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A couple of months ago, I was on an airplane in Portugal getting ready to take off. I wasn’t the pilot but I did have a window seat (rare for me as I usually prefer the aisle).

As I tend to do on planes, I was listening to a podcast and doing some work. I was technically on vacation, but we hadn’t landed in our location yet so I was sneaking in some learning.

I was listening to the Empire Show with Bedros Keuillian and Craig Ballantyne, this episode specifically. As I sometimes I do, the content was so good that I immediately whipped out my phone and started taking notes. Here’s a taste of it:

A lot of this is about sales and followups, but there was gold in this episode about when and how to ask your clients for referrals. This can be mapped to asking for testimonials as well.

And this is good and why I want you to listen to that episode, because one of the areas we see marketing agencies and consultants (especially in SEO) fall down on is testimonials and case studies.

Asking for them is awkward. It’s scary. It takes a lot of courage and a desire to tell the stories of those you’ve helped.

Here’s the truth though. If you’ve helped them out in a big way, more often than not they are HAPPY to give you a testimonial/case study and refer people to you.

But you have to ask. 90% of the time they’re not going to offer it up, but 90% of the time they will give it if you ask.

So, how do you a) ask for testimonials, b) make the most use of them, and c) ask for referrals from current clients?

Note: I recognize that most of you won’t do what I recommend here or will balk at that. Let me challenge you to have an open mind and be courageous in your thinking about these topics.

How to ask for testimonials

You probably already know what a testimonial is, but let’s make sure we are on the same page.

A testimonial is a quote from a client expressing what you did for them and the value they got from it.

Here is a testimonial we have on Credo:

Compare that with this recommendation of Credo from Rand Fishkin (Moz/Sparktoro founder):

Now, I asked for both. But how I asked and when I asked was key.

The rules for asking for these (and being successful at getting them) are simple:

1. Only ask people that you have a direct relationship with (eg, no cold emails to strangers);


2. Ask at the appropriate time when they are likely the most giving;


3. Offer to write it up for them to make it easy for them to say yes;


4. Thank them profusely.

Testimonial and recommendation ask examples

Asking for testimonials

Remembering that a testimonial is from a customer, you need to be careful about when and how you ask for these.

The best time to ask a customer for a testimonial or a case study is when they are likely to be the happiest, which is usually right after you solve their biggest problem.

Here is the email I sent to Kristan:

Notice what I did here (and forgot to do!):

1. I asked her right after an awesome thing had happened (she hired an agency);


2. I pointed out where it would go so she could see others;


3. I forgot to mention that I could write it for her!

She said she wouldn’t have time to do it for a bit, which usually means it won’t get done unless you step in.

Here’s how the ask went right after:

Notice what I did now?

1. I responded quickly, within 17 minutes when she was likely to still be in her inbox;


2. I said I’d write it up and send it to her for approval/changes. This wasn’t an ask, this was a “I will do this” that didn’t even require her response (though she did respond);


3. I had it in her inbox less than 24 hours later.

Asking for recommendations

Remember that recommendations are not from customers, but rather from people in the industry that you know and trust, and others know and trust as well. These lend credence to what you are doing.

For Rand’s recommendation, I emailed him after he mentioned us in this Whiteboard Friday about choosing an SEO company. In that video he said this:

There are a few lists, there are a few websites, places like getcredo.com run by John Doherty. There’s obviously Moz’s recommended SEO list, which is just my personal recommendations and the recommendations of my network. You can’t pay to be on there. You can’t pay to be listed.

I asked Rand this:

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