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How I got 50+ testimonials ...

"The best way to get testimonials ...

is to ask for them."

Just this week, I presented a brand new college keynote program - titled, "Few Talk, Many Affected"- and it's a presentation intended for college male audiences.

I developed the program over the summer and launched it early this Fall to campuses all over the country through my collegiate speakers bureau - CAMPUSPEAK.

Being not just a new program, but also one that I plan to promote heavily next year, I knew I needed take advantage of this keynote opportunity to get what's needed to maximize it's exposure for next year - pictures, referrals, video ... testimonials.

In last night's keynote, I gleaned 57 testimonials.

I tried something new ... and it worked!

The number of testimonials isn't what should impress anyone though. It's what the testimonials actually stated.

A byproduct of these extraordinary testimonials should help this new keynote program get booked all over the country in 2018. I predict it will be my most successful keynote ever.

Why am I sharing this with you?

Because speakers should ALWAYS be getting testimonials.

If you're serious about speaking, and getting PAID, you need outstanding testimonials ... and many of them.

Most speakers have old testimonials, non-program-specific testimonials, insufficient testimonials, irrelevant testimonials ... crappy testimonials ... (ouch!)

Complacency is the #1 killer of success and progress. Never STOP developing your speaking business in some way.

Question: So how do you get testimonials? ... and the good ones?

Answer: ... you ask for them.

There's many ways to get testimonials:

(1) Onsite evaluation

(2) Follow up survey to attendees

(3) Follow up with meeting planner

(4) Bribe them (ha!)

(5) Etc. (see prior posts)

I'm focusing on #4 above because IT WORKED BIG TIME for me last night.

On my last slide, I offered $100 to one lucky person who would simply send me an email sharing thoughts on the presentation. I gave them until midnight that evening, and I told them my wife would select, at random, the winning person by looking at my emails.

It was as simple as below:

By the time I drove home (3 hours), it was midnight. Out of my audience of 150 young men, I had over 100 emails.

Now, some of their emails were silly and couldn't be used as testimonials:

"I want the $100!"

"SHOW ME THE MONEY!"

"Etc ... "

However, the far majority of the testimonials were profoundly awesome ...

Not only did I get the testimonials needed to help me further promote the program and spread my message, but the testimonials proved that my message really hit home. The content I had outlined worked.

... and I knew my content worked because the testimonials said so. Moreover, a few content nuggets that didn't work as well as I thought will likely get replaced with better nuggets next time for future audiences.

So how would you rank your testimonials? Do you have enough? Are they program specific? Do you ask for them?

Hopefully this blog inspires you to start trying something new to get what you need.

You gotta treat your speaking business like a business.

I've been speaking for over 15 years, and yet, last night I tried something new for the very first time.

Let me know if I can help.

Let's talk to help you get the speaking gigs you want ... and deserve.

 

Desire to become a professional speaker?

Not getting the speaking business you had hoped for?

In addition to my own speaking business, I have a passion for helping and coaching speakers develop their own. Whether it's in crafting a speech, identifying target groups who can pay, and/or how to get the speaking gig itself, I can help. I've keynoted over 1,150 presentations in practically every industry you can imagine. My book, PAID to SPEAK, outlines a proven model for speakers. If you are serious about becoming a professional speaker, contact me for a free consultation. I don't want you to flounder like I did and be frustrated. If you're not a subscriber to these speaker articles, submit your email today!


Email: Kevin@KevinCSnyder.com

Social media: @ KevinCSnyder

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