There are two things that are on the top of my review list whenever I get ready to spend money. It doesn’t matter if it’s for a need or want, these two things will always be reviewed before the purchase goes through. The first thing I ask myself is does the purchase fit within my budget? The second, which will be the topic of this and the next tip is “What are the reviews like?” That’s right.. I’m a person who could care less about what other thinks in general, but when it comes to spending my money, I like to get a sense of what other people think about a particular product. Honestly speaking, sometimes I find it very funny to read the different reviews. You have your authentic ones that are detailed. You have surface level reviews. And then you have your obvious spam comments sprinkled throughout. But there is real value in those authentic reviews. As a speaker, you are ultimately a product and there are prospects who are looking to buy a service. You provide a service. You are a thought leader. But to make it to the point where you are successful and in demand, you need proof of your expertise and your skill. The main way that happens is through good Testimonials.

Think of the value of a good testimonial like this: I work for a company A. I’ve been trained on how to market and sell Company A’s product to you. My goal is to provide you with all the great things that company A’s product can do for you. I am paid by Company A to do this and that’s my number one objective. On the other hand, you have another person who has actually used Company A’s product. They can provide you with exactly how it worked for them and they can give you details into their experience with buying the product Company A provides. Ask yourself, who would you rather hear from? Then imagine that there are 10 people, all with great things to say about Company A’s product, but all from different perspectives. Once again I ask, which would sway you more towards buying Company A’s product? It’s literally the same thing when you are speaker. Yes, you can be great and tell people why they should invest in you. But when you can have others speak positively on your behalf, your proof gets etched in stone and your credibility strengthens.

Audience testimonials are one thing. Yes, you should get as many as you can. But another type of testimonial you should equally focus on getting  is the decision-maker testimonial. The person that thought to bring you in and bet on you would also be able to vouch for you best. That’s why it’s key to cherish relationships throughout the speaking process. If you are working one on one with a decision maker or even a team, you want to make sure to do everything in your power to warrant positive memory. Through your actions, promptness and intent, you want them to be more than willingly to speak highly of you to others. I said it once before and I’ll say it again, speaking is more than what you do on the stage. You also have to realize that a decision maker’s greatest fear is making a mistake. A positive testimonial from a previous decision-maker can lower that fear and give other decision-makers looking for their next speaker more reason to pick you.

When you are starting out, it’s really important that you are marketing yourself. In those beginning stages, you may not know how to do it properly, but positive testimonials will have you well on your way because they help people make a well informed decision. Positive Testimonials build trust and credibility. If you do a great job when you speak, you make it easy on yourself to get those Testimonials. People will be willing to leave a review for your website and if you are lucky, maybe you can get a video review. No matter what form they come in, make sure you always.. I mean always get multiple testimonials anytime you speak. Others will want to know that you are proven and the people were impacted positively from your work. But just like positive Testimonials can build the trust and credibility, negative testimonials can break them as well.

Make your next presentation, your best presentation!

Sincerely,

Julian A. Leonard
(Founder of The JLeonard Group LLC)

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