What makes a good testimonial and how can female entrepreneurs get one?

A good testimonial can be extremely powerful for your business, especially if you are a?female entrepreneur.?Not only do testimonials build your credibility and make you trustworthy, they are a good way to drive sales into your business. Now, if you’ve only just started out as a businesswoman, testimonials also help to reach your ideal clients and build your reputation.

This is why it’s very important not just to get testimonials, but to get?good?ones. A testimonial is a sales pitch after all. And as in any sales pitch, you want your best features on the spotlight.

?Before we continue with this topic, I want to inform that; when you are serious about scaling and growing your business, working on just this one little area is not going to make a big difference. Scaling and Growing your business is always about a complex factor of working on many different areas which are all connected with one another. It is different for every business and even for every business owner.

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What makes a testimonial good?

?For a testimonial to be effective:

• It has to be authentic and relatable.?Testimonials that are sincere will make the most impact to your ideal audience. Clients want to hear from real people and be able to relate to their struggles. And they are smart. They will be able to tell the difference between a genuine testimonial and a manufactured review. If you want a good testimonial, let your clients share their unique experiences and say these in their own words.

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• It has to be concise but detailed.?Research?shows that the average attention span of a person in this digital age is 8 seconds. So holding your audience’s attention for more than this duration requires that you engage their interest. Don’t bore them with generic information about your services. Don’t ask them to read a whole page of text or watch minutes of footage before they get to the good parts they need to hear. In other words, keep it short and to the point.?

To show you what I mean, here are some testimonials that I received from my clients as a?business coach for female entrepreneurs:

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“I met Tineke during a lecture she gave for our business club. I felt attracted to her knowledge. I also felt a click, I felt understood and it was time for me to grow, time for the boost I wanted, time to show up in a much bigger way My company is called C-vents. It surprises its client and target group in a creative way and creates opportunities and thereby realizes growth with organizing events.?“

Claudia Alberda

C-Vents

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Written testimonial vs. video testimonial

?As a?business coach for female entrepreneurs, I’ve found that video testimonials are always the best. In a video, everybody can see that a person is being truthful. It can’t be tricked, and it can’t be fooled. But many clients still give written testimonials for several reasons. They may be an organization and therefore cannot give a personal testimonial, or they can also be individuals who are very private and do not want to be on camera.

The thing is, not all your clients will be willing to be recorded. And that is fine. You may not receive an honest or heartfelt testimonial if you force them to do something they don’t want to do. You can encourage and prepare them, however, to make a video testimonial by providing them with a list of questions they can answer will help.

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What should be in a testimonial?

If your client is willing to make a testimonial, provide a list of questions they can answer beforehand. This will create focus and direction for the content. It will also prepare your clients and put them at ease so that they can make a smooth delivery.

I will share with you the template I personally use. These are good leading questions that?female entrepreneurs?can ask to help clients open up and get the casual conversation going:

• What is your name, the name of your business, and what you do?
• How did you get to know me?
• What was your business like before you started working with me?
• Why did you think you needed my product or service?
• What and how was your experience of us working together?
• After working together, what happened for your business and for you?
• What was the most important advice that I gave you?
• Will you recommend me to someone else in your network?
• [not to appear in the video] If yes, please write their name and contact details
• How would you recommend me to someone else? In other words, what would you say to convince them?

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If this seems too long for you, here’s a more concise version for a video testimonial:

• What is your name, the name of your business, and what do you do?
• What was your biggest challenge before you started working with me?
• What is your biggest learning?
• What do you see as your biggest or most valuable result?
• Why would you encourage somebody else to start working with me?

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The ideal length of a video testimonial answering these questions is 60 to 90 seconds.

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Summing it up

To encourage your clients to follow through with making a testimonial for you, makes it easy for them to do so. Let them know that the burden of editing falls on you. There is no pressure for them to make a perfect recording, and they can have as many takes as they require. Reassure them that you will provide a list that will guide them when they do the retakes. Let them know that all they have to do is speak clearly and sincerely. The rest of the work will be up to you.

You may need to work a little bit harder for this, but I promise it will be worth it.

However, you must keep in mind that getting testimonials by itself will not help you scale and grow your business. You also need to know who your ideal client is. You must know how to position yourself. You need to constantly generate new leads. You need to work on ALL areas of your business. If you want to seriously scale and grow your business, you need to take on a holistic approach.

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Learn More

My name is Tineke Rensen and I am a?business coach for women.?I created A Woman’s Blueprint for Business Success, where I work with female entrepreneurs in 9 major areas in their business.

There are many out there who call themselves business coaches but have never had their own business. What you need is a business coach who has experience in scaling and growing businesses. And I’ve had plenty. In my 31 years of experience, I’ve become an expert in many areas of business. I can help you with whatever topic you need help with.

If you want to learn more about what makes a good business coach for women check out this?article about the 20 questions?you should ask a?business coach for female entrepreneurs.

Interested to learn how you can work with me one-on-one to build your one-woman gig to a proper business and double your income within a year, without spending a dime??Click here?now to schedule a quick?15-minute call?with me and get started.

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About the author:

Tineke Rensen of Powerful Business Academy has been in business for 31 years. She built an international Outdoor and Survival business from scratch and sold it after 22 years.

Tineke was also a national whitewater?kayaking?champion.

She now is one of the most all-round business accelerators and mentors you can find. She helps businesswomen to “Scale & Grow, Make More Impact And Work Less.” There are very few topics she cannot help you with in your business. Many people find this hard to believe, but hey, how much do you think you know about scaling businesses if you live it day and night for 31 years?

Tineke created the system “A Women’s Blueprint To Business Success.” She is a multi-awarded serial entrepreneur and is the author of the book “Maximum Business Growth For Women.”