b>Testimonials--Your Secret Sales Force

Adding the Secret Ingredient to Grow Your Profits!

Successful small businesses have more customers, who buy more often and have more loyalty. Yet, when you look closer, these same businesses do not have superior products or services. What secret do they use?

Successful small business owners use this secret--plenty of good testimonials. These testimonials become like a powerful sales force for their businesses. The average small business owners keep this potential "sales force" locked in their closets.

In this article, I'll show you how good testimonials improve your bottom line. You will also learn the formula for creating good testimonials so you can start making more and better sales right now.

How Testimonials Attract and Improve Your Sales

We live in skeptical times. Customers, especially internet buyers, are very nervous about letting go of their money. Customers want to believe your claims because they want the benefits your product promises.

But customers don't want to be hurt or disappointed or look foolish. So, they resist their urges. If you don't overcome this customer skepticism, you lose the sale. They leave. You may never know how close they came to making a purchase!

How can testimonials change this picture and help overcome customer skepticism? Here are some of the ways good testimonials will make a difference in your business.

Testimonials make you more believable. Customers trust what others, especially people like themselves, say about the results they receive from your business.

Testimonials provide a tract record for your business. They show that customers have gone before them and been successful in using your business.

Testimonials create more customer loyalty. Once they put their name on a testimonial, customers feel obligated to stand behind their decision, even if it doesn't turn out the way they proclaimed in their testimonial.

Testimonials create a sense of security for your customers. Everyone loves to be part of the "in-crowd"--to join others who are using your product.

Testimonials cement the selling process. Testimonials raise the excitement of the customer's interest in your product. It makes them more eager to purchase by reducing the buying anxiety.

Testimonials give you insights into why customers are buying your products. People will state in their testimonials why they bought from your business. Their reasons may different from your reasons.

Testimonials improve your performance. The more compliments you receive in testimonials, the more you want to maintain and enhance your business performance.

Testimonials set you apart from your competitors. Few small business owners recognize the power of good testimonials. By using them in your business, you separate yourself from your competitors.

Is there any wonder why some call testimonials you best sales person?

Not All Testimonials are Equal

Most testimonials are dull and boring. If you are going to add this ingredient to your business, why not use the best? Use the following framework to make testimonials a powerful tool in your business.

Framework of a Good Testimonial

I am a customer just like you. I had a problem and I wanted the same benefits as you. I wondered if there was a solution. Now, I know there is a solution. This solution will also work for you. Testimonials that follow this thought process lead customers to buy your product!

The following are 10 rules for creating powerful testimonials in your business.

Proven Techniques to Power Testimonials

1. Start by listing the benefits of your business--those things that make you unique and special. Get testimonials that speak directly to these benefits. Your prospect wants to hear about how you are going to make their life better.

2. Avoid the "Rah, rah, Bob is great" style of testimonials. Customers get very little from cheerleader comments.

3. Try to obtain your testimonials as close as possible to the customer's greatest satisfaction from your product or service. This is when they are most excited to tell others about what they have experienced. That excitement carries over into their testimonials.

4. Get testimonials come from a credible person who has nothing to gain from giving the testimonial. Testimonials from experts or famous people add power to your testimonials.

5. Make sure the testimonial is specific and detailed. It's much better to say "I realized a 19% increase in profits," rather than "I improved my profits." Which statement do you find more believable?

6. Use the person's own words in the testimonial, even if they aren't grammatically perfect.

7. Make it easy for customers to give you testimonials.

8. Include the name and the city where the person lives. Adding a photo or audio gives the testimonial even more power.

9. Get the customer's permission to use the testimonial.

10. Thank your customers for the testimonials.

Conclusion

If you're not using good testimonials in all of your marketing and sales materials, you're keeping your "best sales person" in the closet. You don't have to spend a lot of money to get this sales force working for you. When you start using good testimonials, you will start seeing more customers, better customers and more loyalty in your business.

This article has told you why testimonials are important and how to use simple rules to make your testimonials more powerful. If you want to know more about the techniques for obtaining powerful testimonials, e-mail me at al@successfulmarketingtools.com and I will send you a free report.

Powerful testimonials are only one tool you can use to attract more customers to your small business. I invite you to click www.successfulmarketingtools.com to learn about dozens of other tools you can be using right now to attract a steady stream of customers to your business. This website is devoted to small business owners and the challenges of attracting customers in today's crowded market place.

Copyright Al Hanzal, 2005. All Rights Reserved

Hanzal Enterprises, Inc. 4191 Granite Court Eagan, Minnesota 55123 651-485-3340