Do you find yourself struggling to "sell" your accounting prospects on why they should choose you? Or worse, get clients that try to undercut your prices? There's a simple way to counter this positioning, and it's having a specific type of testimonial. Testimonials and reviews are the quickest way to build credibility in your market… here’s a simple formula to help you create ones that connect with your clients and prospects. If you’re like most firm owners, referrals and word of mouth is a big component of growth. However, most firm owners are simply ignoring on the biggest marketing assets they have … potential reviews and testimonials! Now for those that already have a few listed, keep reading, because the strategy I’m going to share below can help you sharpen your existing reviews so they actually connect with readers (instead of having their eyes glaze over)! The formula is derived from one of the most influential frameworks known to modern society, and we call it the ‘Hero’s Journey’. Whether it’s Harry Potter or reviews on your website, the formula is the same:

• Before (the struggle)
• During (the process of change)
• And after (the new person or result they archived).

n practice terms, a common testimonial might read something like this … “I’d spend years working with other financial service providers, only to be met with lackluster reporting. Because of this, I had no idea we were well below the industry average, and we were literally losing money every month!” “With ABC & Associates, they were able to get us onto a new system in under 30 days, and in total, only took 35 minutes of our time. Now, we instantly know when our margins are off track, and we’re on pace to increase our margins by over 25% within the first 6 months!” Notice how this testimonial had a ‘before, during, and after’. It PAINTS the picture of the journey, connects with the readers/ prospects existing pain, and helps them understand where the end outcome could lead them. Now you might be asking… how do I get these testimonials… ? Well, you follow the same framework. You email or call your clients, and ask them to jump on a quick call so you can highlight their success on your website or to other clients. Then ask them...

• Before: “What were you doing before working with ABC & associates… what caused you to begin searching for a new provider?”
• During: And how was your experience working with us, getting setup with ABC & Associates?
• After: What do you think has been the biggest benefit you’ve seen since working with us?

Simple as that! Be a good listener, keep asking questions. Then take the answers and edit them for readability, and hit publish!