One of the most persuasive ways to close a client or make a sale is by having powerful testimonials.
There are two things I want to discuss today regarding testimonials. Number one is how to get testimonials, and number two is how to structure a testimonial.
There are two main styles of testimonials that are used across the board. People will typically give you a Video testimonial, which is usually 30 seconds to 1 minute in length, and then there are written testimonials which should be just a few sentences on average
The reason that testimonials are so powerful is they provide social proof.
So, basically, if someone is having a hard time deciding whether to buy your product or service, especially if they have never heard of you before, reading a powerful testimonial from someone that they can relate to, could be what pushes them passed the tipping point.
It’s important that you have a variety of testimonials from all different backgrounds. The person that grew up in a poor household and has more time than money, is not going to relate very well with the guy or gal that already had a multimillion dollar business, and earned even more by working with you, or buying your service. So keep that in mind.
The Two Biggest Mistakes When Getting Testimonials
One reason people don’t get a lot of testimonials is because they just don’t ask for them.
Some people think it’s rude, or that it might be an inconvenience to ask someone to do that. The truth is people love to give testimonials, especially if they had a really good experience with you. Most people just don’t think to do it unless they are asked.
The worst thing that could happen if you ask someone is that they say no, or they are not comfortable having their name out in the world.
But honestly, it is really not that hard to get testimonials.
The second mistake that people make when getting testimonials, is they don’t get quality testimonials.
So,what happens is you go out and ask someone for a testimonial, and they write something like, “I really liked working with Mary, she was a nice gal, and she helped me make more money. Thanks Mary.”
That is not a very descriptive testimonial, and it is pretty hard to relate to.
The same thing happens with video testimonials. You start recording, and the person has no idea what to say, so they either don’t say much, or they just start rambling about everything, and the video is like 5 minutes long. You take it home and realize you can’t use any of it.
So what you actually want to do is sort of guide your customers into how you would like to structure the testimonial. You’re not going tell them what to say, but you do want to give them a guideline of what should be included.
Also, make sure that if they make any financial claims, that they are able to back them up. The FTC is very strict about making false claims, due to the amount of online fraud. So just make sure they can prove the income stated.
Make sure you have an income disclaimer stating that results are not typical, and that you don’t guarantee any income.
Ok, so here is how you set up the structure of the testimonials.
Part 1: The Set Up
Ok, so there are three parts to a successful testimonial. The first part is the set up. You want them to say who they are, where they are from, what their occupation is, and what they were struggling with before they found you.
So it might look something like this, “Hello my name is Bob, I live in Detroit Michigan, and I own several car dealerships. The last two years of my business were terrible, I couldn’t keep up with overhead, and did not have an effective marketing plan to bring in new customers. I tried this and that……so on and so forth.
So, that’s the set up.
Part 2: List The Outcomes
For part two, have them list the outcomes, or the results of working with you. So they would say ‘Then I
met Mary Smith who is considered to be the queen of internet marketing. She is a legend in the
industry and I started using Mary’s product Local Traffic Magic and let me tell you…’ and then they
explain the outcome, the specific results that they got.
Make sure that they are really specific about the outcome.
Part 3: The Closing
The closing is part three. In the closing, you return the message back to the product or to the service so other’s feel that they can do it too.
They would say ‘Thank you so much Mary for Local Traffic Magic, it was an amazing course, and it literally changed my life. I would recommend this product to anybody that is looking to get more customers.”
So to review, just make sure that they are very specific about all the details. What their name is, where they are from, and what they were struggling with. How they came across your product or service, and what the outcome was, either financially or personally. Finally, they close by stating how they feel about the service, and if they would recommend it to others.
That’s how you put together a quality testimonial.
