Using testimonials in your marketing materials helps instill confidence — in you, and your business.

Testimonials are powerful marketing tools, says Kevin Toney, marketing coach with Primetime Promotions in Winnipeg. They help to build trust in your business and eliminate skepticism prospects may feel about the practice.

Follow these tips to get the most from testimonials about your business:

> Know what to ask
Write out a few questions in advance to get the most effective comments from your clients.

Ask your clients specific questions, Toney says, in order to get detailed answers. For example, you might ask the client how well you helped him or her with a specific problem.

You can send out questions to clients in a letter, he says. Or, you might ask for testimonials in person, using the letter as a guide.

> Remember the details
The best testimonials are specific in nature.

They should describe a specific scenario, Toney says, in which you helped a client.

For example: “Joe Advisor helped me create a financial plan,” is a little vague, according to Toney.

A more effective testimonial is: “I inherited $100,000 and wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. My advisor gave me a strategy for how to invest my money.”

> Get to the point
Keep testimonials short, to keep your prospect’s attention.

Testimonials can be, at most, six sentences long, Toney says. However, if you can get the testimonial down to one sentence, that is more effective.

> Include credentials
Ask clients to include their professional credentials in the testimonial.

Adding a client’s profession in the endorsement, Toney says, gives it more weight. Naming the profession also identifies the type of client you work with, whether it’s healthcare professionals approaching retirement, young engineers or some other group.

> Don’t wait
You can start gathering testimonials right away.

As soon as you have built a rapport or have helped a client with a specific problem, Toney says, ask for a testimonial.

This is the first in a two-part series on testimonials. Next: Managing your testimonials, and where to publish them.