You DO use direct marketing for your small business… right? If so, you’re taking advantage of
most cost-effective means of advertising available. (Yes… I’m biased… I admit it!)Let’s talk for a minute about how you can make your sales copy and direct marketing more effective.
One of simplest yet most powerful ways to strengthen your sales copy is to include testimonials. The purpose of having testimonials is to add “objective” credibility to your promises. And when used correctly - - testimonials can do just that.
Good Testimonials Will Separate You from Crowd
I read a great sales letter this morning. It came from a local heating/cooling service contractor in my area. His headline was perfect. His pitch was superb. His “reasons-why” advertising justified both his offer and his price.
His sales letter lacked only one thing…
… “proof” that he can deliver on his promises by demonstrating he has already delivered on his promises to others.
People want to know who they can trust. Testimonials will do that for you. This is even MORE important if you have a business on web.
Buying from an unfamiliar seller on web can be a scary thing. But once you’ve delivered on your promises to a satisfied customer trust factor goes up for them exponentially. Your next sale is much easier to make.
Do What Ebay and Amazon Do in Order to Foster Trust
Both of these monster sellers provide a constant stream of customer feedback and testimonials. The testimonials cover both sellers as individuals and products themselves. It’s all to satisfy “proof” factor in selling. You’ve got to prove you can deliver goods.
Testimonials provide you with a track record. They make claims in your sales letter or direct mail package down-to-earth and believable.
The Most Effective Testimonials are:
1) Believable. Good testimonials talk about real benefits experienced by real people.
