You Said, They Said
Written by Brandon Hull on August 14, 2006. Leave a Comment on this Post.
If you find our posts useful, don't forget to subscribe to our RSS Feeds or Email Updates
Jerry Hocutt reminds us of the value of testimonials.
Here’s the thing: When you tell your prospects — even your customers — how great you are, it’s bragging. It’s exaggeration. People don’t like making buying decisions working from a platform of extreme product exaggeration.
When your customers tell your prospects how great you are, it’s a different story. It’s the truth. These are stories from experience. Now, we all know this as sales professionals, but we continually violate the principle.
Explain your product or service in a compelling manner, then let your current customers validate what you say.
Lately, as I’ve spoken to several corporations about their need to use a blog, in one way or another, I’ve used this line :
You see a commercial about a Jeep. You don’t go buy it.
You stop by a dealer and he gives you all kinds of numbers to think about. You don’t buy it.
You get home and your brother calls and says he just bought a Jeep and took it four-wheelin’ and it kickass ! NOW you go buy it … and I mean right freakin’ now !
That’s what a testimonial is and does.
Numbers tell and stories sell.
Mike, as usual, a great way of putting it. And it makes me think of the phrase you hear from time to time: “consider the source”. Unknown source = questionable facts; known and valued source = I believe it…