How To Get Testimonials That Get You Clients

One of the biggest mistakes I see spirit rich entrepreneurs make is holding back on getting testimonials from happy clients because they are afraid of asking for praise or being too pushy.

Thing is, testimonials are a requirement if you want to get more clients easily or make the leap into 6-figures. Why?  Because they prove to your next clients that you have the goods!  What your past clients say about you is far more compelling than anything you could say about yourself. Plus, great testimonials do the selling for you, so you don’t have to convince or chase new clients.

That said, the next biggest mistake I see among spiritual entrepreneurs when it comes to testimonials is getting the wrong kind of testimonial: the feel good or fluffy testimonial.  These are the ones that say things like, “I now have a lot of clarity that I didn’t have before” or “Working with so-and-so has given me so many new ideas!”

While clarity, new ideas and inspiration are all valuable, they aren’t the kind of results that your potential clients need to see in order to feel confident about hiring you.  Client-getting testimonials are the ones that demonstrate true transformation: the results of working with you.

Getting a slew of results-based testimonials is actually quite simple when you have a system in place.  Here are a few tips to help you get yours going…

Step 1: Become a collector of testimonials. Testimonials are almost like money in your business – indeed, they represent the money of past and future clients.  Treat them like you would cash flow – you’re constantly in the flow of creating them.  (One of my mentors calls herself “a collector of testimonials” – I love that image.)

Make “testimonials getting” a planned part of any program or service you deliver.  Always have a designated time in the program where you’ll ask for them. Meanwhile, become attuned to spontaneous praise from clients.  Those glowing emails you get are now your cue to ask for a testimonial.  When someone gushes over you in person, train yourself to take in the praise, thank them generously, and then ask, “May I quote you?” (You can change the wording so that it’s authentic to you, but ask!)

Step 2: Go for the “before and after.” The most impactful testimonials tell the story of what life was like before working with you (a struggle), what unfolded for your client (the result!) and what life is like now (more results ongoing).

Stories are incredibly persuasive because we humans are hardwired for them.  Because these “makeover” testimonials tell a story, your potential clients will actually take them in like a story, not a sales pitch or bragging.  (You can read some examples of makeover testimonials here.)

Step 3: Write it for them. This is the biggie – the one step in this system that will make the difference as to whether you always have a steady stream of new client-getting testimonials… or not.

If you’re wondering if it’s a little weird to write someone else’s success story, here’s the reality.  Your clients are busy.  If you wait on them to get your testimonials, you’re going to be waiting a long time.

What’s more, your clients likely aren’t writers.  If only I had a dollar for every client who told me, “Thank goodness!  I wanted to write something but I’m not a writer!”… (It’s OK if you’re not a writer, either.  It doesn’t have to be perfect, just done for them.)

Remember, your happy clients are grateful clients.  They want to see you succeed and they want to help!  But they may not know what to say or how to say it.  And unless they are marketing coaches, they definitely don’t know how to craft a testimonial that will truly do what it’s intended – get you new business.

Step 4: Always get permission. Enough said!  Simply ask your clients to sign off on the finished testimonial via email.  (And it goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: never, ever fake testimonials!)

Should your testimonials be signed? Yes.  Unsigned testimonials are not as credible with your clients (in most cases they actually call your credibility into question) and should be avoided.

That said, there are exceptions.  If you’re a sex therapist, then, sure, some of your testimonials will probably be unsigned.  Nonetheless, go for signed testimonials first.

Last but not least, be sure to stay current regarding the rules of testimonials for your industry, including the new FTC regulations… but do NOT let said rules become an excuse to stop getting testimonials.

It’s time to take a strong stand for yourself and the clients you’re destined to help by collecting success stories regularly. Remember, the work you do with clients is an energy exchange.  Testimonials are just one more reflection of this powerful exchange.  Set a goal for the number of testimonials you want, then reach out to at least 3 clients this week.

Want a proven template for easily creating “before and after” testimonials, along with all the steps you need to take to keep clients coming in?  Check out my Abundant Business Homestudy system: http://www.marketinggoddess.com/system.html

Spirit Rich Entrepreneur Spotlight: Sharon Desjarlais

“My income has more than DOUBLED and I’m on target to blast well past 6 figures!”

Sharon Desjarlais
CranioSacralSuccess.com

“How can I begin to tell you what a catalyst you’ve been for my business? I just ran the numbers for the first half of the year. My income has more than DOUBLED since the day I joined your group coaching program.

Indeed, your program paid for itself the first day we worked together. Thanks to the business model you helped me map out, I’m actually serving 17 new clients. And working fewer hours!

I also want to thank you for your ‘tough love’ in helping me see where I was hiding out in my business. That little nugget shined a spotlight on where I was also holding my clients back by not insisting they step into their own power. Here I thought I was being so nice! Instead, I was allowing them to stay stuck.

Now I’m enrolling more and more clients into a platinum-style coaching program that gives them the high-level tools and accountability they need. And I’m on target to blast well past 6 figures.

Thank you for all the wisdom, guidance, inspiration and support!”

Are you willing to be flexible?

It’s amazing, the clarity that can come from giving away about a third of your stuff, loading up the rest into a truck and starting over in an empty house.

Shortly before we packed up the truck, I found myself on the receiving end of some…. let’s call ‘em nudges … from Lady Universe (my gal the Divine Feminine).

They’re the start of something much bigger than I ever could have imagined before, something that won’t really come to pass until next year. This “bigger thing” requires me to make some changes to my business plan THIS year.

It’s a “gulp” move that requires trust and faith on my part. But it has to be done. The whole thing got me thinking about what I like to call “entrepreneurial flexibility”…

I’ve noticed that there’s this belief out there that anything worth doing or having manifests in a “straight line,” so to speak. You decide, you DO, you move forward.

Personally, I think this belief comes from our deeply rooted, hardwired need for commitment and consistency. (It’s a proven psychological principle that we humans need to appear consistent; indeed, we’d sooner be wrong than look flaky, even to ourselves.)

Thing is, anything worth doing or having usually manifests in a series of twists and turns, otherwise known as course correction.

I remember when I finally got this, while listening to a presentation from an incredibly successful entrepreneur. I felt such a huge sense of relief.

This entrepreneur gave me a much greater gift than just the permission to stop being so hard on myself. It was the insight that being inflexible and holding myself to personal commitments that no longer fit were actually yet more tricks of the hindbrain to keep me stuck.

So my question to you here is, where in your business are you sticking firm when you should be bending and shifting? What have you been resisting changing (or letting go of altogether) that no longer serves you? And what MEANING are you giving that change?

Making adjustments and course-correcting are NOT failure; indeed, they are what will ensure success.

Bright blessings and massive success to you…

5 Tell-Tale Signs You’re Hiding Out In Your Marketing

Ever find yourself waiting to get your website up before getting out there in a big way?  How about building your list before launching your next program?  Or working on your blog because you’re not working with enough clients?

As a solo business owner, marketing your business is your business.  The irony is, when things get a little uncomfortable, the activities that are supposed to help your business grow can keep you playing small.

If you’re going through the marketing motions and your bank account is still empty, your marketing efforts might be a procrastination device in disguise.  Here are 5 classic signs:

Sign #1: You take months to get anything done. Sure, things like designing your brand’s look and feel and getting your website up take time.  But they don’t take that much time.  If  even a smaller project (like creating a new “free taste” for your website) is taking forever and a day, chances are you’re indulging in perfectionism or “analysis paralysis,” two classic hiding-out behaviors.

Sign #2: You’re focused on low cost information products instead of projects that bring in the big bucks. While Internet marketers love to sing the song of “passive revenue,” the truth is, most solo business owners simply don’t have the infrastructure to pay their bills with infoproducts alone.  Pursuing low cost products instead of (instead of alongside of) bigger, more impactful opportunities (like getting new clients) is a sure sign of avoidance.

Sign #3: You haven’t created, launched or filled a new program in months. Many spirit rich solo business owners love to market and give stuff away for free, but hold back on creating and filling new programs because they’re afraid to seem too pushy or salesy.  Trouble is, if you’re not selling, you’re not serving, either.

Sign #4: You haven’t had a “money conversation” with a new client in months. You’ll know your marketing efforts are actually working when you consistently receive new inquiries about your services.  If nobody is asking, well… while you may be doing a lot, your message isn’t hitting home and connecting with your audience.

Sign #5: You’re always really busy but you’re not making any money. If I’m busting you on this one, it’s time to get really honest with yourself.  What is all that “stuff” that’s eating your time?  More importantly, what’s the payoff?  There is a payoff somewhere, and if all that busywork isn’t creating clients and income, the payoff might be in keeping you safe (and stuck).

If you truly long to grow your business and yet you’re hiding out in marketing, something is stopping you from moving forward. It’s likely fear: fear of what others will think, or fear of what will happen if you become “too successful.”

These fears are a perfectly normal part of the journey.  But you can’t let them stop you from doing the work you’re meant to do in the world, or creating the life you want.

My coach’s request to you is to be on the lookout for those times when you may be engaging in what I like to call “marketing churning” – focusing on the small fries instead of the big fish, taking too much time and getting overwhelmed with low-payoff activities.  When you catch yourself in the act, simply ask yourself, “What fear can I let go of?”

Ready to stop hiding out and get new clients… this month?  Watch for my brand NEW fr’e’e report and audio, “3 Clients In 30 Days! How Authentically Enroll 3+ Clients In A Month, Even If You’re Starting From Scratch.” Marketing Goddess newsletter readers will get it first, so be sure to get on the list here if you haven’t already: http://www.marketinggoddess.com

Your environment is your destiny

What might be my very best “secret to success” is not really a secret at all. It’s well known that one thing successful people have in common is that they surround themselves with other successful people.  It’s all part of creating an environment that in turn creates success.

I figured this out pretty early on, which is why I’ve made things like going to seminars, hiring top mentors, joining in (and coaching in!) Platinum programs, and learning from ONLY the best a top priority.  But I never really understood the “why” behind this strategy until recently.  And I have to tell ya – it’s pretty eye-opening.

Turns out we humans are hard-wired to model.  That is, we are wired to imitate the other humans in our environment.

In other words, we can’t help it.  It happens automatically. Without our control.  Whether we want it to or not.

(Where did I learn this?  At a seminar, of course, given by the leader in Internet Marketing mentoring, Eben Pagan.  Eben has spent years studying human psychology – a crucial element in marketing and selling and a key component in his creation of companies that generate 20 million in online sales annually.)

So what’s the bottom line, here?  If you want to create something, you MUST immerse yourself in the right environment.  You MUST guard yourself against toxic people and situations as if your life and business were on the line. Because in a very real way, they are.

Your environment is your destiny.  And as a spiritual entrepreneur, I believe that it’s also your responsibility.

Why?  Because as feminine, spiritual entrepreneurs stepping up as leaders in this global shift in consciousness, our work is tied to purpose.  What we do is not just about us, it’s about being of service to others.

When I made my first five-figure investment with a mentor, it was a huge leap of faith. But I knew that it was imperative that I surround myself with people who were on the same path of conscious change as I am.  And I had to work with a mentor who would hold me to a higher standard than I was holding myself, and take a strong stand for my power and my dreams.

Who are you surrounding yourself with?  Whiners and complainers?  Or people who “get” you and support the change you want to be in the world?

Who are you giving access to the glorious creation and creatrix known as your brain?

What’s one step you can take this week to put yourself in the environment of who you are becoming?

Bright blessings and massive success to you…

>> May 25, 27 and June 1 Brand NEW teleseries: “Spirit Rich Cashflow Secrets: 7 Authentic Selling & Money Mindset Strategies To Jumpstart Your Income, Starting Today” Recordings available for a limited time: http://www.spiritrichcashflowsecrets.com

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