Testimonials In Marketing

Early in my career, I thought the only way to crush quota was to chase the “whales.” The $100K, $200K+ deals that would move the needle in one swoop. At first, I had a tendency to ignore the $2k-$3k deals. Big mistake. Here’s the truth: those “small” wins do two things: 1. They build momentum — and momentum MATTERS. That’s how you win the big deals. You get one happy customers with an account and the word spreads. 2. They strengthen your funnel, keeping you insulated when a big deal slips. I remember one deal in particular. They had about 8 hospitals throughout the city. One of them was the HUGE 800 bed hospital downtown. I tried and tried to get an “in” and couldn’t. Then one day, I got the opportunity to spend two days there letting the staff use my equipment to see if they liked it. Two whole days I had to spend, and they only needed two devices (about $6k). It seemed like small potatoes, but I went anyway. And you know what? They liked them, and eventually they liked them so much they helped me convince the ENTIRE system to switch to using my stuff. Sales isn’t just about landing whales. Whales are great — but they’re rare. Consistency is built on stacking small wins, every single day. Stop dismissing the deals that seem “too small.” They might be the reason you hit quota — while someone else is still waiting for their whale. 🐳 #sales #salestraining #marketing

From Rejection to Recognition 🏅 Imagine a gawky fresh graduate walking into a room full of experienced doctors, trying to convince them about the magic of a revolutionary weight loss drug; 𝗥𝗲𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗹. That was 𝘮𝘦 when I first started my career back in 2003. 🌱 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗮𝗻 My first job out of university was to join 𝗔𝗯𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘁 𝗟𝗮𝗯𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 as a pharmaceutical sales rep. Every day, I had to walk into 7-8 clinics, attempting to sell this drug that 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 feel fuller, faster. But I was shy, anxious, and inexperienced in professional selling. My anxiety held me back, and interactions with skeptical doctors became increasingly challenging. On some days, they didn't even want to meet! Needless to say, my management was displeased. ✊ 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱𝗻'𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘂𝗽. In my struggle, I saw an opportunity. If meeting doctors was tough, I would talk to the clinic staff instead. I overcame my natural shyness, and started conversations with them. Slowly, these 𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀 became my allies, giving me access to their doctors, and creating pathways for easier sales. Surprisingly, on my best days, these nurses even became my unpaid promoters, selling Reductil to their bosses for me! Within 2 years, I bagged the "best salesperson of the company" award. 💡 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻. Persistence pays off. Don't give up! From a nervous rookie to a weight-loss hero, the journey has taught me that every struggle brings you one step closer to success. It's about finding a path in the face of adversity and using it to forge your own success story. So, whether you're just starting out, or stuck in a rut, don't be disheartened. Keep walking your path. Keep working hard. Success will find its way. Do you have a personal story of resilience too? Do share. #PersonalStory #OriginStory #ConfidenceBuilding #HumanPotential #UnlockPotential (That's me in 2003. When being slim helped sell Reductil, charm nurses, and even meet my life partner.)

From 2018-2022, I closed 9 seven-figure deals and 1 eight-figure deal, totaling $48.8M. But here's what most people miss about architecting authentic autonomy using strategic sales: It's not about the individual deals. It's about the compounding system your sales role enables you to create. Each mega deal taught me something that made the next one easier: DEAL 1-3: Learning the fundamentals • How to navigate complex buying committees • The power of co-designing instead of pitching • Why narrative writing beats presentation slides DEAL 4-6: Mastering the art of intentional focus • Saying "no" became more important than "yes" • Quality relationships trump quantity activities • Design thinking accelerates everything DEAL 7-10: Scaling the approach • Pattern recognition replaced trial-and-error • My reputation started working ahead of me • Referrals became my primary lead source ARCHITECTING AUTONOMY: By deal 10, I wasn't just closing transformation deals—I was building: ✓ A repeatable system others wanted to learn ✓ A personal brand that attracted ideal opportunities ✓ Intellectual property that worked independent of any employer THE RESULT: What started as individual sales achievements became the foundation for The Purposeful Performer platform. My deal-closing frameworks became my teaching. My client relationships became my advisory network. My sales success became my entrepreneurial launch pad. This is how you architect authentic autonomy: Every opportunity (won or lost) becomes a building block for transformation in your life. Just make sure you stay awake to see it. 🐝 P.S. If you want to explore more, take a deep dive here: https://lnkd.in/e-tpPtfR

Plot twist: Your top performer isn't even on payroll. While you're grinding through cold calls and perfecting pitch decks, your actual sales superstars are sitting in your customer base, and most companies completely ignore them. Think about it: Who's more convincing? ❌ You explaining why your product is amazing ✅ A customer explaining how it transformed their business Here's the playbook that's turning customers into commission-free closers: 🎯 Turn success into content: Skip the generic thank-you note. Get that win in front of eyeballs; case studies, LinkedIn posts, video testimonials. Success is contagious. 🎤 Hand them the microphone: A 2-minute customer video explaining their transformation beats your entire sales deck. Let them tell the story in their words. 🔄 Build the referral machine: Make customer intros part of every quarterly check-in. The best reps I know cut their sales cycles in half with warm introductions. 💬 Steal their language: Stop using marketing speak. Use the exact words your customers use to describe their problems and wins. That's what resonates with prospects. 🏆 Make them famous: Customer of the month. Slack shoutouts. Social media features. People love recognition, and others want to be next. The reality check: Your customers aren't just buying your product; they're betting their reputation on it. When they succeed, they become walking proof that you deliver. And in a world where everyone's selling, proof beats promises every time. Your customers already said yes once. Now make them want to repeat it for you. #sales #customersuccess

I once lost a $1M deal because I wasn’t prepared. It was the kind of failure that keeps you up at night. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴: That failure became the catalyst for one of the biggest wins of my career. Today, I’m sharing how I turned that $1M loss into a $10M ARR success story. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗰𝗿𝗲𝘁? A systematic approach I call the Sales OS. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻: 1️⃣ Data-Driven Prospecting No more guessing. We used AI to identify high-value prospects with laser precision. 2️⃣ Value-Based Messaging We stopped pitching and started solving. Every message was tailored to the prospect’s pain points. 3️⃣ Automated Nurturing We built an email sequence that kept leads warm without burning out our team. 4️⃣ Real-Time Analytics We tracked every interaction, optimized on the fly, and never missed a beat. 5️⃣ Continuous Learning Every win (and loss) became a lesson. We iterated, improved, and grew. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀? 150% increase in qualified leads in the first 3 months Close rate doubled from 20% to 40% $10M ARR in just 18 months But here’s the real kicker: This isn’t just a story. It’s a blueprint you can use to transform your sales process. 👉 𝗪𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗲𝗿? The B2B Sales Playbook goes live on March 25th #B2BSales #RevenueGrowth #sales #growth  

Here’s my step-by-step process for turning customer stories into a growth engine. If you’re trying to build a customer marketing function that goes beyond feel-good story telling and actually drives revenue, here’s what’s worked for me so far: Step 1: Build relationships before requests. Every strong story starts with trust. Before I ask a customer for a testimonial, I try to understand their experience—how long they’ve been with us, what results they’ve seen, and what “success” means to them. I usually work with the CSM who knows them best. A warm handoff makes all the difference. Customers can tell when you’re collecting stories just for your KPIs versus when you genuinely care about their journey. That difference shows up in how openly they share. Step 2: Treat interviews like conversations, not scripts. I always come prepared, but I don’t stick to a rigid list of questions. It makes the conversation too mechanical. My focus is to make the customer feel seen. When they feel relaxed, they open up—and that’s where the most authentic insights come out. I listen for emotion, language patterns, and specific details that make their story real. Those unscripted moments often become the most powerful lines in the final draft. Step 3: Build internal systems that protect your sanity. Customer marketing is a cross-functional job. You’re constantly coordinating with Sales, CSM, Design, Product Marketing, and Legal—all at once. To manage it, I document everything. Approval steps, design requests, interview statuses, publishing timelines. It sounds basic, but it’s the only way to stay sane. I maintain a shared tracker where everyone can see what stage each story is in. It saves hours of back-and-forth and helps me focus on actual storytelling instead of follow-ups. Step 4: Always close the loop internally. Once a case study or customer story goes live, I don’t just publish and move on. I make sure Sales knows where to find it, CSMs can share it with their accounts, and leadership sees how it’s performing. Sometimes that means tagging people in Slack, sometimes it’s a short recap deck. The point is to make sure the story doesn’t die after launch. When people see the impact—on pipeline, retention, or credibility—they start rooting for your function. That’s how you turn customer marketing into something the whole org values. Each of these steps helped me build a customer marketing program that feels collaborative, strategic, and human, all without burning out or overcomplicating it.

You Don’t Need Better Testimonials —  You Need Better Storytelling Your Testimonials Are Dying in Your Docs Most businesses are sitting on a goldmine of social proof. (And letting it rot) Here's the truth no one's telling you: Raw testimonials don't sell. Stories do. Here's how to transform dead feedback into living proof: 1. Find the Tension First → What kept your client awake at night? → Which "solutions" had already failed? → What made them finally reach out? 2. Build the Stakes → What would happen if nothing changed? → Which obstacles almost stopped them? → What convinced them to trust you? 3. Show the Transformation → What specific results emerged? → Which surprise benefits appeared? → How does their world look different now? Example: Before: "Great service, helped us grow our sales!" After: "We were burning through $40K/month on ads that didn't convert. Two agencies had failed us. Within 8 weeks of implementing the new framework, our cost per lead dropped 65% and our team stopped working weekends." See the difference? One is forgettable. The other makes prospects reach for their wallet. Your testimonials are story gold. Stop letting them gather dust. ♻️ Share if this shifted your thinking 🔔 Follow Mike Hays for more modern marketing psychology

Most companies never use their customer stories right. Why? Because they're collecting testimonials instead of transforming experiences. Look at a typical testimonial on most websites: "Great company, excellent service! Would recommend!" - Jane D. This isn't a story. It's a waste of valuable screen space. Your prospects don't want vague praise. They want to see themselves in your success stories. After analyzing hundreds of B2B websites, I've developed a simple framework that transforms lifeless testimonials into compelling stories: 1/ Start with the STRUGGLE ↳ What specific problem was your customer facing? Make it visceral. 2/ Show the SEARCH ↳ What solutions did they try before? Why didn't they work? 3/ Highlight the SHIFT ↳ What made them choose your solution? What was the moment of truth? 4/ Document the RESULTS ↳  Not just numbers - what changed in their day-to-day reality? 5/ Reveal the RIPPLE EFFECT ↳  How did this impact other areas of their business or life? Let me show you what difference it makes:

Testimonial requests tend to sound like homework. “Would you mind filling out a quick review form?” “Could you write a few lines about your experience?” As Abe Lincoln once said - ain't nobody got time for that. Not when they’re drowning in QBR decks and budget asks. But here’s the good news: You’re ALREADY getting testimonials. You’re just not capturing them. How? Well, your best reviews happen mid-sentence...not in post-call surveys. Every week, your customers are saying: - “This saved us so much time.” - “I had no idea we could do that.” - “You’ve made my job way easier.” THAT'S your testimonial. Don’t ask for it later. Double back immediately. “Loved that feedback - any chance I can turn that into a short quote for our team? I’ll write it up for you to approve.” The answer is usually yes. Here’s a 3-part system CSMs can use: 1. Use Sybill to identify key praise moments. Tag the call. Clip the quote. Make it easy for marketing to use. Bonus points if it aligns to a launch, feature, or persona. 2. Send the follow-up within 24 hours. Keep it short: “Hey Samantha - loved what you said on today’s call. I drafted a quick version below. Let me know if you’re cool with it or want to tweak anything.” Now it’s opt-in. You removed homework from the equation. 3. Tie review asks to key milestones. Don’t wait until EBRs. Ask after: - a successful onboarding. - a new feature rollout. - a strong support save. - a surprise ROI win. All you're doing is reinforcing momentum. tl;dr = testimonial collection isn’t so much of a marketing play as it is a CS system. If your team’s sitting on dozens of glowing comments each month, but none of them make it into your website, your decks, or your content, you simply need to do a better job of capturing what's already coming your way. Fix that and the next case study writes itself.

People always ask me for my best advice in sales. After 30+ years at Procter & Gamble, here’s what I tell them: Only ~2% of B2B salespeople can do this 👇 Teach the customer. Not pitch. Not persuade. Teach. Show them something about their own business they couldn’t see before. That’s when the magic happens. 🎩 Here’s a story from my P&G days: We were selling cosmetics to a grocery store chain. But we wanted to sell more. 💄 So we did our homework. And discovered something shocking: → Cosmetics were sitting on shelves for 6+ months. → Everything else sold in 3 weeks. The customer was floored. We had uncovered a problem they didn’t even know they had. They asked: “How can we sell cosmetics faster?” Our answer: Redesign the cosmetics section into a store-within-a-store — like a mini Sephora. Shoppers wanted an experience, not just an aisle. And the results proved it. 💵 That’s the power of teaching your customer. It builds trust, drives change, and closes deals. The reason most sellers don’t do it? It’s not a lack of opportunity. It’s a lack of homework. So my best advice after 30+ years? Don’t just sell. Teach. ♻️ Repost if you found this helpful. Follow Maria Edelson for more insights to become a top 1% salesperson.