I want to talk about demonstrating social proof via testimonials. It’s a slightly different topic but remember it’s not about the content, it’s about the context.
So, when you’re looking at asking someone for a testimonial, I want you to consider the following facts about testimonials. What someone else says about your product or service is at least a thousand times more powerful than what you say about it.
The ironic thing is that more chiropractors are terrible at asking for testimonials. We feel weird about it.
If someone fills out a testimonial form for your business, their lifetime value goes up.
I want to tell you this one statistic that might change your mind. It doesn’t matter what business you’re in, this simple statistic that if someone fills out a testimonial form, their lifetime value goes up. Just the act of writing the testimonial has a correlation with them staying longer.
We don’t know exactly why, but my guess is that if someone writes a positive testimonial… which 99% of people will if they agree to write a testimonial in the first place… then it’s a lot harder for them to justify the decision of not coming to you anymore.
If they are going to go along the lines and say things like, “They changed my life. I had life-changing results. I can sleep better, I can have a better relationship with my family. 20 years of this and nobody was able to help me”, now they have subconsciously committed way, way more to staying under your care or with your service.
I know this sounds obvious but here are some of the subtle but very important things that people frequently miss when considering a testimonial.
So, this is just Business 101. I didn’t learm this from chiropractic. But the fact of the matter is that just getting someone to fill out a testimonial form that increases your retention with them.
Now, the next thing I want you to consider. This is the basic formula for a testimonial. It’s Before, After, After (now). “Before I came to see Dr. Neil, I was like this. After I saw Dr. Neil, that was gone. Now, I play with my kids all the time and it’s amazing.”
The reality if it is, most of the time when you’re asking for testimonials, you’re simply just saying to someone, “Please tell us about your positive experience at the clinic.”
So, if you had the opportunity to ask questions in a video testimonial, this is what you want to be thinking, Before, After, After.
Testimonial Secrets
- Before, After, After (now)
- Bringing up “skepticism” within the testimonial
- Many people are afraid that
- Demonstrating length of time in practice
- Talking about a friend referring them
- Unexpected benefits
- Talking about the benefits of coming long term
“Before I came to Ryan, my business was in a lot of trouble. After I did the New Patient Avalanche program, I generated, just on lifetime value, more than $30,000 of business in six weeks. Now Im a lot stronger business person and I know how to market.”
The next thing about it is if you’ve got the opportunity to ask someone questions, it’s actually really cool if they bring up some type of skepticism in the testimonial. Although a lot of people are scared to have that in the testimonial.
It doesn’t always happen, but I love it when they say, “I was very skeptical about coming to see a chiropractor because I was really nervous that it was going to hurt. But when I came…”
Because here’s the thing, whatever they say in that skeptical part, most of your clients are thinking anyway. So, don’t be afraid to bring that up. it’s a way to handle that objection through a cleverly placed testimonial.
