Discover the three rules to attract more business with testimonials.
Copyright (c) 2009 Meredith Liepelt
For many years, I have been big proponent of providing testimonials to people and businesses who provided me with great service. I even did this way before I started my first business. I simply wanted to reward those who provided me with great service and attention.
What I didn't realize until I had my own business is just how important these testimonials were. What's more, I came to realize how much business I could actually attract simply by giving testimonials! Once I saw this as a trend in my own business, I started paying attention to what made a powerful testimonial and came up with a three rules that helped me create these the fast and easy way!
Be Real
While testimonials are powerful client attraction tools, they have to be honest, authentic and real. In other words, I don't recommend just giving out testimonials to anyone to crosses your path. I only offer a testimonial for a product or service that I genuinely endorse.
Share Results
The most powerful testimonial describes the results you experienced after using the product or service. Briefly describe the problem you were facing and then the pain the product or service took away for you and/or the result you experienced.
Here's an example. Let's say you are a life coach and you just took a fantastic teleseminar about the top 10 things to know when raising a teenage daughter. You get the inkling that some of the attendees on the call would make great clients for you. Here's what you could say:
"I thought I knew everything there was to know about raising my daughter, but after taking this teleseminar, you opened my eyes to brand new ways of thinking about my role as a mother of a young daughter who will face many challenges in the teen years. As a life coach, I know that awareness is the first step, so thank you for bringing these top 10 things to my attention!"
- Name, Title, URL
Use Statistics
Numbers and percentages tell compelling stories. Here's an example:
"As a result of taking your self-study course on how to increase sales, I have exceeded my monthly sales goals by at least 20% each month!"
- Name, Title, URL
Don't forget to include your headshot as well! Testimonials are the most compelling when people can see what you look like.
I challenge to you simply be aware this week of other businesses you work with that might be good candidates for a testimonial. Think of it this way: if you provide one testimonial to a business each month, at the end of the year you'll have 12 other businesses promoting you and your web site!
I really like the whole concept of providing testimonials because it's just a great way of getting your name and your website address out to thousands of prospects as well as building good will!
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