One way to convince prospects you’ll do a great job for them is to share how satisfied past clients were. But effective testimonials don’t often happen by chance. Here are ideas to get recommendations you can use in your marketing and presentations. 

Ask

Many people would happily sing your praises but are unlikely to do so without a request. When a transaction goes well, don’t wait around for unsolicited compliments; tell your clients that providing a testimonial will help other buyers and sellers—and help you grow your business.

Request Specifics

General compliments are fine, but details about how you helped solve specific challenges carry even more weight. When you’ve assisted clients with a significant obstacle—say, dealing with a difficult financing situation or managing the timing of a sale and purchase several states apart—ask those clients to focus on the role you played to guide them to their goal.

Make It Easy

Let people know they can provide testimonials however it’s convenient for them—email, text message, or even a video clip that you can use or transcribe. You could also ask them a few questions by phone, write the testimonial, and then send it to them for their approval or changes.

Get Real

Nothing’s worse than a fake testimonial—or one that appears so. You can boost credibility by using real names and photographs. Putting testimonials in quotation marks signifies that these are real words from real people.

Look For Testimonials in The Wild

Your clients may say something to you in person or via email that would make an excellent testimonial. When that happens, let them know that you’d like to turn that into a testimonial.

Remember to get permission before you use anyone’s testimonial, and make sure to specify all the ways the testimonial might be used.