Reference Letters Using Client Testimonials As A Sales Tool

Writen by Tino Buntic

Do you use reference letters and client testimonials as a sales tool when selling your products and services? Perhaps your reference letters sound like these:

• "Johnny's work for us was outstanding - he managed to immediately dive into the details of our product offering and make a significant impact on our advertising campaign and on our company's overall success."
• "Unlike other business machine companies, XYZ Company has highly experienced service technicians that guarantee a 24 hour response time, which I appreciate because down time costs money."
• "Before contacting ABC Company, I received a quote from 3 other firms. ABC company was the only one to answer all my questions in a timely manner and provided me with a better product at a better price. Thanks ABC Company!"

What do these three client testimonials have in common?

The answer is, they all sound manufactured.

That's because they are. They are manufactured. I wrote these reference letters off the top of my head. But these letters of recommendation, or something similar sounding, can be found sprinkled on sales letters, websites, promotional material, and in briefcases of salespeople all over the world. They are a sales tool in a fight to win over more customers.

But do reference letters and client testimonials work in the sales game? Do reference letters help you sell more? Do they help you close more sales?

I would advise salespeople not to use reference letters as a sales tool, At least not as a tool to help the win more sales.

Although a lot of reference letters are honest letters from real clients, it is easy to write a fake letter. It has now come to a point where a letter of recommendation isn't seen as something concrete and doesn't do much to help sway the decision maker. There are too many fake testimonials littering the marketplace that people don't put much stock in them anymore.

If you do use reference letters as a tactic in your bag of sales tools, be sure that they come from a real customer or client. You will immediately lose all credibility if your prospect spots a fake letter.

Tino Buntic created TradePals to provide free B2B and B2C sales leads and free advertising to business professionals, salespeople, entrepreneurs, and freelancers across North America. Tino also enjoys reading business blogs and two of his favorite include Tim Young's B2B Lead Generation blog and The Innovative Marketer by Steve Gershik.