Last week I helped identify the qualities that make someone a good testimonial. This week, we'll wrap up this two part series by helping you choose them in broader terms. It's important to remember that your testimonial not only needs to represent you well in the most literal sense, but they need be a good representation of what your business can deliver. Here's some advice for making sure you hit all of the important marks.
Name Drop
If your client is widely recognizable, by all means ask them to participate. Whether it's a prominent individual or a brand that's a household name, aligning yourself with them adds to your credibility. Check out my bio at http://plumproductionsmedia.com/home/About.html. I am a shameless name dropper! If you're dealing with a large corporation, you may have to jump through a lot of hoops to get a recorded statement from a representative, but it's well worth giving it a shot.
Variety is the Spice
Unless you serve a very specific niche, try to pull people from different industries. You'll want your potential clients to feel like they can identify with your established clients, so the more varied your testimonials, the greater the likelihood they'll see a connection. If you do only serve a specific field, add variety by selecting clients with different problems but the same outcome-- that you delivered results!
Be Well Rounded
Try not to be too focused when gathering testimonials. Even if there's one aspect of your business that is the most lucrative, you should still get testimonials that represent all of the services you offer. It probably won't take more than two testimonials to convince a potential client that you're effective, so why not switch it up? For instance, if you're an orthopedic surgeon, perhaps most of your clients require knee surgeries. But is someone who needs knee surgery going to sit through five testimonials about the same procedure? Most likely not. You may also be skilled in spine and ankle surgery, so pull past patients who had those procedures as well.
If you work in a field where your services or results are harder to convey (as opposed to a creative field like mine where I can show you samples) testimonials are an amazingly effective way to flaunt what you do best. Just choose wisely-- these people are representing you!
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