DO TESTIMONIALS REALLY WORK?
Long before the internet came along, people have been giving testimonials for products. TV sales have always played a huge part in the conspicuous consumer society in which we 
live and still do so today. With the onset of the Internet, we have been overwhelmed with the typical and quite annoying bottomless sales letter that is riddled with endorsements and testimonials to convince prospective buyers to purchase a product or service.
And with TV shopping channels like QVC and the Home Shopping Network, testimonials play an increasingly important role in selling. Or do they? The question is do they really work with everyone? The answer is NO, NO, NO!!!
In fact, only about half of the population cares about what others think about a product before they buy it. The other half simply couldn’t care less what other people say about what they are buying. Which type are you? And more important, which type are your customers? Just because you may like to hear what other people are saying about products before purchasing them doesn’t mean that all of your customers think the same way. Or you may not care about testimonials and yet some of your customers won’t buy your products without them.
Are you a person who thrives on hearing what others have to say about a particular product? Or are you a person who can’t stand listening to or to reading about what people are saying about a product or service that you are contemplating buying? And there is another possibility as well. Are you someone who occasionally likes to read or to hear testimonials from certain individuals? How you answer these questions is quite revelatory.
In fact, it will determine still another People Pattern™ that comprises what we call Personality Language™. It is called the Evaluation People Pattern™. This all important Evaluation People Pattern™ determines how an individual makes a judgment, and in the context of this discussion, how an individual makes a judgment to buy a product or service. The emphasis is on how and not why.
Basically there are two major elements that make up the Evaluation People Pattern™. There are some individuals who make decisions to buy based on internal criteria and then there are some individuals who make decisions to buy based on external criteria. Those who make buying decisions based on internal criteria have what we refer to as an Internal Referential Filter or People Pattern™. They simply know inside that what they are doing or what they are buying, in this case, is the right thing for them. Those who make buying decisions based on external criteria have what we refer to as an External Referential Filter or People Pattern™. They need to hear what others think and tend not to buy anything without this feedback.
There are also some Internal People who, under certain circumstances, don’t mind having an expert give advice or information about a product, and only if it is information from an expert and not just anyone offering their opinion.
The bottom line is that Internal People don’t need feedback from others when it comes to buying products or services (unless, as mentioned, they want expert information under some circumstances); and External People need feedback before they purchase something. External People are often incapable of buying something without hearing first what other people think about it.
What this means for you in sales is that you have to tailor your communication on your sales page and/or in your presentation to both include testimonials for External People as well as include phrases that target the Internal People among your customers. Tune in next time to learn how to communicate with both types of customers in your audience, those with an Internal Referential Filter and those with an External Referential Filter.
This is from “ Personality Language” ™
By Marilyne Woodsmall