Glowing testimonials for your business can be extremely powerful. They can be used to overcome objections, calm anxieties, eliminate fears, reinforce the positive points that you want to communicate, and more. Plus, as I discussed in a previous article on harnessing the power of testimonials, once you collect great testimonials and obtain permission to use them, you can use them in all of your marketing materials.

The trick is to know how to get testimonials that are truly fabulous, and not merely “okay.”

In working to create marketing materials that actually sell your products or services, one of the first things you need to do is create trust. One of the best ways to create trust is to use third party endorsements such as testimonials. As Amazon, Yelp, Zillow and so many other companies have proven, people put a great deal of faith in the opinions of total strangers.

Understand that the Best Testimonials are Specific

That said, not all testimonials are created equal. The best testimonials speak to the specific reasons why a person is so excited about your company.

For example, one of my clients provided the following testimonial for my work:

“Thanks to Linda’s incredibly persuasive writing, all it took to get my foot in the door at one of the largest statewide retailers in my industry was her one-page letter. She’s awesome!”

This is a powerful testimonial because it is so specific. Had he merely said “Linda is a great writer,” this would have been true…but not nearly as impactful.

Help People Figure Out What to Say

If you ask your satisfied customers for testimonials, many will be happy to give you one. But you’re likely to get much stronger testimonials if you also provide a few questions like these to help them clarify their thoughts:

• What was your biggest fear before hiring us? Did it come true? If not, what happened instead?
• Why did you choose us versus your other options?
• What was the best part about working with us?
• What have we done that made the biggest difference for you?
• If one of your friends asked why they should do business with us, what would you tell them?

These sample questions are all for service providers. If you’re selling products, simply adjust the questions accordingly.