Why You Can’t Trust Testimonials
It’s such a scary thing… It’s really hard to trust testimonials these days. On Trip Advisor, restaurants are writing fake reviews all the time, or the complete opposite — people are writing fake scam reviews and then blackmailing businesses, asking for money to take down their scam review
Instead, I tend to make purchases based on what people say to me in person or on the phone, whether I’m about to hire someone or pay a new coach/consultant
For example, just over a year ago I chose to work with Gallant Dill. I saw Gallant start Entrepreneur Lifestyle Group and easily grow it to 50,000 members
I was intrigued… I called Gallant up to see how he could help Traffic and Copy and he knew exactly what he was talking about. He gave me such good advice, I decided to hire him as a consultant. It paid off, gaining us an extra 7,000 Facebook group members among other benefits
He proved that true credibility is created by doing the job, and trust is created by giving value before the sale…Not by reading a worthless review site
Dan Meredith is another consultant/coach I worked with. Dan was running the exact type of business I wanted to be running, Espresso With Dan — there was no denying he knew how to run a great membership site. That’s why I worked with him, I didn’t even look at his testimonials…
To this day, working 1–1 with Dan changed my business and he’s the reason I created my first successful digital product…
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As you can see, I didn’t work with either of these guys because they had good “testimonials” It’s because they had run the exact businesses I wanted to build. When we spoke on the phone, they gave me solutions, not a list of over-hyped testimonials
Gallant Dill and Dan Meredith are two of the best consultants I’ve worked with
But It’s still scary to live in a world where any testimonial or review can be faked. It’s difficult to see how genuine people and courses are. I’ve paid $1,000s of dollars for internet marketing courses in the past. Hard selling courses with gurus who had amazing testimonials and a large brand, but they were a complete waste money
Which is why I now ask these 4 questions before hiring a coach or freelancer:
- Have they done what I want to do?
- Have they approached me with ideas and an exact roadmap to reach my goal?
- Have they told me something I don’t already know? (This is important because otherwise I can’t delegate responsibility)
- Have they told me exactly what works? (Being able to speak from experience carries more weight than any testimonial)
And the number one indicator of good talent, is when the person I pay has been recommended by people and companies I personally know
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This how is judge who to work with because testimonials can and will always be fabricated by dodgy business owners
The one thing I’d like to leave with you is this
Trust people based on their knowledge, not their fancy website or testimonials
