Issue Date: Sales Success Nov 15, 2008, Posted On: 11/2/2008
How to generate more testimonials People like to do business with those whom other people have a good buying experience. They tend to be more comfortable with results that they know about. Credibility isn't built in a day. It is earned over time. The best way to gauge the value of your sales technique is through the satisfied customers who have bought a car or truck from you. Your customers' written testimonials send a more powerful message about you and your dealership than any newspaper ad.
Testimonials can overcome a prospect's objections even before these concerns pop up. When a customer has doubts they tend to look at the testimonials if you are the best fit for what they want. Most dealerships showcase testimonials on their websites and most dealership salespeople decorate the walls of their cubicles with favorable letters from satisfied customers. Advertisements often focus more on satisfied customers telling a story of how they came across the dealership, the problems they faced before, and the satisfaction they received after buying a car from their favorite store. Finally, they tend to recommend that dealership to their friends.
This is one of most effective ways of increasing your sales production and is an added way of relating to your prospects and building trust. Put up those testimonials and let your testimonials do some of the selling for you.
How to do it But how do you get satisfied customers to write those glowing letters of recommendation? The answer is simple. Ask for them. As an added inducement, you could give your new customers a couple of coupons for free oil changes. People love, love, love to get something for free.
You could also use a service like Survey Monkey, an online survey system, or create your own surveys to identify your strengths and areas for improvement.
Never fake it Testimonials are similar to reference checks for job applicants and the golden rule is "don't make it up." Never fake your own testimonials.
The secret to a good testimonial is content, detail, location and signature. One sentence testimonials don't really get great results. Customers tend to react better to facts and numbers too. The one sentence words like, excellent, great, good job don't really get you very far. The best testimonials are highly specific and results oriented.
Very important! Keep your testimonials fresh and continue collecting them monthly. A testimonial letter written five years ago doesn't have much impact today. Have a special folder for all your testimonials and change them monthly.
Don't ignore a growing trend for dealership salespeople - social networking. Blogs are a good way to collect testimonials. Start a blog and invite your satisfied customers to keep you up to date on their experience as vehicle owners. Much of what they have to say can be turned into a testimonial on your behalf.
