Testimonials Sell: Easiest Way To Get More Of Both
Reading Time: 9 minutes Testimonials sell. Want to sell more? Of course, you do.
And one of the easiest sales strategies to convert more leads is by having strategic testimonials that do the selling for you.
So in today’s post, I wanted to answer the following question…”How can I sell more in my business without weird feelings coming up?”
We have the cure.
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Testimonials Sell: Easiest Way To Get More Of Both
When I ask people how they feel about selling, I hear a lot of the same stuff:
- “Selling makes me feel icky or sleazy.”
- “Selling feels super awkward.”
- “Selling makes me feel like a used car salesman.”
And I get it! I used to feel super weird about selling, too.
And my answer is pretty simple: Let other people do the selling for you!
How, you ask? With powerful and persuasive testimonials that convert.
In this post, you’ll learn how to collect and craft kickass testimonials, spread those babies far and wide, and start letting your clients and customers do the selling for you.
Ready to start selling more (and feeling way less awkward about it) by tapping into the power of testimonials?
Let’s go!
What Kind Of Testimonials Matter?
Now at this point, you might be saying, “But I already have testimonials on my website!”
Here’s the thing…
If you have testimonials in place but you still aren’t selling as much as you want to, chances are one or more of the following things is to blame:
- You don’t have enough testimonials.
- Your testimonials aren’t strong enough.
- Your testimonials don’t include the right information.
- You haven’t put your testimonials in the right places.
- You aren’t sharing your testimonials often enough.
Yep, there’s a lot that goes into making your testimonials do the selling for you!
And today, I want to break down my testimonial-gathering-and-magic-ifying process (“magic-ifying” is totally a word, right?).
Specifically, let’s chat about how to get awesome testimonials from your customers and clients and then where to share those testimonials for the best results.
The Stats Don’t Lie…
Do you ever wonder why testimonials are such a game-changer? Check this out:
“Customer testimonials are the most effective form of content, coming in at an 89% effectiveness rating.” (source)
“A 2014 study found that customers spend 31% more with businesses who have good client testimonials.” (source)
“88% of people trust online reviews written by other consumers as much as they trust recommendations from personal contacts.” (source)
Clearly, this stuff works!
But don’t worry if you’re late to the testimonial game — there’s no better time to get started than right now.
How to Secure amazing Testimonials
Let’s talk about how to secure the perfect, punchy, uber-persuasive testimonials from your clients and customers.
First, what makes a great testimonial?
It all comes back to this — my golden formula for testimonials:
A great testimonial paints a clear before and after picture, highlighting the transformation your customer has undergone while overcoming any potential objections other people might have about purchasing your offer.
But wait, how am I supposed to get my clients to include all of that juicy info in one single testimonial?
Here’s where I’m going to let you in on the biggest secret of all…
Testimonials aren’t something you should get from your client.
Rather, testimonials are something you should craft alongside your client.
In other words, I don’t want you reaching out to your clients at the end of a project and simply asking them to write a testimonial for you.
That will only lead to a vague, not very persuasive paragraph or two. Instead, follow the 3-step process below to secure super powerful testimonials.
Step 1. The Testimonial Questionnaire
First, you’re going to create a questionnaire to have your clients and customers fill out.
You’ll likely have a different questionnaire for each of your offerings. For example, I have a different one for each of my courses and programs.
The questions that you include on your questionnaire are key because when you include the right questions, you’ll get the right information from your customers.
To help you out, here are the exact 6 questions I use on my testimonial questionnaires.
Of course, you’ll want to modify these questions to talk about your specific offering and speak to your particular audience.
These Qs are just a starting point!
Six questions to include
Q1. What was your business/life like before we started working together?
Then go deeper with the next question or two. For example: Were you making any money in your business? Had you tried creating and launching a course before?
Q2. Did you have any fears or hesitations about working with me?
Q3. What results have you experienced since working with me? Please be specific!
Q4. What was your favorite thing about working with me?
Q5. Would you recommend my services to a friend? If so, why?
Q6. What does your life/business look like after working with me? How do you feel?
That’s it! Six simple questions but trust me, they’ll give you some super juicy fodder for your testimonials.
Once you’ve created your questionnaire, make sure that every single one of your new clients or customers fills it out after you finish working together.
You can also reach out to any clients or customers you’ve worked within the last 3-6 months and ask them if they’d be willing to fill out the questionnaire.
Step 2. Work your wordy magic!
From here, you’re going to read through your client’s responses to the questionnaire, select the best bits, and pair them together into an uber-compelling testimonial.
Here’s a format you can use as a rough guideline:
“Before I worked with [your name] I was feeling X and experiencing Y. I almost didn’t take this step and hire her because (highlight a hesitation or fear), but I’m so glad I did!
Since working with [your name], I’ve been able to achieve XYZ. I would highly recommend her to all of my friends; she’s changed my business and life forever!”
For all formal testimonials, sign them off with your client’s name and, if possible, a photo of them.
Note that all of your testimonials don’t have to follow this exact format, it’s just a guideline to get you started.
As you piece your testimonials together, remember that a powerful testimonial:
a) Paints a clear “before and after” picture
b) Speaks to specific results (numbers, stats, and graphs are awesome here)
c) Overcomes objections and hesitations that your potential customer might have
Some of your testimonials will be short and sweet, focusing on only one or two of these three things. Some will be longer and include all three. It’s great to have a mix of both!
Step 3. Get your client’s approval
Once you’re happy with the testimonial, make sure to run it by your client to get their final stamp of approval.
I always mention at the beginning of my questionnaire how I plan to use the client’s answers so they know I’ll be piecing them together to create a testimonial.
So, at this point, you’ll message your client with the testimonial you crafted to get their approval and ask if they want any changes made.
Be sure to also grab their headshot if you don’t have it already.
And that’s it!
You now have some stellar testimonials and a process for collecting amazing testimonials from all of your future clients and customers.
Pro-tip to make this even easier:
These formal testimonials are awesome, but what about those more casual ones I mentioned above? Don’t worry, there’s a super-easy way to secure social proof and informal testimonials from your clients and customers.
All you’ve gotta do is start screenshotting things like a madwoman.
- Every time one of your students or clients messages you about something they achieved, screenshot it.
- Every time someone leaves a nice comment on your blog posts or social media, screenshot it.
- Every time people leave a review of your products, podcast, etc…. Screenshot it.
These are testimonials!
Here’s a screenshot from one of my clients in The Blog Flipping Society, she posted this on Facebook:
Social proof doesn’t have to be a super fancy testimonial put inside quotation marks to be effective.
In fact, I’m finding these casual screenshot “testimonials” to be super effective nowadays because they feel raw and real.
To ensure you take action on this, I suggest making your screenshotting process a part of your daily routine.
Anytime anybody says something nice about you or talks about a result you helped them achieve, screenshot it, add it to a folder on your phone or computer, and then share it with your general audience.
Speaking of sharing, next, let’s talk about how and where you should be sharing your testimonials.
Where to Share Your Testimonials
There are a thousand different places you could share your testimonials, and chances are, you aren’t sharing them in nearly enough place.
I truly believe you can never go overboard with testimonials.
Think of it this way:
Have you ever looked up reviews for a certain restaurant and been like, “Wow, I’m so annoyed that there are so many reviews to help me decide if I wanna eat here”?
Of course not! The more reviews, the better, right?
It’s the same thing with testimonials.
So where exactly should you share your testimonials? Here are a few ideas:
All over your website
I wanna see testimonials on your About page, your Contact page, in your blog posts, and maybe even on a stand-alone page that’s linked in your top menu.
In your emails
You can include testimonials in your welcome series, your newsletters, your launch emails, your funnels — heck, you can even put some in your freebies!
In your welcome packet or discovery/information packet
A welcome packet is what you send to new clients. A discovery packet is something you send to potential clients to showcase your services and pricing.
On all of your sales pages (DUH!) and your Work With Me page
I love including both formal testimonials and the casual screenshotted ones on all of my sales pages.
On social media
I try to share some form of testimonial almost every single day on social media (I’m big into IG Reels and Stories right now if you wanna come hang out).
These are just a few ideas to get you started. Don’t be afraid to get creative with this.
Testimonials Sell: Easiest Way To Get More Of Both – Conclusion
Testimonials sell, that’s a fact.
And they are also the easiest way to establish your credibility, build trust with your potential customers and clients, and make more sales.
They also don’t have that icky factor traditionally associated with selling (win-win!).
To wrap up this post, I want to give you a few specific action items to make sure you take action on everything you just learned.
Because seriously, this strategy will transform your business if you let it.
Ready?
Action Item #1.
- Create your testimonial questionnaire using the questions from above. I use Google Forms to create my questionnaires. Super easy!
- Reach out to at least five current or former clients, have them fill out your questionnaire, and then craft epic testimonials from their answers.
- Once you’ve gotten your clients’ approval, share these testimonials in at least 3 places on the day that you get them.
- Add them to your website. Add them to your emails. Share them on social media.
- From there, aim to share at least a few testimonials every week moving forward.
