Do you believe everything you hear and see about a company? Is there creditability in the “Going out of Business Sales” at the furniture store which has been running for over a year? Does the restaurant down the street really have the” best burgers in the world”? Is there ever a day that mattresses aren’t on sale? These examples are fairly easy to spot as not believable. How do your clients view your business?
It really doesn’t matter what you say or feel about your business, your bias. It is what your clients say about your business that matters. Do you have a Facebook page with more than 100 likes? Do you have testimonials on your website? Do you have a presence on Yelp? We live in the information age. Most people do a little homework before they do business with you. They are not looking for what you have to say about yourself, but rather what other people are saying about you and your business.
So, where do I start to gain those testimonials? Let’s start by simply asking your best customers and clients to write a testimonial for your website. I find that most people don’t mind doing it for you; it is just a time constraint. Trying emailing them a testimonial based on what you have done for them and ask them to simply edit and return it back to you. This will minimize their time spent on what to say and give you the control you want said about your business.
Train yourself and your salespeople to start asking the client that buys your product or service, why did they make the purchase. Then ask them to tell their friends the same experience when talking about their purchase. Try adding an extraordinary component to your service. Customers/clients seem to talk about your business when the either receive bad service or a bad product. They also talk about extraordinary service and or products. No one really talks about a business that is simple good, that’s what is expected. You want your business to give the unexpected. For example, travel agent may give a free weekend getaway for future use for using their service. Just a little unexpected surprise can go a long way in having the client tell more people about how good you really are.
Remember, if you give great service or have a great product, they tell one person. If you have a bad product or give bad service they tell ten people.
Tim Wilhoit is owner/principal of Your Friend 4 Life Insurance Agency in Nashville, TN. He is a family man, father of 3, entrepreneur, insurance agent, life insurance broker, salesman, sales trainer, recruiter, public speaker, blogger and team leader with over 25 years of experience in sales and marketing in the insurance and beverage industries.