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Testimonial And Guarantee Secrets That Sell More

Topics: copywriting, convert traffic, free traffic, sales, internet marketing, email marketing, how to sell

Regardless of the persuasion power of your copy, the reader knows that you are the one endorsing your own product. But if you’re in the middle of reading an advertisement, then a friend calls up and tells you how great that the competitor’s product is, which product would you be more likely to buy?

The one the friend told you about, right? Why? Social proof. Testimonials offer social proof that your product is as great as you say it is. Social proof is a powerful motivator to convert prospects into customers. You can say how great you are all you want, but if someone else says it for you, you gain instant credibility. That equals sales.

Basically, testimonials are praiseworthy statements about you or your products from satisfied customers. When you use these statements in your sales letters, they help your prospect rationalize his decision to buy because an unbiased source has approved the validity of your claims and verified that your benefits are real.

The number one rule of testimonials is this: they must be true and provided to you by real people. Making them up is both unethical and illegal. It’s also unnecessary. Most customers are more than willing to provide feedback about your product or service. You, however, have to take the first step and ASK!

Solicit your customer’s feedback by creating a questionnaire and then making it available to them to fill out online. Some questions to consider asking include:

-Why did you buy your (product name here)? By asking why he bought “his” product, you suggest ownership, thereby increasing the odds of receiving a positive response.

-What three things do you like most about (product) and why? Now the customer has to think about specific features of the product.

-How do you feel your (product) has benefited you or improved your life? This forces the customer to be even more specific as well as explain his feelings.

-Would you like to see any aspect of your (product) changed? This question shows your customer you do care about his feedback, alerts you to any problems you may not have been aware of and gives you a chance to improve your product.

-May we include your comments in our marketing materials? You always need to get permission from customers before including any direct quotes in your promotions.

Once you have testimonials, you need to use them properly within your sales pages in order to maximize their impact.

First of all, you must be as specific as possible. The more specific the testimonial, the greater the credibility it provides. Second, use only one benefit in each testimonial. Too many distract from the power of the benefits and dilute the message. Third, keep the testimonial believable.

Don’t rewrite it to sound more professional. Use the words your customers used to be true to their own voice. Adding their picture, full name and hometown also adds to their credibility as real customers who have experienced real benefits from your products.

Fourth, target the testimonials to your audience. Use only relevant feedback, and certainly don’t include anything that might be offensive.

Finally, try to include at least two or three testimonials for each benefit you describe in your sales letter. But keep in mind that it’s best to have a few great testimonials rather than lots of mediocre ones. That helps your prospect trust you.

When he trusts you, he is ready to take that leap of faith and buy your product. But his head is screaming at him to WAIT. His head is telling him that taking a chance on you is a huge risk. After all, he’s worked hard for his money.

Why should he trade his valuable money for something that might turn out to be completely and utterly useless?

Plus he is buying from you online. He can’t just take his receipt back to a store and expect to get his money back if he doesn’t like what he bought. Clicking that “Buy Now” button and giving you his credit card information is a huge risk.

Thus the purpose of the guarantee. With a guarantee, you reverse that risk. You let the prospect know that YOU are the one risking everything.

If he doesn’t like your product, you have to give him his money back. That costs you time, money and the humiliation of having to make the exchange. When your prospect has nothing to lose, he is able to rationalize his purchase and commit to that buying decision.

To make your guarantee as solid as possible, include a hassle-free, money-back option after the prospect has had an adequate amount of time to test the product (i.e. 30 days, 60 days, 90 days or even a year). And the longer the time-period of the guarantee, the fewer returns you will have.

Will some people ask for their money back after trying your product for 30, 60 or 90 days? Yes. That means you lose money, right? Not really because you’ll make far more sales with a guarantee than you will without a guarantee.

So to increase your conversion rate, include great quotes and a solid guarantee.

Glen Hopkins specializes in teaching struggling entrepreneurs how to turn their small Online businesses into thriving money machines all while working less and earning more. To get more information including Free Reports, Videos and CDs visit: www.GlenHopkins.name

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