Testimonials - the value of these endorsements.

What is the most valuable form of endorsement? A client testimonial. If you are endorsed by a celebrity, we all know you bought their endorsement. If one of your clients writes a letter of thanks or praise, we know you earned it.

So be sure and collect these client testimonials and share them with prospective clients. Research shows they are very effective and persuasive. Just be sure to do a few things.

1. Obtain the customer's permission, preferably in writing, to share their testimonial. You might alienate them by sharing in public something they thought was "just between you and them". And some people will be irrationally affronted you are using their name to market your business.
2. Try to use only recent testimonial letters and e-mails. No one cares if you were "the best" in 1903, or 1904 for that matter. Unless of course your accomplishment is so extraordinary that it stands out, despite the passage of time. (i.e. in 1975 you personally served a summons and complaint to Howard Hughes)
3. Pick a testimonial that fits the prospect. If you are selling a surveillance, use a surveillance testimonial, not a background check testimonial, if possible. But remember, an off topic testimonial is better than none.
4. If a testimonial might reveal confidential information, ask to use it with a limited attribution, such as, "JD in Tennessee".
5. Finally, if you've done more work for that client since the testimonial, check and be sure they are still satisfied. Some prospects will contact them to verify the reference.

Any experiences you want to share? Add a comment below.

Quick Tip: Answer the Phone - it helps.

You've spent $10,000.00 advertising your business, so why don't you answer the phone? Voice mail and message machines just don't cut it. Disagree? Watch your caller ID, or 800 bill for dropped calls.

What do we mean by this? Quite simply maximizing your ROI on an advertisement requires you to promptly answer the phone, preferably with a live person. When someone gets a personal referral, they might leave a message and wait for a call back, but if their scanning a web directory, the yellowpages, or Adword results, they can move to the next phone number or two, until they get a live person on the phone, and the instant gratification they are looking for. Further many people don't know how urgent their need actually maybe, and tend to believe immediate action is necessary, even when it isn't.

So enhance your investment by having someone answer the phones, or forward all calls to your cell phone when you're out of the office. With caller ID you can still avoid the nagging clients, while answering all new or unknown numbers, which will increase your bottom line. (some nagging clients will figure this out, but it's the cost of being successful)

So, remember, getting calls is good, but answering them is better!

Web Site Traffic - Do you track it? You'd better.

We find that many web site owners have little or no idea how much traffic their web site actually gets, and where it comes from. They often think their web site is "working great", when in fact it has little or no traffic, or all the traffic comes from one or two paid directory links, rather than from free search engine searches or web links.

If you don't currently look at at least a summary of your web traffic volume and sources on a regular basis, then you cannot affirmatively evaluate your adverting spending visa vi the Internet.

So what can you do to track your traffic? Try one of these great products. Google Analytics (free), Stat Counter (free), and for more options, visit this web site. Your web host may already offer built in statistics reports, or allow you to activate such a program on your server or virtual host.

Once you have a tracking program in place, you'll want to see how many visitors you get, and where they are coming from. You may be surprised that many people come from only a few sources or searches. Now you can see if those keywords really work, or whether a web ad was a good purchase.