How many times have you watched a movie because it was recommended by a friend?
We trust recommendations made by others.
It makes us feel safe, like the thought — “someone else has already tried it, so I can try it too.”
This is why I recommend telling client stories as one of the integral parts of your content strategy.
A lot of coaches would want to ask a few questions on this subject —
- How do I ask for a testimonial from my client?
- How can I make it easier for the client to give me the testimonial?
- When would be the best time to ask for a testimonial?
Let’s address these questions, one by one.
Be courageous in asking
A lot of coaches (read: people) have issues in ‘asking’. They may have a fear of judgment or rejection or whatever.
You must have seen those people around you. You may be that person too — the one who always hesitates to ask.
Please get out of that zone for a moment and send your client a message, “Hey, would you please write me a testimonial?”
Yep, that’s it.
It may take you some courage to ask.
And if you’ve served your clients well, you totally deserve to make this ask.
When would be the best time to ask for a testimonial?
Ask your clients for a testimonial when they’re 80–90% done with your program.
Hypothetically, let’s say you signed up a client for 10 sessions in 3 months… ask for a testimonial after the 8th or 9th session.
Another best practice is to create this expectation when you’re onboarding your client.
In the 1st session, you can mention,
“Hey dear client, to set the expectations right, I want to mention I’ll ask you for a testimonial after the 8th session. It’s totally optional, and if you choose to give me a testimonial, it would help me and my business a lot. We can discuss this more when the time comes. Is that alright with you?”
Making it easier for the client to give their testimonial
First of all, I love LinkedIn recommendations.
When someone leaves you a recommendation (testimonial) on LinkedIn, you can make it public and people can see it’s a real human who gave the recommendation.
As of the day writing this post, here’s how recommendations look on my LinkedIn profile —
You can see the “+” sign on the top right of the screenshot above.
Click on that symbol and send a recommendation request to the person you want to ask from.
You can send your client this template and ask them to answer these questions to provide a structure —
- Introduction — I’ve been working with dipanshu for X months, and I…
- Where were you before working with me
- Where are you after working with me
- Who’s the best fit to work with me
- The best thing about working with me
- Gratitude / Recommend
If possible, ask them to shoot a 30-second selfie video testimonial too.
If they want to stay anonymous, ask them to send you a text. Screenshot their text and use the screenshot by hiding their identity 🙂
Add client stories to your content strategy
I recommend adding a client story or some sort of social proof to your weekly content schedule.
Every 3–4 posts, make sure you add 1 for the social proof.
People would need to know what you do has helped others. This builds trust and credibility.
You don’t need to name your clients publicly. You can keep them anonymous while telling their stories.
Here’s a little secret —after every coaching session, ask your clients how was the session for them and what was their biggest insight.
You can share the screenshot and share a story/insight in your posts.
The more testimonials you keep collecting and sharing, the more trust you build in your audience.
It may also help you put a reminder (to ask for a testimonial) on your calendar while onboarding a new client.
It always starts with one testimonial, and then we need to keep focusing on serving one client after the other and collecting+sharing their testimonials, one after the other.
If you’re ready to experience powerful coaching and mentorship, book a (free) strategy session with me here.
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