Why Testimonials Are The Only Proof You’ve Got
Who do you think is better at selling your product or service, you or your customer’s testimonial? If you are trying to close a $10,000 deal, would it help if the prospect could talk to a satisfied customer?
It’s obvious, your satisfied customers are your best sales people, and they will outsell you by 100 times. You can say how good you are, until you are blue in the face, but a 2 minute conversation between a satisfied customer and a prospect will close the deal quickly.
Testimonials are the only proof you’ve got.
When you say how good you are, you’re blowing your own trumpet, you’re bragging, but when someone else says the same thing, it’s proof, it has clout.
So if this is true, why do I see quotations, proposals and sales material being distributed without any proof?
If the credibility is so much higher, when someone else says how good you are, why are quotations, proposals and sales material not laden with testimonials?
How do you market and quote?
Is your sales material and proposals laden with testimonials, like a fruit tree, with branches dragging on the ground from the weight of the fruit?
If not, then why not?
A simple strategy of collecting a testimonial from every customer, and displaying them in all your sales material, is guaranteed to immediately increase your conversions. It will magnify your credibility and will be the most read part of your sales material.
But don’t get the wrong kind of testimonial.
"I would recommend XYZ Computers as they provide outstanding service. I have used them for 5 years." from Joe Bloggs (ABC Trading)
That testimonial may make you feel good, but its too general. A great testimonial should be written in a way that is focused and specific.
"I was wasting up to 10 hours a week trying to overcome computer glitches. Within 24 hours of calling XYZ Computers they had not only solved my problem but provided a solution that would prevent this from ever happening again. I paid less than $100 to solve a problem that was costing me $600 a week in down time and causing a lot of stress. If you have any doubt about using XYZ computers, just give me a call." from Ian McConnell (Profitfitness.com) tel – 7777 7777 7777
Now that’s a specific testimonial. Note the option for prospects to call. You need to convince your customers to insert their phone numbers, as it is free advertising for them.
Explain to them that less than 5% of prospects will call. It will make the testimonial 10 times more powerful. However if a prospect does call, make sure you reward the customer for this, it’s well worth it.
But how do you get testimonials like that?
Well first you need to EARN them and then you need to ASK for them. It’s ok to prompt the customer to get a more specific outcome, but be truthful and don’t exaggerate.
A feedback questionnaire, that is well thought out, could not only be used to improve your service, but also parts of it could be extracted and put together to make up the testimonial, with the customers permission of course.
Testimonials are a great tool for closing sales. They remove any doubt, reduce the risk, confirm the value and smooth the way to a sale. Great testimonials will sell much more product or services than you ever could! So if you don’t have any testimonials, you need to correct this now!
List your 10 best clients, call them, offer to buy them lunch and get those testimonials. And if it feels awkward to ask them, then your relationship is weak to the point that you could lose them to your competitors at any time.
One Focused Hour A Week Will Almost Quadruple Your Small Business Income
In your business, does it feel more productive, to be fulfilling the orders, or spending half a day on marketing or planning? You see, the majority of people go into business to escape working for a boss, or the long commute to work or the 9 to 5 boredom.
They want freedom, flexibility and a better income. So, they take the incredibly gutsy move and go it on their own. They step right out of their comfort zone and they become the boss!
They are enthusiastic, because everything is new and exciting.
Their mindset is in exactly the right place, and they attract the orders with their enthusiastic personalities.
This could be as simple as attending a networking function, or dealing with the local printer, who knows someone that requires their services or product.
They are dedicated and everything gets done just right. The orders flow in, the business owners are happy, the suppliers are happy, now it’s time to fulfill the orders.
So the mindset changes from "let’s go and get some orders" to "let’s get these orders filled."
The conversation changes at the networking functions and the local printer, to "Wow we’ve got all these orders to fill" and they inadvertently stop attracting any potential orders, with what they are saying.
Eventually they get all the orders filled and realize they need new orders. So they change their mindset and off they go again.
The problem is though, that every time they go back to the "let’s get some orders" mindset they get less and less enthusiastic.
Why?
Why do they get less enthusiastic?
Because when they are fulfilling the orders they are in their comfort zone. That’s what they know best and humans will always gravitate towards the comfort zone.
When they are marketing or selling, it is outside of their comfort zone. It becomes a lower priority and a task that is only completed when they have their back up against the wall.
When they first started the business their back was firmly up against the wall. There was no comfort zone. It was a case of "Get out there and get those orders" or we don’t eat, basically.
But, when the orders are flowing the comfort zone is the fulfilling of the orders, so the selling gets neglected. Small businesses have an extremely high attrition rate, especially in the first 12 months of operation.
Going from being comfortable one week with lots of orders, to the next, where you have to go and make new sales becomes too hard. Sales will have huge peaks and troughs when plotted on a chart over 12 months. Emotions will be just as wild trying to deal with this, but there is a very simple solution.
No matter how insanely busy you may become, always set aside one focused hour a week for new customer attraction.
Block out that hour, on the same day every week, for the next 12 months.
Treat that one hour like a prized possession, because this will be the secret to leveling out those sales and emotional peaks and troughs.
This will be the secret to the longevity and success of your business.
In this hour find a place that you will not be disturbed or distracted by absolutely anything and focus intensely on attracting new customers, that’s all!
This may be by producing a new ad, hiring a copywriter to produce a direct mail piece, calling 10 potential customers, writing an article for the newspaper or engaging a joint venture partner or anything else.
Make it your goal to attract at least 5 new customers every week with whatever you do.
Over 12 months you should have attracted at least 250 new customers which will compound because they will tell their friends.
Your total focus in that one hour should be generating new relationships and attracting customers that have never dealt with you before.
Now you are probably thinking, if I’m so busy fulfilling orders how am I going to deal with the extra orders?
Well, that’s where your growth comes in, that’s when you hire people, sub-contract the work out or find creative ways to get the orders filled. It puts you in a very powerful position because you get to call the shots.
You decide which customers to deal with and which ones to send to your competitors. You can negotiate better discounts with your suppliers and generate more profit.
You gather momentum and it will be very hard to slow that momentum down. It’s easier not to set aside the hour, especially when you have orders coming out your ears.
But if you want to survive and be successful it is critical that you have a system in place to constantly attract new customers.
And the thing is… new customer attraction can be accomplished in as little as one focused hour per week.
One hour per week is the difference between having a business that plods along and having a business with highly profitable work booked for the next 12 months.
A business where you get to decide which customers you want to deal with, a business that charges a premium price and a business with a far greater value.
Block out that hour in your diary now. Do it for every week for the next 12 months, no excuses because it’s going to quadruple your income, guaranteed!
Why do some business owners plod along, while others effortlessly succeed? Ian McConnell has the answers in "The Instant Profit Multiplier" an absolutely "must read" for any business owner. FREE Details ==> http://www.small-business-secrets.com/main.html
5 Ways To Permanently Avoid Your Biggest Income Killer
You are excited, it’s a new business day! You glance at your business plan on the pin board in front of you. A shiver of excitement races up your spine as you think of your business potential. Just 8 hours a day on this plan will mean a better life for you and your family, all within 2 years. Then the phone rings…
It’s a customer! They are enquiring about that widget they bought from you yesterday.
Will it do x and y?
So you explain that it will do x and y. And because you are focused on providing the ultimate customer service, you talk them through the steps on the phone. After all you need to go the extra mile, don’t you?
You hang up and think "Another satisfied customer, but I wished they had read the owners manual before calling me!" You glance at your watch, then look at your diary and realize you are an hour behind schedule. Then there is a knock on the door…
Sound like your typical day?
Full of unscheduled interruptions, and at the end of the day wondering where all the time has gone?
You only managed to complete 10% of the stuff on your to-do list today?
So do you take yesterday’s unfinished business and add it to today’s business?
Or just cross it off in your diary and try and catch up next week?
It’s easy to get overwhelmed when this happens! The important stuff never gets done because you are constantly trying to deal with all the little stuff. We all know it’s important to provide the best customer service, but taking on these interruptions in the belief that it will result in more referrals in the future, is a recipe for disaster.
Business is a numbers game. If your bottom line is not healthy, there will be a greater temptation to go and do something that has a healthier bottom line. You will lose the drive, the passion, it will become too hard.
If your daily activities are not constantly growing your new enquiries, improving your sales conversion rate, growing your transaction size and increasing the customer buying frequency, you will have an unhealthy bottom line, lose interest and give up!
As harsh as it sounds, it’s reality!
And it all comes down to the enforcement of your sensible time management. We all know there will always be interruptions and your time management should allow for those, within reason.
So how do you avoid the biggest killer of your business profits?
1) Plan your week before it starts. Block out your focused hours for marketing, research, administration, business planning, etc. But also allow limited time, to deal with interruptions and urgent matters, although these should be kept to an absolute minimum. Your business must run like a well oiled machine with no unexpected breakdowns.
2) Tell everyone around you, (yes, even your customers) when you are available and when you are not available. Remember, scarcity is a powerful marketing tool. Make yourself scarce.
3) Keep a record of all the interruptions and make it your goal to completely eliminate them by improving owner manuals, having an online manual with a frequently asked question area, changing systems or forms. You will notice a common thread with your interruptions and eventually you will be able to reduce them to a bare minimum.
4) Always plan any meetings for the end of the day. Meetings have a horrible habit of taking longer than they should. By scheduling them for the end of the day they will become focused and to the point, as everyone is keen to go home.
5) Remove the "I’m always available" sign. In this world of mobile phones and technology, customers believe that business owners should always be available to take their call or answer their email. If you decide to take every call or answer every email the moment it arrives, your business will suffer. Use voicemail and answer emails in a focused hour once per day.
Remember scarcity? You are not available immediately because you are busy. You are busy because you provide a quality product or service and are building a better business, which will benefit the customers and you. Scarcity works!