Do you find it hard to compete against the large marketing budgets of your competition?
Does it seem like their “name” just seems more credible to your market?
Are you not converting as many quotes or inquiries as you could?
Often “price” is quoted as the main reason why reps say they lost the sale - but is this true?
Research shows that in only 15% of cases, price is the sole factor. A staggering 85% of customers say that factors other than price influence the decision.
Credibility or Trust (in the sales rep or company) is a major factor in the decision.
Here is why...Have you ever paid for a product or service and it turned out to be a disaster?
Once I brought a pair of gumboots from a large chain. They were cheap, and at the time it seemed like a good deal. But after using them 3-4 times they split, so I took them back and exchanged them for another pair. Same thing happened - I didn't bother taking them back again. I had such a small amount of use out of them and if I look at the time I spent going back and forth, these were actually a very expensive pair of gumboots compared to a higher priced longer lasting pair.
For you it could be a shoddy tradesman, a faulty tablet, or a bad car. Whatever it is, we have all had an experience like this at some time.
Guess what? Potential customers who come across your business have had these experiences too. You can bet they will be asking themselves:
You can say how good you are all day long, but the problem is that every company says they are good - especially the bad ones. So how do you separate yourself from the pack? One way is by providing "social proof" in the form of recommendations from others that have already dealt with you.
If your potential customer can see that others have dealt with your company and had a good experience, they feel the chances are, they will be looked after too.
As Mark Zuckerberg says: "People influence people."
Social proof/Customer testimonials is usually found in the form of favourable quotes from your happy customers aka "What our customers say about us".
If you want better conversion rates and more customers, then you should be using these whenever you can including:
"With Daniel’s continued support we were also able to increase our profit by a massive 86% in just nine months, and have over doubled our sales and staff at the same time, which has been awesome."
Stewart Contracting
"With Daniel's help, we now have some great systems in place in all aspects of the business which has meant that we have most nights and weekends free again, staff are now much more manageable, quality of work is better, and we have clear direction for the business."
Hurunui Drainage and Plumbing
"The increase in the first year was 8% in sales, increase in margin 34%, increase in our net profit of 92%. We’ve been struggling with our margin and always thought it could be better but didn’t know how to put that together – and with Daniel’s help we’ve got there."
Woodend Nurseries
To get good testimonials, ask your best customers for a written testimonial when you have done a great job and they are really happy.
When writing a testimonial some customers will be very happy to oblige, but struggle to write it down. So you can make it easy for them by asking them some questions like:
A good testimonial tells a story and addresses the problems or concerns your prospect might have when deciding about your product or service.
Many companies don't ask for testimonials or are not sure how to use them effectively, so put yourself ahead of your competition and attract more customers, convert more sales and have fun hearing how happy all your customers are.
Action Points for you:
1) Start collecting testimonials from current and previous customers
2) Use testimonials when quoting new jobs, on your website, and in your advertising
Does it seem like their “name” just seems more credible to your market?
Are you not converting as many quotes or inquiries as you could?
Often “price” is quoted as the main reason why reps say they lost the sale - but is this true?
Research shows that in only 15% of cases, price is the sole factor. A staggering 85% of customers say that factors other than price influence the decision.
Credibility or Trust (in the sales rep or company) is a major factor in the decision.
Here is why...Have you ever paid for a product or service and it turned out to be a disaster?
Once I brought a pair of gumboots from a large chain. They were cheap, and at the time it seemed like a good deal. But after using them 3-4 times they split, so I took them back and exchanged them for another pair. Same thing happened - I didn't bother taking them back again. I had such a small amount of use out of them and if I look at the time I spent going back and forth, these were actually a very expensive pair of gumboots compared to a higher priced longer lasting pair.
For you it could be a shoddy tradesman, a faulty tablet, or a bad car. Whatever it is, we have all had an experience like this at some time.
Guess what? Potential customers who come across your business have had these experiences too. You can bet they will be asking themselves:
- Is this a good company to deal with?
- Are they going to give me good advice, or just try to get my money?
- If there is a problem with my purchase, will they make it right?
- Can I trust them?
You can say how good you are all day long, but the problem is that every company says they are good - especially the bad ones. So how do you separate yourself from the pack? One way is by providing "social proof" in the form of recommendations from others that have already dealt with you.
If your potential customer can see that others have dealt with your company and had a good experience, they feel the chances are, they will be looked after too.
As Mark Zuckerberg says: "People influence people."
Social proof/Customer testimonials is usually found in the form of favourable quotes from your happy customers aka "What our customers say about us".
If you want better conversion rates and more customers, then you should be using these whenever you can including:
- On your quotes or tenders
- In advertising
- On business cards and thank you cards
- On your website
- Online – on LinkedIn, Facebook, Trip Advisor etc (depending on your industry)
"With Daniel’s continued support we were also able to increase our profit by a massive 86% in just nine months, and have over doubled our sales and staff at the same time, which has been awesome."
Stewart Contracting
"With Daniel's help, we now have some great systems in place in all aspects of the business which has meant that we have most nights and weekends free again, staff are now much more manageable, quality of work is better, and we have clear direction for the business."
Hurunui Drainage and Plumbing
"The increase in the first year was 8% in sales, increase in margin 34%, increase in our net profit of 92%. We’ve been struggling with our margin and always thought it could be better but didn’t know how to put that together – and with Daniel’s help we’ve got there."
Woodend Nurseries
To get good testimonials, ask your best customers for a written testimonial when you have done a great job and they are really happy.
When writing a testimonial some customers will be very happy to oblige, but struggle to write it down. So you can make it easy for them by asking them some questions like:
- What problems did you have or want to avoid when seeking our product/service?
- What concerns did you initially have about using our product or services?
- What benefits did you have from using us?
- How did you find us to deal with?
A good testimonial tells a story and addresses the problems or concerns your prospect might have when deciding about your product or service.
Many companies don't ask for testimonials or are not sure how to use them effectively, so put yourself ahead of your competition and attract more customers, convert more sales and have fun hearing how happy all your customers are.
Action Points for you:
1) Start collecting testimonials from current and previous customers
2) Use testimonials when quoting new jobs, on your website, and in your advertising
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