Testimonials - Your Silent Salesperson

Everyone talks about the importance of having testimonials (reviews) but they very often don’t give you the number one reason you need them.

It has EVERYTHING to do with the way our brains are wired! 

The biggest reason: Our brains are wired to keep us safe! Testimonials tell our brains that it is safe to work with you! (Yes, it really is as simple as that.) It tells the client that you can be trusted, which loops back to it being safe to work with you.

People are scared of anything new, why, well because you guessed it - our brains literally scream at us telling us that it might not be safe. We won’t have evidence to back this up, but just the fact that it might be unsafe is enough to keep us from hitting buy.

So when you have testimonials (reviews), it tells your client that someone else has done this before with you and you guessed it, it’s safe for me to do this too.

It tells them that you have a business that is not going to disappear overnight and guess what, it’s safe for me to you my money because you’re not going to disappear.

Have you ever watched a Reality Show and been drawn into the show in a way that it literally felt like you were the contestant? 

Well, that’s what your testimonials need to do - they need to draw your potential client in and let them experience what working with you will be like. Your testimonials need to paint a picture of the future your clients are stepping into by working with you.  They need to stir positive emotions in potential clients and have them saying: Ooh, I need that in my life!!

I’m a complete statistics geek, so here’s some stats around testimonials:

• 88% of people surveyed say reviews influence their buying decisions (Vendasta)

• Studies show that customers spend up to 31% more with businesses who have good customer reviews. (Strategic Factory)

• Sales page testimonials increase conversation rates by up to 34% (Impact)

• The ‘voice of your customer’ ranks higher even than unbiased analyst reports. (Spectoos)

So, what do customers look for in your testimonials?

27% look for reliability; 21% for experience and 18% for professionalism.  

But there is a ‘sweet spot’ for the number of reviews you should be using, particularly on sales pages. You need between 4 -6 Reviews (Vendasta). Anything over this and the customer starts to feel overwhelmed and you come across as too ‘salesy’. Lastly and most probably most importantly, Google loves reviews! 9.8% of the ranking factors that they use are directly attributable to reviews.

Now all of this info is great, but let’s dive into how to get testimonials. 

Rule One for service businesses: Don’t wait until the end of your journey with the client to ask for the testimonial. You want to find the golden nuggets during the time that you work with the client and use those. 

So what are these golden nuggets? 

Here’s an example: You’re a social media manager and you’re helping the client set up their social media strategy. During the call with the client, she comments that this is the first time in her business that she is feeling in control around social media. You want to use that!! The reason: The number one reason people hesitate to outsource their social media is that they feel like they will lose control. You’ve just proved the opposite through this testimonial.

Rule One for product businesses: 

You want to have the client review your product as quickly as possible after the sale. 

Here’s an example: 

You’re an online store who uses a courier service to deliver your products to your clients. Build into the courier service a rating scale for clients to rate immediately how happy they were with this part of your process. Collect this over x number of deliveries and share this. This fundamentally shows the customer that you have proven systems for every element of your business, not just your products.

Rule Two based on my, and my client’s, experiences: 

Most clients don’t give you testimonials when you ask because they don’t really know what to say and they don’t have the time to write something. So, you need to take the lead in crafting the testimonial for them and then asking them for approval rather than waiting for them to give it to you.

How do you do this?

I love to pose a couple of questions to my clients at the end of our time together.  I then craft that into a testimonial for them and get them to sign it off. 

Here’s a couple of my favourite questions to ask:

1. What were you looking for when you first came into contact with me? 

2. What attracted you to the service/product? or What problem or challenge were you looking the service/product to help you with?

3. Please share what made you buy the service/product?  (And of course include any doubts or fears that you had …. or inspiration you felt … whatever)

4. What was the most valuable part of working with me? or What did you like best about your experience of working with me?

5. I’d love to know about any successes you’ve celebrated through working with me? (Think about money, new clients, breakthroughs and shifts) 

6. What is one piece of advice or wisdom you want to share with someone thinking of working with me? 

   
   

What’s great about this is that I get to capture the client’s responses on video, so I can use the sound bites from the video as well as a written testimonial!

Here’s an example of how we’ve used these questions to create a review from Jenny Collins from RedCat Design:

“For entrepreneurs, and especially those that are in a creative field, our businesses and lives are very intertwined and what came through for me was that what I'd been doing till now was a dress rehearsal of my business and life to a certain extent, but the dress rehearsal is over, it's time to step up on the stage and. And I feel a lot better equipped to do so now- thank you!”

Here’s an email script you can send to your clients requesting a testimonial:

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Subject: Some Feedback on [service] 

Hi Name, 

Here’s hoping you're having a great week! 

It's been such a pleasure working with you for the past [amount of time]. The progress I’ve seen in you has been incredible, especially] something specific that you remember from the client]

It’s important to me that you got everything you wanted from our time together.

One of the ways I do that is by staying open to your feedback. 

To help craft my services going forward, I’d love for you to answer a few questions about your experience overall. 

Insert your questions. 

If you could, please answer them in the next week or two.  If it’s easier please pop me a voice note and I can transcribe your feedback from there.

Thank you in advance for your time. And thanks so much for trusting me to help you [the outcome from working with you]. 

Your Name 

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Once you’ve received the feedback from the client, craft it into a testimonial and don’t forget to get their approval before using it.

Here’s an email script that we love to use.

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Subject: Thanks so much for your feedback 

Hi Name, 

Thanks so much for your honest and helpful feedback. [Add anything in here that you wish to address based on their response.] 

I taken the liberty of compiling a testimonial from your feedback that I’d love to post on my website, but only you’re happy with that. 

If you are happy , can you please read what I have below and let me know if you’re happy or what needs to be edited. (and of course go ahead and edit so it feels right to you). 

I’d also like to use your full name, title, and website. Is what I have listed correct? And finally, I’d love to add a photo. Could you send me one? 

Again, thanks so much for the feedback and for the opportunity to share your experience working with me on my website. 

I’ll watch for your approval and photo. 

Thanks, Your Name 

Testimonial goes here. 

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The other way to collect testimonials is to create a form for clients to fill out. We’re a fan of Typeform and I also love Questback for product based businesses.

Now - I’m really going to rock your boat because there is another type of testimonial that I want you to include. This is a testimonial from a client who wasn’t 100% happy with your product or service. I can almost hear you going - Have you lost your mind woman!! Nope, I haven’t, just hear me out. I want you to share this and then share how you went about rectifying the reasons that the client wasn’t happy. 

Trust me, this will show your client that you’re open to receiving feedback, you’re constantly evolving to meet your client’s needs and that you are serious about your business.

Yip, you guessed it, it makes them feel safe!

So I’d love to know …….

Was this post helpful and did it have you thinking about testimonials in a different way?

Are you ready to take the next step and get some testimonials in your business? 

Do you have any success stories (or nightmare stories) to share with us around testimonials? 

I can’t wait to read your thoughts in the comments below.

Here’s to your next step to success in your business!!