You Did Great Work, Your Client Loves You, Time to Get a Testimonial!

We are not good at asking people for testimonial. Many of us feel awkward asking someone else for their opinion and yet what is the first thing we do when checking out a restaurant or an Airbnb or a new vacuum cleaner? We look to see what others have said about it.

In the past I have written about Super Fans. These are clients that will promote you at any opportunity, that help drive referrals, and are not just satisfied with your work but are truly loyal to you. We love Super Fans! As great as these clients are they are not everywhere all the time whenever you need them. For that we need to broaden our lens and look at getting testimonials from other happy clients.

Asking for a review is not a bad thing. We are asked about experiences all the time in many aspects of our lives. It is time to make it part of our calling card.

Testimonials are great to add to your digital profile. LinkedIn uses endorsements whereas Facebook and Google use traditional rating reviews. Depending on the type of practice you have, many lawyers include testimonials on their firm website and firm bio profile. Some firms go as far as filming satisfied clients so they can tell their story. When well done, these can significantly increase your odds of landing a new client.

When asking a client to provide a review, make sure you prime them with a few questions. This will help your client consider aspects of your work that made you stand out. Examples include:

• What did you value about working with our firm (me)?
• What stood out working with our firm (me) that made your experience special?
• Would refer a colleague or friend to our firm (me)?
• How did you feel working with our firm (me)?
• Did we (I) solve your problem and get the outcome you were after?

There are many questions you can ask but the goal is to achieve an authentic testimonial from your client, something that will help potential clients call you with their legal issue. Consider adding a question to the end of your closing letter asking clients to provide you a review, who knows, you may create a digital super fan.