7.5 Tips To A Better Testimonial

I like to watch people in the grocery store. Especially in the funky fruit aisle. They find the strangest looking fruit and pause in front of it to admire the oddity. They pick it up and smell it, shake it, and knock on it before setting it back down. You can tell they really want to try the expensive, exotic piece of fruit but they're skeptical.Will it be good? I wonder what it tastes like? How do you eat it? What the hell is it?What do you suppose would happen if I walked up to the young gal who was ogling that fruit and explained to her that it was an Indonesian Rambutan. Well at least it has a name now. I'd be willing to bet dollars to funky fruit that if I told her that you peel that crazy looking fuzzy shell off to find a soft, kind of chewy and mild tasting white flesh that is similar to a lychee she'd feel much more comfortable about buying one.Y'see, when someone gives you their honest thoughts about something - whether it's fruit or a business or a product - it makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. We're a naturally skeptical breed and testimonials help to toss the risk factor out the window.What's this got to do with your business? Glad you asked. I'm going to assume you have testimonials on your site already. If you don't, get them - and I mean now!If you don't have them yet because you haven't served anyone or sold a product ... well, there's ways around that too and you should give me a jingle. Okay, so you have a rocking site, fabulous offers, and a handful of testimonials sprinkled around your site. Why aren't you selling anything? I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but it could be your testimonials.People gravitate to people who are like them.If you see any of your testimonials here, you'll definitely want to work with the tips below to re-create something a little more beneficial while still maintaining the clients views on your product or service.1. DON'T BE VAGUE - people want a somewhat beefy testimonial. Not 10 pages long. Just beefier than "your service was great".2. REEL IT IN - have you ever wondered if someone's exclamation point got stuck on their keyboard????!!!!!!! Because everything you do is so great!!!!!3. DON'T FUDGE - don't use a fake picture to make your clients look a certain way and by golly don't make up a testimonial. Consumers can sniff them out a mile away.So now you know what NOT to do, but you still need to know how to get a good testimonial.SHAZAM! Here's another 4.5 tips on getting a better testimonial.1. ASK. Yep, that's what I like to call a BAZINGA moment. You don't realize just how many people don't bother to even ask their clients for a testimonial.2. Have a short list of questions for your client to ask. There are 2 really good reasons you want follow this rule.

• Your client may not be much of a writer and may be facing writers block.
• You're trying to construct powerful testimonials (remember #3 in the don't do's?). In either case, you want a testimonial that says screams BUY THE FREAKY FRUIT!

3. Consider calling your client for a testimonial rather than asking them to write one out. This is great for the same two reasons listed above, but you'll also look super cool if you have a video testimonial or an audio testimonial.4. If you need help coming up with your own questions to ask, try juicing up these generic questions to suit your style and business:

• What is the one thing you liked best about Widget Company?
• Before you bought our service/product, what did you think of the company or the product?
• How did your perception of the service/product change after you became a happy customer?
• What benefits did you or your company see after becoming a customer?
• Would you recommend a friend or colleague?
• Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Bonus mini tip - you may find it easier to ask your clients to fill in the blank.Instead of asking what they liked best about your company, ask them to fill it in: The one thing I liked best about Widget Company is ______________________.Sometimes a small shift in how you present the question makes all the difference.

Wondering if your testimonials have the right stuff? Lay it on me below.

Photo by JessGonacha