You can tell your prospects just how amazing you are — or you can let your happy clients do it for you. Client reviews and testimonials are a powerful way of showing your credibility and expertise. Rather than promoting yourself, your clients can shed light on how you helped them solve their challenges and achieve their goals. This, in turn, builds trust with new potential customers.

How do you go about asking for client reviews? Josh Gillespie, the director of enterprise sales at Panda Doc, says it doesn’t have to be awkward. We share his tips for rounding up reviews in this issue of PromoPro Daily.

1. Ask in person. When possible, use opportunities when you’re face to face to ask for a review. A lot can be learned from body language, eye contact and voice intonations, Gillespie says.

2. Make the process easy. Don’t make your customers work harder than they need to. They’re doing you a favor, so make it simple for them. Send them a survey form or a link to where you’d like them to post their comments. Gillespie says if you want them to focus on something specific, let them know up front.

3. Follow up. So, your client didn’t respond to your request? Don’t despair. Gillespie recommends following up and reminding the client how much their review would mean to your business.

4. Give them a review as well. You can also extend a positive review to your customers. This way you can both help each other out. Just make sure you’re honest and unbiased. Gillespie says in the B2B segment, returning the favor by providing a review to your client will help both your businesses grow and thrive.

5. Incentivize with promo. Entice more customer reviews with promotional products. When a client provides a review, thank them with branded merchandise. Everyone appreciates free stuff, and it’ll help keep your brand name visible.

6. Time it right. Before reaching out, make sure the client is in a good position to offer a review. For example, if their business is going through a particularly challenging time, hold off until circumstances improve. And, if a client hasn’t worked with you for long, they may not be able to give an expert opinion on your business, Gillespie says. So, wait a bit before asking new clients.

A healthy batch of client reviews on your website might give prospects the nudge they need to move forward with you. Try some of the tips above to start collecting more reviews for your promo business.

Compiled by Audrey Sellers

Source: Josh Gillespie is the director of enterprise sales at Panda Doc.