The Real Currency Of Business: The Power of Testimonials & Reviews

Hello and welcome to the YouCan Podcast. I'm your host Sarah Jolly Jarvis and today we're talking around why testimonials and reviews are the real currency within your business.
The thing is here is, wow that's a bit of a claim, you know like really, to keep the lights on you need revenue. Yes you do, but what actually can drive that revenue? What can help people feel confident in making that decision to work with you that can be your testimonials you can't buy them they're they're things that are genuine well as long as you don't make them up but that's a totally different story and I 100% advise you not to do that but you know they are your proof that what you are saying actually you can deliver on and those testimonialsials, you know, the more clients now come to me and I'm like, Google reviews, get your feedback, get that feedback onto platforms, which is easily accessible for potential clients.
People want to do their due diligence. They want to feel confident that they're making the right decision.
And I do not blame them. There are so many claims going around on the internet, particularly with online businesses.
The claims that they're making, particularly within that sort of coaching world, are so unsubstantiated and so extreme that, you know, it makes a lot more sense to make sure that every scrap of evidence you've got that actually you can deliver on what you're saying is there for them to take note of and to feel reassured by. So, you know, whenever somebody is working with me whenever they start off working with me we look at what resources they already have and one of those key things is always testimonials have you got proof that what you want to sell you can actually deliver on you can actually provide if they don't and if that's what you're thinking then we're going to go into that in a little bit more detail in a minute.
But if you don't have the evidence, all is not lost. There are ways to get them.
That generally means working with people in return for testimonials, but not always. But as I say, we'll come on to that in a minute.
So I'm going to share with you how to get those testimonials, whether you have had clients or not, what to ask, where to store them and how to use them effectively. Because I bet you, a lot of you are going, you know what, I have testimonials, I don't really know how to use them, where to use them.
And so we're going to be sharing all that in today's episode. So why do they matter? They are social proof, as I've already talked around.
They are, they're proof that you are able to deliver on what you're promising. It helps people trust you.
Beyond that, I believe that actually it can be a great way to access and to engage your audience. For example, people always remember stories and so it's easier to provide information in story format.
I have a client who is very high end considering what he does and so people come to him, they're expecting him to be paid by the hour ad hoc and instead he puts together packages which provide the outcome that they're looking for and within that he provides them straight from the get-go. As soon as he finds out what problem they're experiencing, he provides them with a case study with evidence that this can happen now he does that for a number of reasons he does that because it shows that person it gives them belief that actually this problem can be resolved they've got long-term problems and so you know how can they over time your belief that actually this can change your circumstances can change begins to waver and so he gets them right up there with going you know what here's the evidence that actually you can go from where you are actually you can go from a position which is worse than what you are and you can be fully recovered and so that sets that belief off but it also means that that individual is able to relate to that story rather than feeling accused so what I mean by that is when you put out social media posts, again, I'll come on to this in a bit.
I love just jumping ahead, don't I? But when you put out social media posts and you share with them that this individual went from this problem, they did this and they got this outcome, it's much, much better. It's more powerful.
It gets rid the any emotion around that person feeling accused you know if you were to say hey you I believe that you are this this this and this you know you're not confident you're not at your best they're probably likely to start feeling a little bit on their guard a little a little bit like they are being got at and so they're're going to get defensive. And with defensive, they stop listening because they start getting offended.
They're not taking on the information in a positive way. They're seeing it as a dig at them.
And you want to avoid that as much as possible. You don't want to be calling out your clients.
You don't want to make them feel bad. You want to give them hope.
And that is what you can do with testimonials. You can be that ray of sunshine on that bleak outlook you've also got um it's a conversation starter and it's a point of reference I talk about my ideal client Jenny a lot she isn't a testimonial but she is an example of a situation that people are in when they come to me my ideal client is Jenny because I talk about ideal clients a lot my My ideal client is Jenny and this is the scenario she's been in.
And the amount of people who go, oh, you know what, I'm just, I'm basically Jenny. And so being able to, for people to relate to that, it starts that conversation.
I know when they say that, exactly the situation they are in. There are also SEO benefits to testimonials because, you know, Google, Google My Business, Trustpilot, they help your business appear in searches.
If you are feeding that Google My Business, if you are feeding your Google profile, then obviously you're going to get more hits. You're going to appear higher up when people search on those search terms, which are relevant to your business.
So well, well worth it. The other thing is, is testimonials are essential if you are in it for the long term, okay, because they will deliver for you time and time again.
Now, I do meet people, sadly, who they are in it to make as much money in a short period of time, deliver as little as possible, and then make a run for it to another little lucrative pool, which they will do the same thing in. I don't like working with those people.
I don't work with those people. But they do exist.
And if you are in a position where you're not wanting, you just want to making a quick buck, then, you know, testimonials, they're not going to be reaping the benefit they could be. Your testimonials are there.
They are your foundations. They are the bricks

that you can keep drawing upon and pointing to time and time again. They are an amazing way to

engage your audience and something that you don't want to overlook, particularly if you are building,

hopefully you are building for the long term and you're wanting to stick around in this space.

Building out that testimonial bank is priceless. So when do you start collecting testimonials? Because I've had people say to me, well, you know, I'm not quite finished, my offer isn't quite right, or I haven't got testimonials for this offer, but I've got testimonials for other things.
And I will come on to that in a moment. The best time to start is now.
Okay, if you don't have any, then don't beat yourself up about it. Do think though if you don't have any right now but you've had clients, you've had good experiences, think about who you could just, you know, get in contact with again and ask for a testimonial.
Now, people don't like to do video testimonials, okay? And actually when people are doing testimonials in general, they're a bit like, oh, what do I say? I say how do I put this and so providing them with a bit of a framework a bit of guidance is a great way of helping them to know what to put and to create a testimonial that is going to to do your business justice and and really get the result I've had it time and time again with clients where they've gone away they haven't used the format that I've suggested because they haven't had the resource with them or something else has happened. And so they kind of just let that client go off and do their own thing.
And it hasn't hit home, hasn't been as good as it could have been from that client. They're like, this person did amazing.
They did this, this, this and this. And none of that was included in the testimonial.
If you find that, if you have that challenge, the best thing you can do is go back to that person and say, hey, you know, would you mind if I put this in for you or would you mind if you included that and either do it for them and get them to approve it or ask them to add that in. And then you can always have a conversation.
You can think, oh gosh, I don't want to be peshy. Okay, you don't, but this is a really, really vital bit of resource for you.
I'm just saying to them, you know, I don't want to be peshy okay you don't but this is a really really vital bit of resource for you I'm just saying to them you know I don't want to be pedantic it's just that you know it's really I was really pleased with the work that we've done together it really helps my business to have testimonials from people like yourselves and provide the context and I'm sure they'll be more than happy to help when is the right moment to ask so if you're assuming that you're not backdating and going back to people that you finished working with, the really good time is when a client has just had a big win. Okay, so you're on a call with them and they're going, yeah, I've done really well.
I've been really pleased with this. They're buzzing.
They've got that positive energy that's going to come across in any video and in any testimonial that they do. What I would do, what I tend to do is because I have calls with clients over Zoom is it's being recorded anyway, is to be like, hey, would you mind if I stopped the recording, restarted it? Because that's cleaner for me.
And we can go through and I can record a quick testimonial from you. It doesn't matter if you think, oh gosh, but I'm only on week three with this person.
You know, I've got another eight weeks. So what I should really do is wait till the end.
The problem is, is that the biggest change happens in the first few weeks. You are a new thing.
You are creating change quite quickly. So the effect is quite, there's quite a steep learning curve to start off with.
And then people tend to plateau a bit because they've picked up that information. They've learned that information.
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It's not so exciting. You know, even the big wins, multiple big wins later, it's become a bit of a new normal and they're hungry for more.
And so even if week two or three, they get a big win and you take a testimonial from them, you can go and get a testimonial from from them later on you get them on week five or eight or whichever week it is that you're working with them and you could get you know a testimonial two years down the line from them it doesn't matter people don't really mind and there's not a limit on it and there's not you know a socially acceptable number I probably wouldn't do it weekly uh but if there's been a massive win I'd'd be like, oh gosh, would you mind? And just have

that open dialogue with them. So you can also ask if they are sharing a positive message with you privately.
I tend to make it very clear, it's in my T's and C's, that I will use what people send us messages um I can use in marketing and what I do though is is anything personal I remove it I also um if I want to keep that person's name in I'll check do you want this done anonymous anonymous anonymously or would you like me to um or is it okay to keep your name in um so that that is how I kind of navigate that but if you have it in your t's and c's to start with obviously if there's anything personal in there which could clearly identify them I would always check um if you haven't had clients yet then that's when you can offer free or low-cost trials depending on where you are depending on where with your audience I was speaking to somebody earlier today and she was saying I'm not even actively promoting my mentoring and people are still coming which is lovely and so I was in a conversation with this lady today and she has a massive audience already it's just about monetizing them and so I wouldn't go out there for her with a free offer she's done stuff for free before it needs to you know, kind of setting out her stall and creating that awareness that you need to pay me guys for the value that I'm providing. You can also, if you haven't had clients yet, you can speak to past colleagues, mentors, people you've helped on an informal basis, which kind of led you to doing what you do now.
And you can ask them for feedback. You can ask them for testimonials.
And that's the thing really, guys, is people get really hung up on, oh, well, I haven't had anybody through this specific programme. If that specific programme is relevant, directly relates to, for example, like my programmes, I've done sprint programmes, I've done private client programmes, I've got a startup programme, I've done sprint programs I've done private client programs I've got a startup program I've got a course that a one-to-one which helps you to set up courses and establish courses into your own business and I have those if people approached me about those then I would offer what was relevant to those individuals and I didn't have, for example, the courses course.
I didn't have testimonials for that because it was new. I made people aware this is new, but I had testimonials on there with people saying how great my course was, how great it had been working with me one-on-one before because it's a course, it's program which helps you to create courses so therefore evidence that my courses are actually decent is helpful and they're working one-to-one with me and so the testimonials on working one-to-one with me cover that off as well so you know she's good at creating courses and she's not weird and she's actually quite enjoyable to work with um come over with those testimonials and that's what you're trying to do with these testimonials is it's not specifically about that program that you're currently offering or the offer that you've got on that page.
It's about you as a person, you as an individual, you providing those credentials. Now, if I was to start marketing my skills for, I'm a qualified riding instructor, horse riding instructor.
If I started to use my client testimonials from my business mentoring for a landing page for my equine coaching, then I would absolutely feel that that would be wrong because that isn't about me in the same setting. It's not me on Zoom, it's me working with somebody with their horse.
That's very, very different. And so if I needed testimonials, if I wanted testimonials, if I wanted to reignite that element of my skill set, then I would provide free sessions so that I would get testimonials that way.
So as long as it's relevant, I don't think's unethical. If you don't feel comfortable with it you can make it very clear.
If you still don't feel comfortable with it then don't use them. Go out there, get some free or low-cost people trialing and then get their feedback in.
So what are you going to ask them to say? Well I have a free download for structuring testimonials and those kind of those key sort of testimonial questions that you want to be asking people so in the show notes you can um click a link and um get those downloaded so um do click that link do download those um free of charge the sort of thing you want to be looking for are and what is is detailed in this download, questions around the sort of circumstances prior to working with you, any hesitations they had before working with you, the change, the transformation that happened by working with you, specific results they got, whether they'd recommend, what they would say to somebody is always a good one and is one that's actually on the download, is you know what would they say to somebody thinking who was kind of on the fence thinking about working with me. So you know all those are available in that free download, click the link in the show notes for that download for me and you can get that for free where do you store them what you do with these

testimonies once you've got them well you know i've said about using them on social you can obviously use them on websites your social media posts your email marketing in a kind of case study style and you can use it on google my business on trust pilot you can use it for those your landing pages for your various courses or products or offers. So, you know, having those testimonials and also checkout pages, guys.
So not just the landing pages, but also if you're just sending them to checkout, I'd have a brief bit of information on what they're going to get with that in the checkout page. And then I would have testimonials, at least one or two testimonials on there as far as storage is concerned long term I actually have a screenshots um well I have a folder in my I'm all appled so in my photo section on my phone um which is like business um brag and in there are all my screenshots from things that people have sent me.
I will normally, I'll put them out almost straight away onto, or yeah, almost all actually straight away onto my stories. And then I will also save them in there.
Then they can be used by the team for all sorts of different reference points. Google Drive is what we use.
You can obviously use Notion or you can use notes or whatever else or evernotes to store them we use google so we have different google drive sections and i keep them in a brag section um i tend to have them just in there um and then i'll potentially date them i'll potentially put them by offer but i tend to just have them in there now because i've found that otherwise you're rooting around way too much so you know how often should you be using them i would say that one one in every sort of three to four posts should have something in their social proof making reference telling stories if you're thinking how much how often then what you can do is you can look to use them you use them as snippets you can reference the person's full name you can reference um you know initials so that you can feel like you're not just having to put out the exact same testimonial there's ways to switch it up while still feeling like you know you're using your integrity if you're using a combination of formal testimonials plus screenshots then actually you'll surprise yourself with how often and you know even with a sort of handful of clients you can get some decent evidence and resources to use on a regular basis the thing is is it's consistency with testimonials like everything um not sexy but really effective so keep collecting keep updating them um we can all get out of the habit um so don't beat yourself up you can always go back to a client and say hi would you mind um if you haven't started yet then set yourself a goal collect your first three testimonials this week okay do something take action to get yourself into that better place. If you haven't got anybody yet, then reach out to three or four people and see if they'll do something with you in return for a testimonial.
So once again, if you want that testimonial question guide, then click that link in the podcast description. And as ever, thank you for listening.

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So that's it for me this week, guys.

In the meantime, have a great rest of your week

and I will speak to you again next week.

Bye for now.