As a business owner, it’s really important to have social proof. One of the best ways to do that is have your clients toot your horn for you! Testimonials help establish credibility and build trust. And as a result, they help convert prospects to sales! A happy client’s genuine praise can:
That’s why I’m going to show you the exact process I recently created to obtain, organize and leverage testimonials that can help convert prospects into customers and increase sales. Step 1: Ask for a Testimonial! The first step is to ask! Write a letter than you can use as a template that you can tweak just a bit to personalize your approach to your clients. to ask current and past clients for a testimonial. You will want to tweak and personalize the letter and save your changes as your own master template to avoid laboring over a new testimonial request letter each time. I’m going to show you how to write a testimonial request letter...
Most people find it easier to edit an existing piece rather than writing something new from scratch. With these templates, you can make them your own with just a few easy tweaks. Now that the hard part is already done, all you have to do is hit the send button. Step 2: Organize Your Testimonials When your testimonials come in, take a few minutes to read and process them. Relish the moment.
Now is the time to actually organize them. This is essential for having relevant testimonials throughout your marketing cycle. By keeping your testimonials current and relevant, you'll have a more accurate representation of your loyal clients and your business as a whole! Plus – this gives you an opportunity to look back and…
Step 3: Showcase Your Testimonials (Let the magic begin!) It’s time to showcase your work. You have many choices to make regarding where and how. Definitely your website is priority. Will you use text copy? A call-out? Or maybe use a testimonial app? Photos are names add validity so you will want to ensure you have asked permission to use these assets in your testimonial. Testimonials are like a mini PR campaign! There are four different stages (attract, converst, close & delight) in marketing. Important: In each stage you will want to have a different approach to ensure a stellar customer journey. When you do it right, you’ll see at-a-glance how your hard work is paying off! Customer Satisfaction Survey (A super valuable, easily implementable & a top retention strategy) If you are not sending out customer satisfaction surveys, you’re missing out on a a valuable retention strategy. Why? Because surveys give your client the opportunity to tell you what they think. Consider them an engagement tool very much worth the small effort. Surveys help nurture and maintain a long-term relationship with your individual customer. DIY Now you know exactly how to have a system and process in place for obtaining, tracking and leveraging client testimonials. I understand if you want to re-create this process yourself and you are welcome to do so - but I've got a bette way that saves you time and effort. Don’t feel like writing your own? Use one of mine! There are 8 to choose from! Save Yourself Time! Grab this Exact System! If you want to save yourself time & reduce your struggles then you can actually download this system right now. Just click the button below! Download Rock Your Testimonials Nowcamillehoheb.samcart.com/products/rock-your-testimonials (Receive 8 sample letters – PLUS, I’ll show step-by-step how to make them your own!) I want to hear from you.
In the comments section below, let me know if this article was helpful, what you're going to use this system to rock your testimonials!
0 Comments
I had the good fortune of meeting Todd Shaw a couple years ago at an ISPA Media Event in L.A. purely by chance. It was one of the moments you ask a stranger if can join them at their table top so you have a place to grab a quick bite and I totally lucked out. Todd is one of the most genuinely nice guys in the wellness travel space. Easy going, humble and fun to talk to, little did I know that Todd was about to take on a huge leadership role as Chairman for the International Spa Association (ISPA). When I saw him again this year, it was like seeing an old friend. I was happy to catch up with him on his newest role as Spa Director at The Peaks Resort and Spa. What comes immediately to mind when you think of wellness? Wellness is a state of harmony in the mind, body and spirit, the art of feeling good. The spa industry provides an opportunity for our population to explore modalities, services, experiences and products that support wellbeing and the opportunity for people to build their team. Wellness is not about doing one thing it’s about identifying areas of opportunity in your life and lifestyle and addressing each of these as parts and as a group. Spas offer teams of professionals who’s experience can support on a micro level, focusing on specific opportunities, and macro level, as part of a team taking a global approach to an individual’s constitution. Spas are accountable to provide the knowledge, environment and guidance for success and the individuals are accountable to take action. Wellness takes work and the amount of noise in our life’s now makes that even more challenging but by building your team of wellness professionals you can find the support you need to truly find your harmony. What are some keywords and phrases that describe wellness and why?
In your mind what's the difference, if any, between wellbeing and wellness?I would define Wellness as being the journey to a positive state of mind, body and spirit and wellbeing as the current state. What's your personal approach to well-being?Currently my approach to wellness is a simple one that I try and commit to everyday.
What's Telluride's USP on wellness?In Telluride you are surrounded by nature, the energy of the mountains, the amazing skies, the incredible climate, animals and birds playing in a protected environment. It’s an oasis to find your center without interruption, without the outside noise of our modern society. We are isolated and with that brings a sense of clarity and community. The people who live and visit here are caring, thoughtful and supportive and it creates a pure sense of community not experienced in many places. The environment in Telluride allows you to explore our world through outdoor activities and feel the energy of nature and the endorphins of sport. After a day playing, relaxing, and enjoying Telluride you can’t help but make healthy decisions because you want to feel so good so you can do it again tomorrow! The people here are natural healers, it exudes from their hearts and will instantly set a sense of calm over you. Add all that to a 42,00 sf. spa with full health club and practitioners and healers that have international training experience in different modalities and training techniques and it’s the perfect combination to practice your wellness journey and not even realize you’re doing it. For more information visit: www.thepeaksresort.com | Relax at the Peaks Spa
Meet Lola Roeh, the General Manager of the Osthoff Resort in Wisconsin, one of the Midwest’s premier resort destinations. I met Lola at the ISPA Media Event in Los Angeles and she has an amazing background in hospitality and tourism. She's an active member in the American Hotel and Lodging Association, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association, and the International Spa Association (ISPA) and served as the President and Board Member of the Elkhart Lake Chamber of Commerce, and Chair and Board Member of the Elkhart Lake Tourism Commission. Lola became the General Manager of the Osthoff Resort nearly 20 years ago. She's one smart cookie! From all of her accomplishments, you can see she's truly dedicated, diligent and well rounded. She received a Legacy Award given by the Wisconsin Department of Tourism and is a past Chair of the Wisconsin Governor’s Council on Tourism. She has served as Chair and Board Member for the Wisconsin Hotel and Lodging Association, and received the Association’s Innkeeper of the Year Award in both 2002 and 2012. That's a lot of great experience to draw upon and so I asked her a few questions about spa and wellness. What comes immediately to mind when you think of wellness?
Being healthy, expanded to mind, body and spirit. Holistic and the state of being whole. Proactive. In your mind what's the difference, if any, between wellbeing and wellness? Practicing wellness creates a state of well-being. What makes Aspira Spa Special? Aspira means "infused with spirit" and was created as a place to be surrounded by nature and in peace. The spa is located on the banks of river, shaped like an elks head and considered to be sacred by Native Americans. We embrace healing wisdom from indigenous people, not only from Wisconsin, but from around the world. We describe our spa experience as being holistic and organic with a revernece for nature and balance. For more info: Aspira Spa What comes immediately to mind when you think of wellness? To fully answer your question I would say wellness is so much more than it ever used to be! Today, it is about a total well-being or total wellness of oneself. It includes a well-rounded plan that includes things like spa services, yoga classes, eating healthy, mindfulness, exercising, and spirituality. It’s about a true “work-life-self” balance. To do wellness right, you have to be able to focus on all the different elements. In the past, it seemed more important to focus on one thing and do it well. Today, it seems like it is more important to be well rounded with the different wellness elements. When choosing a wellness destination, I think it is important to look at their full breadth of wellness offerings and truly evaluate how “well” they do wellness. Anyone can say they are a wellness destination, but very few do it well. For example, our resort in Kohler, Wisconsin has been offering wellness activities for over 15 years. Everything from spa services to group fitness classes to miles of walking trails to walking 18 holes of golf, we have something for everyone…and we do it well! Part of total well-being in today’s world means you have to have the ability to cut off the digital world….focus on digital detoxification. One of the number one illnesses / causes of death in the near future is going to be directly attributed to stress. To me, stress comes from never being able to unplug. As we become more and more dependent on electronics, this problem is only going to get bigger. Just take a second and think about how long you go in between checking your phone? Some people cannot go five minutes without checking something on their phone. The brain never has a chance to shutdown / reboot in this world, which is why digital detoxification is going to become a major offering among wellness destinations of the future. In your mind what's the difference, if any, between wellbeing and wellness? I think well-being is a lifestyle. Wellness is something we do in the short-term to get well, but well-being is a true change to how one thinks, breathes, lives, and responds to today’s challenges.
AuthorCamille Hoheb is the President of Wellness Tourism Worldwide. With nine awards for excellence and leadership in the travel and tourism industry, Camille is a sought after speaker and topic expert in all things related to wellness and travel. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting Tracey Welsh, General Manager of Red Mountain Resort, at the ISPA Media Event in Los Angeles. This is a great event for writers to talk with the leaders in wellness travel in a casual and fun environment and to become more familiar with their brand and services. Since wellness and well-being means different things to different people, I wanted to ask Tracey about her opinions and insights into this hugely growing sector.
In your mind what's the difference, if any, between wellbeing and wellness? Truly, I don’t think there is much of a difference. When you look at the definition of well-being, it’s the state of being comfortable, healthy and happy….that’s wellness to me! What comes immediately to mind when you think of wellness? Red Mountain defines wellness as the optimal state of physical, social and emotional well-being. We weave this thought through all our programming at the resort, combing physical activity, healthy whole foods and the benefits of spa therapies to inspire our guests in their quest to live healthier and happier lives. The social and emotional well-being portion of wellness are so tied to the physical component, as your physical health and concept of self are intertwined with your happiness. We are adding more group activities to our resort schedule as I believe the improvements of technology that attempt to connect us, are in many ways disconnecting us from real human-to-human conversations, where you see emotion and feel energy; tough things to transmit through an emoticon. At the ISPA Media Event in LA, you talked about your target demographic being 40-45 females (versus baby boomers) and how this played into moving away from spa and pampering to more adventure and resort in your branding. Can you expand on that? Red Mountain’s overall demographic is 30 – 65++, so we are crossing a few generations, and we help people celebrate milestone birthdays (40, 50, 60 and 70+) as they are looking for a resort to celebrate their good health and strength! Many guests in our target demographic honor the importance of their health, and already know that by living a healthy lifestyle it allows them to play as hard as they work. We offer all the tools if someone needs some help and inspiration to live a little healthier, so you don’t have to be a marathon runner to enjoy what we offer. Our location inspires guests to get outdoors and enjoy nature, which in turn motivates you to be more mindful of what you eat, how you feel, and try new experiences. We still offer pampering, and we look at bodywork, skin care and self-care at it as an important component in a healthy lifestyle. What does wellness -- and wellness travel -- mean to you? Wellness is a new way of living and if you incorporate the precepts to your daily life you will be more healthy, mindful and happy. For me wellness travel is keeping a healthy, spiritual life even while away from home. It is most important to learning how to enrich your wellness lifestyle with the new experiences that traveling gives you. What do you do for your own wellness and how to your encourage your staff to maintain a balanced life? We follow the 7 precepts of Wellness and we help each other to keep them. 1. Eat healthy , 2.Drink enough water 3. Exercise for an hour daily 4. Sleep between 7-9 hours daily 5.Eat with your family at least once a week 6. Give back to your community or any other in whatever you choose to do in order to give something back(volunteering in different altruist activities) 7. Take care of our environment. Are there other wellness events and observances that you and your staff observe? Yes, we practice Transformational breathing, we learned how to do it and know we practice it every time we need it. It is the perfect way to lead into meditation. As mindfulness and meditation are becoming more mainstream, what are guests more interest in? There is definitely more interest in Mind and Spirit oriented services, though relaxation massages keep being the most popular ones. What are the most popular wellness treatments at your spa? Our therapies and treatments are combined with native Mexican rituals and guests can incorporate natural herbs from our Living Wall. There's also a Zen garden and wellness path that our guest enjoy. For more information on eforea Spa at Hilton Los Cabos click here Research & StudiesAccording the Westin's Hotel & Resorts 2017 survey, more than half (51 percent) of North American Consumers will focus on wellness during their travels in the year ahead. There's More to Wellness Tourism than You ThinkAs Much About Emotional HealthWestin's survey reinforces several earlier key findings that we published in Wellness Travel: Shaping America's Health & Economy. For example, respondents in our study indicated that emotional wellbeing was as important, if not more, than physical health. From a programing, products and services perspective, hotels, suppliers and other businesses seeking to attract wellness travelers should take note of this finding. Westin defines self-discovery in terms of reconnecting with self through mindfulness. While we did identify "Mind Matters" as one of the top wellness trends of 2014, our Shaping America's Health & Economy respondents reported that connection to oneself, to others and to a higher purpose was imporant as a primary motivation for their wellness travel experience. Nearly 60 percent of the Westin survey respondents said they want to incorporate self-discovery. A sense of discovery is instumental to experiencing life well. That's why after a year of research on wellness, positive psychology and motivation and achievement theory, the word "discovery" was incorporated into the definition of wellness tourism published back in WTW's report, Wellness Travel: Shaping America's Health & Economy published in 2014. Valuing a Break From WorkOur 2013 report, U.S. Vacationers: Health, Happiness & Productivity - An Essential Report For Travel, Hospitalty and Wellness Industries revealed the that vacations lead to better quality of life. These findings correlate with previous research that has shown direct and indirect benefits of vacations focusing on restoration of mind and body and recuperation from mental fatigue. Personally I think it's great that research from a huge multinational brand like Westin supports and lends creadence to our findings from a number of years ago. There are a few areas I wish they had taken a bit further. For example, our findings are segmented by gender and age group. In our study, women reported twice as often as men the need to reconnect with themselves by having personal time which is consistent with gender studies showing women actually have fewer minutes of “free time” – both in reality and perception. How Business Can Leverage These FindingsThere has been ongoing research and debate regarding the definition of wellness tourism, as is often the case with emerging, highly focused, specific forms of tourism. The word “transformation” implies more than just a change, but rather a significant shift or new emotional perspective, especially in the context of vacations. The idea that a vacation can be viewed as transformative is well- studied in research literature. Having quality time, in a place free from work and distractions from home, clears the mind – allowing big-picture life decisions to be made. Vacations provide an opportunity for people to make important, life-changing decisions. Since the transformative potential of vacations has been well documented, vacation sellers can use the theory and teachings of how transformations work in order to attract more clients.
Camille Hoheb is the President & Founder of Wellness Tourism Worldwide. A well-respected authority on the newly emerging field of wellness travel, Camille provides thought leadership, market intelligence and training through Wellness Travel Academy and live workshops and keynotes. Thanksgiving kicks off the season for counting our blessings. Studies show gratitude is critical to our happiness and success. Thoughts – both positive and negative - trigger physiological changes in our body which in turn affect emotional and physical health. Practicing gratitude, can improve your your quality of life. "There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” -- Albert Einstein Scientific Benefits of GratittudeThere’s an abundance of scientific evidence[i] on gratitude. I’ve consolidated them below:
4 Easy Ways to Practice Gratitude Daily
My Daily Gratitude RitualI have a daily ritual in which I count my lucky stars. Every morning I call my mother and we talk while I drink my morning coffee. My mother is happy to be alive. She is truly grateful for her time on earth. At 88-years, she is VITAL and AMAZING! This is the best lesson a mother can give to a daughter. (Thanks Mom!)
What's your daily gratitude practice? I'd love to share what other people do in a future blog post. If you want to be featured, please email me here. The world needs more positivity and light! I hope this article serves you well. Happy Thanksgiving! 11/18/2016 0 Comments Quotable Quote11/18/2016 6 Comments A 3-Month Roadmap to Get What You Want(And Why It is More Effective Than an Annual Plan)
If you want to achieve BIG goals without feeling overwhelmed or paralyzed, then you need a plan.
With 2017 around the corner, many professionals are buying planners to help create business goals for the upcoming year. Most planners are based on a year or 18 months. I want to introduce a different approach that I recently learned from BestSelfCo and share a number of golden marketing nuggets on creating a 3-month plan. Why is a 3-month roadmap better than an annual plan? Using an annual planner can lead to procrastination and wasted time. How many times have you changed direction in during a 12-month period? A 3-month roadmap is focused. It is realistic. It feels more do-able. You can see the end in sight – in 90-days! You are creating wins every quarter and creating momentum for more and more success. It’s way more flexible than an annual plan. If you think about it, you can potentially can 4X’s more accomplished this way. Sounds pretty awesome, doesn’t it? Case Study:
How Does the 3-Month Roadmap Work?
I’ve broken it down for you below.
Step 1: Identify Your Big Goal! What do you want to achieve by the end of 3-months, 13-weeks or 90-days? According to BestSelfCo you can achieve 4X’s more by planning 1 big goal each quarter versus 1 big goal per year. Makes sense, right? You need to make sure the goal is SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time bound) Examples of SMART goals: o I’ll make $5,000 per month in the first quarter. o I’ll increase my email subscribers by 1,000 each month. o I’ll lose 13 lbs in 3 months. Step 2: Create Your Plan: Progress Milestones You need a plan in place. The key to creating a roadmap is to break the goal into smaller goals called “progress milestones.” These important milestones are a way to track and measure your performance. Analogy: Your goal is climbing Mt. Fuji. Your end goal is to reach the top. Right now you are at the base of the mountain staring up. How will you get there? You need a plan in place and the way to do that is to define progress milestones. To take the analogy a step further, think of your progress milestones as “basecamps” along your trek up Mt. Fuji. Examples of Progressive Milestones: (Let’s use the weight loss example of wanting to lose 13 lbs in 90 days) o I will lose 1 lb per week (3500 calories = 1 lb) o I will burn 250 calories more per day o I will reduce my calories by 250 each day Step #3: Working Your Plan: The 20 Mile March The 20 Mile March are your daily tasks that will help you get to the basecamp. They are a list of specific actions steps you need to consistently take Examples of daily tasks include: o I will walk 10,000 steps a day o I will record my food in an food tracker app o I will eat 5 helpings of vegetables and fruit each day While anyone of these steps are helpful in attaining a goal, the compound effect of putting them together into a coherent system will help you achieve your goals faster by helping you avoid detours, pit tops and stalling out.
The most MISSION CRITICAL part of this 3-step, 3-month roadmap is doing it! If you don't to schedule your time, act consistently every day and hold yourself accountable for planned, intentional, smart and strategic action – then most likely you won’t make your goals. And if you are like me, your goals are your dreams. It’s what makes life exciting!
Planner & Gratitude Journal All-in-One
A design feature that I really like is the combination planner and gratitude journal all-in-one. There are three lines for journaling what you are grateful for in the morning and another three lines for reflecting and writing what you are thankful for in the evening. There's science-based evidence that people who have a daily gratitude practice are generally happier, healthier and more successful than those who don't. To learn more about the link between a gratitude and wellbeing, click here.
Cheers to 2017. Wishing you an abundance of success!
|
Photo used under Creative Commons from ** RCB **