How to Get and Use Honest Testimonials

When it comes to systems, I believe that the tools I teach can be used for good or evil. Maybe evil is a little too strong, but one of the core principles we hold at She’s Got Systems is that of integrity. Today I want to share how my simple system for testimonials should be used or could be abused. 

Why Collect Testimonials?

Testimonials are a key part of our business and lives. We’ve been relying on them for decades from the first time you asked a friend if the sloppy joes in the cafeteria were any good, all the way to finding out which professor gives the easiest tests in psychology. Getting referrals and testimonials from those we trust eases our distrust and enables us to move forward with confidence.

You know all the jargon already – increase the know – like – trust factor and give some “social proof.” But while many entrepreneurs know they should be getting and using testimonials, many do not know the how.

Very simply, you have to determine when, in the course of any given program or service, you ask for a testimonial. Spontaneous praise is great but you can’t rely on it and if you don’t ask, you usually won’t get it.

When to ask will depend on your business and service or program. You wouldn’t stop in the middle of a root canal to ask your dental patient to record a video, would you? And if you’re teaching a 12-month program you wouldn’t necessarily get a results-based testimonial on the first day, right?

How to Ask for Testimonials

While automation is good and should be used, especially in larger group settings, quite often the best testimonial will come from interacting with the client. I know, it’s harder and forces you to pay attention. Suck it up. If you want someone to write you an amazing testimonial and stand behind it when others ask them about their experience, then you can’t be hands off and disconnected from the process.

I use 3 triggers for my clients to ask. They are 1) upon the first big win, and sometimes this happens before we even begin our program 2) halfway through a program and 3) upon completion if they don’t continue to another program or service.

How to Use Testimonials

Once you have a testimonial it does you no good sitting in a file or in your inbox where potential clients can’t see it. You’ll need a plan and simple system for getting those testimonials out into the world, especially where your leads are looking! Again it depends on your business but this might be YouTube, your website, social media, sales pages or on printed marketing material.

The Dark Side

I said in the beginning how easy it is to use these systems the wrong way and I bring this into the discussion because there’s a disturbing trend in the online business market. It’s easy enough to get a testimonial when emotions are high, when someone has their first big win (new client, 5 pounds lost, front page Google hit), and those are important successes to share. But when there are no testimonials from someone at the end of their program, it makes me wonder.

Starting strong and finishing strong are two different challenges. I don’t want to hear from marathoners in the first 100 yards that the run was ‘easy’ – I want to know from those who have crossed the finish line because they’ve completed the experience.

This highlights another troublesome trend, and that is taking the experience from a client in their first week or month and extrapolating results. You see this with the headline “Joe is making $100,000 more!” and in the copy Joe shares that he made $2,000 in one week (sixteen weeks into the program) so “if this continues I’ll make $100k more this year!”

Do you see how misleading that is? Do you understand how you can use systems to capture and share testimonials to inspire others, share results and celebrate your clients or fool them into believing more than you can currently deliver or clients have experienced?

As you build your own testimonial system to share successes with your audience, be sure to do so in integrity.