In sales, few things are as powerful as a testimonial. 92% of consumers say they read reviews or testimonials before buying a product, and 72% say they trust a review as much as a personal recommendation. A testimonial is third-party evidence that your product or service delivers on its promises, and people take that seriously.
Many businesses, however, sabotage their own efforts by making a “cold ask”—a generic, often automated, request sent at a random time. About 80% of cold calls fail in the first 20 seconds, and the success rate is no better for stale, automated emails or texts. Knowing how to ask for testimonials is an art that we’ll teach you here.
Knowing When to Ask
The right time to ask for a testimonial is when a customer is at their “peak happiness” moment—the point when their satisfaction and gratitude are at their absolute highest. Effective businesses integrate testimonial requests into their customer success and social listening processes, tying asks to measurable achievements. Some of the best times to ask include:
Achieving a milestone: When you can send a report congratulating a customer on hitting a milestone, the customer is already focused on a tangible win. (“You’ve reduced lead acquisition time by 30% since joining!) That’s the perfect time to ask for their review and increase stickiness.
Positive, unsolicited feedback: Sometimes, customers send an email, call their account manager, or post on social media saying how happy they are with your product or feature. Reply directly and ask for an official testimonial.
Project completion: Service-based businesses can send a request after the official sign-off on a major project. When the result is delivered, the client can report on their satisfaction.
Renewal or upsell: When a customer renews their contract or agrees to purchase more services, it’s irrefutable proof of satisfaction. That’s a time to ask.
Importantly, a testimonial request should always come from someone who has an existing relationship with the client or customer. A personalized request from a trusted contact is far more likely to receive a prompt and positive response than a generic email from “Marketing.”
How to Craft an Ask
When the timing is right, knowing how to frame the request is the next step. First off, you’ll have to choose the right channel:
Phone/video call: For deep, high-value testimonials.
Email: For low-friction requests that prioritize convenience for your customer, which can be supported by automated follow-up requests.
Survey: To help qualify potential testimonial asks. A post-interaction survey (like an NPS score) can help you identify only the best testimonials.
To maximize your conversion rate, you need to lower the friction and appeal to the client’s self-interest. Clearly state how little time a testimonial will take, and focus on channels through which you’ve already communicated. Frame the ask not as a favor for your company, but as a way to feature their own success. And don’t be afraid to offer a small reward, like a backlink to their site for their SEO strategy or points towards their next purchase.
Sample Email Scripts
Scenario
Subject Line
Opening/Body
Unsolicited Feedback
Quick question about your note on [Feature]!
"Thank you so much for the kind words about how the [Feature] helped you achieve [Result]. That means the world to us. Would you be open to letting us use that as a short, 2-sentence testimonial? We’d love to feature your success story on our client page."
ROI Achievement
Celebrating your 15% cost reduction!
"We just finalized the report showing your 15% cost reduction this quarter—congrats! To help other businesses facing similar challenges, we’re looking to feature a few stories. Could you answer 3 quick questions about your experience?"
How to Get a Great Quote
The biggest mistake in this process is asking outright for a customer to “write a testimonial.” Nobody really knows what that means. Instead, ask them to answer specific, structured questions. That’s where a testimonial questionnaire comes in.
The Testimonial Questionnaire
Instead of asking outright for a testimonial, send a short, focused questionnaire of 3-4 questions designed to get the quote you’re looking for. Some examples:
Question Prompt
Conversion Focus
1. What was your biggest pain point before finding our solution?
Establishes the 'Before' state and highlights the user's struggle.
2. What measurable result have you seen since starting?
Quantifies the success and provides concrete ROI (e.g., 2x efficiency, 50% time saved).
3. What would you tell a colleague who is considering us?
Creates a direct endorsement and addresses a prospective customer's initial doubt.
4. What is the one thing that surprised you most about working with us?
Focuses on differentiation (e.g., customer support, ease of use, speed).
Give the client a few choices to answer the questionnaire, whether through an online form, a quick video clip, or a more thorough conversation for more high-value clients who have complex stories to tell.
Most importantly, before publishing anything, secure explicit, written permission to use:
Their name, photo/likeness, and job title.
Their company name and logo (if you wish to use them).
The actual quoted text.
Permissions are non-negotiable. Also, make sure you get their preferred job title and company spelling to ensure professional representation.
Follow-up and Deployment
Once you’ve published the testimonial, it isn’t the end of your relationship with the customer. Follow up by sending a personalized thank-you, like a short gift card or branded swag. Share the final published link twitch them so they can see their quote in use, and direct traffic there themselves, if they’d like.
Don’t just dump your testimonials on a single “Reviews” page. Make sure to strategically deploy them on pricing pages, lead capture pages, and checkout/sign-up flows throughout your site or in your store so that people see the testimonials when they’re thinking about making a purchase.
FAQs
Yes; while some customers will happily provide a quote simply because they’re happy, a small incentive, like a $50 gift card to a coffee shop or a discount on their next month’s service, can significantly increase the response rate.
You should ask within 48 to 72 hours of the completion of a major project or the confirmation of a major success metric. If you wait too long, the excitement and sense of accomplishment will wear off, and the request will feel more like administrative homework than a celebration of their success.
If you get a vague response, don’t use it. Instead, follow up immediately and offer to help them refine it by focusing on specific aspects of the experience, like time or cost savings.
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