How to Store (& Retrieve) Those Handy Testimonials

Where in the world did I put that note?

It was really sweet, something a client had sent just a few months ago – and I knew I could use it.

I was putting together the handouts for an upcoming talk and wanted to include a page of testimonials. After years of speaking to groups of all sizes, I’ve learned that the material you share with your audience on the front end can really help position any offer you make later.

And testimonials are one of the best ways to build credibility and confidence among your audience.

I knew exactly what I wanted. I just couldn’t find it. Argh.

Maybe this doesn’t happen to you. Maybe you never spend time looking in all the wrong places for the one thing you really need.

Or maybe you do. :)

I wish I could say that one time was an exception. But it wasn’t.

So I learned.

I came up with a system.

Last week, we started talking about testimonials. Today – I’m going to give you a few tips for saving those gems so you can easily find them when you need them – and SHARE them!

1. Choose one spot for storage.

Testimonials come in many ways – on paper (handwritten thank you notes, cards, etc.) and digital (emails, texts, social media). Choose a spot for each.

Vinyl folders (like the one I talked about last week) are great because they last well over time. For digital storage, there are many software platforms available, many of them with free versions. My favorites have been Evernote, Trello, and Dropbox.



And if you’re really organized (or have a great VA) you could even scan the paper and have it all in one digital location.

The point is to choose a spot and use it – for all testimonials.

2. Create a consistent naming system.

When naming your digital files, use a consistent system, a formula, that allows you to find them quickly in a list.

For example, you could go by name: Last Name / First Name / Topic.

You could go by date: Year / Month / Topic if you wanted to find those that were recent.

You could sort by topic, so you can find testimonials that fit whatever it is that you want to highlight.

For example, topics could be a subject area like adolescents, weight loss, grief, or a skill of yours, like speaking endorsement, leadership.

You could even save them by document type – like all screenshots in one folder and Word documents in another. You can save them by project or client name or date as we said above.

Consistency is the key.

(Quick note: If you’d like more on systems for naming and saving files, tell me in the comments below.)

3. Make this part of your process.

Build in a standardized way to to ASK for testimonials in every phase of your business.

I do this as an automatic part of the wrap up process with each of my coaching clients; it’s part of their closing homework.

For a life coach or energy healer, you could make this part of your 6 month review or something like that. Look for a natural way to ask for comments about results your clients get from working with you.

4. Ask for reviews.

Use online tools that are already there to ask for reviews on social media pages like Facebook, Yelp, Google Business, etc. They’ll automatically be in stored in the review section on those sites – easy for your prospects to see.

The point here is that there are almost as many ways to get testimonials as there are different kinds of businesses. But they won’t help your business at all, if you can’t find them and share them.

So even if you don’t have a lot of testimonials yet, go ahead and set up the system you’ll use to save them now.

And put some thought into this because, trust me on this, going back and changing your saving and retrieval system later is not fun.

What is the very next step you need to get YOUR testimonials organized?