- You know you need to collect testimonials
from your clients to really build that social proof
and entice more people to want to work with you.
But how do you go about actually asking
for those testimonials without coming across
all needy and desperate?
And, how do you make sure that the testimonials you collect
are going to say what you actually want
your potential clients to hear?
Well stay tuned, because I'm gonna cover all that and more
in today's video so that you can build up
a bank of raving testimonials that make it so much easier
for your potential clients to say a big fat yes
to working with you.
If you're new to my channel,
it is so awesome to have you here,
my name is Melinda Kitto and if you're after marketing
and messaging tips to help you stand out online
and sell your offers with ease,
make sure that you subscribe and hit that bell
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Tip number one here is to seize the opportunity.
The best time to ask for testimonials is right in the moment
when your client is the most excited.
You don't have to wait until the end of your work together
to collect their testimonial.
You could be right in the middle of a coaching session
together, and they're sharing their excitement
over a huge win, why not simply say, hey,
do you mind if I just hit record on this?
And then just let them share their excitement
over what they've just achieved.
That kind of spontaneous feedback is so impactful
because it really genuinely captures their excitement
right in that moment.
Now, make sure that you keep on watching
because a little bit later in this video
I'm gonna share some really powerful questions
that you can ask to really draw out the type of testimonial
that you're looking for.
And those questions are perfect to use
in this kind of scenario.
You can also seize the opportunity
by taking screenshots of great feedback
that you receive online.
Almost any time somebody says something
even remotely positive about working with me,
I always make sure to just take a screenshot
and ask them if they mind if I share it.
Collecting this type of spontaneous feedback
is so much easier than trying to get a testimonial
after your work together is done.
Once you've finished working together,
it's simply not a high priority for your client
to send through their testimonial.
So it's the kind of thing that is really easy
to just drift off the bottom of their to-do list.
Which brings me to my second tip
which is to make it as easy as possible
for them to give you that testimonial.
When you ask your clients to give you a testimonial,
they can sometimes feel a bit of pressure
to really do your work justice.
And that desire to get it right
is another reason for that task
to really drift to the bottom of their to-do list.
And that desire doesn't always result
in the kind of testimonial that is actually useful for you.
Sometimes you'll end up with testimonials
that might sound lovely, but in reality
are kind of empty.
For example, I'll often have clients say
really lovely things about me.
They might say I'm really funny
or I'm really caring, or I'm really smart.
Oh my gosh, that sounds like I'm totally just trying
to toot my own horn there.
Well, maybe just a little bit. (she laughs)
And whilst that is so nice to hear
and it always makes me feel amazing,
that isn't necessarily the kind of testimonial
that is going to help a potential client
to decide if I'm the right coach for them.
A potential client is not as interested
in how funny or caring or smart you are
as they are interested in the results
that you are gonna help them achieve.
So you've gotta make it really easy for your clients
to give you what you need when it comes to the testimonial.
Tell them exactly what you want them to include.
And you can use the questions that I'm about to share
in just a second to help you do that.
But here's two more ways that make it as easy as possible
for your clients to give you that amazing testimonial.
My favorite way to collect testimonials
is to ask that client to do an interview with me.
And this is so effective on so many levels.
First, because it's an interview,
we actually have to book in a time to do it.
And that way it's done and dusted
and it's not gonna slip off the end of their to-do list.
I'll simply say something along the lines of, hey,
I would love to interview you
to ask about your experience with this program,
it should only take 15 minutes or so.
So if you're up for it, would you be able to do it
on this date or this date?
And I'll give them two times to choose from.
That way it just makes it so easy for them
to just pick a day and lock it in.
Now, secondly, if I'm using this interview style
to collect the testimonial,
then I have the opportunity to ask more questions
to really pull out the kind of answers that I'm looking for.
Because a lot of the time
people can be really vague in their answers.
So they might say something like, oh yeah,
I got amazing results.
But if I'm right there on the spot
I can prompt them with further questions.
So I could say, well tell us about it, what happened?
What kind of results did you get?
How many clients did you sign?
I can tease out more specific answers
that are actually gonna build the kind of testimonial
that is really useful to me.
So that interview style really allows me
to drill down and get to the good stuff.
And third, knowing it's an interview style
really takes the pressure off my clients.
They know that I'm the one
who's gonna be leading that interview
and guiding them with what questions I need them to answer.
So really all they have to do is just show up and share.
I usually like to send them the questions ahead of time
so that they have a little bit of time
to think about how they might like to respond,
but again, I'm right there on the spot
if I need to dig further into the answers that they give me.
Once you have that interview recorded,
you can edit it down if you need to,
you can take a transcript of the key parts of that interview
if you wanna turn them into a written testimonial,
or you can do what I did in this video right here
and actually compile multiple interviews
with different clients to create a really powerful
promo video for your program.
Let me know in the comments
if you love the idea of this interview style testimonial.
Because seriously, they are so so powerful
and easy to do, both for you and your clients.
If for any reason you're not keen on that interview style,
or perhaps if your clients aren't really keen
to jump on video, here's a second approach for you
that again makes it super easy for them
to give you the kind of testimonial you want.
You can use the questions I'm about to share with you
to create a little bit of a template
so that your client simply has to fill in the blanks.
Here's an example of how that might look.
Before working with Mel, I was dot dot dot.
And this is where you would ask them
to share their struggles, or describe
what their life looked like before you worked together.
During our work together,
she really helped me to realize dot dot dot.
And this is where you get them
to share their biggest breakthrough.
Since then I've been able to dot dot dot.
And this is where you want them
to share their specific results.
And then we're gonna wrap this up
by saying working with Mel has been dot dot dot.
And this is where they would share
their overall experience, and,
If anyone is considering working with her,
I'd say dot dot dot.
And this is where you'd ask them to share
what they would tell people about working with you.
If you have that template prepared,
you can just simply send it through to them,
or you can make it even easier for them
by actually suggesting what you'd love to hear
in certain sections.
So I might send that template through to a client,
but in those little blank sections,
I might just give them little notes,
something along the lines of hey, I'd love it
if you mentioned that time where you signed three clients
in one week.
You wanna give them hints, right?
Because trust me, they will be so grateful
that you're making this process easier for them
and you might actually prompt them
to include something that they might've forgotten otherwise.
Now, before we get to the questions that you should ask
in the testimonial, let's look at how
you should actually ask for it in the first place.
Well, my tip here is, just ask.
Seriously, you don't need to over-complicate this part.
If you've built up a really great relationship
with this client and they have enjoyed
the experience of working with you,
they're going to want to give you that testimonial.
But here's a couple of examples
of how you can actually ask the question.
If this after a one-off coaching session
or maybe a freebie, you can simply say something like,
has this been valuable to you?
And hopefully, of course, they'll say yes,
and you can reply, awesome, I'm so glad to hear that,
if you wouldn't mind, it would mean the world to me
if you could leave me a review on my page.
I can send you the link right now, if you like?
When you're wrapping up a coaching program together,
you could say, I have loved working with you so much
and really just seeing how you've transformed
over the past three months has been so amazing.
I think your story could really inspire
other people who are still stuck on the fence
about diving into this work.
Would you be open to doing a quick interview
with me to share your experience?
Or, if you wanna share a simple screenshot
of someone saying something nice about you,
I simply say something like,
that is so sweet of you to say.
Hey, do you mind if I share this?
Simple, right?
Trust me, if your clients have enjoyed working with you,
they will be more than happy to express their gratitude
by sharing a glowing review.
Okay, I have teased you enough,
let's get to those powerful questions
that you can ask to really make sure
that you are collecting amazing testimonials
that showcase why people would wanna work with you.
You can use all of these questions,
or you might wanna pick and choose the ones
that're gonna give you
the kind of testimonial you really want.
Question one.
Tell me what your life looked like
before you started working with me.
Now, this is a really powerful question to ask
because we want your potential clients
to be able to see themselves in this testimonial.
We want them to be able to think, wow,
it sounds like that person was exactly where I am right now.
Maybe this actually is possible for me.
Question two, what were you worried,
scared, or nervous about before you made
the decision to join?
And what was it that helped you to decide
that this was the right program for you?
Hearing their own fears reflected
in this client, and hearing what it was
that tipped them over the edge
and made them decide to join,
can really help your potential clients
to make the same kind of decision for themselves.
Question three, how did you find the process itself?
This can help to allay your potential client's fears
or concerns about how the whole process
is going to work.
Question four, what were some of your biggest a-ha moments
that really shifted your perspective?
Now, I like this question mostly for my own feedback,
so that I really know what elements of my work
made the biggest difference for this client.
Question five, and this has gotta be my favorite.
What specific results have you been able to achieve?
And here you really wanna ask them
to be as specific as possible.
If they say I made more money in my business, great.
How much, how many clients?
how quickly were you able to do that?
Get specific details.
I feel so much happier.
Awesome, can you give me an example?
What does that look like for you?
Question six, what would you say
to anyone who's considering joining the program?
This is a direct call-out to the people
who are reading this testimonial,
to inspire them to take action.
And finally, you wanna leave some room for them
to add any additional comments that they might have.
There's often so much gold that comes out
of those final comments, that's usually where people
really express their heart-felt gratitude.
And they're usually the comments
that really make my heart wanna just burst.
If you start to incorporate some of these tips,
not only will you be able to collect more testimonials,
but you'll be collecting the kind of testimonials
that aren't just fluffy, lovely statements,
but the kind of comments that are gonna compel
your potential clients to take action
and really take the leap and sign up with you.
And since we're talking about asking the question,
permit me to demonstrate.
If this video has been helpful for you,
make sure that you hit that like button,
and leave me a comment to let me know
what has been your biggest take-away.
Your feedback and comments genuinely go such a long way.
Not just for me,
but for all of your favorite creators out there.
Because it really lets us know that you appreciate
all the work that goes into creating this free content
and it always encourages us to keep going.
So if you wanna see more videos just like this one,
make sure that you leave me a comment
and let me know what topics you'd love me to cover.
And if you want more marketing and messaging tips
to help you stand out online and sell your offers with ease,
make sure that you check out these videos right here
and you can also click right here to subscribe.
Thanks so much for watching and I will see you
in the next video, oh.
Didn't realize I was recording! (she laughs)
Oops!
Someone, screenshot to someone.
Right here to subscribe.
I don't know why I put on that voice. (she laughs)