Why I don’t use testimonials

Unpopular opinion by the "experts," but I rarely use testimonials.

At least not in the way a lot of service providers do. You know, the 8000 ones on a sales page.

Here's why: I think 90% of testimonials are b.s.

Why do I think that? Because after I've followed someone for a while, or worked with them, I start to see the same group of people all giving each other testimonials.

A biz friend and I were talking about this today. When there's a popular mentor, and you go to their website, you see someone who's given them a testimonial. Then, you go to the reviewer's website...and see a testimonial from the mentor. You can start to see the circle of people who've all worked together, because they're all on each other's websites.

Do I think these people didn't all work together? No. They probably did.

Do I think they all paid each other? Maybe.

What I actually doubt is how objective the testimonials are, and so they aren't helpful to me when I want to determine if someone is a good fit for me.

Here's what I do instead:

1. I pay attention to their Lives and Videos. I want to see how they interact with others, how they approach things, what their general vibe is.

2. I connect with them. Sometimes they might make the first move, but I have no problem reaching out first. I might send them a DM, asking a question, or I'll book a Discovery Call. The reason I do this is #3.

3. I'll ask them something very specific about the situation I'm coming to them about. I take my research and Behavior-Based interviewing knowledge, and I ask them questions to get to know more about how they'd approach our work together.

Example: this was what I suggested to a client talking to a coach about a group program. She's a spiritual entrepreneur, so the question to ask was, "Who are the typical people who take this program? What kind of businesses do they have?"

The reason to phrase it this way, is to not lead the witness per se. If she had said, "Have you ever worked with spiritual entrepreneurs before?" the coach could say yes...because they want the sale. The follow up question, then, would be to ask about the experience etc. Basically, something that can't be answered with a "Yes" or "No."

Example: this is one I've used, specifically for 1:1 work where I'm the client. I've asked how they would approach X situation. If you follow me on IG (@jenfieldman), I talked about this in my stories the other day. You can catch it in my Biz Thoughts highlight.

At this point in my business, I'm not interested in working with just anyone. I want to work with people whose energy and values align with mine. I have zero shame vetting them #sorrynotsorry, and am 100% open to someone vetting me.

On that note, if you've wondered if working with me would be a good fit, I invite you to book time for us to chat. If you need something I don't offer, I'll tell you 😊

Click here to book now.