Blog - Page 2 of 2 - Timothy Buysman

Testimonials. Every business needs them. Because they’re an unbiased voice of your customer. A genuine expression of how they experienced your product. They help you build social proof. One of Cialdini’s 7 key influences of persuasion. You could almost say they have a magical power: They can take away that last bit of consumer doubt to make the sale. But do your testimonials actually accomplish that? Because here’s the thing: I don’t know how many times I’ve checked for reviews of a product... … and ONLY see EXTREMELY positive reviews. Basically, what they say is: “This product is the best thing since sliced bread.” In some cases, you can tell these reviews are from friends of the business. What’s even worse: Some companies take it one step further. They have fake reviews. Reviews from people who haven’t even used their product. A good indicator of a fake review is when it uses the EXACT same hype words as the company’s marketing messages. But I’m not here to point fingers. Here’s where I’m getting at with all of this: Companies like these don’t give their customers enough credit. It was David Ogilvy who said “The customer is not a moron, she is your wife” What do you think happens when your wife was cheated on by the person she was with before you? I’ll tell you. She’ll have more distrust towards you. She’ll have her guard up. And it will be harder to win her trust. The exact same things happen when a testimonial of one of your competitors promised your ideal customer the world… …. but didn’t even a deliver a few acres of land. As a result, your prospect has smartened up. They’ve become super skeptical. And I guarantee you this: They’ll do ANYTHING in their power to avoid making a bad decision again. So, how do you overcome this skepticism? How do you enhance your believability? I’ll tell you. By all means, don’t remove the testimonials from your “raving fans.” Don’t stop “selling the dream.” But make sure you have testimonials from these skeptical prospects. The ones with REAL OBJECTIONS… objections that nearly stopped them from buying. It should paint a VIVID picture of their skepticism before buying your product. And how their skepticism melted away like snow in the sun after using your product. Do this and see your sales skyrocket.

Meeting a man who survived the infamous S-21 prison (Cambodian Genocide)

Are Your Testimonials Costing You Money?