Testimonials demonstrate your credibility and expertise
It has proven that word of mouth among friends, colleagues and indeed customers drive more purchases and relationships than any other “purchase” influence.
Testimonials and recommendations give you and your business the ability to demonstrate your credibility and expertise.
I strongly believe every business owner, leader, manager and team member should continue to get a better understanding of this. After all, unless somebody refers to your services, all potential clients need to be able to trust you when it comes to their initial and ongoing relationship with you. Having a recommendation makes it all that more powerful, as everybody likes to see good track records, and positive words said about the people/company they are dealing with!
Not everybody has a long list of high-profile clients to post on their website or other social media sites. However, what you most probably have is experience, so focus on getting testimonials on your skills instead of just your current role.
I have listed below the importance and what I believe is the best way to obtain testimonials.
1. Make a list of people
This could be people you have worked with directly within your firm or people you have worked with on projects or implementation from other firms. You need to get the people you have had more frequent dealings with, and that have truly benefited from your guidance and/or expertise.
2. Reach out to those people and ask for their recommendation/testimonial
To make the process that bit smoother and quicker, I would suggest sending a link to your LinkedIn, or a tool similar, to others you have already obtained so that they can use it as guidelines, etc. This often speeds up the process.
3. The requirement
If you would like a specific skill or role mentioned, then let them know. I would suggest either using the recommendation tool via LinkedIn where you can choose the role and company you are wanting the recommendation for, or in the subject of the email name the role or skill you are wanting to be included.
4. The follow-up
We all get busy, and sometimes we think “I’ll just come back to that one” and guess what… we forget! Don’t feel bad, and send the reminder.
This is not a one-off exercise, you should be active on the ball in this area and constantly looking at upgrading and adding fresh testimonials. This should be live at all times.
The importance of testimonials is so strong for many things such as credibility, online presence, personal branding, etc. so do not underestimate the power of these, and get asking!
I have been in many meetings over the years and when we discuss obtaining referrals and testimonials, the amount of people that feel “uncomfortable” with asking is huge. Trust me and take note, if you are doing a great job, ask for the recognition, and get it on your profile. You deserve it!
We will all agree that the majority of people now research people, firms, products etc. before making any decisions, so the better your profile and branding are, the better your career will be.
I have enclosed my “What others say” for you to see and use as guidance, as trust me, it’s such a powerful thing to have.
About Mike Coady
Mike Coady is an expat expert based in Dubai and is on hand to help with all of the above and more.
Mike is an award-winning money coach and industry leader in the financial sector.
Qualified to UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) standards, a member of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Founding Fellow of the Institute of Sales Professionals (FF.ISP), and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors (FIoD) and featured as a highly qualified Financial Adviser in Which Financial Adviser.
To learn how to choose a great financial adviser, download our free guide.
Blog published by Mike Coady.
