How to Get Effective Testimonials That Grow Your Business

You’ve finished a project and your client is thrilled. You confidently ask them for a testimonial, and a day later, an email lands in your inbox: "They were great to work with. Highly recommend."

It's polite, but not a powerful sales tool.

Generic testimonials like this don’t build trust or convince a potential customer to choose you. This is a real missed opportunity, especially when you consider the data.

According to a study by Wyzowl, 9 out of 10 people say they trust what a customer says about a business more than what that business says about itself.

So if your testimonials aren't compelling, you're missing an opportunity to grow your business.

As a StoryBrand Certified Coach, one of the most common questions I get asked is how to solve this exact problem. Business owners want to move from collecting bland feedback to generating compelling customer stories.

The solution is simpler than you think.

It’s about creating a system to ask the right questions—questions that are designed to tell a story (the same framework I use to write blog posts like this one).

The 6 questions that generate story-driven testimonials

To get testimonials that do the selling for you, you need to guide your customer to tell their story. These six questions are designed to do just that. They are inspired by the framework in Donald Miller's book, Building a StoryBrand 2.0.

I’ve refined them with a couple of key additions that I use with my own clients to get incredible results.

1. What was the biggest challenge you were facing before working with us?
2. How was that challenge impacting you personally or professionally?
3. What was the moment you realised we were the right solution for your problem?
4. What is the single most significant result you have achieved since working with us?
5. In what ways does your life or business look different now?
6. What would you say to someone on the fence about choosing our business?

These questions take your customer on a journey, from the problem they had to the success they’ve found. The answers provide the raw material for marketing that works.

You might now find that some of your testimonials are getting longer. That’s not a bad thing! If they provide a very long testimonial, you can pull out the most powerful sentence to use as a standalone quote.

How to turn these questions into a powerful system

Knowing the questions is one thing; putting them into practice is how you’ll see results. Here are four tips to make this system a core part of your business.

Tip 1: Build a system to gather testimonials

The most effective way to get consistent feedback is to make it part of your process. Don’t just ask for testimonials when you remember to. Build it into your project workflow.

At our company, we have an off-boarding checklist for every client. Once a project or coaching programme is complete, my assistant automatically reaches out with our questions.

This process means we never miss an opportunity to capture a customer’s success story.

Tip 2: Customise the questions for your business

These questions are a template, not a rigid script. To get the best responses, tailor them to your specific service. A small tweak can make a big difference.

• For a builder: "What was the biggest concern you had before starting the renovation process?"
• For a software company: "What is the single most significant productivity gain you've achieved since implementing our software?"
• For a graphic designer: "In what ways does your new branding make you feel more confident in your business?"

By customising the language, you help your customer give a more focused and relevant answer.

Tip 3: Find 'soundbites' for your brand message

Your testimonials contain the exact words you should be using in your marketing.

As you collect answers, look for recurring themes, powerful phrases, and emotional words. These are your soundbites.

Does every client mention how you made a "confusing process feel simple"? That phrase should be in your marketing.

Do they keep saying they felt "relieved" after talking to you? Use that word in your emails.

By using your customers' exact language, you make your overall brand message more resonant and effective.

Tip 4: Help your customer write the perfect Google review

Once you have the answers, you can make it incredibly easy for your customer to leave a powerful public review. Send them their answers and suggest they use them to leave a Google Review.

For maximum impact, advise them to start with a soundbite that grabs attention. Here is a review I left for my mortgage broker that uses this exact structure:

"We would highly recommend CD Blom.

When my wife Hannah and I were looking to purchase our first home, we wanted to find a broker who would be able to help us find the best rates and advocate for us while working between the bank and us.

CD was able to help us do both of those things. He helped us find some really good rates and gave us excellent strategies to structure our mortgage. He was also able to work with the bank to help them understand my self-employed income.

CD made the whole process very clear, straightforward and simple. When the time comes for us to upgrade our place, we'll definitely look at using CD again."

This format is easy for potential customers to scan and gives them a reason to read the full story.

Don't just collect testimonials. Use them to grow

If you continue to collect generic testimonials (or none at all), you’re choosing to make it harder for your business to grow. You'll remain stuck with marketing that doesn't connect, forcing you to work harder to convince new customers.

But when you start asking the right questions, everything changes. You'll build a library of powerful customer stories that you can use in your emails, on your website, and across your social media.

Your marketing will become more believable and effective, your conversion rates will climb, and you'll have the fuel you need to confidently grow your business.

You now have the tools to get testimonials that truly work. If you want to apply this same level of clarity to your entire brand message, the next step is simple.

Book a Discovery Call to see if our StoryBrand Coaching programme is a good fit for your business. In our coaching, we help you clarify your message and create marketing that works so your business can grow.