We can boast and brag and carry on about our achievements as experts, but not until someone else does it on our behalf does our credibility fully shine through.
Testimonials are nothing new, of course, but most of them are missing three important qualities.
Leave them out, and the endorsements can actually hurt you. But use them, and you’ll gain credibility in your market overnight.
What are the qualities? Why do the work? And how should you collect the information you need? Find out in the latest episode of Six-Figure Expert TV!
Brilliant Social Proof Examples
Marie Forleo does it like nobody else. Visit the following link (until March 5, 2013 when her launch ends) for a look at testimonial magic: http://rhhbschool.com/live-your-dream/videos/
If you’re an overachiever, bring together your best endorsements and create a praise page on your website—few things can better position you as a respected authority in your field. Below are three examples to help get you started.
Kris Carr: http://kriscarr.com/praise/
Marie Forleo: http://www.marieforleo.com/praise/
Ramit Sethi: http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com/testimonials/
QOTD: What Is Your #1 Business Frustration?
What keeps you up at night? What puzzles you about growing your “expert business”? Let me know in the comments below for a guaranteed reply within 24 hours. And remember, one lucky member will be chosen at random to win a copy of Barrie Davenport’s new book, The 52-Week Life Passion Project!
Comments
Great advice Jason! My biggest frustration is trying to reach the tipping point online. I don’t do any networking offline because of my nomadic lifestyle living in different (usually non native english speaking) countries. The experts you mentioned are indeed amazing, but I’ve seen them many times person to person with other people in videos and through the offline events they attend and speak at, this is a challenge when all you have is the internet to build relationships. It works, it’s just much harder I think to build those all important relationships that will get you that next step ahead.
Michelle,
As always, THANK YOU so much for watching and joining in. You know how much I appreciate you and your interest. Even though you’re thousands of miles away, I count myself lucky to include you in the pack.
You’re right–networking online is a different beast, but you can still develop strong relationships without that person-to-person contact. And one of the best ways is through video.
You can reply to people who visit your site and send a note or post a comment with a personal video response. You can hop on Skype with other experts in your niche to talk biz or simply get to know each other. You can add videos to your site, welcoming new visitors and subscribers with a warm and inviting message packed with personality.
For networking with other leaders in your field, connecting comes down to value. What value can you add to their audience or to them directly? By showing that you care for their success long before you look for something in return, you’ll stand out among the crowd as someone to notice, connect with, and eventually, share.
Your brand and character are fantastic. Now you just have to convey that through video and offer incredible value to those you want to connect with.
Jason
PS. Awesome job on your own praise page! http://www.virtualmissfriday.com/praise
Great timing for this video. I started to rebuild my former business one month ago and already have a couple of clients.
It’s great timing since I just started to write text to create a better profile on Linked In and to create a website for my life coaching and professional organizing business. Thank you. As far as a frustration – it’s about my energy level, due to the chronic conditions I live with. I am working on it though and hopefully my physical energy will increase. The energy I have due to my determination is great, so that’s the good news. I do have a question for you though – my company name is taken as a domain name already. Do you have any suggestions in creating a domain name?
Ellen,
Three things for you…
1. Congratulations! Most startups never see the light of day let alone gather clients. And so fast?! That’s incredible. I’m thrilled with your quick success and know you are going to continue crushing it.
2. You certainly have it harder than most if you’re battling chronic ailments while building your business. But that’s obviously not slowing you down. You’re an inspiration to everyone out there thinking they have an uphill battle to contend with. You’re proof that it’s possible.
3. I like my clients to personally brand themselves, as I did with JasonGracia.com. Is your name available? If not, or if you’d prefer a name that details your expertise, I think we can come up with something great together.
Post your initial thoughts below and I, along with the SFE pack, will dive in!
Jason
Thank-you for sharing your knowledge. My biggest frustration is invisibility. In many ways, it is the nature of what I do. I am a psychologist and my work is confidential. While I do have some excellent feedback to share, I cannot add a picture or video.
Tracy,
You’re in a tricky situation, aren’t you? Because you can’t use pics or video, I would do two things.
First, I would make sure the written testimonials you get (with or without full names) are outstanding. Remember to make them relate to your audience, overcome possible objections, and offer specific results.
Second, I want you to get endorsements from colleagues, with pics and video if possible. Just as powerful as highlighting your visitors feedback is getting industry leaders to vouch for your expertise.
Jason
Hello there Jason
My number one question is: How do I unlearn my writing skills and become more real? I have recently discovered that a major obstacle for others is that I sound too much like a corporation. This is no accident. For the last 25 years, I have been dealing with corporations so I have learned to present my ideas and findings in a clear, neutral, passive tone. However, the internet is about people meeting other people and if I am going to serve them I must unlearn that dry style of communicate and learn to communicate as myself again – not that I’m complaining, its very exciting to learn to write again and it is fun to notice how my writing is changing radically from month to month. I try to visualise that my reader has been a friend of mine for decades and try to write accordingly. I don’t feel entirely authentic yet but it is coming
Phil,
You’ve hit on a topic I am passionate about.
I love business, history, music…and writing. My bookcase in the SFE TV videos is littered with books on writing cleanly, clearly, humanly. And the one that speaks directly to your issue, almost as if it were written for you, is William Zinsser’s classic, On Writing Well.
This book is everything you need and more. Zinsser is determined to help people write with strength, emotion, and clarity. “Never use a long word where a short one will do.” “No sentence is too short in the eyes of God.” “Every word must be doing new work.”
Few things put my mind at ease as quickly and fully as reading Zinsser.
And you can’t go wrong with E. B. White’s and William Strunk Jr.’s Elements of Style, recently named one of the “100 best and most influential books written in English since 1923.”
If you read these guides, and closely follow their advice, you’ll be writing with warmth and humanity and brevity in no time, and your writing will leap off the screen and into your readers’ hearts and minds.
Jason
PS. Email me your address at jasonmgracia @ gmail com, and I’ll ship a copy of Zinsser’s book to you asap. It’s the least I can do for someone in my pack.
Just read this and thought of you, an excellent quote from Dr. Seuss himself…
It has often been said
there’s so much to be read,
you never can cram
all those words in your head.
So the writer who breeds
more words than he needs
is making a chore
for the reader who reads.
That’s why my belief is
the briefer the brief is,
the greater the sigh
of the reader’s relief is.
Jason,
I WON!!!
Thank you so much for providing this content. I am just starting to launch my new website http://millennialcop.com. I have started collecting my testimonials and are storing them in Google Docs until I get the design on the site right. I have $0 for a budget so right now I am putting my very limited knowledge to use.
What keeps me up at night is this: When I see people being successful with their expert business, it always seems like they made the leap after they had a substantial amount of money saved. That is not an option for me. I am trying to start my expert business so that I can have some extra income. So how do I get a professional look with amateur budget?
Brian,
Congratulations on winning this week’s contest! Your book is already on the way!
Brilliant question. Brilliant!
First, it’s more than possible. I started my business with $35. What’s more, I run a six-figure business on $300 a month. it’s actually quite easy.
1. Design: There are hundreds of free WordPress templates available online, along with many professional ones for under $20. Elegent Themes, for example, even offers a special, 81 themes for $39. A quick search on Google will bring you to hundreds of great looking designs at affordable prices.
2. Photos: If you don’t want to splurge on photos, get in touch with college students who need to build their portfolios. This is a quick and easy way to get great looking pics for downright cheap fees.
3. Branding: I want you to have a clear and cohesive brand, so to help you design your website elements use elance and odesk (and others). You can find high-quality designers low prices. You’ll get the look and feel of a pro without paying the price tag.
You can do this, Brian. The Internet has put amazingly powerful tools in our hands, often for free, making it possible for you to create a professional website and brand for a sliver of what it once cost.
If you have more specific questions, let us know below and I’ll help you figure everything out.
Jason
Jason,
Great video as always. Social proof is a concept that sounds easy in theory, but it can be hard to apply – especially when you’re still trying to get a footing. Anyway, here’s my top business frustration, to answer this week’s question.
The tactics out there are overwhelming!
Sometimes, it’s so hard to know where to start. I make an active effort to focus on only a few tactics/strategies at a time, but everything can still seem overwhelming anyway. There’s all this news about Google updates, new social networks, sometimes even the occasional apocalyptic pronouncement like blogs are dead.
How do I focus? Any particular tips you have?
Bea,
Overwhelm is a common problem, so rest assured that you’re not alone. Every day there are new tools, platforms, gadgets, and gizmos galore. Nevertheless, I have great news for you.
I built my first business without a blog, without social media, without Google updates or mobile or video or audio or any of the other ten thousand options.
You can build a successful business with a website and an email list. That’s all it takes. The tools are accessories, helpful but not absolutely crucial.
This doesn’t include testimonials, of course. You need those regardless of where you focus. But you can gather that material from website visitors through email. Again, no extra tools required.
My tip is to choose one avenue to deliver value to your audience, be it a blog, social media, etc. Then do that as best you can. Ignore the “gurus” who tell you this or that platform is dead, and focus on your audience. Where are they and what do they need? Answer those questions and you’ll be just fine.
Personally, I’m building an audience of email subscribers, and then delivering value through the blog and email with videos, posts, and helpful tips and tactics.
I’m not diving into social media yet, or YouTube, or iTunes, etc. I’m focused on my “home” and will add elements over time. So, for me, everything is operating smoothly and without stress or overwhelm. You can do it too.
Jason
Great episode!
My challenge is that I’m just getting started online, so am building my list and traffic. I opened the site a month ago, but didn’t get to do guest posting, etc. so now have posts, but no traffic.
I’m working with some initial clients to get case studies.
Dee,
Thank you for watching and sharing your comment!
My favorite traffic technique is creating a unique lead magnet for a handful of popular sites and offering it to their audiences.
For instance, imagine you’re an expert in the “getting organized” niche. First, you’d visit mid-tier sites in the field, paying attention to the posts with the most action (comments, shares, etc), taking note of the topic and angle; you’d also read the comments looking for clues about common organizing questions, popular areas, biggest clutter problems, frustrations, etc.
You’d now know the needs of that particular audience. Using that material, you’d create a short report, video, audio, or combination offering the information that audience wants most–based on your research of the blog or website.
You’d then contact the site, letting them know that you’ve created a custom piece of content for their audience. You could put it behind an email wall, but to get more takers, I would offer it without limits. In this case, you’d simply promote your site and its resources within the lead magnet, drawing interested people back to your site.
Not everyone promotes your giveaway, of course, but when they do, you’ll get a flood of new traffic overnight. For the non-takers, you still have a great piece of content to share with your own audience.
Jason
My frustration is regarding home based business – how to split the work time from family time effectively.
Lehel,
Welcome to the SFE team!
There is no right answer here, as each expert has their own style, habits, values, and schedule, but here are a few general tips.
1. Hustle: As entrepreneurs, we have to accept longer hours. The long-term dream, of course, is to work less and earn more, and that’s certainly possible. I spent just a few hours a week on my previous business and still sold over a hundred thousand dollar’s worth of products and services. In the beginning, though, I worked long hours with little monetary return.
2. Automate: Create systems wherever and whenever possible that reduce or eliminate the need for your time and attention. For example, if you shoot videos, you could create a workflow that maximizes the efficiency of your operation (having the right tools in the right place, shooting multiple videos at a single time, hiring a VA to transcribe, etc.).
3. Clock Out: Another common solution to the work-life balance is to clock out at a specific time of the day, shutting down the business inside and out. No matter what is left on the table, when the day you set is done, it’s done.
4. Night Owl: If spending quality time with family is important, as it should be, work when they’re away or asleep (morning/late night). You’ll get less sleep, but more time with the people who matter most.
Jason
Brilliant video Jason. Such a simple but vital message to hear and take action on! In a sea of online overwhelm it’s often the simplest things (like making your testimonials visible) that people leave out because there’s SO much to do, SO much information and ‘noise’ and SO little time! My biggest frustration is time in fact. I am raising 2 small children at the same time as growing my business so for me it’s all about finding enough time to fit everything I need to do in. Knowing what to outsource and when.
Michelle,
I’m honored to have you as a viewer. Your site and brand are a shining example of what’s possible in the “expert” field. Thank you for investing your time in this video and comment.
When it comes to time management, the best advice is to focus your energies where you excel and outsource the rest. You’ll get the greatest return on your time when you do what you do best and let the others do what they do best.
Another good piece of advice–focus on work that directly improves your business…grows your audience, delivers value, brings in income. Bookkeeping doesn’t help you grow, so that would be a chore to outsource, for example. Creating new courses would directly boost the bottom line–a task worth your time and attention.
I must admit, even with your towering work schedule and two children, you’re pumping out incredible material.
Jason
Thanks for this awesome video, Jason.
The no.1 business problem that I have isn’t how to get subscribers, it’s about how to make them engaged and make them love me.
I want simply to know how to increase the engagment momentum and make people trust me, love me and will be able to buy my products.
Hope to hear what do you think?
Ahmed,
That’s an easy question to answer–love them.
If you want to be true successfully in any business, you can’t approach it wanting to be liked or loved or trusted. You have to give first, you have to treat your visitors as people you like or love, or act in a way that builds trust.
It’s about give to get.
Think about what your audience needs, what they truly want, and then give it to them, again and again. Treat them as valued members of your tribe, people you care about and work hard for.
Do that, sincerely and consistently, and you’ll build the engagement.
Jason
Hi Jason,
Fantastic, I loved your video, well done. My frustration is getting past the start up and the things that need to be done, not all the needless stuff, but the website, the offerings and the marketing.
I guess as I say this I am also feeling there is a certain amount of hesitation in getting the clients, maybe still some of that stuff I have worked on for long time in relation to am I good enough, will people want what I have to offer…sounds silly to my own ears, but nevertheless there is some truth in this that I am sure is holding me back.
I have seen this type of thing immobilise people, this is not happening, as I am moving forward in positive constructive ways, setting up free nights and using these these to upsell my offerings.
I would love to have the internet part bringing clients to me.
Wallis,
You bring up a host of great topics. Let’s dive into your hesitation, as that’s a common issue that brings an end to more “expert businesses” than most anything else.
First, your heart is in the right place. You are worried that you won’t have enough value to offer, which clearly proves that you care about your clients. You want to deliver, and this is a fantastic sign.
Second, can you deliver the promised result? Are you a true expert with valuable information to share? I’m guessing that you can and that you are. Focus on this. Focus on delivering the result your audience is after.
Third, use the testimonials I talked about in the episode to boost your confidence. When you receive notes from people who have been moved or changed by your work, your doubts will wither and die.
Jason
Hiya Jason!
I’m really enjoying your video series! And I can tell from the comments that I’m not the only one
I’d say that my #1 business frustration is more of a productivity and focus frustration. I regularly get overwhelmed with what to do first, second, and so on and end up trying to do too many things at once. I work exceptionally hard, but can admit that I could def be working smarter.
I already have a website, am working with a number of clients now and have an OK list of testimonials. I feel if I knew a few key activities that would reap the most rewards, I could focus my time and energy on them and save myself the burnout.
Clayton,
You bring up a fantastic question, something that most of us struggle with on a daily basis. Every second we’re pummeled with information that is screaming for our attention; it’s no wonder why it’s hard for us to get anything done.
Though I’m no productivity expert, here is one idea you may want to try.
Create a grid on a piece of paper, drawing three lines from top to bottom, creating four columns. At the top write, “Activity,” “Enjoyment,” “Mastery,” and “Growth.”
Under “Activity,” list all of the things that you need to work on during the week, all of your tasks and duties and projects, etc.
Then, after you’ve made your list, go across each item and check off whether the task is fun, is in your wheelhouse of expertise, and is actively growing the business. This will help you discover areas that should become priorities (you’re an expert at it and it grows the business) and areas that should be outsourced (you don’t enjoy it and you’re not good at it).
It’s a simple idea, but it can be quite effective.
Another idea is to make a list of the five most important things you have to do. Then, focus 100% on #1. Don’t even think about #2-#5 until #1 is done. When it’s finished, move #2 up a notch and focus in once again. Even simpler, but can be equally effective for people who can’t seem to focus on one task at a time.
Hope these ideas help, Clayton!
Jason