Six Top Tips for Writing Effective Testimonials

Take a look at this client testimonial for a lead and revenue generation company. Read it through a couple of times.

“Lyn rapidly established a telephone dialogue with six potential clients, three of whom we were able to visit within the month of engaging Lyn’s services. As a result we achieved two long term conversions, equating to a revenue increase of 300% on the previous month. Lyn very much lived up to her claim of generating revenue!” ~ A. Happy-Client, Managing Director, ABC Ltd.

Here are the key things to notice and emulate:

Tip No 6: The Rule of 3 – and 7.

There are no more than three sentences conveying a minimum of seven key facts about Lyn’s service. Try and keep your testimonials as concise and relevant as this, so they don’t clutter up your website with a lot of waffle.

Tip No 5: Focus on the solution

The client’s problem (that it usually takes a very long time to win new business) is inferred rather than plainly stated. Ensure that your testimonials focus less on the problem and more on the outcome and key deliverable.

Tip No 4: Be specific

The first sentence in the example spells out very clearly the specific action that Lyn took to solve her client’s problem. Aim to present a very clear, factual description of what you did to help your client.

Tip No 3: Results!

The second sentence is all about what happened after Lyn’s intervention. The increase in monthly revenue is directly attributable to Lyn’s speediness in securing prospect appointments. Where there are no hard statistics use this sentence to refer to the softer benefits of what you delivered.

Tip No 2: Make every word work

Words such as rapidly, achieved, result, conversion, increase reflect and reinforce Lyn’s business proposition as a revenue generator. Make sure the vocabulary in your clients’ testimonials reflects the messages you wish to convey.

Tip No 1: A human impression

The final sentence in the testimonial reflects Mr Happy-Client’s enthusiasm and appreciation for the work Lyn did. This is also where your client can indicate what else became possible for them as a result of working with you.