Even during the toughest transactions

Key Takeaways

• Imagine a notebook or website loaded with hundreds of glowing testimonials for potential clients to read — that’s powerful positioning.
• Use videos, pictures, and humor to make the testimonial-giving experience fun for your clients.
• Even if you sense that a client is less than ecstatic about your service or their experience, ask for feedback to help you improve — and for a testimonial.

One colossal mistake I’ve made over the years is not consistently obtaining testimonials from my fans and clients. Real estate agents often don’t get testimonials from clients because they either forget or they’re too uncomfortable to ask for them.

I’ve known a handful of agents who have stacks of testimonials from their clients. Hundreds.  Imagine bringing a folder with you to a listing appointment that has 100 testimonials with pictures that sellers could leaf through. That is powerful positioning.

Imagine if your website had 100 or more testimonials that buyers and sellers could scroll through before they gave you a call to set up an appointment. Having social proof that you are a great real estate agent makes it easier to acquire new clients. So make it a priority.

How do I ask for testimonials?

Your success in acquiring great testimonials is often tied to your timing in asking for them. Keep your eyes open for when your clients are feeling particularly happy about something you did for them. Let them know then how important testimonials and referrals are to your business.  

Sometimes I’ll use the analogy of buying something online. I ask them if they ever read the reviews before making a purchase on Amazon. Most everyone looks at reviews before buying, and the reviews often impact their decision to buy the product or service, which helps me articulate why testimonials are so important in my business.  

Some agents wait until the closing, but then something crazy happens and you miss the opportunity. I’ve had clients promise that they would email me one, but they never did. So waiting until the last moment is typically not the best way to ask for a testimonial.

Make it fun and easy

Make it easy for clients to provide a testimonial. Give them a few options. If you can get a picture or even a video of your clients to include with the testimonial, that’s as powerful as having ten written testimonials without pictures.

You can do something funny or silly with your testimonials, which often makes the experience more memorable for your clients to participate in. Creative testimonials are more enjoyable for your prospects to read or watch.

Yes, even during a tough transaction …

Sometimes closings are stressful. Sometimes your listing takes longer to sell and you get less money than everyone was hoping for. Asking for testimonials during those situations may not seem appropriate.

However, they could be good opportunities to get feedback from your clients. If they are not happy with something, learning more about the cause of their frustrations will only help you do your job better the next time.

Therefore, if you know or have a hunch that your clients are less than super ecstatic about the service you provided, then you or your broker could reach out to them for specific feedback.

It could be a simple questionnaire to rate agent performance on different areas such as marketing, communications, knowledge, professionalism, etc. It can ask the clients to describe the most frustrating (and the best) part about working with you. The questionnaire should also include an option for the seller to include a testimonial.  

Letting the client know that you are asking them these questions so that you can improve your performance and service will help even frustrated clients feel comfortable sharing their honest feedback. You might discover they were super impressed by you but frustrated with your lender or some other aspect of the transaction.