How To Get And Write A Testimonial Letter Which Will Increase Your Business!
If you’re like most businesses, you’d like to get more recommendations and testimonials from your past and present clients, because you know that testimonials are worth gold. Gold that transforms a hesitant prospect into an instant buyer. By not getting testimonials you are throwing away certain income that you foolishly let slip away. How can you stop losing these “letters of gold?: That’s what this section is all about. But beyond that, there is a specific formula for writing a testimonial that will help you relieve your prospects hesitation and fear of buying from you. This formula is discussed in detail. This advice is practical, I use it most every day. There isn’t a month that goes by that I don’t get another 5 to 15 testimonials to use in my marketing. Once you’ve studied this section, the same will hold true for you. I’ll also be telling you different ways to use testimonials in your marketing that will help generate more business for you. Testimonials are a great support element for successful marketing. You really do need to have them. My testimonials number in the hundreds. Having testimonials from a variety of industries and sources is a powerful selling tool, almost as good as word of mouth referral. It may take some time for you to get this many testimonials, but it is well worth it. Testimonials are valuable in both the business to business sales environment and the consumer world. After you’ve had the opportunity to study this section, read it and put the ideas to work, won’t you write me to let me know how the ideas are helping you to make more money in your business. These ideas will make money for you, hundreds of dollars over the cost of the entire report. I want to hear about your successes with testimonials. Consider This Scenario The sell went great. It’s three months later and your client is absolutely thrilled with his new purchase. The person that bought from you comes up and says - “Your product is fabulous … your product has saved us at least
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$1200 a month since we’ve had it . . . at this rate we’ll save a minimum of $20,000 this year thanks to you.” So you take your pat on the back and jot down a note to call them for hopefully repeat business sometime down the road, right? WRONG! Listen. You spent a lot of time and a lot of money trying to get this client. They once were very worried about whether or not to even buy your product or service. Now you’ve got to help other prospects (just like this new one used to be) understand that there is no risk in doing business with you. So you ask for the testimonial.
How though, do you ask for a testimonial?
It begins with realising that, if you have a good product or service, you deserve solid testimonials. Believe that you deserve them, and start asking for them! Most business people find asking for and getting worthwhile testimonials a burdensome and undesirable task. They hate confronting people and asking for their help. You need to realise that if you’ve done a good job, you should have no hesitation in asking for a testimonial. Succeeding in getting testimonials starts with you becoming mentally resolved to get the testimonials to which you are entitled. ASK!
Why Bother Getting Testimonials?
Most people don’t bother to get testimonials for two basic reasons: Testimonials focus on the prospect and his needs, and not on the marketer. Most marketers are terribly self focused. It can be a time consuming task to bother to get testimonials, especially good ones. Getting testimonials that are of value can be troublesome. But, it won’t be that bad if you have a system for it . . . which you now hold in your hands! Your contact with a client should not end the minute you get their cheque and the deal is done. Money is not all you want!
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To get the types of testimonials that are going to be useful in your marketing you’re going to have to do these things: 1. Contact your current and past customers 2. Ask for testimonials form every new client you get 3. Keep up with all customers and clients to find out what further benefits were derived from buying your product or service, if there were any. If you succeed in these things, you can get testimonials that will help you to sell more of your product or service faster. A good testimonial really is worth gold to you. It’s no wonder that testimonials are worth gold. Just take a look at what a good testimonial will do for you: You see, people work hard for their money (or at least they think they do) and they want to spend it. They really do want to spend it. But, because of past foolish spending, people find themselves very hesitant to do so. They are nervous about letting go of their money because they’re afraid of being taken again. A good testimonial will help you overcome both of these problems. A testimonial can get your prospect excited about buying (which is something he wants to do anyway) and it also reduces their anxieties about buying from you because he can read (or her) about the success you’ve had with someone like him, through a testimonial.
Who Needs Testimonials
No doubt, anyone who has any type of business could do better with testimonials. In my business I serve both small business owners and Fortune 500 - type accounts. Testimonials, both on video and on paper, have helped me close more than one deal . . . and thousands of dollars worth of writing and consulting business. My thinking is that you need testimonials whether you are a computer manufacturer or a janitorial service. It will help to have testimonials for each major benefit you offer, or for each major anxiety you overcome. Different people buy for different reasons, and you need to have testimonials to motivate those people.
Good & Bad Testimonials
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There is a difference between a good testimonial and a bad one. Too many testimonials go something like this: “We enjoyed your product.” “Your sales people are really incredible.” “I really liked how your product worked.” These testimonials at first may look all right. But you see, these testimonials are not pointing to any specific benefit that your prospect is hoping for when they buy your product or service. Good testimonials come directly from benefits. And good testimonials reinforce specific benefits. A wonderful exercise to do is this: List every benefit that your prospects gets from your product or service and then get a testimonial for each of these benefits. OK. OK. I can hear you yelling, “How and I going to do that!!??” Not to worry … read on to find out how.
Getting A Testimonial For Every Major Benefit That You Offer
There are other ways, but this is the simplest. I make an evaluation form that asks my customer what they thought of each benefit. After every time I provide a service I give the customer a postage paid evaluation form to fill out. Evaluation forms are wonderful … if your service or product is good, then evaluations are a real balm for the ego. But better than that, if you word them right they will tell you why your prospects buy … a nice side benefit to be sure! For example, in a copywriting evaluation form I would put in questions like these: 1. Please rank in order of importance WHY you used my professional copywriting services: I don’t have time to write advertising, You make my job easy by doing all the writing for me, You blah blah blah blah … ______You have more hair than Trevor Crookl and you are better looking
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Other. Please specify: You get the picture? Now this stuff is nice to know, because it tells you why your customer bought from you. Or at least the biggest reasons why. BUT, let’s relate this to testimonials. Later on in the evaluation you put this: In question #1 you ranked the main reasons why you took advantage of my services. Please explain how I “delivered” on these benefits. Include any praise or suggestions for your reason #1, reason #2 and reason #3. (Refer to question #1). Then you leave a big blank space for them to tell you how great you are concerning each specific benefit. Does this work? YOU BET IT DOES! I use it constantly, and so should you. On the evaluation you should always end with a question along the lines of this: IMPORTANT: Please summarise your feelings about my 110% guaranteed copywriting services and give any additional comments, suggestions, or praise. Then leave another large blank space for them to write in their comments. This will sometimes be left blank. But usually this is where you’ll get really strong testimonials. After that question, have a place for them to sign the evaluation, and after they sign it, have two little tick boxes with a yes or no response along side them and ask “May I quote you?” That’s all there is to it, and you can quote all day!
What A Good Testimonial Will Do For You & Your Prospects
A good testimonial will get a prospect excited about buying from you because he sees the benefits that a person like himself achieved by using your services.
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When a prospect reads a testimonial about you (or hears or watches one) he needs to know immediately what kinds of benefits he gets from buying your service. Your prospect needs to see that the endorser is someone that he can relate to, someone that he has things in common with. As your prospect reads the testimonial he needs to say to himself, “Hey, this person is like me. It must be a good decision to buy this product because it worked well for this person and they are like me.” When your prospect reads this, their hesitancy to spend their money on you diminishes, and they also get more excited about the possibility of doing such a good job for them as well.
Getting Good Testimonials
As long as you are in business, you need to be in the business of gathering testimonials. Whether you’re just starting our or have been in business for years, you need testimonials. If you’re just starting out, I suggest that you simply get testimonials about yourself. These are better than nothing, but really can’t possibly have specific benefits focused on your service. For starters though, they may help build credibility. If you’ve been in business for a while then it’s a simple matter to get testimonials, if you believe you deserve them and overcome fear of asking for them. The very simplest way to get testimonials is when a customer comments about your product or service, simply ask, “May I quote you?” The write down what they said, send it to them with a short note and a selfaddressed stamped envelope and ask them to sign it granting permission to use it in your marketing communications. Remember to ask for specific information from them, name, business, title etc. The more specifics you have to show other prospects that people like themselves have bought form you, the more powerful your testimonial will be. Another way to get testimonials is to give each client an evaluation form (as we talked about earlier) after you perform your service, or about 3 weeks after they’ve had a chance to look at and use your product. Make it easy for them to fill out and return so that the likelihood of getting it increases. Pay the postage for them, and put the evaluation in letter form. Ask questions that ore going to be valuable to you like:
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“How did my service compare with other services you’ve had?” and “On a scale of 1 to 10 how would you rate …” You want comments that you’re going to be able to use in your sales letters, brochures and flyers, not just general comments that are unspecific about benefits gained. As long as you make it easy for them, most people love to help out, and do you a favour. Let them know that you’ll be putting their names in your brochures and flyers. People thrill to see their names in print!
7 Ways To Use Testimonials & A Few More Tips For You To Use
Here is a bunch of tips, hints and ideas about using testimonials: 1. Testimonials can be used effectively in any marketing format: • Brochures • Flyers • Business Cards • Answering Machine Messages For Incoming Calls • Video Tape Demonstrations • Audio Tape Demonstrations • Cover Letters • Advertisements • Posters Basically anywhere that can be used to induce prospects to take action that will lead to a sale.
2. As a very general rule of thumb, use about two testimonials per 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
page in each of your advertisements. Always get testimonials at every chance you can. Never stop gathering testimonials. Use evaluation forms for EVERY MARKET that you work. This is perhaps the simplest way to get testimonials. Get testimonials for every benefit that you offer to each market. Testimonials will help you excite your prospects about the benefits that you have to offer, and lower their anxieties about buying from you, because they know that people just like them have received the promised benefits from you.
The Winning Testimonial Formula
Winning testimonials are benefit packed. They help to reduce prospect anxieties and get them excited about buying from you.
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Winning testimonials show a prospect that someone just like him has received real benefits from what he is now considering buying. That is what a winning testimonial does. Now let me tell you the winning formula that will make sure you get winning testimonials. Here’s what it says to your prospects: **************************************************************************************** ******************** “Dear Prospect, I am like you. We were concerned about getting a that would really do a good job. We were worried about this and this and this. We decide to give a try. Now we know that does a great job! He delivered this benefit and this benefit, and most of all this benefit. We highly recommend that you use him if you want these same benefits. If you have any questions about what he did for use, call me at (555) 1234567 **************************************************************************************** Here is the formula stripped down to it’s bear bones: • I am like you. • I had a problem like you and wanted to achieve the same benefit that you do. • Like you, I was concerned about what I should do, wondering if anyone could really help. • Well, now I know. (Your product or service) provided (the benefit I desired). Just like it will do for you! Does this formula sound simple? It is. It works, and it works well enough that I suggest you give this type of outline to any customers of yours that’s crazy about how good a job you do - - or how great your product performs, and have them follow it when they write your letter. It is benefit packed and tells your prospect that someone like him is out there, that has used you with great success.
Conclusion On Testimonials
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Now you know what a winning testimonial says and you know how to use them and how to get them. You are on your way to winning with testimonials. But, let me warn you. This information only works if you use it. You must be prepared on a daily basis to use these ideas. Therefore, take some time to prepare the necessary documents you need to gather testimonials in a time efficient manner. Here are the documents that you need: 1. The basic winning testimonial formula. 2. An evaluation sheet for each market you work. 3. The evaluation sheets should help you gather testimonials for each benefit that you offer. 4. Advertisements to use your testimonials in. Testimonials have two main purposes to keep in mind: 1. They make your prospects less nervous about buying from you because he sees that people like him have used your product or service with success. In a testimonial, a third-party is endorsing your product or service in their own words. This “endorsement” is much more credible and convincing than you praising your own product!
2.
They get your prospect excited about buying your product or service because you use specific benefits in your testimonials.
You need to get more testimonials. You can get more testimonials and it’s not a difficult thing to do. It’s up to you. You can keep letting these “letters of gold” slip through your fingers, losing hundreds of dollars in business, or you can start acting like a marketing professional and get the testimonials that your quality product or service deserves.
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You decide. But, I’ll be honest with you: you’ll make a lot more money if you follow the simple suggestions in this section . . . and you’ll see these letters help fill your bank with gold!
Kick Ass . . . grab testimonials every chance you get! Warmly
Trevor Crook
PS. By the way . . . if you get more tips for FREE – got to my blog at: www.TrevorCrookBlog.com
Here’s a Few Sample Testimonials From My Customers:
" A $1,000,000 Web Business Site After Consulting With YOU"
"Hi Trevor, would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the great distinctions you have provided to me regarding sales copy. My previous results have been extremely profitable in the past, but after consulting with you, my results have exploded to a new level. My site is averaging 4 –5 sales per day and counting. A Million Dollar Web Business Site, to be added to my other global business sites. I sincerely thank you and appreciate your efforts."
- Nik Halik www.wealthsuperhighway.com
"A Bargain At 10 Times The Value"
"Trevor, I have learned more about sales copy and advertising from you in the
last 6-8 months than I have in the last 15 years, total. Knowing how much there is out there about good copywriting, and looking at what other "copywriters" do, I © 2007 Trevor Crook and www.TrevorCrook.com All Rights Reserved. 10
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can say that most of them couldn't write their way out of a high school Junior Achievement club. They deserve the average sales they get. Anyone who doesn't own the JD package and the blueprint seminar, especially after how little money you charge for them, is just out of their mind. If I said how much money your strategies have meant to my company in the last 6 months or so, most people wouldn't believe it. I will just say that the JD package and the blueprint seminar would have been a bargain at 10X the price of admission, literally. No matter how much you charge. The fact is that you can't put a price on the value of this skill. Thanks Trevor." - Everte Farnell, Business Owner, Tampa Florida USA
"Trevor Is A Freakin' Genius"
"Trevor is a freakin genius! He makes understanding copywriting and copywriting principles, simple enough for someone who hates writing like me, easy to understand. I have bought as much material as my wallet would allow from all the great known copywriters living and dead like: Gary Halbert, Gary Bencivenga ,Ken McCarthy, Yanik Silver, so on and so forth and Trevor Crook is by the far my favorite! I love his "In your face" approach. If Trevor say he will teach you something - He will teach you. If Trevor says you will make money from something you learn from him - you will make money. If Trevor says something won't work - it will not work! Trevor is a true gentlemen and an honorable man. A hand shake is good enough for me to do business with him." - Travis Robinson, author - The Success Vault.
"The Secret Weapon To Doubling My Sales Is Trevor Crook"
"The secret weapon to being very successful in your marketing is Trevor Crook! After devouring your program, I am doubling my classes and may pay every time I do another course . . . because you taught me how to connect with my target audience. BUT I have to tell you, when sales clients come into the radio station they all want to work with me because I'm telling them their commercials suck and then I try to fix them with your tips! © 2007 Trevor Crook and www.TrevorCrook.com All Rights Reserved. 11
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I never thought I could be a great writer, but Trevor, your make it so easy even a radio guy can do it! Thanks from your forever fan!" - Wayne Kelly Morning Show Radio Host (Canada) & media coach
“I Learnt More About Marketing In 90 Minutes Than I Did In The Entire 3 Years Studying For My Degree”
“I first met Trevor in London at Frank Garon's Internet Marketing Seminar in September of 2005. His presentation literally blew me away. Trevor has a hard-hitting, straight-talking and no BS approach to marketing and selling both on and off the 'net. Having just graduated after spending 3 years studying an honours degree in Internet & E-Business, with LOTS of late nights, I was compelled to take him aside and tell him just how much I appreciated his presentation. The truth is, I learnt more about marketing and selling in the short 1 and half hours that I spent listening to Trevor than I did in the entire 3 years I spent studying for my degree. You can't go wrong with Trevor Crook.” - Zahid Saddique, London U.K. www.PeakInsideMyMind.com
"No B.S. Just 100% Pure Useable Content"
"In my 40 odd years experience of managing small to large businesses and running my own business as a Certified Practising Accountant/Small Business Advisor I don't think I have come across anyone as straightforward and hardhitting as Trevor Crook. These days so much of what you see is 90% hype and 10% B.S. With Trevor there is no hype, no B.S. just 100% pure useable content in whatever he does. Trevor says it like it is and does not pull any punches. If you are looking for success, either online or offline in business or as an entrepreneur, then Trevor is the person who can help you achieve it." - Ray Posner, Wauchope, NSW Australia.
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