Ready to BRAG on yourself, sis? ✨
Testimonials are a powerful marketing tool for your business and are an AMAZING way to showcase successes you have helped your past customers or clients achieve. 💃🏽
Testimonials influence sales WAY more than any other marketing tactic — so much so that a study found 92% of customers trust reviews by individuals more than any other form of marketing.
It’s a FACT: People need testimonials to buy something.
We mean, when was the last time you bought something without reading a review first?
But as great as testimonials are, most biz owners struggle to get a testimonial or response from clients in general. Not only that, but there are also a few legal land mines that you want to make sure you avoid when collecting and using testimonials.
In today’s blog post, we’re sharing five tips for getting better testimonials from your clients. Let’s get started! 👇🏽
1. Take Screenshots
The first tip is to take advantage of the power of screenshots. This is the easiest way to collect testimonials.
You know when a client emails you or sends you a DM gushing about the recent wins they’ve experienced due to the support of your program, your courses, your services, your resources, etc.?
Take a screenshot of that message. 🤳🏽
Then, create a folder in Google Drive for you and your team to access later. This is where you’ll store all the screenshots that can be used for future marketing purposes, and it’s also an easy way to track them.
One of the BEST things about screenshot testimonials is their authenticity. Many people will (subconsciously, even) trust a screenshot far more than a beautifully designed Canva graphic promoting your services.
Screenshots also show that your customers are RAVING about you without even being prompted! These spur-of-the-moment compliments via social media show that you have REAL humans that are in love with the results you create for them through your business. 😍
2. Get Consent
Before you share that screenshot or beautifully branded testimonial on the internet, get consent from the author of the testimonial first.
Technically, that testimonial is considered the property of the author. And if you’re going to share that written content with the public, you want to make SURE that you have the consent of the author to publish that on your website, on your social media pages, etc.
We recommend that you ask that individual DIRECTLY. This is the best practice!
If you find it difficult to get a testimonial using this method, there is another way for you to get that consent. You may find this to be a little bit easier for you, too. Simply include a testimonial consent clause in your contract!
This means that right when you and your client begin working together, your client consents to you sharing their testimonial and showcasing it on your website or your social media platforms.
And guess what? You don’t have to worry about how to put those clauses in your contracts because we INCLUDE those clauses in our plug-and-play contract templates for business owners to make things a whole lot easier for you. 📝
Because let’s be real. You have a business to run. You DON’T have time to be worrying about whether or not you have permission to post that raving testimonial on the ’gram. 🙅🏽
Just remember to grab that permission from the get-go!
3. Ask the Right Questions
The third tip that can help you get better testimonials from your clients is to ask the right questions.
Sometimes, when a testimonial is requested from a client, they might get the equivalent of stage fright and their mind just goes blank.
They may not know where to begin or what to share.
And maybe they want to share a great testimonial, but they don’t know what it is that you’re looking for.
One way you can collect great testimonials from your clients is by providing them with a feedback survey during these times:
- At the end of your time working together
- At a halfway point of working together
- After you deliver the project
It’s best to do this as soon as you possibly can after the end of a project or time working together because that is when they’re most happy and excited! Plus, their experience of working with you is still fresh on their mind.
To make the survey, you can use something like AirTable or even Google Forms. The simpler, the better! ✅
Some sample questions that you can include in the survey are:
- What results did you get from my coaching/professional service/course, etc.?
- Please describe what your business, relationship, or life looked like before completing my course/before participating in my program/before entering a coaching relationship, etc.
- What does it look like now after you’ve completed that?
- Would you recommend my service/program/course/etc. to others? Why?
- What was your favorite part of working together/this course/this program, etc.?
Asking questions like these will help guide your clients and result in impactful, honest testimonials.
Once you’ve collected the answers, and pieced them together to make testimonials, you STILL need to run the consent question by the client.
Sometimes, at the end of the feedback form, you can ask the question of whether they consent to you using their responses as a testimonial or as part of a case study.
4. Leverage the Power of Video
In case you missed it, video marketing is all the rage right now. 🎥
There’s nothing BETTER and EASIER for people to consume on social media than a testimonial from your client in the form of a short video!
Not only will this make your clients’ lives SO much easier, but you’ll also have something exciting and amazing to share on your social media platforms, your website, your email list, etc. ✨
Using videos on platforms like Instagram and Facebook makes it so much more enjoyable for you, your clients, and your community!
Besides, there’s nothing that builds trust faster than seeing your clients brag about you DIRECTLY.
To make this process super simple for your clients, you could even use something like VideoAsk — a service where all you need to do is send over your link, and clients are able to answer your feedback questions via video!
Leveraging the power of video testimonials has never been easier. ✅
5. Create a Template
If you decide that you’d rather not use the feedback form, another way that you can collect a quality testimonial from your client is by creating a framework or a fill-in-the-blank type of testimonial.
Think Mad Libs for your service/program. 😉
This is a done-for-you template that makes it easier for your clients to fill in the blanks and provide the details of their experience. 🙌🏽
For example, the template can look something like this:
Before working with [your name], I was struggling with [what the client was struggling with]. Now that I’ve worked with [your name], I can [what result did the client achieve], or I am [client wins]. If it weren’t for [your name], I wouldn’t have been able to [client’s positive experiences].
This kind of template allows your clients to share the details of their experience and the reality of their current status versus where they were before working with you or before purchasing your product.
Bottom line: Getting testimonials from your clients isn’t as hard as you think.
Whether you struggle to ask for testimonials, or your clients find it difficult to write them, following these five tips makes it simpler for everyone. 👏🏽
We do recommend asking for testimonials as part of your offboarding process because it makes it much easier for clients to share their experience when it’s fresh.
Also, your clients are most excited right after a project is complete because they’ve just received results and they’re still riding that high.
So go ahead, friends! Ask for those testimonials and get the credit you deserve! 🙌🏽
And remember, if you want to get testimonial consent from get-go, be sure to ask for it in your client contracts. We include this must-have clause in all of our lawyer-created, plug-and-play contract templates, so check out the Contract Shop here if you want to make this process easy-peasy!
Check out our ready-to-use, lawyer-approved, plug-and-play legal contract templates! So you can upgrade your client contract while staying Profitable & Protected™✨
Not sure where to begin? We’ve got you. Grab our FREE Legally Launch Handbookto get the legal lowdown on everything in entrepreneurship, without the confusing mambo jumbo. We’re serving it up straight & to the point. (Heads up: It’ll forever transform the way you view your client relationships!) Grab your copy now.
*The information presented in this blog post is for educational & informational purposes only. This should not be a substitute for customized legal advice from a licensed professional in a private setting. If you need legal advice, please consult with an attorney. This is not a law firm.
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