In the field of sales, creating credibility is quite important. In fact, the general rule is that you must first sell yourself before anything else you are attempting to convey about your company or product will be believable to your customers.
After all, people buy you. It’s a relationship sell. They will need to like your product and what you’re offering, but they start with liking and buying you.
However, if we tell people how great we are and how they would be making a mistake to work with anyone else, it comes across as self-serving and conceited.
The solution? Get someone else to play our song – our customers.
Ever heard of testimonials?
Testimonials are great. They are comments and experiences shared with the public by former or present customers that tell the world how we did a good job. It’s their stamp of approval, their recommendation to future customers.
Testimonials are easy to get because people like to help – especially if they like you and your request seems reasonable.
On the other hand, testimonials are difficult to get because people seem to forget about doing them, or they get writer’s block and don’t know what to say.
In most cases you don’t actually need the testimonials to be on letterhead, so here’s 2 ways you can have more success in getting them: (1) ask for a quick email – just a couple of lines – describing what they thought about their experience of working with you – you can even volunteer your computer while they’re in your sales office, and (2) use a tape recorder to have a brief conversation or just to capture a couple of random, positive thoughts about their experiences.
In both cases, tell them that you want something that can be share with other people or possibly posted on your website. You may need to edit their response slightly, but it’s still their words and sentiment.
Testimonials are powerful sales tools, but only if you’re successful in getting them.
* For more information about my consulting and coaching services visit my website stevehoffacker.com.
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