Return to Archive More Clients - the Online Marketing Newsletter for Independent Professionals from Action Plan Marketing and Robert Middleton In This Week's Issue: Are testimonials important? Definitely. But the dilemma is how to get powerful testimonials with minimal hassle.   The Testimonial Dilemma How important are testimonials? They are extraordinarily important. So important that, if you play your cards right, you can build your whole marketing strategy around them. In this issue I'll tell you how. Remember the paving contractor I mentioned a few issues ago? I selected him over a few others who couldn't get their act together to pave my driveway. He did a terrific job and it was great working with him. When he learned what I did for a living he asked if I could help him with his marketing. I told him I would suggest just one thing: "Make getting testimonial letters from satisfied clients your number one priority. In fact, before you start a job, tell your new client that your intention is to do such a great job that they will happily write a testimonial letter once the job is done." And I'd suggest the same thing for professional service businesses. Ask for the testimonial letter up front. This puts pressure on you to do the best job possible and, because you asked up front, when the job is over, it's a whole lot easier to ask for and get that testimonial. Alan Weiss, the "Million Dollar Consultant" has used this approach for years and now has over 100 testimonial letters which he duplicates and binds into a book that he gives to prospective clients. Talk about credibility! But there can be a few bumps along the way. And this is what I call the testimonial dilemma. The dilemma is that it's damn hard to get a good testimonial. Even if you get a willing client, it often takes ages for them to write it. And when they do write it, it doesn't say what you hoped it would. And if you write it for them, all your testimonials start sounding the same. It often ends up being a hassle and, after several unsuccessful attempts, it drops off the radar screen. There is *one way* to get great testimonials. This approach removes the hassle and builds trust and credibility because the testimonial will be of much higher quality. But before we get into the how of this approach, here's exactly what you want in a winning testimonial. Above everything else, you want a testimonial to convey the biggest result your client achieved by working with you. If they increased their profits by 27%, say that; if you helped them find the job of their dreams, say that. The more specific you can be, the better. Stay away from vague generalities. Sure it's nice to get a testimonial that says how how professional you are and how beautifully you interacted with their staff. Include that as well, but more than anything else, zero in on the bottom line results you helped them achieve. So how do you get a testimonial like this? There is really only one way: Get someone else, such as a marketing or PR person, to interview your client, transcribe the interview, edit it to emphasize the most important points and then get the client's approval to use it. And, believe it or not, clients are almost always happy to be interviewed. They are delighted to help you if you helped them. And this approach makes the process so easy. This will *always* get you a more powerful, more persuasive, more credible testimonial than if you did it any other way. And it's worth the extra time and money to get several testimonials like this. Just one new client will pay for your investment. Right below this article I'll give you one more way that uses this same approach but then puts your testimonials on steroids! * The More Clients Bottom Line: Make quality testimonials a central part of your marketing strategy. Get the best testimonials possible by having someone else interview your clients and extracting the bottom line results you produced for them.   Putting Your Testimonials on Steroids If getting someone to interview your clients about you and your services is the best way to get a great testimonial, is there any way to improve upon this approach? Yes! Turn the interview into a mini multimedia presentation that you can feature on your web site or on a CD. When I first saw one of these "Raving Fans Interviews" I was amazed at how powerful they were for building credibility and trust. But don't just take my word for it. Click on the link below to see some examples for yourself: http:/www.actionplan.com/metcalf.html   Listen to a Raving Fans Interview about the InfoGuru Marketing Manual Bill Metcalf interviewed Kathy Mallary, one of the over 5,800 people who own the InfoGuru Marketing Manual, and I've put the interview up on the web site for you to listen to. Please listen to this interview if you are as skeptical as Kathy was when she was looking for reliable marketing information that wasn't full of hype and empty promises. http://www.actionplan.com/infoguru.html You can also listen to the interview by clicking on this link: http://www.actionplan.com/mp3files/KM.mp3   Until next week, all the best, Robert Middleton ACTION PLAN MARKETING Cracking the Marketing Code for Independent Professionals ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ www.actionplan.com 210 Riverside Drive Boulder Creek, CA 95006 831-338-7790 Contact by email © 2005 Robert Middleton, All rights reserved. You are free to use material from the More Clients eZine in whole or in part, as long as you include complete attribution, including live web site link. Please also notify me where the material will appear. The attribution should read: "By Robert Middleton of Action Plan Marketing. Please visit Robert's web site at http://www.actionplan.com for additional marketing articles and resources on marketing for professional service businesses." * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *