Jeffrey Gitomer said, “If you say it, it’s bragging. If others say it, it’s proof.”
Hi, everybody. I’m Steve Burnett with DYB Coach.
Back when I was estimating for our painting company, Mr. Scott booked us for an estimate to paint the interior of their new condo in FL.
They were from Georgia and had just purchased this condo to vacation in.
I drove to the estimate, I was branded, had my smiley face name tag on, rang their doorbell at the exact time of the estimate, smiled, and introduced myself when they opened the door.
We walked around as they showed me the condo and all the work they were looking to have done. After I took notes of the scope of work they requested, I asked them the great experience question, “What does a great painting experience look like to you?”
I wrote down their answer and then shared that I could have this figured out and written up for them in about 15 minutes, if that was ok with them.
They were delighted to hear that I could provide it so quickly and gave me the time to figure it up for them while I was there.
I figured it up, presented my proposal, and – if I recall correctly – it was about $5,000. Mr. and Mrs. Scott looked it over for a minute or two and then said, “OK, when can you start?”
We looked at the availability on my production calendar, scheduled it, collected our 20% deposit.
Then I asked Mr Scott, “You could have went with another company, why did you choose us?”
He replied, “Steve we were blown away with all the video testimonials you had on your website,” now get this, he continued, “in fact, you had the job before you arrived today.”
That’s just one example of the power of video testimonials helping, not only to close estimates on the spot, but in many cases, be the only company bidding on the job.
Aside from a referral, there is no better proof than a video testimonial.
I used to carry a binder of written testimonials with me to estimates, but I noticed nobody was reading them!
So I asked myself, how can I get them to read them? That’s when it hit me; we as a society don’t really read anymore, but we sure like watching videos.
I talked to my wife, April, and we decided to go ahead and ask one of our clients for a video testimonial.
What was she going to say? No? We we’re already at no – meaning – we couldn’t get any more “not having the video testimonial” than we already were by not asking!
So we asked and she said yes!
April set it up and she captured our first video testimonial using her Blackberry Pearl cellphone.
The lighting was poor, the image quality was bad, and you can’t really make out the audio too well, but, you know what? We got started!
We BROKE THE ICE.
Moving forward from there, we started asking almost all of our clients for video testimonials and we received many no’s.
After much trial and error, we perfected our process, greatly increased our chance, leading us to capture over 100 video testimonials before we sold the business. If you follow our process, you can, too!
To help you to do so, we made a checklist you can download for free, add your logo, and either use yourself, or better yet, delegate it to your estimator or crew leads to use for capturing your own video testimonials.
Your first goals is to just break the ice and capture 1.
Maybe ask a friend from your BNI group that you have painted for in the past.
Once you have your first one, your next goal is to get 3. Everybody wants 3 references, but who in your market has 3 video testimonials that they can provide on the spot? BE THE ONE!
Once you have 3, you can now show them from your iPad or tablet and prove your team provides the best experience.
After you start doing this, you will be amazed at how much this helps you to close more estimates on the spot.
In fact, you’ll be so amazed that you will be fearless when it comes to asking for video testimonials and will be on your way to to breaking 100 videos.
Download my free checklist I made for you and follow the steps to capturing your video testimonials and close more estimates on the spot!
I’m Steve Burnett with DYB Coach; if you’re receiving value, make sure you hit subscribe so that you don’t miss the next one.
You’ve Got This!
Bonus Fry: When someone says, “No,” to the video testimonial, ask for a Google Review or Facebook Review!