Making Sales through Testimonials and Stories

Establishing an initial relationship with a potential customer can be hard, especially when you do not know why they have an interest in your product.  Simply asking, "Why do you want to buy from us?" will not work, you have to find a way around it.  You can always avoid the question, but then you are throwing out prospects just because they are too much of a hassle.  An easy way to develop a meaningful relationship with a client is to tell them a story or show them a testimonial.  The story should obviously relate to your product in some way, and the testimonial would be from a past customer telling of their positive experience with the product.Personal stories have a grand effect on closing a sale, because getting personal is the strongest kind of relationship.  Then, the prospect sees you as someone of a friend, and therefore feels an obligation to help out the friend (buying your product).  Most of this is subconscious, but very effective.  Although the story should focus on your product, it can include humor and some off-topic bits to keep the listener interested.  You do not need to tell stories to your customers individually.  You can have a section of your site dedicated to product-related stories (separate from testimonials), and occasionally add new stories.  For online sites, doing this is good because it creates content and helps you in the search engines.  The most important part, however, is establishing that bond between you and the customer.  Testimonials are one of the greatest ways to demonstrate the greatness of your product.  When people buy something of value, they usually look for reviews or testimonials to find out if the product really is good.  By having testimonials on your site, your customer never has to leave (and possibly find someone else).  An effective testimonial can quell the negative thoughts of a customer and convert a sale.  Unlike stories, it is important to have testimonials posted on other websites as well, be they forums, blogs, or regular websites.  Often times, customers may not trust the testimonials on the site and will look somewhere else.  If you are a good company, you should have no problem getting offsite testimonials because they should occur naturally.  However, if you need a boost, you can email some of your best customers and suggest they write about you on a forum they frequent or a blog they own.  Even consider offering discounts or coupons in exchange for a write-up.  Through these techniques you can greatly increase the conversion rate and customer base of your business.