Why other people are the key to your success

Think about the last time you bought something online. How important was the product reviews?

Now, turn your attention to you. How prominent are your reviews?

Why we trust other people (even if they’re strangers)

Which would you prefer:

1. A person who does nothing but hype themselves up

2. A person who you’ve heard from others, maybe even a few friends, is great

No question, most of us would go with the second. This is called social proof and it’s a compelling way for you to showcase what you do, even if you never say a word.

Performing the “says who” test

Go to your website really quick. How many reviews do you have?

If you have a few, great work! You have a good start, now let’s build on it.

If you have zero, don’t worry, let’s fix it.

First things first: mindset check

Now that you know that reviews are that important, let’s focus on getting you a few, which will become easier with time.

First, let’s talk mindset. Some have told me that they feel “slimy” or “salesy” if they reach out to people for reviews. Stop that!

If your friend had a great referral for a plumber when your sink was overflowing, would you want her to just keep it to herself? No way, you’d be calling for that number.

You’re the same.

For the unique problem that you solve, you want people to know that you solve that problem, testimonials are the way to do this!

How to fix the “crickets in my reviews” issue

Like everything, you’ll want to start with your biggest fans. A friendly audience will make asking a lot easier. Here’s the steps to getting testimonials that you can proudly display:

1. Reach out to some past clients: this can be volunteer or paid, but start with three. A quick script of “Hey, we had a great experience working together, I was wondering if you’d be willing to write me a quick testimonial?” is a great message.

2. Ask for their feedback in a way that’s easy: tell them what you want them to mention. People are busy, so don’t make them think. Say “Can you mention how you found working with me to be A, B, C.” or “I’d love it if you talked about how this helped you achieve your goals”. There are several tools, like testimonial.to (affiliate link, since I use them myself), that make capturing these a breeze.

3. Tell these people the “why” for the reviews: most people want to help, especially if you’ve helped them. If you mention that you’re looking to attract similar clients who will have the same great experience, most people will spend 5 minutes writing you a short note.

4. Tell them it will be featured in your materials: tell them upfront it’ll be on your website and anywhere else you plan to feature it. Get a preference for how they’d like their name to appear, if they want a picture, and other information. If you use a service that collects this, all this is taken care of!

5. Get star ratings, if possible. People love stars: people don’t read. So, distinguishing your services and products with star ratings grabs attention.

After you have those reviews, plaster them all over your site. Up top, early in the page. People who come to your site will have the question (even if they don’t think they do) of “Are you for real?”

Let others answer for you: “Oh, you KNOW they’re for real!”