When it comes to forking over money to you, many people act like proverbial Missourians: hands folded across their chests, they demand "Show me!" You can't always mount a demonstration of your product or service, particularly at a distance. The next best thing: earning their confidence with testimonials.

Also known as third-party endorsements, or blurbs, testimonials boost your credibility because they move you from saying, in effect, "I'm great and you'd better believe it!" to "I'm great and here are real people who say so." They also help you convey elusive qualities about yourself and your business that don't easily come across on paper otherwise.

For maximum clout, testimonials end with a person's full name, his or her title where that's applicable, and either a company name, preferably recognizable, or a city and state. To the extent that you water down or omit any of these ingredients, you weaken a testimonial's power. "J.F., Santa Monica, California" is pretty weak. "J.F., California" is barely worth the ink needed to print it. Please don't give in to the temptation to concoct fake testimonials, which could amount to deceptive advertising.

Over the telephone or face to face, whenever someone spontaneously utters quotable praise, grab a pencil or tape recorder, ask, "May I quote you on that?" and scribble it down. One approach that I've seen work well is to say you're collecting success stories from clients and would they like to be included? Putting it that way flatters clients and presents the blurb to them as a compliment rather than a burdensome request.

Or, distribute questionnaires at the time that people receive your product or service. Or send out a customer/client satisfaction survey. Either way, design the questionnaire or survey on a postage-paid card or a fax-back form, keeping it easy for them. Customer/client surveys also serve as a marketing tool by conveying the message that you care about feedback, and reminding people who were especially pleased with your work that they should call on you again. Some may rehire you when they return the survey

Since her first appearance in print in the Sunday New York Times in 1981, Marcia Yudkin has built a global reputation as an author, speaker, and publicity and marketing consultant. Her nine nonfiction books include "Six Steps to Free Publicity" and "Persuading on Paper". Marcia Yudkin also serves as a commentator for WBUR, the National Public Radio affiliate station in Boston, and writes a syndicated newspaper column Marketing Matters. You can read more of her work at http://www.yudkin.com/marketing.htm.

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Wanda Loskot - Success Connection
150 Heron's Run, Suite #124 - Sarasota, FL 34232 - USA
Phone (941) 342-4203 - Fax (240) 358-7445

Professional business coach, author & speaker specializing in Internet marketing.
Business seminars, corporate training and one-on-one coaching
for self-employed sales professionals and small business owners.

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