By Justin Hanover
Courtesy FRNation.com
Sometimes asking for testimonials can be challenging. When is the right time to ask? How do you ask? In person or by email? Even more confusing can be this: What exactly do you ask your client?! This is really important. If you ask the wrong questions or just say “Can I have a testimonial?” You might not get what you’re looking for. This quick guide will help answer all of your questions about getting fitness testimonials from your clients. But first, we need to discuss social proof in general.
Social Proof:
Social proof comes in many forms. It could be a written testimonial or a video testimonial. It could be some kind of graphic that shows the results you’ve produced for clients. It can even be a logo of a prominent company you’ve worked with or trained under. Social proof helps build trust between you and your prospective clients. Think of your website like it is a brick and mortar location, just like a gym. If you walked into a gym and it was kind of empty except for a few unhappy people on treadmills. What would you do? How would you feel? You’d probably slowly step backward until you were at the door. Then you’d quickly run away… far far away. It wouldn’t be a place that you would want to spend time. The same goes for your website!
There are a few critical things that you need on your website. One of those things is a Unique Value Proposition (UVP) which should be at the top of your website. It should tell the prospect exactly what you do. The next thing that is critical is having a Call to Action (CTA). You need to have very clear CTA’s that literally call the prospect to action. To schedule a call, schedule a visit, or to sign up for your email list. Basically, make it easy for people to engage with and buy from your brand. The last critical piece is, of course, social proof. Filling your website of happy smiling people who are achieving results is key. It would be like walking into a gym full of people, working with trainers and achieving results. Makes sense right?
So how do you get this awesome social proof? The next section is going to deal with how to get testimonials and the questions that you need to ask to get a testimonial that does it’s job.
Killer Fitness Testimonials:
The best time to ask for a testimonial is when your client is at their happiest. Maybe they have just reached a massive goal or learned something from you that changed the way they feel about fitness. You can ask them when you are in-person and they can write the testimonial when they’re at home. Before they leave, get a photo of them with a big smile in front of your gym logo. Afterwards, send a request (text or email) with the questions listed below. Let them know that they don’t need to put it all together. Just answer the questions one by one.
The other way you can do this is when you are in-person. Ask if they would be comfortable doing a video testimonial. If they are, go to a part of your gym that has your logo. If you don’t have that then try and get a shot with the main part of your gym in the background. (Just make sure it isn’t too busy or noisy). Then you can coach them through answering the questions and string it together as one answer. This way when the camera goes on, they’re ready to shine.
Questions to Ask:
- Before finding us, what was your struggle? What were your biggest frustrations?
- How did your struggle and frustrations affect your life? What did you feel like before you made your transformation?
- How did our program help you?
- How is life different for you now?
Why these questions?
The questions are the most critical part of this process. If you don’t use these questions or some framework, then you won’t get a powerful testimonial. It will be nice to read but it won’t let the prospect see themselves in it.
The first and second question identifies what your client’s struggle was and brings out exactly how it made them feel. This struggle is going to be pretty relatable to the prospect especially if you have your Ideal Client Avatar dialed in. The third question has the client say how the program helped them. This reinforces what you say about your program in other areas of your website. And finally, the fourth question gets the client to say how great their life is now that they have been working with you. The prospect will start to get excited because they can see themselves in the clients shoes. You need to ask these four simple questions if you want to have powerful testimonials.
Fitness Testimonial Request Template:
Let’s make this even easier for you. You can use the template below to request testimonials from your clients. (Make sure you customize the name fields).
Hey [CLIENT NAME],
I need a quick favor. Would you help? We need to show people that we actually get results but more importantly how much of an impact we have on our clients. You see, there are lots of other fitness places that say they do what we do, but we want to prove it. The best proof we have is your story! Would you be willing to answer the following questions for me?
It’ll only take a few minutes.
- Before finding us, what was your struggle? What were your biggest frustrations?
- How did your struggle and frustrations affect your life? What did you feel like before you made your transformation?
- How did our program help you?
- How is life different for you now?
I really appreciate you being willing to help!
[YOUR SIGNATURE]
How to use the Testimonials:
Before you get to plastering these testimonials all over everything. Make sure that you get permission from your client to use them. Verbal is good and written is even better. If at any point, they request that you no longer use them. Be respectful, and take them down. On your website, you can put testimonials very close to the top of your page with that photo of them smiling in front of your gym logo. Another great spot to put testimonials on your website is on a page that talks about your programs. Learn how social proof fits into your marketing plan.
Video testimonials can be uploaded onto YouTube and embedded on your website in various locations. Another great way to share your client’s results is on social media. Facebook. Instagram. Pinterest. Get a social media marketing plan here. Since social media is a place to share our lives it only makes sense to share the results that your clients can achieve. Often, when you share that testimonial on social media, the client themselves will share your post. They are just as proud of their accomplishments as you are. This is a great way to build community around your gym.
These testimonials don’t only need to be used digitally. If you have physical collateral, like brochures or program descriptions. Use the testimonials on them as well. Use them in any place where you are trying to sell or promote your services. Don’t forget. Happy smiling people saying good things about your brand creates trust. When people trust you, that is one less barrier they have to working with you and joining your gym.
Fitness Revolution helps fitness business owners build and scale successful businesses they love running. Through Strategic Business Coaching, powerful tools and metrics, and live training events, FR is able to help these studio owners tackle their biggest, most pressing challenge. For more information, visit https://frnation.com/.
