Testimonials Make a Powerful Selling Tool
You could be wowing national and regional media buyers with a media kit that contains both your CVC audit report and customer testimonials. Here’s why:
“National media buyers sift through thousands of publications. While they may know your basic circulation and readership figures, they don’t automatically know that your publication is a treasured part of the local community,” CVC CEO Tim Bingaman said. “Appropriate testimonials illustrate how well-received your publication is in your clients’ words, not yours. And that is powerful.”
Your media kit should include a variety of testimonials, broken out by retail and service categories. Testimonials mean more to a potential buyer when they are from a familiar or related type of business, so gather testimonials from as many categories as possible. For example, if your potential client represents a car manufacturer, then a testimonial from a local car dealer would be an ideal addition to the kit your sales rep takes along for that meeting. If your client buys on behalf of a restaurant, show them testimonials from local restaurant owners
How do you acquire testimonials?
CVC recommends the following process for collecting these valuable customer stories:
- Begin every company sales meeting by asking your sales staff, “Did anyone say anything good about us this week?”
- Write down what your sales staff reports.
- Call your client and ask him or her if it’s okay for you to use a compliment he or she paid as a testimonial to share with prospects.
- Then, e-mail or fax the statement to your advertiser to make sure he or she is comfortable with the wording.
- Thank your client for helping you get new business!
What format should you use?
Now you’re ready to include these new testimonials in your media kit. The easiest way to do this is to design an 8.5” x 11” flyer with a couple of quotes and the corresponding advertisers’ logos and/or photos, if available.
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