If you’re a service-based business (and most of you probably are), you’ll be looking for recommendations to establish social proof. One common complaint is, “My clients praise me to the skies but ignore my requests for a testimonial. And if they do write one, it’s as boring and limp as a strand of cooked spaghetti minus the sauce.”
After all, your clients aren’t professional writers and they often don’t understand marketing.
Ever tried to write a recommendation letter? It’s not easy. You’ve got a lot of good things to say about the person you’re recommending… but which one do you emphasize?
Your clients run into the same problem – only worse. So they give up and fall back on bland say-nothing statements like, “Well, he was terrific.” Or, “I would recommend you consider her when you need this service.”
Not helpful.
So how can you nudge those testimonials in the right direction to grow your service business, without insulting your clients?
As a copywriter, I edit testimonials for websites and sales letters. So I’ve had to coach a ton of people on writing testimonials that actually contribute to promotion…not just bland feel-good nonsense.
A simple 2-step process:
1 – After anyone praises you for anything, say something like, “Can I use your comments as a testimonial on my website?”
If you’re a B2B they’ll usually say yes. They get visibility too. (I’ve gotten clients from testimonials I wrote for someone else’s website.) It’s no accident that the top marketers are very quick to offer testimonials for their friends and mentees: they know what they’re doing.
2 – Draft a testimonial based on what the client said. Send it to them with a friendly note: “Thanks for the kind words – do you mind if I use this as a testimonial?” And when you get a testimonial, go ahead and edit. I do this for clients and nobody’s ever objected when they see the new version.
I’ve made it easy for you to help your clients write a testimonial that supports your claims.
Testimonials that grow your service business typically have a 5-point structure.
To make it easy for you to explain, I’ve created this infographic. When you’re ready to have The Talk about Testimonials, just send them this graphic.
Now you can download a pdf version you can send as an attachment. They’ll enjoy reading the InfoGraphic and following the directions. [Code to come]
BTW, a testimonial is just one way to get social proof for your services. You can also use a success story or a case study…or all three. Click here to sign up for free training to understand how each of these can serve your business goals.
