| How
to Generate Powerful Testimonial
Letters from Your Clients
by Burt Dubin
Begin by being a model of excellence from your first contact.
Ask a lot of questions.
- What are the current industry conditions, issues?
- What is the mission of this organization?
- What is their vision of their future?
- What is the company's competitive position?
- What are the 3 biggest challenges facing the industry
now? The company or Association now? The people to attend
your program now?
- What is the theme of this meeting?
- What is the purpose of this meeting?
- What threats are they facing?
- What opportunities are waiting to be exploited?
- What new markets are on the horizon?
- What new products or services?
- What ideas are you to sell those at your program?
- What are the decision-maker's major hopes for this meeting?
- What would cause the decision-maker to say, "Wow!
That's just what I wanted!"
To the decision-maker:
- What difficulties and challenges are you facing now?
- What sense of urgency do you feel about improving matters?
Get your hands on current industry publications. Get to know
their buzzwords, their jargon. Read their Annual Report. Study
their web site. Do a thorough pre-program investigation. Interview
senior executives. Even more important, interview 5 to 10
typical audience members who are to attend your program. Get
to know their concerns, their hopes. Their interests are often
divergent from those of the top brass.
Do your pre-program probing into what is really going on.
Do more than is expected, more than is required. Then produce
and present a program worth 5 times your fee. Wow everyone
involved. After that, you're ready to ask for the testimonial
letter you want. Here's how to do it:
Ask
your client to type the letter on client's business letterhead.
The paper is to be copier-friendly. This means no art beneath
the typed copy. This letterhead is to include legible address
and phone number. Specify that there is to be a full line
space left blank between each paragraph. Readers are turned
off by solid copy blocks these post-literate days.
Paragraph one:
Passionate expression of gratitude by client for benefits
client is enjoying from (your speech/workshop/seminar).
Paragraph two:
Something like this: Before your program, (brief statement
of conditions before) Then, (statement by client of the
outcomes you created at your presentation). Now, (wildly
enthusiastic sentence about conditions now).
Paragraph three:
Something like this: Here are the 3 most significant improvements
in our (sales/results/outcomes/productivity,) thanks to
you and your intervention:
1.
2.
3.
Paragraph four (optional):
Something like this: If anyone has the faintest doubt about
the value of your work, tell them they can call me, personally.
Complimentary close
Signature
Typed full name
Naturally, you don't want every testimonial letter to read
exactly like the others. So, change the words from one to
the other. Stick with the principles, however. And -- it is
OK for you to do a rewrite with more passion and enthusiasm,
just so you are sure what you write is true. Either give your
client a draft of what you want or offer to type it directly
on client's letterhead for your client to sign.
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