How to Ask for Authentic Testimonials that Boost Your Signups and Sales

Today’s question is:

“How do I ask for a testimonial for my business?”

Testimonials are absolutely amazing. They have been responsible for millions of dollars in revenue for our business, and the reason is simple: People want to know if your products have worked for others. That means your products will likely work for them, too. So asking for a testimonial is an absolutely critical part of your business. And you can actually make it an automatic process. How? As your clients or your customers go through your material, you ask them, “Hey, did that work for you? We’d love to hear from you.” And you can automate this so you never have to worry about getting testimonials.

The exact script I use to get testimonials

Today I’m going to give you an exact script that I once used to reach out to a friend and ask for a testimonial. Then I’m going to break it down to show you why it worked and why I said the things I said. Let’s take a look.

SUBJECT LINE: Can I quote you for my site?

Hey dude,

Thrilled to hear you’re doing so well with the company and the new direction. I was wondering if you could give me a quote that I can use on my website – something like: “Ramit completely changed the direction of our business. He refocused our attention on our users, helped us figure out several lucrative marketing channels, and ripped apart an idea that would have wasted six months of our time. His advice will be worth well over $100,000 – and that was just over one dinner.”

-Ramit

Let’s break this down. What is going on in this email?

Here’s why this script works

First of all, the number one question you’re all asking is, “Why did you say ‘Hey Dude’?” I said that because I had a personal relationship with this person. And I had met him over dinner and given him a bunch of advice that had turned out to be worth a lot of money to him. So I wrote to him as a friend. If I were writing to a client, I would say, “Hi, Ann.” That would be much more delicate and polite. The second thing about this email is it’s very direct. I make it clear what I’m asking for, and then I go above and beyond by actually drafting a quote. Now, this person should know that they can edit it however they want. In fact, they can delete the whole thing and say something else entirely. But busy people love to have the convenience of something drafted out for them. Finally, notice that in the sentence I drafted out, I was very specific. I said, “His advice will be worth over $100,000 to you — and that was just over dinner.” Why did I say that? Because at the time I sent this email, I was doing consulting. So the people who were going to pay my rates — which were pretty high at the time — would have been wondering, “Is it worth it to spend over $2,000 an hour on this guy? I don’t know. He looks kind of weird. I don’t know about his eyebrows.” Well, when they see something like this and the person’s name and his association, they know that they can trust me. I would not choose that sentence if I were selling a car or a tie. But if I’m doing consulting, that’s exactly the kind of quote you want.