Writing Effective Customer Testimonials

Here's 2 testimonial formats that don't sound like bullsh*t: It’s tempting to showcase your most effusive reviews, but that’s a missed opportunity. We got this one last week: "I've been an entrepreneur for almost 30 years and this is the best thing I've ever done. Wish I did it 30 years ago.” I love reading testimonials like that! But I don't post them on our site. Why? Because they sound like bullsh*t. Think about it from your prospect’s perspective: If they read a review that says “This product is awesome!” will they think “Wow, this product must be awesome. Lemme grab my credit card…” (No. No, they will not.) Effective testimonials don’t just say “It's awesome,” they break through by addressing prospect’s specific goals and fears. Like this... 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝟮 𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟭: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿? Share quotes from people describing that exact outcome. For example: • “We cut production times by 30% while lowering defect rates, I didn’t think that was possible.” • “We quadrupled the engagement rates of our outreach campaigns, now we actually need to hire more salespeople.” • “We were able to achieve 100% FCA compliance without hiring additional people." 𝗢𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝟮: 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗯𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽? Call it out and knock it down. Examples: • “Normally my sales reps hate new software and refuse to use it, but they love [product] and they’re 24% more productive after the first week.” • “I thought migration would be a huge hassle, but we were up and running in 2 hours, no engineering required.” • “Our CEO was watching this project closely, so I was nervous about working with software from a startup. But [product] not only did the job, it made my whole team look like rockstars." For both options, the key is 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘧𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘵𝘺. The more directly you can address the reader’s exact desire or blocker, the more the quote will resonate with them – and the less it will sound like bullsh*t. 𝗕𝗼𝗻𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗽: What if your customers don’t give you the right words for your ideal testimonial? You can always reply to a happy customer and ask “Would you mind if we phrased your testimonial this way instead?” They’ll usually say yes. Who else needs to read this? Tag them 👇🏼 Are you a little smarter than you were 2 minutes ago? Follow me: Matt Lerner so you don't miss my future posts.

My best sales strategy is not to sell at all. Instead, I would rather focus on making my existing customers so successful that they sell on my behalf when I'm not around. Let your customers results do the selling, and you won't have to. This has been a core part of my business strategy since Day 1, and it's paid huge dividends. If you focus on making your existing customers wildly successful and delivering the outcomes they desire, they will be your advocates for life. Here are five ways to execute this strategy: 1. Stay close to your customers to make sure they are getting the value they signed up for from your product or service. Don't walk away after the sale. 2. Track adoption closely, and set up automations and triggers to alert you and the customer if adoption is low 3. Survey your customers before, in the middle, and at the end of there term to see how things are going. This is also great for comparing before vs. after success, so you can use this as benchmarks for the value you can bring to new customers. For example, 75% of Untap Your Sales Potential AE's who finish my program report hitting their quota, as opposed to just 40% industry wide. 4. Set up an affiliate or referral program so customers are rewarded for telling others about your program. 5. Capture EVERY SINGLE testimonial you can, so you can point prospects to what others are saying about your products and service. This is a great way to have customers selling on your behalf. To see an example of what this looks like in action, check out the following site where I have all my customers testimonials saved in one place across text and video: https://lnkd.in/dGzgwSkX Always remember... Your success is directly proportional to how many people you help succeed.

I charge nearly 50% more for my services than my competitors and still convert 70% of my leads. Here’s how. Like my competitors, I started with minimal charges to build my portfolio. As I got better at my craft and brought results to my clients, I started charging a premium. But even with higher prices, most of my leads choose me over my competitors. Why? Because of the “more than great” testimonials. Here is how I got these testimonials and you can too: ➤ 1. Build your unfair advantage What is the one thing that you can bring to the table that your competitors can't? - Fast delivery? - Smooth process? - Easy communication? Find what sets you apart and your clients will commend you for it. ➤ 2. Deliver on your promise Assuring certain results and achieving them helps you to build trust. You can do so by: - Precisely capturing the outcomes your client wants. - Creating a proper scope of the project and listing deliverables. - Delivering within the said timeline and providing quality work. The more they believe you, the more eloquent the testimonial will be. ➤ 3. Learn to build client relationships Shaping a good client relationship is more about your soft skills than your hard skills. So: - Communicate proactively. - Seek feedback and work on it. - Follow up after the project completion. Using these strategies, I was able to get powerful testimonials and increase my pricing by 300%. Steal my strategy and stand out from your competitors. What quality do you think sets you apart? #clientmanagement #testimonial #freelancing

>>> What if your next deal came from someone reading your LinkedIn profile, without ever clicking away? Yesterday, we wrapped up Referable Profile Sprint, and one insight kept coming up: We obsess over headlines and banners, but neglect our most powerful asset: client references. Don’t assume prospects will leave LinkedIn to hunt down testimonials on your website. Show the proof where they’re already looking. 🟦 How to write killer references 🟦 Sometimes your clients are so busy they’ll ask you to draft the testimonial. I recommend two approaches: →𝗦𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲 Send 5–7 targeted questions by email: “What was your biggest challenge?”, “What results did you see?”, “What doubts did you have before we started?” Ask them to answer in a few bullet points—then polish into a tight quote. →𝟭𝟱-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗲 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹 Jump on Zoom/Teams with your client. Guide them through the same questions live, capture their words verbatim, and instantly craft the testimonial together. 🟦 What your references must address 🟦 Prospects want two things: → HOPE - tangible results “After upgrading my LinkedIn presence before attending a major industry event in Q4, I closed two deals in Q1 worth €20 K. Connecting with potential clients on LinkedIn was enough. Jasna took me from 0 to 1 with my personal and company profile and coached me on prospecting from my network. I wish I’d turned my profile into a sales page sooner.” → FEAR - overcoming doubts “My priority is finding new clients, and it always felt like trial and error. Before attending my first big trade show, I never imagined I could prospect so effectively on LinkedIn. Jasna took me from uncertainty to a clear process for reaching out, and the results speak for themselves.” 🟦 Where to publish your references  🟦 → 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 under each relevant 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 entry → 𝗙𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗱 section: pin 3–5 top quotes, PDFs, or short videos → 𝗦𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗴𝗲 reviews (with star ratings) if you offer services → 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗲 testimonial slider or case-study pages → 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘀 and pitch decks: insert one-sentence highlights on each cover slide → 𝗘𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲: “See what clients say ⟶ [link to Featured testimonial]” 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲: When you collect, craft, and showcase references directly on LinkedIn, you turn your profile into a self-running lead generator. No more “tell me about your work” - your clients’ voices do the selling for you. What’s your biggest hurdle in gathering testimonials? Let me know in the comments—or DM me, and I’ll share my free reference-request template.

You don't need to "sell" your offer When your clients’ results speak for you. The fastest way to attract new leads? → Show them what’s possible through your client wins. But not all wins create the same impact. Here’s how to share client results that actually convert: 1️⃣ Go beyond the testimonial Don’t just say “They loved working with me.” → Highlight the before and after transformation. → Use real numbers, real emotions, real breakthroughs. Example: “Jess went from no strategy to 5 clients/month.” 2️⃣ Share the behind-the-scenes process Leads want to know HOW it happened. → Outline what you did together in a few bullet points. → Make it feel possible and repeatable. This builds trust and shows your method works. 3️⃣ Use storytelling, not just screenshots Instead of posting “client win 🎉” in a Canva graphic: → Share the client’s journey like a mini case study. → Use simple storytelling language they relate to. This pulls your dream client into the narrative. 4️⃣ Add soft CTAs to nurture Not every post needs to hard sell. → Try: “Curious how this could look for you?” → Or: “DM me ‘GROWTH’ and let’s chat about it.” This lowers pressure and increases connection. Remember: Your client results are your best marketing asset. Use them strategically and consistently to bring in warm leads. PS: What’s one client win you’re proud of right now? Drop it below 👇 I’d love to celebrate it with you.

Here’s my step-by-step process for turning customer stories into a growth engine. If you’re trying to build a customer marketing function that goes beyond feel-good story telling and actually drives revenue, here’s what’s worked for me so far: Step 1: Build relationships before requests. Every strong story starts with trust. Before I ask a customer for a testimonial, I try to understand their experience—how long they’ve been with us, what results they’ve seen, and what “success” means to them. I usually work with the CSM who knows them best. A warm handoff makes all the difference. Customers can tell when you’re collecting stories just for your KPIs versus when you genuinely care about their journey. That difference shows up in how openly they share. Step 2: Treat interviews like conversations, not scripts. I always come prepared, but I don’t stick to a rigid list of questions. It makes the conversation too mechanical. My focus is to make the customer feel seen. When they feel relaxed, they open up—and that’s where the most authentic insights come out. I listen for emotion, language patterns, and specific details that make their story real. Those unscripted moments often become the most powerful lines in the final draft. Step 3: Build internal systems that protect your sanity. Customer marketing is a cross-functional job. You’re constantly coordinating with Sales, CSM, Design, Product Marketing, and Legal—all at once. To manage it, I document everything. Approval steps, design requests, interview statuses, publishing timelines. It sounds basic, but it’s the only way to stay sane. I maintain a shared tracker where everyone can see what stage each story is in. It saves hours of back-and-forth and helps me focus on actual storytelling instead of follow-ups. Step 4: Always close the loop internally. Once a case study or customer story goes live, I don’t just publish and move on. I make sure Sales knows where to find it, CSMs can share it with their accounts, and leadership sees how it’s performing. Sometimes that means tagging people in Slack, sometimes it’s a short recap deck. The point is to make sure the story doesn’t die after launch. When people see the impact—on pipeline, retention, or credibility—they start rooting for your function. That’s how you turn customer marketing into something the whole org values. Each of these steps helped me build a customer marketing program that feels collaborative, strategic, and human, all without burning out or overcomplicating it.

After working with 100+ early-stage SaaS companies I've seen how testimonials really drive inbound. One of my portfolio company nailed a 110% CTR on LinkedIn InMail with a testimonial ad. Why? Because people trust real stories. In a sea of generic product ads, a solid testimonial stands out and builds instant credibility. Get your customers talking. Encourage reviews, and if it fits your vibe, offer small incentives. It’s simple: happy customers share, and their stories convert. But keep it real. Paid review services with cookie-cutter testimonials? Don’t even go there. They’re obvious, they destroy trust, and they’ll hurt your brand. Genuine feedback wins every time. Use it, amplify it, and let your customers tell the story for you.

Gong's 4 top-performing LI video ads are entirely narrated by their customers. The format is genius. The targeting is crisp. Here's how to copy it 👇 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘹𝘵: • 𝘞𝘦'𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘢𝘥 • 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘪𝘴 ~10-12 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘠𝘰𝘶𝘛𝘶𝘣𝘦 + 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟭 - 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝘀 The Number 1 rule of any customer story is to make it industry-relevant. For this campaign, Gong targeted 3 industries. Science (w/ Elsevier in this video) B2B software (w/ Square) Finance (w/ Nasdaq) I don't work at Gong, so I can't know for sure. But I'd guess these are among the top 3 customer verticals for Gong. Obviously, those are juicy logos. But these work with smaller logos too, as long as the audiences match the creative. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟮 - 𝗖𝗼-𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗢𝗡𝗘 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 The punchiest thing about these ads is their focus. No background on their company. No talk about sales methodology. No introduction, even. It's purely focused on Benefit → (because of) → Feature And then they show you the feature themselves. Concise. Clear. Cool. Work with your customer to genuinely discover what their favorite feature is. When it's authentic, it's always better. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟯 - 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗸 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 Testimonials are expensive if you do 1 per day. So if I were working at a Series A/B B2B SaaS company, I would book multiple rooms in an office space, and get ready for a super day. You can staple this onto a customer event OR host a "dinner" and make this a two-fold initiative. (Ads + your customers exchanging insights) These ads didn't need b-roll of employees. They just needed a VP of Sales at a desk. You can do that anywhere. 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟰 - 𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗮 This is one of the top reasons this ad is so compelling. It's a VP of Sales (on camera) talking directly to a VP of Sales (the viewer). So many testimonial ads look off-camera, which sucks. There's no connection with the viewer. Eye contact grabs your attention much faster & holds it. Obviously, use a teleprompter to help your customers with this :) 𝗦𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝟱 - 𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗵*𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘁𝘀 I watched the full videos for each customer. They were ~2-3 min long. In it, they talked about: → Leadership philosophy → Problem they faced → 2-3 features → Outcomes Then each one of those videos became 3-4 different (0:15) ads. That's how this campaign had a lot of legs. ------ If you aren't a VP of Sales, was this ad still interesting to you? Did I miss something that caught your eye? Let me know in the comments!

This one habit reshaped my portfolio: Asking for a testimony. Let's face it - design isn't just about pretty pixels. It's about proving your choices pack a punch. Every decision needs to show its worth. You need to show impact. 😢 Reality check: Sometimes those shiny metrics are just out of reach. But you did the project for someone, right? Why not ask them for a testimony? A good testimony can do wonders. Your professionalism and people skills matter as much as your pixels. Next time, as soon as you meet the client, connect with them on LinkedIn. Start building the relationship. Once the project is finished, follow up and simply ask for testimony. Some tips: • Time it right - ask when the project's success is fresh • Make it specific to their experience • Keep it short and clear • Give them an easy structure to follow • Offer flexibility in length and format
 --- Here's a template you can use: "Hi [Client Name], I really enjoyed working together on [specific project]. Now that our cooperation has concluded, I'd love to hear about your experience. Would you be willing to share a brief testimonial? To make it easy, you could address any of these points: • The challenges you wanted to solve with the design • What you found most valuable about our collaboration • The impact the design has had on your business Even a couple of sentences would be incredibly helpful. I'd be honored to feature your feedback in my portfolio, with your permission. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts! Best regards, [Your name]" --- Got an active project? No LinkedIn connection yet? You know what to do! ✌️ P.S. Your turn! What's your go-to testimonial strategy? Share it in the comments!

93% of consumers say online reviews influence their purchase decisions. But the way most use social proof actually hurts conversion instead of helping. It's one of digital marketing's greatest ironies. I've analyzed thousands of websites over the past decade and found a consistent pattern: companies add testimonials and reviews to their sites, yet they often sabotage their effectiveness through poor implementation. The psychology is clear: humans are social creatures who look to others when making decisions. But simply sprinkling testimonials throughout your site isn't enough. Here are the common social proof mistakes that kill conversion: ↳ Placing social proof at the wrong stage of the journey Don't show testimonials before establishing what your product actually solves. ↳ Using reviews that sound suspiciously perfect Real reviews have nuance... 4.7 stars is more believable than 5.0. ↳ Showcasing anonymous quotes instead of identifiable people Our brains dismiss "J.S. from California" as potentially fake 🤷🏻♂️ Social proof is most effective when strategically deployed based on where customers are in their decision-making process: ↳ Discovery Use expert endorsements and certification badges to establish credibility ↳ Information Gathering Customer reviews highlighting specific benefits address practical concerns ↳ Decision-making Testimonials addressing potential objections remove final barriers One enterprise client at The Good increased conversions 42% (!!) by simply moving testimonials from their homepage to their decision stage pages. Is your social proof convincing potential customers, or just convincing *you* that you've checked a marketing box?