Social proof in the form of testimonials is one of the fastest and most effective ways to build credibility with your potential customers. But getting your clients to take the time to write out a testimonial can sometimes feel like pulling teeth. It’s so frustrating to ask a client for a testimonial and hear nothing but crickets. And even when you get a testimonial back from them, while it may be positive, oftentimes clients can have a hard time articulating what they got out of the experience of working with you. Their testimonial may fall short of really showing off the benefit they got from working with you.
In this video, I’m going to share my process for getting testimonials that will not only get your clients to take action and write that testimonial for you but will make sure their testimonial is really strong and touches on all the value they got from you.
Guide your clients in the process.
If you want your clients to give you great testimonials, you have to guide them in the process. If you just ask someone to give you a testimonial, most of your clients will probably feel a little bit stumped and not know what to write. It doesn’t matter how much they loved working with you, simply asking for a testimonial is too vague. Your clients need more direction in order to write something really stellar. If you just ask them to write a testimonial with no direction, too often you’ll get something back that falls flat of what you were hoping for, or they’ll never get around to writing anything at all.
Instead, I recommend that you prepare questions that your clients can answer that will give you the information you need that can be compiled into a great testimonial. The basic framework for questions to ask include:
- What were they struggling with before working with you?
- What did they love most about the experience?
- What positive outcomes have they gotten as a result of working with you?
Asking these questions will ensure that your clients touch on the Before, During and After, of working with you so you can capture their full story. If you need more direction on the types of questions to include on your testimonial form, grab my Raving Testimonials guide where you’ll find a list of questions you can use that will help you to get the info you’re looking for from your clients for their testimonials.
YOU write the testimonials based on your client’s answers.
The FINAL step is to write up the testimonial based on their answers – That’s right YOU can write the final testimonial based on the responses they gave in their testimonial form. You just need to ask permission and get approval for that final testimonial from your client before you start sharing it. I promise you they’ll be fine with this. I’ve never had a client object to this testimonial process, and none of my clients have had any objections getting their testimonials this way either. Because you’re using the client’s words as a starting point, and you’re simply putting it into a more effective format. This way, you can make sure that the testimonials cover all your bases, and you’re taking the pressure off of your clients by doing some of the work for them.
Now don’t forget to grab my guide for getting raving testimonials from your clients that walks you through this exact process in detail, and gives you a list of questions to include in your testimonial form that will bring out the best responses.
