1. They don’t have the money.
2. They don’t think it’ll work for them.
3. They don’t like you, or trust you.

So if someone has expressed interest in what you do or offer and they don’t run with it –

– which one of the above 3 is it?

Let’s start with # 1. If they don’t have the money then you didn’t qualify them well enough. And you should only present to qualified prospects, save a heap of time that way.

Or perhaps you didn’t make it affordable for them, as in a payment plan.

If it’s # 2 – you mustn’t have got across the power of what you do or merit of your product or service. Need to check your marketing and sales pipeline. Again, this links to # 1 and how you’ve positioned yourself in the market place. More on that later…

If it’s # 3 and they don’t like you, hmm, maybe a career change is in order.

But if they do like you!

Did you enrol them into the value of your proposition?

Did you give them enough evidence that what you do works?

To the point where that evidence and that value is overwhelming!

Here’s the thing, even with all the due diligence in the world, people still base their buying decisions on emotion. Yes, they’ll weigh up the pro’s and con’s but if there is that preponderance of proof then who can say no!

What others say about you is infinitely more believable than what you say about you…

Think about it. How much more likely are you to try a new store or go to a restaurant if a friend or family member told you about it?

A lot more likely! Imagine then you saw an ad in your local newspaper for this business.

You could almost speak with authority and recommend it to others even if you hadn’t been there as yet.

If someone you know and trust is making a recommendation it invariably means you are going to trust their judgement. Also, if there is a swag of testimonials from people you don’t know then the result is the same!

So you work hard to deliver, you over-deliver even. You have clients who are absolutely rapt with all that you do, ravings fans. So you have all these people ‘gushing’ about your service and products but do you share that with the world?

A high ‘gush’ factor with someone singing your praises is a powerful tool.

Testimonials provide credibility as well as proof. They position you as the authority.

I don’t even talk to a prospect until I’ve sent them a company profile which is not about us but more about “what our clients say about us”. We don’t even call it a company profile (I only did then so you knew what I meant). We term it our mini “shock and awe” pack.

I see so many graphically gorgeous company profiles that go on about “us” and “we”. This is not about you!

 
• How can you provide a preponderance of proof that what you say is true?

• How can you boost their confidence that you are not only the best, but they really do need to pick you, or you!

• How can you overcome most or all the objections someone may have about doing business with you?

So how are you going to provide all the credibility, all the authority and give all the evidence?

Testimonials and case studies and results!

So when you do talk or present to them they are already predisposed to do business with you.

So in your offline marketing get yourself a mini “shock and awe” pack!

On your website make sure you “show off” using what your clients say about you! I’m passionate about creating the ‘gush factor’ in what we do.

We’ve just loaded a new sidebar widget which scrolls through specific testimonials. It’s a subtle soft way to show a multitude of testimonials while people are on your website. Check it out in the sidebar -Raving Fans & Great Results. It’s kinda cool.

I also have a testimonials category section for the latest client raves and testimonials.

So for now, make sure you keep collecting and updating YOUR testimonials! And show them off at every opportunity.

Next email I’ll share the “3 types of testimonials” and “3 ways you can use them” – VERY POWERFUL and a post you don’t want to miss!