, since then, almost every new client coming from my website has commented on the testimonials. Have a look! Click Here!
I believe that testimonials are an extraordinary resource available to all of us who have customers. You can learn some remarkable things from your customers. Testimonials are free, they’re powerful, and they’re forever – once your customer has put some kind words in writing and you have permission to use this material, you can use it as long as you please, Try it, and let me know how it works for you. Hey, you might even give me a testimonial.
Craig Jennings
