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Badass Is The New Black (Season 3) Episode #40 How To Get Great Testimonials For Your Business

courses email social media solution surveys tranformation Mar 14, 2022
BNB 40 | Get Great Testimonials

Testimonials are powerful social proofs proving the credibility of your product. But where can you get great testimonials? Host Krissy Chin explains that if you’re starting out and don’t have clients yet, you can use your personal story. If you’re selling your own product, it means you created it to solve a problem you had. How did it solve your problem? Why do you believe in it so much as to want to share it with others? Another way to get great testimonials is to ask the people you work with. Since they work with you on the product, they know all about it and may have experienced the benefits themselves. Want more tips on how to get great testimonials? Tune in!

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How To Get Great Testimonials For Your Business

What do you do if you are just getting started out and you don't have any customers yet or you haven't launched this course, or this program and you don't have any students yet to give you testimonials? I’ve got the answer for you. Keep reading and I'm going to share all of the secrets with you. I'm also going to tell you why you need testimonials, where you should be using them and when. Most importantly, how do you get the best of the best testimonials so that you cause your audience to take action on whatever it is that you want them to do? It's all in this episode.

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This is all about testimonials. We are going to dive into why you need testimonials for your business, where do you put your testimonials and how do you get really amazing testimonials. We are covering it all. Let's get started. Why do you need testimonials? I don't care what kind of business you are in but testimonials sell. When people hear from others about a product or how it's helping them, they buy into it more.

Think about a time when you saw an ad and it told you how this product, course or whatever it was, was going to change your life, and you weren't necessarily sold. You were like, “That sounds great.” You then saw someone else post and say something, tell you how they loved XYZ and you were like, “Sold. I'm in. That was all I needed. I trust her. I'm going to buy that.”

Testimonials provide social proof. They talk about your business from the consumer's perspective, which can sometimes be an even better language than what you have used. It’s just someone outside of you saying that you are great and what you have is great. That social proof is one of the key factors to helping you generate more sales in your business and have more people jump in and purchase your products, your services, your courses, whatever it is that you are selling.

When or where can you use testimonials? You can and should use testimonials all the time, all over the place. Where can you use them? Pretty much anywhere. I definitely recommend using them throughout your website. When people are visiting your website and they are taking a look around, if they see testimonials from people that you have worked with or you have helped sprinkled throughout, that is social proof. It's helping to validate what you are selling and what you are promising to other people. You can and should use testimonials on sales pages.

This is the most common and probably the number one place that you think of when you have a sales page or you are creating one. You are putting testimonials there because a Sales page intends to get someone to hit that Buy button on what you are selling. Showcasing client testimonials on your sales page is going to be that extra factor that might help that person to be influenced by that social proof even if they don't know the person or especially if there’s a picture.

I am a big fan of testimonials with little pictures so I can see the real person and I know that that's less likely to be made up than some little quoted thing that you could say anyone said but if there's a picture there, then I'm like, “That person knows that that's being said and they approved that.” That, for me, is just a little bit more trust if it's someone giving a testimonial that I don't even know.

Another place that people overlook putting testimonials is on the Checkout page. They think they put the testimonials on the sales page, so they are like, "I’m good," but then they forget that some people don't look at the entire sales page or they didn't get down to the place where they saw the testimonials. They just go to the Checkout page. Remember, people that go to the Checkout page aren't necessarily convinced that they are going to buy yet.

Maybe they just want to see the price or they want to, "I'm going to go here, Checkout and see what else is here," and they haven't quite decided. 2 or 3 testimonials on your Checkout page could be that extra factor that gets them to say, “I'm in. Perfect. I'm going to hit that Buy button. Take my money.” I also think that it's really valuable to use testimonials and emails. If you are sending out an email sequence that's going to nurture people or it’s going to be your marketing and your sales email funnel, this is another place to put your testimonials.

Sprinkle them into your emails. If you think about it, your marketing and sales emails are another way for you to take all the information you might put on your sales page and give it to someone in a different capacity or format. Let's say you are doing a launch. You have marketing, an evergreen funnel and you have these email sequences that are going to market and pitch your thing. Taking those testimonials that you would put on a sales page and putting them in those emails is going to be effective.

Another place to use testimonials is on social media. This is another place where customers are potentially looking for you or they are trying to decide if you can help them or not. Sprinkling testimonials throughout your social media and putting them in your social stories every now and again is super valuable, especially during a launch. If you are putting them on your Sales page and in your emails, you want to put them on your social media. You can put them in other places in your content.

I share testimonials all the time on my show. If you have been reading long enough, then you have seen me share stories about my private clients or my students. I share the things that they have accomplished. Those are testimonials. I'm taking what they have told me and I'm sharing that with you. It's just another way to share testimonials with your audience.

What If You Don’t Have Testimonials From Clients Yet?

Are you getting the idea, yet that testimonials can be used anywhere and everywhere that you are talking about your business? If you are using a free webinar, a workshop or a masterclass to pitch a course or a program, then put testimonials in that webinar 100%. One of the biggest questions I get and had when starting was, “what if you are just starting and you don't have any clients yet to get testimonials from?” You start with your own personal testimonials.

If you are in network marketing or an affiliate marketer and you are selling products, you used those products, and you probably really liked them and enjoyed them or you wouldn't be promoting them, so you likely have your own personal testimonial that you can share with other people. When you start to get more customers, you can get their testimonials as well, and then you will have more testimonials to share.

Placing testimonials in your emails is an effective sales strategy.

If you are launching a course, a membership site or a program and you have never launched this before, you are likely helping someone solve a problem that you initially had. You had this problem, you overcame it and you are teaching other people how to do the same thing. You have a personal testimonial about how you overcame that problem. Use your personal testimony. Use your personal story to show them that you overcame that problem. You have the solution.

Another way to get testimonials about something that you haven't launched yet is to get a testimonial from someone who has worked with you. They can give you more of a character witness testimonial. They might not know or have experienced what you are putting out there, that specific program or course but if they have worked with you, then they have experienced with you and could share a testimonial.

Let's say that you have worked with someone. You help people get organized and you have already helped a client do that, you could say, “I’m launching this new course or program that's taking kind of what we did together and putting it in a course. Could you share a testimonial about your experience with me?” That person says, “Sarah has been wonderful to work with. She's always one step ahead of me and she really helps me stay super focused and organized.”

It's not super specific saying this course changed my life but if it's a testimonial around the same thing that your program or course is doing, then it can be really effective as the initial testimonial that you have. Once you get clients and students through your program, you can replace those with more powerful, specific testimonials from students that are going through.

Another way to get testimonials that I have leveraged a lot is to give away your thing for free or do beta pricing in exchange for a testimonial. You go in it without having any testimonies and you say, “You are going to get this really special price because I'm launching this brand new. In exchange, I would love more feedback from you and potentially a testimonial if you have a really good experience,” or again, you could give it away for free in exchange for a testimonial that you can then use for your true launch when you launch that program, course or the new product.

Another way that you can do this is by giving a portion away of what you are offering. If you are launching a course or a program, you could give away a little piece. We did this with Digital Duplication Academy: The Young Living Addition. We hand-selected a few people that were struggling with aspects that we were going to be providing the solutions in the program.

I said, “You are really struggling with building out your website. You have been struggling for a year. I would love to test out these copywriting worksheets and templates to help you make writing your website a lot faster. Would you use this worksheet and then give me any feedback? Let me know if there are any roadblocks or if there was any confusion. If it goes well, I would love to use a testimonial from you in my upcoming masterclass.”

I’ve got an insanely powerful testimonial by doing this exact thing by giving away one little piece of the program. In fact, that person ended up signing up for the entire program because they had such a great experience with that one little piece that they were like, “I need this entire thing.” Someone who I was trying to help out, trying to get a testimonial to show that social proof, that it can make a difference and it can really help, ended up turning into an actual customer.

I took another piece of that program, Phase 3, out of the program and utilized it with one of my private clients. I had her use it and got a great testimonial from her, so sometimes you don't have to give away the whole thing for free. You can just give away little pieces and get feedback and testimonial for a portion of the program. It’s super effective.

The final thing that I want to talk about is how to get a really good testimonial. Oftentimes we ask someone for a testimonial and they say, “Sure,” then they come back to you and say something like, "Kelsey's program was amazing. I highly recommend.” That's a horrible testimonial. That gives nobody any insights as to why they should jump in on whatever it is that you are selling or in terms of products, "These oils make me feel amazing or these shakes have really helped me." Do you think that that's a helpful testimonial? It's not but thank you for trying.

How To Tell If A Testimonial Is Good

Here's how you can tell if it's a good testimonial. You read it. If you look at it and you say, "That makes me want to jump in and buy it," then that's a good testimonial. If you are like, “I have so many questions. Why was it amazing? How did it help you?” That's not a very good testimonial. You are going to be the judge but let's avoid that situation altogether. Let's not say, “Can I get a testimonial? Send it over.” Let's give them some guidance so that we don't waste their time, we don't waste our time, we get what we are looking for and it's still authentic.

I will often just ask someone some questions. I have a couple of different methods. One is asking them questions, and then I create my own testimonial using their exact language, then I will craft it together in a testimonial. I will send it to them and say, “Does this work for you?” I want to make sure that they are okay with what I'm saying because it's going to get plastered everywhere, and because I have literally plucked their exact words out of their mouth and constructed this concise, and powerful testimonial, they always say yes because it is what they said. It is still authentic.

“How do you extract these things that you need from someone to get a powerful testimonial?” That is a great question. I'm totally pumped. I love testimonials. I love this topic and this is going to help you with your business tremendously. I hope you are taking notes. You might have to read this a few times. It's not a super long episode, so you have the time to do it.

I digress back to the main point here. One of my biggest go-tos is asking them, "How did you feel before you used, experienced or had XYZ?" We want to get where they are at before they used whatever it is that you are getting the testimonial on. How did you feel? What was life like? What were your challenges and your struggles? We want to get that before the picture because that's going to be where your ideal client is when you are speaking to them. They are at that place that that person is.

Use your personal story to show your clients that you overcame the problem.  

I want you to ask, "How did you feel now that you have completed, experienced or used XYZ?" Now we are getting the after, that transformation. We want to know how they are feeling before and how they are feeling after, so asking them and they are going to tell you, and then, you are going to use those pieces to construct your testimonial.

If someone says, “Before, I was super overwhelmed. I didn't know where to start. I was feeling frozen, so I just didn't do anything. I paid for this website platform for an entire year and I didn't build a website because I was too overwhelmed. I didn't know the lingo. I didn't know where to start, what pieces to highlight, so I didn't do anything.” That's where you were before.

After using the copywriting worksheet and template, how do you feel now? "I feel amazing. I feel so empowered. I feel like I can really do this and I can do it well. I feel like I know how to speak to my ideal customer." That was a testimonial from someone. Another tip that I do is you can say, “Can you give me a testimonial and be really detailed? If you can explain how it was helpful, how it affects your life or your business moving forward, how it has affected you since doing it and what has impacted you the most?”

I take that big thing that they create with all the detail in it and pull out the really important pieces that showcase the transformation or talk about that specific thing that I want them to talk about. It's interesting when you have different personalities. I'm a blue personality. I want to have fun and want to be the life of the party sometimes or at least have everyone have a lot of energy. I’m one of those like, “It was amazing. It was super fun. You should do it.”  That's the testimony I used to give before and now I know how testimonials work, so if I'm trying to help someone out, I am very specific.

Whereas green personalities want to know all of the details. They want to know why and how it was helpful and how it changed that person's life. They tend to give those reviews. You can tell when you are reading Yelp reviews and you see someone that's like, "This was amazing." This happened when I was shopping for couches. "This couch was fantastic." That was not super helpful. I want to know was it comfortable? How was the pullout bed?

I would find this review of like, "The couch was so great. The cushions were this and that. We pulled out of the bed. It was easy to assemble. I laid and slept on it. It felt amazing. It looks wonderful. The fabric was soft. It's durable. My dog lays on it and hasn't scratched it." That’s the kind of testimonial that businesses want. If you are trying to do someone a favor and give that testimonial with a lot of detail but also as a business who's trying to get testimonials, look for those people that you know are more of that green personality that really want all the details because they will give you really good testimonials.

Another strategy is to just be upfront with someone and say, “This is the purpose of the product, course or the program. I'm trying to help someone with this problem and since I have helped you with that, I'm looking for a testimonial that would really showcase and speak to them so that they know it could help them as well.” You do get a true, authentic testimonial from them but they know exactly what you are looking for, so they don't spend a bunch of time on something.

I have even done this with private clients, where I have helped multiple private clients with six different topics. I have two people that have already spoken on a specific aspect of working with me, so there's that other lingering piece that I might not have a testimonial for. I say, “I'm looking for a testimonial with your experience with this portion of working with me.” They can give me a specific example of that. It's authentic. It's true. It's real but it helps cover that big picture of showing people what it's like for others to work with me or what results in we have had in different areas of working together.

Get Great Testimonials Through Surveys 

Another way to get great testimonials is to do surveys or intake forms. Having someone fill out an intake form before they do your program, your course, or use the products, and then have them fill an intake form out after is a great way to see if there was a really big transformation. You can then go through and see, this person and this person had amazing transformations, and you ask them to do testimonials from you.

The majority of the time, you are trying to help someone overcome their limiting beliefs. People have limiting beliefs about everything. They have limiting beliefs that they can't lose weight, they are not smart enough or they don't have enough money to buy XYZ. You are on a mission to try and help someone overcome those limiting beliefs so that they can believe that you can help them and that they can do that thing that they really want to do. It's just their mind holding them back and stopping them.

Leveraging testimonials to do this can be really effective. It's important to identify what your ideal client's limiting belief is so that you can also structure your testimonials around helping them overcome that limiting belief. If someone's limiting belief is that they aren't capable of doing something, it's important to showcase in your testimonial showing other people that are in the same position that your ideal client is and show that these people were able to overcome. They were able to do it. They were capable so that someone could see someone else and say, "That person is just like me." They relate to them in their story. They were able to do it. "I can do this, too."

That was a lot of secrets on testimonials that I shared with you. I hope that they were super helpful. I know that you are going to go out there and get some really amazing testimonials for your business. If you found this episode helpful, if you could go give me a review, that would be great. Share something that you enjoyed and how it has helped you.

See what I just said there? I guided you to leave me a killer testimonial on the show. It's up to you, whether or not you do it but it's out there. I would greatly appreciate it. I hope that this was helpful and that you can use the information here to start sprinkling these testimonials into your content, your marketing, your sales, and they can help you show other people how you have helped yourself and others, and it can help you get that sale. All right, that's it. I will see you next time.

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