Collecting Testimonials

I know only a rare few solution sellers that are good at this. Yet it is an essential part of the job. I even provided a web app a few years ago to support larger salesteams in their reference quest.

One salesteam I helped made each salesperson produce a glowing tribute from a client, on their letterhead no less, at every single monthly sales meeting. Even when mandated, they only managed a couple each time between the lot of them, despite their customers being very happy with their wares.

Interestingly in this case, the boss decided to plaster them all over the wall that led from reception to their prospect meeting room. He used a display method he liked at his local estate agent to maximise impact. And impressive it looked too.

One reason why these physical commendations are uncommon is that salespeople are unaware of the best time to get them. It tends to be early in your journey with a customer. The sooner after the ink is dry the better. And you still have to make all the running even then.

I’m reminded to blog about this after treating myself to some eat-in fish and chips in Manchester recently when stopping by to see a couple of friends. Sustainable haddock, and very tasty too. The cutlery and napkin came in these paper holders.

You’ll note the large area at the back to write your views. Even better, when you enter, the first thing to greet your eyes is a wall covered in all their best ones written over time. It certainly makes an impact.

Notice how they’ve evolved the design to uncover even larger prized reports. Of course, having such tokens and being able to show decent references are not entirely the same thing. But at least it’s a start.

How do you capture vital testimonials? And how do other, future clients get to learn of them?