How to Ask for Testimonials That Rock!
Did you know that including testimonials on your website is one of the most effective ways to build trust and credibility? Having past clients express the transformation they’ve experienced after working with you, in their own words, lends legitimacy to your business and allows potential customers to picture themselves working with you. Testimonials are definitely not to be overlooked.
But it can feel icky to ask your clients to say nice things about you, especially when you’re more accustomed to giving and helping than taking and asking.
The thing is, when people are happy with the services provided, they’re more than willing to spread the word. In a way they’re also helping people who are in the same situation they were in before they met you. They’ll be helping you help more people just like them.
To that end, here are a few tips to help you ask for testimonials that rock, plus a script to adapt into your own template.
- Timing is everything. Approach your clients for testimonials soon after they’ve finished working with you. Not only will they still be riding the high from the amazing service you’ve just provided, they’ll be better able to articulate the benefits of working with you.
- Make it easy for clients to provide a testimonial. Writing can be intimidating, and the last thing you want is to become a source of stress to your clients. Ask some specific questions or provide a few sentence starters to choose from. Your sentence starters or questions will depend on what you want to get across, but they might include ones that show what it’s like to work with you, what their situation was before they started working with you and what their reality is today, or a specific outcome they experienced as a result. I’ve provided a script to adapt for your own clients that you can download at the end of this post.
- Give them a deadline. I don’t know about you but I always work better on a deadline. Your clients probably do too. They’ll appreciate knowing, for example, that they can take a week to think about what they’d like to say.
- Don’t hesitate to edit. It’s okay to adjust your clients’ words to fit the space you have or to correct typos. No one wants their name to be attached to words that contain errors; your clients will appreciate your taking the time to fix theirs. But ALWAYS run the edited text past your clients for approval BEFORE publishing.
- It’s okay to say no. Some people just aren’t comfortable with public displays of affection. Let your clients know that that’s okay and you’ll still be here for them should they need you again in the future, no hard feelings.
Providing social proof through testimonials will boost your credibility and build trust. And it’s not as hard as you think to ask and receive great feedback. If you need help with developing an email template you can use for your own clients, download my script by filling out the form below.
