This document discusses how to effectively utilize testimonials in marketing efforts. It recommends gathering testimonials from satisfied clients by asking them to write and sign reviews of their experience. The document also suggests storing a wide variety of testimonials and selecting ones that specifically address the needs and concerns of the target market. For example, when marketing to first-time home buyers, it's best to use a testimonial that discusses overcoming the fears of the home buying process.

1. William Flores
Your MHL Team
Mission Home Loans
Phone: (619) 934-7775
Fax: (619) 502-7518
william@missionhomeloans.com
twitter.com/mhl2009
Testimonials:
How to Market Success
Testimonials are not about bragging or tooting your own horn. Sharing your successes
with your client base and associates is an essential part of growing your business and your
reputation within the community. And a great way to do this is by utilizing testimonials in
your marketing efforts. Not only do testimonials get attention, they can also create a sense
of confidence in the idea of doing business with you.
The following are a few simple steps for gathering positive feedback from your clients:
• When clients thank you for completing a phenomenal deal, ask them to write a testimonial for you about their
experience.
• If they're too busy to write it themselves, write it for them. Then have them simply approve and sign it.
• Make sure you secure their permission to use the testimonial in your marketing efforts.
• Create a file with as wide a variety of testimonials to draw from as possible.
Now it's time to leverage what you've gathered. Dr. Robert Cialdini, best-selling author and nationally-recognized
researcher, has analyzed data on this topic and has discovered that the biggest and best testimonials are not always the
most persuasive when it comes to increasing business.
Instead, Cialdini suggests that finding the right testimonial, one that your clients can strongly relate to, is much more
effective in creating confidence. Cialdini believes that by obtaining testimonials from an array of clients, you'll create a
diverse collection of simple, yet effective marketing messages that will hit the specific bull's-eye for each and every
potential client.
For example, let's say you were to use a testimonial as part of a direct-mail flyer to first-time home buyers and, in your
testimonial, your satisfied clients wrote about how you helped them build the retirement home of their dreams. Although
your clients may have raved about your ability in that transaction, the message doesn't fit the specific needs and desires
of a first-time borrower. Instead, select from your library of testimonials something that addresses the well-known fears of
the home-buying process and how you were able to solve them. Something more like this:
"I was nervous about buying my first home, unsure if I could make the leap from renting to owning. But, thanks to John
Real Estate Agent, I'm finally living the American Dream."
If you'd like to learn more about Dr. Robert Cialdini and his strategies on the powers of
persuasion, give me a call. I have an incredible interview on CD I'll gladly share with you.