Testimonials - One of the Most Important Components of the Sale

One of the most important components of good sales is obtaining powerful, detailed, persuasive testimonials! Why is this so important? Credibility and confidence!

You want everyone who visits your website (especially those who are seriously considering making a purchase) to know - without a doubt - that they're making a smart, informed, exceptionally wise decision. You want to show you are a reputable and credible business.

Furthermore, you want to make your customers buying decision a no-brainer.

• They’re hesitant.
• They're not sure if you're a scam artist or not.
• They're not sure if they want to part with their hard earned money....

So you need to let them know that others were in their same position at one point and are NOW extremely happy (and grateful) they took the plunge and purchased. You also want to back up your "bolstered" claims... plain and simple.

But here's the problem... Most folks don't have an effective system setup to get the types of "energized" responses they're actually looking for from their customers. We need the types of responses that go far beyond the norm and unquestionably back up their bold claims. The good news... today you're going to learn the secret to change all that.

So, how do you go about asking your customers for their unbiased "energized" testimonials without feeling like you're desperately fishing for "fluffy" praise or approval? Actually, it's quite easy and should be something you do methodically after each and every sale.

As I've been known to tout... you have to follow up with your customers time and time again to make those initial sales, and you also have to aggressively follow up with your customers after a sale to solicit their testimonials... plain and simple.

Once again, it's just another good example that clearly demonstrates the importance of regular customer follow up. Follow up with your customers! ALWAYS! No Exception...

Here's a guaranteed way to obtain the type of customer feedback you’re looking for from your customers - - every time...

After a sale (and you can incorporate this technique into a product sale, a service, even a digital download or newsletter subscription confirmation)....Immediately send a thank you email to your customer. In fact, most shopping carts (including PayPal) will automatically do this for you when setup correctly.

If you're selling a digital product, be sure to follow up with your customer the following day to see if they have any questions or if they had any difficulty downloading their purchase. If you're selling a physical product, once their package ships, immediately send your customer their tracking number.

Then, no longer than seven to ten days after their tracking number is sent, send another follow up email asking your customer if they received their package and if they have any questions or concerns that need to be addressed.

Now that's customer service at its best!

At this point, your customer is now primed and ready for the pitch. Without fail, within one or two days after you've emailed your customer to be sure their package arrived safely (or downloaded without any issues), it's time to follow up with another email asking for their feedback about their buying experience.

Think about it... your customer has placed an order, received an immediate confirmation of the sale, has been sent their tracking number via email, received a courtesy follow up email asking if everything is to their satisfaction, and has had any questions and concerns taken care of.

You tell me...is your customer now receptive and also overjoyed with their shopping experience? You bet they are!

Now is the perfect time to follow up and ask for their feedback.

NOTE: If you're selling a digitally delivered product like an ebook or software product, I suggest you allow approximately 7-10 days to give your customer ample opportunity to become familiar with your product. Furthermore, if you've over-delivered on a service they purchased from you, be sure to wait until you've fulfilled your end of the agreement to your customer's complete satisfaction... And always surpass their expectations whenever possible.

How exactly do we now follow up with our customer and ask them for their feedback? Simple... with another ingenious email!
But you have to be very careful because there's a right way and a wrong way to craft this clever little sales tool... and this is very important

First, you'll want to start your email with a big THANK YOU. After all, you appreciate their business and you want to let your customer know this. Second, you'll simply want to ask your customer for their feedback about their shopping experience. Let them know how important it is to you that their expectations were exceeded. But here's the key... You always want to be sure to include a detailed survey directly in your email. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!

Even if you already have a feedback form setup on your website (and if you don't, shame on you), in this particular case, you'll always want to request a simple return email which will include the answers to your survey questions (that you've strategically placed directly in your email).

I've done countless marketing tests on this, and overwhelmingly, having your feedback survey directly within your email produces the best results, every time, by a staggering margin.

It’s also very important to note...

NEVER make up your own testimonials. This is a crime and if caught... you will pay the consequences. Plus, with these newly discovered methods you now have at your disposal from this article, who needs to make up phony testimonials? Always run your business with honesty and integrity. Never lie to a customer!

By adding fake testimonials to your website, you're not only breaking the law, but you're also lying to your customers and that's no way to run a successful business.