Testimonials in your sales letters provide social proof; they tell the person reading the letter that what you say is in fact true. But how do you get them?

The very first step is to just ask. Call or write to your clients and ask them to tell you if they would be willing to give you a review of your product or service. It’s very important that you don’t just say “Will you give me a testimonial?” Ask instead if they will tell you about their experience. Ask them to be specific, and get their permission to use their name in your marketing.

Even with such a personal, specific request, you’ll often get responses that basically say they love you and your product. In actuality, you’re looking for results. You need testimonials that will prove to anyone reading your sales letter that you can help them. Also as effective are testimonials from well-known industry experts – these lend you credibility even if their testimonial doesn’t give specific results.

So to aid in that quest, here is one of the easiest ways to get powerful testimonials:

A few days after you’ve delivered your product or completed the service – once you’re fairly certain your client has consumed your information – send out a notice that you have a special gift for them. Let them know you’re asking for their feedback to be sure they were satisfied, and they’ll need to complete a short survey.

If you’re doing this online, simply send them an email with a link to a web page. If you’re doing it offline, send a postcard with the web page address on it. Be sure the url is easy to type.

On the webpage, thank them for taking the time to let you know what they think. Let them know their responses will be used to improve your products and marketing, and they might even be a case study on your website. Emphasize that there are no penalties for negative responses.

Ask them to enter their name, city and state, country, and, if appropriate, business and website.

The survey itself should be brief. Three or four questions is plenty. For example:

• What was your biggest challenge before you signed up for [product name]?
• What results are you seeing after having used/applied
• Who do you think [product name] would benefit most?
• Do you feel like you got your money’s worth?

These questions are just examples and obviously won’t apply to all situations. Make your questions relevant and easy to answer. Don’t be vague, but also don’t be intrusive.