Fakers are bad for business!

Dear Friends,

I received this e-mail last week about my tip, Influence- Social Proof, that I would like to share with you:

Hi Jeff,

I love your site and news letter, I read it every week and print out some of your articles and post them at our office for my agents to read. Keep up the great work.
I read your article last week about Social Proof and thought it was a good tip. I recently added a bunch of fake happy customer testimonials to my real estate blog (NAME OF SITE REMOVED).com let me know how you think they look. Keep up the good work.

S.C.
Broker

S.C.,

I'm sorry but you took my tip the wrong way... Here is some further explanation:

People hate fakers when it comes to buying stuff. In fact, more than half of the people asked for a recent survey said they avoid buying from a company if they even suspect a paid professional, or a faker is secretly behind the review of a typical, everyday person.

This comes from PR firm Burson-Marsteller and its new study about "e-fluentials," people who are more likely to share their opinions and experiences with others because they typically speak with 50% more people than the average person every day. About 30% of the survey's respondents said fake reviews are a big problem, compared with 20% in 2001. That rise in concern largely mirrors the findings of a recent Nielsen study.

Amazon set the standard a few years ago with its Real Name functionality for its user reviews It's time for everyone to step up.

Companies of any size, in any industry, must understand that giving yourself glowing reviews using fake names (or hiring or encouraging others to create fake reviews) is not only unethical but bad for business. The amateur Internet detectives always find out. Of course, they're not shy about sharing their findings.

How do you get true customer testimonials?

You ask!

Its as simple as that...

When I meet with a client in need of mortgage financing for my initial consultation I offer them my 800 number to call to listen to my Audio Advocates customer testimonials and then tell my goal is to make them so overjoyed with the service that I provide them that they also will become an Audio Advocate for me.

Once I have the client totally "WOWed" with my service I then say "Mr./Mrs. Client, when we first met I told you about my Audio Advocates program, and you listened to the messages recorded by them, I was curious if you you could help me.... Would you feel comfortable joining my Audio Advocate list?"

90% of the time they say YES! The rest that don't feel comfortable recording a Audio Advocate message are more then happy to write a customer testimonial.

The key is don't make it up... Ask a previous client for a customer testimonial.

Why not try it today? Pick up the phone and call the last client that was "WOWed" by your service.

Try saying something like this:

Hi Bob, This is Jeff from Indymac Bank.
Do you have a few minutes to talk?
(pause and wait for answer)
I'm building a database of customer testimonials and I was curious if you could help me out?

(pause and wait for answer)
I was wondering if, you feel comfortable giving a testimonial that I can share with new clients?
(pause and wait for answer)
(most clients will say "what do you mean")
Well, these are new clients who have not yet experienced the level of services that I have given you and I would like to let them hear about your experience. Would that be OK?
(pause and wait for answer)
Thanks I really appreciate it.
Bob, this could be something as simple as what you will tell your friends or coworkers about me when they need mortgage financing.
(Your also planting a referral seed and using some very powerful magic words)
You know, What did you like about my service?
(pause and listen)

Write down everything the client says.

They may need some coaching to get started.
Every time the client says something good about you, thank the client, or say wow that makes me feel good.

Once he or she is done repeat it back to them to make sure you got it right.

This is a quick phone call, a good way to stay in touch with your past clients, and a great way to build a customer testimonial list.

Remember Count The Relationships Not The Transactions.

Are you interest in learning more about how to use Social Proof? That's just one of the topics covered in my new workshop SkyRocket Your Sales: The 5-Step Sales Process.

One of the fastest ways to build a successful business is by training. Now, with me, I like to invest significant time immersing myself in training, while some people prefer to take it in bite-size chunks. Whatever your preference is, now is the best time to contact me and schedule SkyRocket Your Sales: The 5-Step Sales Process for your company.

Thanks for spending 3 minutes with me...
The best is yet to be!

On Your Team
Jeffrey Stanton
Your Trusted Advisor For Life

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