In sales, the goal has always been to build the kind of business that will generate a steady stream of qualified, ready-to-take-action clients that come to you as repeat customers and referrals.

For referrals to happen, you need people talking about you in a positive way. You want them recommending you and your services. In this digital age, it has never been easier for people to search you out. Future clients can see what others are actually saying about you, be it through social media, review sites or good old-fashioned Google search.

So the focus needs to be for you to get as many quality testimonials as you can to make choosing YOU a no-brainer for prospective clients when they find you. Because they WILL find you.

The “Why”

Before we get into the “how” to generate that perfect testimonial, let’s understand the why- the “why” this is so important for you to do.

Let me ask you this, when was the last time you made a relatively expensive purchase like a new laptop, camera, car etc.?

I’ll be willing to wager that before you made that purchase you asked your friends for suggestions. Maybe you posted on Facebook, did a search on Google or even watched a video or two on YouTube looking for information about those items.

You are not alone. In fact, asking others what they experienced is a powerful psychological trigger called Social Proof, which is innately hot-wired within us all.

In essence, we are of a herd mentality by nature. We tend to look for short-cuts when it comes to making decisions.

Marketing companies have known this since the dawn of advertising. That’s why they spend billions of dollars a year hiring celebrities, sports figures, and people of high social status. They know we want what they have!

Just look at soon-to-be princess Meghan Markle. She made an appearance Dec 1, 2017 at a World’s AIDs Day event in Nottingham and subsequently everything she wore, from boots to cashmere coat, were sold out GLOBALLY within hours.

Now that’s star power and social proof in action.

Ok I get it, you don’t have a fairy godmother and there are no royal galas in your future anytime soon. So let’s get back to that formula for the perfect testimonial.

The “How”

Full disclosure … for me, everything is about video. In Michael’s world, getting your client to say something about you on video trumps everything and anything else.

The challenge, though, is getting your clients to say something tangible and believable in a way that others will relate to.

Understand that if you did a great job servicing your clients they will want to return that kindness. In fact, it’s another psychological trigger called Reciprocity.

When someone does something nice we have an urge to doing something nice for them. We want to reciprocate that kindness.

The same is true with testimonials.

When you have done a great job and received a thank you, that’s when you know your clients want to reciprocate and that’s your time to ask.

Understand you will need to coach them a little, because they have no clue what you want them to say.

The 4 Questions

So here’s what you’re going to ask them, and it’s basically a series of four “what” questions:

1. What was your biggest fear or concern about (pick the one that suits you) selling your home, having us be your buyer’s rep, working with us etc.?
2. What did we do to eliminate that fear?
3. What did you experience as a result of working with us?
4. What would you tell your friends about us and our services?

Have them walk through that scenario above and then get your cell phone ready to shoot a video. BUT … don’t make a big production out of this because you will only scare them.

After they have answered those questions, I would say something like, “Wow, I really appreciate what you have to say and need to capture that on my phone (don’t say camera).”

The best time to ask for a testimonial is ironically the same as asking for a referral – it’s when you’ve done something that warrants a ‘thank you’!

You’ve done something of a high perceived value for your client, and now they will be wanting to reciprocate.

All you need to do is ask.

Do you have any tips for getting a great testimonial, or stories about how you’ve used them in your own marketing? Our network of agents would love to hear it! That’s what we’re here for- to share great tips and knowledge that we can apply to our practices. Leave us a comment below with YOUR story.