Letter for Soliciting Testimonials

Testimonials are the lifeblood of many businesses and are effective for proposal and web sites. They do not have to be difficult get if you send a simple form letter like this:

Date

John Smith
ABC Company
124 Main Street
Vancouver, BC, V7V 7V7

Dear John:

I have a favor to ask of you. I am in the process of putting together a list of testimonials about my services / products from satisfied clients and I hope I can count you among them.

Would you take a few minutes to give me your opinion of my _______ ? No need to type a letter; just jot your comments on the back of this letter, sign below, and return it to me in the enclosed envelope.

(The second copy is for your files.) I look forward to learning what you like about my service…but I also welcome any suggestions or criticisms.

Many thanks.

Sincerely,

Your name here
Job Title

You have my permission to quote from my comments and use these quotations in ads, brochures, mail, and other promotions used to market your _____________ services.

Signature________________________________ Date ______________

I think any client or customer receiving this letter would take the time to write out a few comments on the back and slip it into a stamped, self-addressed envelope.

Elevator Speech Tips

An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds or 100-150 words). source: Wikipedia

When someone asks you what you do for a living are you prepared to make the next 15 – 30 seconds work effectively for you or do you plan to react like this?

Prospect: “What do you do for a living?”
You: “I provide marketing services to companies.”

Possible Outcome

Prospect: “You sound ideal to take over our $ 500,000 marketing budget! When can you start?”

Probable Outcome

Prospect: “Well it was nice meeting you”

What if you answered the question like this?

“You know how some Realtors find themselves so caught up working with new clients that they can never find the time to stay in touch with their existing clients who are the most important to their success?

When you lose touch with your clients you are missing out on both repeat business and referral business. What I do is create and implement marketing programs that allow the Realtor to stay in touch with their clients and still work with new prospects. Now the Realtor can focus their energy on new buyers and sellers that require more of their time.”

Here is a simple worksheet that you can use to create your elevator speech:

You know how some (your target market)__________________

find themselves (experience the problem of)_______________

Which means that (the outcome of problem)_______________

Well what I do is (your job)_________________

Which helps them (the solution)__________________

The benefit to my clients/customers are (outcome of solution)________

Would you like to know more?

When Was the Last Time You Wrote a Letter?

The practice of sending letters seems to be on the wane. I can’t remember the last time I received a personal letter from anyone and to be honest I am not the most prolific letter writer either. Now when I suggest sending a letter I am thinking of a hand-written letter on your letterhead. Forget about typing it out and worrying about the font and formatting. Write a letter.

So how do you write a letter?

1. Keep them accurate, brief and clear.
2. Handwrite them most of the time.
3. Get directly to the point.
4. Make them feel personal.
5. Never use a form letters.
6. Make the reflect your personality.

I started thinking about reasons I could send a letter and there were a lot more reasons than I had originally thought possible.

1. To set up an appointment
2. To compliment someone for something
3. To reinforce a personal contact you’ve made
4. To thank someone for seeing your demo or hearing your presentation
5. To follow-up on a sales call
6. To thank someone for making a purchase
7. To thank someone for giving you a referral
8. To let them know of changes in your product or service offerings
9. To recognize someone for a job well done
10. To apologize for something you may have done wrong
11. To congratulate on a promotion or new job
12. To thank a person for doing a favor for you
13. To thank someone for exceptional service
14. To let a person know that you appreciate their product or service
15. To thank a person for their time
16. To announce a new product or service that you offer
17. To send new marketing information
18. To give advance notice of a sale or special promotion
19. To acknowledge recent publicity
20. To recognize a special occasion or event

There are dozens more reasons, but the best reason is the positive impact it will have on:

• retaining clients
• reactivating clients
• building your referrals