The Power of A Testimonial (Part 4)

I'm now going to round up this article series with this last piece of advice:

You don't need to reveal your client's name nor the company he's representing after the testimonials, especially if you agreed to grant him his Right to Confidentiality.

There are a few things regarding business transactions that need to be kept confidential, and freelancing is not exempted from this. Whatever intentions your clients may have for wanting to keep things private, you should respect that as his preference.

I have mentioned in one of my earliest posts that you should provide your clients with the Right to Confidentiality, where you write down in a separate portion of your Freelancer's Contract that you will keep the details of your transactions under discretion.

While you will come across clients who will find it perfectly fine that you cite their names along with the work you've done for them for your portfolio, there will always be a few others who prefer not to have the details of their projects disclosed to a third party.

And the Right to Confidentiality is something that you, a freelancing professional, must not break no matter what the circumstances are. It's easy to prove your competence, much like acquiring and honing your skills. But gaining the trust of your clients and building a solid reputation will be much harder than you think.

So once you have collected a sizable number of testimonials (say, four to six, or even more), simply exclude all of your clients' names. Potential clients will never assume that you merely made up all those glowing testimonials proving your worth as a freelancing professional. 

The Power of A Testimonial (Part 3)

By now you may have realized how beneficial a glowing testimonial from a satisfied client can be. Here are the next few guidelines you would need to consider in order to achieve your goal of presenting yourself to potential clients:

Remember to proofread what your clients said for clarity and cohesiveness.

Usually, clients seek freelancers, especially writers, because they themselves aren't blessed with the ability to put words together to achieve their desired results, or they find it time-consuming to handle the operations of their business and still take care of marketing their products or services.

If you're not a writer or copy editor, get in touch with a fellow freelancer whose expertise includes proofreading, and ask him to streamline your clients' testimonials until they're lucid and concise.

In order to cut costs, you can negotiate with your fellow freelancer that you'll return the favor by offering one of your services that's not included among his set of skills, should the need come up in the future.

Be selective with the testimonials that you'll include in your marketing materials.

To illustrate, you should have a separate web page in your freelancer's website for at least three testimonials. Place them beside or underneath your portfolio, or the page where your contact information is provided.

If you have a couple of specialties, like corporate resumes, websites' landing pages, blogging, or shooting webinars, provide at least two testimonials for each specialty. 

The Power of A Testimonial (Part 2)

In the first part of this article series, I cited how a glowing testimonial from a satisfied client can boost your marketing strategy and get more potential clients to notice you.

In my 11-year stint as a freelancing professional, I have grown more and more convinced that a testimonial not only reduces a freelancer's marketing budget, it also works better in convincing potential clients to give you a try.

That's because testimonials, when written in a way that calls attention to you as a peak performer, only means that you've done the necessary work to build a solid reputation. 

Given the numerous benefits that a testimonial can give, it only makes sense to learn how to use it for maximum results.

The following is not an exhaustive list, but just a few general guidelines on soliciting testimonials:

Get in touch with three to five of your most recent clients and ask them to put in a good word for you.

You can do this by emailing or calling former clients or any repeat client of whose whereabouts you may be keeping tab. Since a testimonial would only need to highlight your competence and skills, it need not turn into a rambling of "how great you are," and surely the client need not rave over you.

Notice any recurring compliments or key phrases.

It's too generic when a client says that "Sally Kimbell is professional, resourceful, and easy to work with." If you possess a specific set of skills that you've utilized in a variety of projects, you want to make sure that these skills are highlighted in the best way possible.

Now, your "hard skills" are not more important than your "soft skills" (e.g. negotiating, being prompt when it comes to deadlines, etc.). Rather, your soft skills are what enable you to utilize your hard skills to the fullest, and this is what needs to be emphasized most to make a testimonial glowing.

Notice the impact when a testimonial is phrased this way:

"We were about to attempt an ambitious project that required a near overhaul of our company's website. We knew that in order to stand out, we needed a seasoned article writer who's also knowledgeable in SEO and is in tune with the interests and preferences of young adult, cosmopolitan women who frequent upscale places all over the metro. That's why, upon recommendation by one of her former clients, we decided that Sally Kimbell is the one most suited to do the job."

Here's another one:

"What made James Smith such a joy to work with is him being very systematic with the tasks we outsourced to him. All throughout the duration of his contract, he would make follow-up calls to our office to ensure that he was on the right track. Although it was apparent that he can work with minimum supervision, his desire to be accountable until the project was done was his most winning attitude."

See the difference? 

Come back next week for more on this article series.