Testimonials are extremely important for strengthening a brand and can make a huge contribution to the success of any business. Positive testimonials from clients support your credibility and level of expertise. Prospects will be more inclined to trust you and the services and products that you offer.

If you are managing a business be sure to ask satisfied clients for testimonials to illustrate the value of your products and services. They are easy to obtain. Just contact your best clients and ask them if they’ll write a testimonial or enter a review online for you. Most will be more than happy to do so.

However to make sure you get a GOOD testimonial you may need to nudge them in the right direction. Yes, they will probably give you a glowing report but the sceptics will toss it aside in an instant, To get a compelling testimonial help them along the way with a few carefully selected questions:

• Before you started working with my company what concerns might have prevented you from buying this product/using our services?
• After working with my company / buying my product what has pleased you most about the product / service?
• How has it benefited your company’s success?
• Would you recommend my product/ service, and if so, why?

Armed with this information you’ll help your clients to create killer testimonials on your behalf  which you can then use in a myriad of places. Put them on your website, brochures, sales pages, press releases, direct mail letters, etc. Use Social Media channels to spread the word regarding your testimonials far and wide, shared with as many people as possible.

Testimonials will help sales in so many ways;  Higher lead generation, higher closing ratio and greater credibility among others.

So, start collecting!