How do I get more client reviews & testimonials?

How do I get more client reviews & testimonials? A question every Business Owner asks. Simple. Ask your clients for testimonials and reviews. That’s it, nothing more, nothing less.

I received this review recently;

Whilst the client is obviously happy with the work we did together, she didn’t send me that testimonial proactively, she had to be asked. But that’s OK. She didn’t mind me asking, and you, reading that testimonial, didn’t know I’d requested it. But it doesn’t weaken the power of it. 

Nowadays, reviews and testimonials are currency. They are gold. You need them.

Want a new restaurant? Check out the reviews.

Looking for a builder? Check the reviews.

A potential client thinking about using YOUR business?…….. yes, you got it, they’ll check out YOUR reviews.

I’m actually in the same boat as you. I need reviews and testimonials. And probably more so, because my offering (to help Business Owners like you get to their ‘next stage’) is a very personal service. Potential clients want to know how other Business Owners like them, found working with me, and what results they got.

So….. how DO you get more client reviews & testimonials?

As mentioned, the best way to get more reviews and testimonials is simply to ask for them. Simple solution, but do you do it? And if so is it done systematically, and part of your business process? If not why not?

“Well we don’t like to ask.” It’s a bit rude to ask isn’t it?” “I asked once and they didnt reply” “What if they’re not positive about us?”

Just think about it for a minute…… When was the last time you received great service either in a business or personal sense? Did you proactively post a review? Bet you didn’t!

If they’d asked you for a review a) would you have thought it rude and b) would you have sent a review? I’m guessing ‘No’ and ‘Yes’, in that order.

And if it was a bad review, guess what? Yep, they’ll fix that issue (as you would if you got a bad review). Win-Win.

So what’s stopping your business getting more great reviews? Is it YOU?

I know of a company that has set monthly TARGETS for their team to collect reviews. I know another business, in Leeds, that has collecting reviews as a fixed part of their business service process. Shouldn’t you and your business do that? 

Make it easy for clients to send you reviews & testimonials

So, we only need to ask clients, in order to get more reviews and testimonials.

“But my clients are all too busy to write a long-winded review.” Correct.

So make it a) really simple for them to send you a review or testimonial and b) of real value to you. 

How do you do that? Send them a review template. They just work with the template to make it relevant to their experience with you.

This is my review template;

I ask clients to post reviews and testimonials covering these four points;

• What was their original situation? (the problem)
• What work did we do together? (the solution)
• What was it like dealing with me? (the experience)
• What they would say to someone with the same problem (the recommendation)

So, with this template, you end up with a review that reads something like (this is obviously a simplified example);

“My financial accounts were a mess. ABC Accountants quickly and cost-effectively sorted our accounts out. Working with ABC Accountants was simple amd straight forward. If you need your accounts sorting out I’d strongly recommend going to ABC Accountants”.

See how great that reads? It gives potential clients (“we have that problem too”) an idea as to what a possible solution might look like, what working with you is like, and ends with that powerful 3rd party validation that a potential client is looking for. 

3 more tips

And here’s THREE extra tips to ensure you get your client reviews & testimonials;

1) When you ask for the review/testimonial, make sure you include a DIRECT link as to where to submit the review. Keep it easy for your client.
2) Give the client links to as many different review platforms as you use, and ask them to post the review in all of those places. You never know where your next potential client will look. 
3) Don’t be afraid to ask more than once if the client doesn’t respond immediately. Your clients are busy, but a little reminder does wonders to trigger a feeling of guilt! And to complete the circle, the example above needed a couple of reminder nudges before it arrived.

So, in summary, ‘How do I get more client reviews & testimonials’? Simple. Ask for them.

My testimonials appear on my website, LinkedIn (at the very bottom of my profile) and on my GoogleMyBusiness page. Please take a look at them.

What Next?

If any of the above resonated with you and you’d like to discuss how I could help you on your journey as a Business Owner, then please give me a call, drop me an email or connect with me on LinkedIn.

I’ll be happy to have chat with you to explore how I may be able to help you. I’ll be honest and I may not be able to help you myself and in that scenario I’ll try and point you in the right direction. However, you might find a peer-to-peer business mentoring group is better for you.

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Still unsure if I can help you? Take a look at What you’ll get from me and what my clients say about me.