by Paul Johnson

All testimonial letters are not created equal.

The ones full of gushy fluff are a waste of good letterhead. However, a good testimonial letter can offset any risk in the value proposition, increase customer loyalty, and get you more referrals. A good letter provides the reader with a shortcut to the good, sound, safe buying decision that they really want to make. Make sure six key elements are in the letters you harvest from your own customers, and watch your selling success take off!

1. The Testimonial Letter Should Thank YOU

Not your company, not your product, not the people at your help desk, but you. This is a letter that is written to thank you for your contribution to your client and their company.

Saying "Thank you" is a pretty rare occurrence these days, and putting a thank-you in writing really illustrates the strength of a relationship. While there might be two companies involved in a transaction, remember that companies never buy from companies; it's people that buy from people. The relationship that matters in your letter is between two people.

2. The Letter Should Rave About Your USP (Unique Selling Proposition

Hopefully your company has taken pains to differentiate your product or service from your competition and has pointed this differentiation out in your marketing message. A testimonial letter provides an opportunity for your customer to validate this key value proposition for you.

When enough people (and enough letters) say good things about your key value proposition, it makes it more believable and understandable to your prospective customers. When your USP is mentioned in letters written over a period of time, it shows readers of the letters that there is consistency and longevity behind your company and its promises. People like to buy consistency and stability.

3. The Letter Should Point Out Three Key Benefits

When interviewing your customer, ask, "Tell me three things that you like about working with our company." From there, your customer will explain what they liked best about their experience.

You may have to probe to get them to expand on why that was an advantage and exactly how it helped them. For instance, if they say that your support people were very helpful, you may want to ask, "Where did that prove to be especially valuable?" Then, the customer will expound on the value delivered. That's the kind of meat you want in your letter.

4. Quantification Of Benefits

If things are better for your customer because they did business with you, you want to understand, "How much?" You're looking for metrics like an improvement of X percent, or a savings of Y dollars.

Often they'll need help coming up with something measurable, especially if your contact is at the user or manager level. Sometimes they will be reticent to attribute an improvement solely to your offering. They may have made five changes at once that resulted in a 30 percent improvement in sales, and you were one of the five changes. In this case, your best hope is to get them to say something like, "Your offering played a big part in our ability to improve our year-over-year revenue by 30 percent." Go for as many numbers as you can, but try very hard to get at least one quantified result.

5. Identify A Positive Effect On Your Customer's Customers

Sure, you may have improved life for your customer, but did it make life better for their customers?

Ultimately, your customer's job is to serve their customers. If you can help them do that, you're doing something really positive. You truly have a powerful offering if it reaches all the way through your customer to serve their customers. That fact won't be lost on people who read your testimonial letter.

The Letter Should Pledge Undying Loyalty And Future Business

You want them to say that you are the best, your company is the best, and they wouldn't think about going anywhere else. There's no reason to shop any of your competitors. They've done all the homework, all the research, lived with you and wouldn't dream of considering anyone else. As a result of that, they're planning on giving you future business, and are invested in continuing your business relationship into the indefinite future.

All of this is pretty good stuff to get into the very last paragraph before the closing. Pledges of loyalty and future business will leave the people who read the letter with a powerful, indelible impression. They'll be eager to become your next customer.

Get at least four of these six elements, and you've got a good testimonial letter, one that will make your selling job a whole lot easier. Get all six, and you've got a great letter that's got "success" written all over it!"

©2009 Paul Johnson. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Paul Johnson is a principal of Consultative Selling. He works with organizations like ADP, Nortel Networks and AutoNation to convert sales trouble into double and triple digit performance breakthroughs. For more tips on how to get and use testimonial letters to win more business, visit: http://www.consultativeselling.com/testimonial_letters.html.