How to ask your clients for a testimonial and actually get it

Testimonials are powerful. Simply put, social proof is an essential component of any quality marketing materials or website.

As Robert Cialdini pointed out in his famous book Influence, Social Proof is one of the single most powerful forms of influence you can have.

But the problem is that most companies fail to ever ask their clients for a testimonial, or they simply don’t know how to approach it.

The truth is, it is extremely simple.

Below I have copied an exact email I sent to a client when asking for a testimonial. It’s pretty self explanatory.

Use this framework when asking for testimonials from your clients. It makes it easy on both you and your client!

The testimonial ask framework:

Hey _____,

Would you be open to providing a testimonial about this whole experience? Below I have actually written one out you, so you can proceed in one of the few ways.

1. Tell me no and that you don’t want to give a testimonial
2. Write up your own testimonial
3. Approve the testimonial I wrote up below
4. Tweak the testimonial below to your liking

Testimonial:

"We worked with Outbound to build a list of 30 dream contacts who we wanted to build relationships with. Over the course of 3 months, Outbound Creative helped get us in the door with over half of that list. They exceeded my expectations and moved our business forward in a big way."

Let me know your thoughts on this.

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Why most testimonial asks fail and why this works:

Most people interview their clients and say “Can you give me a testimonial?”

The thing is that your client is busy and they don’t even know what to say.

So instead, just give them something to work with, and give them options on how to move forward.

More often than not, they will approve the testimonial you sent them. And if they don’t, it will encourage them to take action and write a testimonial in their own words, which is even better.

Try this simple tactic out. It works wonders.