This article comes from a friend of mine, Frank DeRaffele Jr. As host of the the top Entrepreneurial Radio Show in the country, Frank was asked the following question on his blog. I felt it was worth sharing with each of you. Question: How do you get people who don’t know you very well to feel comfortable with you, trust you a little, feel some confidence in you, before they every meet you?
Answer: Testimonials.
We seem to all know this but we don’t use this powerful marketing tool enough. When used correctly, this can be one of the most effective marketing tools today both online and offline.
Testimonials are:
1. Free.
2. Come from various demographics.
3. Praise the various solutions that you can provide.
4. Honor your professional ability and your character. Your integrity…..your
personal reputation as a business professional
6 Simple, Easy and Effortless Steps To Get Started:
1. Pick 5 people whom you know and would like testimonials from.
2. Write a testimonial for each of them. Not the same one five times with different names in the testimonial. Write from your heart what you think is wonderful about this person.
3. Send the testimonial to them. Send a note with it.
Example: “John, I wrote you this testimonial because I know what a powerful marketing tool testimonials can be and I feel we don’t use them enough, nor show our appreciation enough to those we know, trust and like. I want to thank you for all you have done for me and let you know that you can use this testimonial in any way that you like. Please read it over and let me know if there are any corrections, additions or edits you would like me to make. I want this to be powerful for you so I am happy to customize it to what you think will work best for you. I have found that the testimonials I receive have been a great way for me to build credibility with future clients. I am sure it can do the same for you so I wanted to make sure you had this from me.”
4. If after they read it, thank you and let you know how much they appreciate it, they don’t offer to do the same for you…..then about a week later ask if you may impose of them to do the same for you. They always say yes and in fact, feel guilty they didn’t offer first.
5. Now use these testimonials on your web page, in your emails, brochures, in your place of business, etc.
6. You can use full testimonials or use excerpts of them….quote certain lines. Build a sheet of various lines of testimonials with people’s names and businesses under them. Be creative. Let others brag about you for you. Very powerful.
Frank J. DeRaffele Jr.is president of ProActive Leadership Center and host of The Entrepreneurial Excellence radio show, where he regularly has the top authors, leading business leaders and top business thinkers in the country on his weekly program. Frank is a highly sought after speaker and trainer. You can join him at Entrepreneurial Excellence Radio Show.
