Tools · Templates
Asking a client for a few words
A request for a testimonial usually fails twice. It arrives weeks after the work ended, and it asks the client to produce a piece of writing. These three go out the moment something ends, and each one asks a question instead.
Pick the moment that fits, copy the message, change the names and send it.
After a package is used up
They finished today, and the whole arc from the first session to the last is still in their head. Next month most of it won't be.
Hi Priya, That was our last session of the six. Thank you for the work you put in. The difference between the first conversation and this one was yours, not mine. One small ask. If somebody like you were deciding whether to work with me, what would you want them to know? Two or three lines is plenty, and I would put them on my page with your first name and what you do, or without your name at all if you would rather. No trouble either way, and thanks again. Maya
When a project is paid in full
Ask on the day the final invoice clears. After that, neither of you has a reason to write.
Hi Daniel, The final invoice came through today, so that is the project closed out. It was a good one to work on. If you have two minutes: what would you say to somebody weighing up the same piece of work? Anything honest is useful, including what surprised you. I would use it on my page, with your name and company or without, whichever you prefer. Either way, it was a pleasure. Say the word if the next phase comes around. Maya
After a third session
By the third session there's a change to notice, and it's recent enough that they're still noticing it.
Hi Sam, We are three sessions in, which is usually when it starts to feel like something rather than a plan. While it is fresh: what has changed since we started? A couple of sentences is all I am after. If it reads well I would ask to put it on my page, with just your first name, and I would check with you first. See you Thursday. Maya
The five rules behind all three
Ask once, and mean it
Send one message and no reminder. A testimonial written after the second nudge is written to make you go away, and it reads like one.
Ask a question, not for a testimonial
Ask “What would you want somebody like you to know?” and you get an answer. Ask “Could you write me a testimonial?” and you've handed them homework.
Say how it will be used, before they write it
Their first name and their trade, on your page. Tell them that before they write, and that they can say no to any part of it, and they'll say more.
Give them a way out in the same sentence
Write “No trouble either way” and more people answer, because not replying stops being awkward.
Keep what they wrote, not what you wish they wrote
Trim for length with their permission, and never edit for meaning. A polished quote sounds like you wrote it yourself.
Or it happens without you
WorkWith sends one of these from your own name after a client’s third session or when a package is used up. Their reply reaches you first. One tap puts it on your page, and if you don’t tap, it stays private.
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