What Makes A Good Testimonial That Improves Sales?

"People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising." - Mark Zuckerberg

I begin with this quote from Mark Zuckerberg. He certainly knows how to build success in the business world and most likely has a lot of experience with positive testimonials. What Zuckerberg likely knows is that you need the right kind of testimonial in order to guarantee new revenue. An effective testimonial is specific and states a problem (or belief), a solution (or new belief), and mentions the results (or accomplishments) associated with adopting the solution (or new belief).

Good testimonials are key if you are selling products online. People think they are featuring the most positive testimonials that will guarantee them additional revenue. However, this is not always the case.

Derek Halpern of the SocialTriggers blog notes that most people feature horrible testimonials. They are foregoing a large amount of revenue just because they are not featuring the right kind of testimonials. Halpern has come up with several tips that you can follow to make sure you are milking all of the business that you can out of your positive testimonials. This blog post talks about the difference between a good testimonial and a bad testimonial with examples of how you can effectively utilize testimonials to build trust and improve sales.

Halpern explains that perfect testimonials are important. They are one of the ways that you can extinguish your prospective customer's fear of buying. Once this fear is done away with, you will be more likely to net a sale. Testimonials are the part of the sales process that is frequently overlooked yet they can actually make or break a sale. Effective testimonials turn prospective customers into buyers and can convince others to send more prospective clients your way.

Examples of Bad and Good Testimonials

What are some examples of bad and good testimonials? Halpern lists both a bad and good testimonial to show how his Perfect Testimonial Framework leads greater marketing success.

Bad testimonial:

"Derek Halpern is so great. He's so smart, and his videos are so helpful. I literally watch his videos 5 times a piece and I learn something new every time."

Good testimonial:

"Before I took Blog that Converts, I thought you had to update your blog several times per week. However, after taking it, I learned you only need to update a few times per month, and then all you have to do is use the promotional strategies to get your blog posts in peoples hands. I did this and I started to watch my traffic go up from 100 visitors per week to more than 1,000 visitors per week."

You can see that the bad testimonial gives vague positive feedback without identifying only one non-specific way that the customer has been helped by Derek Halpern. We know that his videos are "helpful" and that the customer "learn[s] something new" after watching them, but we don't know specifically how the customer has been helped.

The good testimonial describes a problem (thinking you have to update your blog several times per week), solution (learning that only have to update a few times per month, use of promotional strategies), and the positive results from implementing this particular solution (an increase in traffic). The good testimonial is specific enough and serves as actionable information. The potential customer can see themselves in the shoes of the person giving the testimonial and is motivated to act based on the positive effects described by the customer.

The Perfect Testimonial Framework Explained

Halpern notes that he follows The Perfect Testimonial Framework to make sure he is crafting the best possible testimonials. He starts off by explaining that you should always have your testimonials reviewed by a lawyer because there are laws regarding what can and can't be said about what you are selling.

Halpern's Perfect Testimonial Framework is made up of three parts:

The Problem (Or Belief): The first part of the perfect testimonial states the problem (or belief) related to what you are selling. What problem does your product help customers with? Here you are identifying a belief or problem your customer has. Starting off with the problem attracts the potential customer and gets their attention. They end up thinking, "I'm just like that." They are now more receptive to what you have to say next.

The Solution (Or New Belief): The next part of the perfect testimonial is the solution (or new belief). This part details how your product solves your customer's problem (as identified in the first part). This is the part where you show that you have a positive track record for solving the identified problem.

The Results (Or Accomplishments): The third part of the perfect testimonial mentions the product's accomplishments or results. Halpern notes that this gets the prospective customer thinking "I can do that too" (with the help of the product for sale).

How Many Testimonials Do I Need?

So now we know how to structure a testimonial so that it leads to positive results and new sales. But how many testimonials do you need? You actually need a lot fewer testimonials than you might think. Halpern argues that you need one targeted testimonial for each type of customer that you are marketing to. Each person who reads your sales material should have the opportunity to think "I am just like that person and I can do it too."

How Do I Find People To Give Testimonials?

You might be thinking, how do I get the information that makes up the perfect testimonial? The best way to get the information and reach out to customers who might provide testimonials is to arrange an interview with them. You can send them an in-depth survey or arrange a phone call with them. It may take some extra time, but it is worth it.