In a hypothetical world where you could only market your service with one technique, what would you choose?
For me, it would be hands-down, without-a-doubt, testimonials.
And that’s because, after all, the most important question on every prospect’s mind before they’ll say yes is this:
“Will it work for me?”
In short, your prospect needs proof.
And unless they’re a bit of a strange cat, you ain’t going to be convincing them with peer-reviewed research.
You’ll convince them with emotion, anecdote, and story.
And while the rational part of your brain might not like to hear that, it’s true all the same.
We buy emotionally, then justify rationally.
And the best lever that taps into emotion? Story and testimony.
That’s why I’d take testimonials over everything else.
Which of course, makes you wonder…
How do you utilise testimonials in all sorts of different ways to help your prospects trust they’re making a decision in their best interests?
Here is a list I’ve come up with that might help (you may have to zoom in on some of these):
1. If a client repeats what you say in your own marketing message, use it to reinforce your claim’s believability, like this:
2. When you’re told by someone about all the benefits they have received that they didn’t expect:
3. When a compelling benefit that would make a prospect want to buy is achieved. In this case, a 15% increase in price (equating to tens of thousands of dollars per year):
4. When it allowed a customer/client to overcome a challenge they wouldn’t normally have been able to overcome:
5. When it has helped your customer get a leg up on their competition, despite being the “new guy on the block”:
6. When there is an emotional transformation, like having a newfound sense of confidence in themselves:
7. Or, when the results a customer has achieved would make anyone’s jaw drop:
There are so many ways to use testimonials, but the chances are, these are sitting in your inbox being of no use at all…
Or within a text message thread, just waiting to be shared…
Or in your own memory bank after a F2F conversation that you never asked your client to share on Google that would have helped you out…
Which when you think about it that way, seems a little silly, doesn’t it?
Because when it’s the best form of proof you have, it’s worth telling people about it, right?
Especially if that’s the difference between them reaping all the benefits you know your product/service could do for them…
If only they had the belief to jump…
While on the topic of jumping, there are only a few more days left to take a leap of faith and subscribe to the Alley-Oop before the “Holy Gospel of Email Marketing” gets written, printed and shipped off to the subscribers who, in this case, had faith that the investment would yield a massive return.
You can join us here for $3.23 a day. Here’s the link:
– Karl Goodman
