| According to marketing guru Dan Kennedy, "What others
say about you and your product, service, or business is at least 1000% more
convincing than what you say, even if you are 1000% more eloquent." The reason is obvious. Customers doubt what we say
about ourselves, but believe other customers. And the more customers who say
good things about us, the more prospective customers will believe them. Is
this a new idea?
Frank Bettger discussed the power of testimonials in
Chapter 18 of How I Raised Myself From Failure To Success In Selling,
published in 1949, and I'm sure there are earlier examples.
When Ira Hayes of National Cash Register made sales
calls, his presentation principally consisted of showing binders of
testimonial letters to his customers.
Time management consultant Larry Dolan told marketing
guru Dan Kennedy he closes every inquiry he gets for a speaking engagement.
He has no brochure, no demo tape, no video tape. When a prospective client
calls, Larry simply sends a hand-addressed box of copies of testimonial
letters.
Can you imagine the power of hundreds of letters
praising his presentation? This is more compelling and believable than
anything Larry could say about himself.
So when you send a sales letter, include as many
testimonials as possible. The testimonials are more likely to make the sale
than your letter. When you make a sales presentation, have a supply of
testimonial letters. If possible, get audio tapes and video tapes with
testimonials.
Include testimonials in your advertisements. In some
cases, an entire advertising campaign can be built around a series of
testimonials. Those who are not permitted to use testimonials about the
results of their products or services may be able to use testimonials
about how they deliver their products or services. If these
limitations apply to you, get legal counsel to advise you about what you can
do.
For example, "The team at the Dr. Roth's office are so
nice I would like to visit there for my summer vacation. They made me very
comfortable when I had always been stressed out going to a dentist. Their
office is so fun and oriented to patients that when I go there I feel like
I'm at Disneyland! They took care of all of the paperwork for my insurance
claims and helped me arrange a payment plan for my co-payment."
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