“The only way to build authority is through content.”
If you’re serious about generating leads on your real estate website, customer testimonials can be a key content element because they are unbiased comments that prompt visitors to give you their contact information.
By using real estate testimonials in text or video formats on your site, you introduce content that will promote your business in an authoritative way.
You should be using real estate testimonials to help establish credibility and authority. Quality testimonials increase conversions because they aren’t looked upon as sales pitches. If they come across in an unbiased voice they will build trust. Youâre using real people to show success in your service.
In the end, your testimonials will be there to convert more visitors into buyers and sellers as long as you use them correctly.
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According to a study⌠“Testimonials and case studies are considered the most effective content marketing tactics“. In short, in a crowded market like today, great testimonials for real estate agents and investors formatted the right way, can boost your leads and deals. They help add credibility to an untrusting world.
Additionally, as those values go vertical, a lot of aspiring wholesalers start flipping houses, making for increasingly saturated online spaces.
But before panic sets in, breathe. Itâs not as bad as it sounds⌠well, it is, but itâs also an opportunity. Itâs a chance to flex your real estate muscles, to stand head and shoulders above that semi-debilitating clutter, to be the solution rather than contribute to the problem.
Whether youâre an investor, buyer, seller, or agent, what Iâm going to teach you will apply.
I’m going to teach you how to build credibility by leveraging testimonials that shine.
Let’s dive in!
What is a Real Estate Testimonial?
A real estate testimonial is relaying a story from a current client to a potential client. The shorter, the better (unless you sacrifice quality). You don’t want an hour-long testimonial.
When a client has a great experience, let them share it. Get real testimonials. Potential clients experience shopping anxiety — you know, that feeling you get, before buying something, that says, âIt costs too much. Itâs not good enough. How do you know itâs what you want?â — and testimonials are one way of shooting down this discouraging devil.
The testimonial combats with, “Other people have worked with this company, and they had a good experience. I probably will too.”
Here are some examples from one of our member sites:
Example Real Estate Testimonials
Why are high-quality testimonials such a big deal?
If used correctly, testimonials for real estate agents and investors do a few important things for website visitors (and for your conversion rate).
They canâŚ
Completely eradicate concerns that prospects had about working with your business.
Build immediate trust for who you are and what you do.
Convince prospects to give you their information via an opt-in form or call you on the phone directly).
Consider that 88% of consumers claim that they read at least 10 reviews before deciding whether they can trust a company or not (and they have to trust you if theyâre going to work with you) or that 88% of people trust online testimonials just as much as personal recommendations from a friend.
To prove just how powerful testimonials can be (at least the conversion rate side of things), Unbounce reported on an A/B test. Ideal for testing, Version A and Version B are identical save for one difference: Version B includes a testimonial above the opt-in form of the website.
In the end, Version B increased the conversion rate by 34%.
Letâs put that in perspective for a wholesaler’s website.
Imagine that you drive 1,000 website visits every month, generating 100 leads per month on your website (a 10% conversion rate â typical for Carrot websites) and that you close 1 in 25 leads. That means youâre doing about 4 deals per month, at, letâs assume, $10,000 profit per deal.
Boom â you add a glowing testimonial to your website and increase your conversion rate by 34%, from 10% to 13.4%.
Now, youâre going to get a little more than 130 leads per month with the same amount of traffic (1,000 website visits). And since you close 1 in 15 to 25 leads, youâll now be doing a little more than 5 deals every month with the exact same amount of website traffic.
You just added $10,000 in monthly wholesale fees (from $40,000 per month to $50,000 per month) by putting a testimonial on your website.
And the same goes for real estate agents. You can increase your conversion rate and monthly income by adding awesome real estate testimonials to your website.
Of course, Iâm not promising that youâll get exactly those results. Iâm just trying to illustrate how powerful a small boost in your websiteâs conversion rate can be on your business revenue (at Carrot, we provide high converting websites out-of-the-box for our members)⌠and that testimonials can help you achieve that small, powerful boost.
But⌠all of this depends on using high-quality testimonials.
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You Might Be Doing It Wrong
Most people have testimonials useful for taking up website canvas, but little else.
To avoid spitting lousy devil killers, I’m going to walk you through the four levels of a quality real estate testimonial. Unfortunately, most people are stuck in levels one and two.
Level 1: The Basic Real Estate Testimonial
The first level is your most basic testimonial:
“Hey, Mark was great to work with. – J.K.”
If a level one testimonial is on your website, itâs best to take it down. Itâs not helping. There are no specifics. It doesn’t say what Mark did for you that was so great. It doesn’t say how Mark did it.
As if this lack of context isnât enough, it doesnât end there. The signature just says, “J.K.,” the clientâs initials. Regardless of the fact that the testimonial is made a joke by the initials J.K. (if someone has these initials, donât even get their testimonialâŚ), initials, even without such inconvenient letters, are impersonal and will potentially create distrust in the viewer.
A testimonial doesnât always help your reputation. Level one testimonials, particularly, can damage it.
Level 2: Be Specific
Level two is better, but still in the sad zone đ˘
Do not use painfully vague real estate testimonials.
“Mark did what he said he’d do, closed on time, and I refer him to friends. – John Kennedy”
It says that Mark is reliable, timely, and good enough to gain a referral. Clearly, level two is getting more specific.
When a testimonial is ambiguous, it can work against building trust for your business and actually create unease in the prospectâs mind. If this testimonial is real, why isnât it more specific?
Notice, also, that the testimonial used the person’s name, John Kennedy, not his initials. However, even with a real name and an honest, mildly-specific testimonial, skeptics abound. The more specific, the better⌠and fewer critics.
Here’s an a sample of a good review for a real estate investor:
âBest Decision Iâve Ever Made!!! I was in a situation where I needed to get out of my house ASAP and Colby came through for Me!!! Nobody else will ever beat his services and Iâm relieved I donât have the financial stress any longer!!! I will forever be grateful for what he did for me!!!â
But specificity isnât all that counts toward your level. Even if your testimonial is true, you still have to convince people itâs true. Itâs all thanks to that crowded real estate space where thereâs no shortage of lies and deceit.
Level 3: Be Real
Unfortunately, in our world of âalternative factsâ and reality television, being authentic isnât enough.
Itâs tempting to just write your own real estate testimonial under an alias name and throw it on your website to increase the conversion rate. It sure would take a lot less time, and if youâre a great writer, it might even boost your conversion rate.
But chances are, the testimonial youâll receive from someone who authentically loves your service will be far more powerful (and conversion-boosting) than something you throw together yourself. Plus, people can usually tell when a testimonial is fake.
You have to convince people youâre authentic.
How?
Well, levels three and level four testimonials seem more believable simply because they include a visual and theyâre a bit more specific:
“I inherited a house and couldn’t sell it, but found Mark online. I was skeptical, but their offer was fair, we closed on time, and I’d work with him again. – John Kennedy – Tampa Seller”
Viewers will look at an image or video and, immediately, the dud of a testimonial becomes impactful.
The image could be a picture of you and the prospect at the closing table or a picture of their face. It could be you shaking their hand or a short video of them talking through the process.
Your only goal is to make it real, to make it believable. Donât forget to include a short bio for the testimonial giver; tell the viewer whoâs recommending you. Even something as short as, âJohn Kennedy, Tampa seller.”
Here is an example of a good testimonial with an image of the client and the investor:
âThank you for all your help and walking me through the mess I got stuck with. You explained everything and went over the contract step by step; never once did your answers change. You gave us all the information we needed and we could see you were serious about what you do. If someone asks if I know who could help them, I would not hesitate to name you as a reference as you are an honest person. Once again, thank you so much.â – Louise R. Friel
If you want to climb to the testimonial pinnacle, make a video. Record a video of the whole process, of your client, recommending you, emotions and all.
Video captures something that text cannot: the human ability to communicate nonverbally. And thatâs a powerful prospect.
Written Real Estate Testimonial Examples
Here are a few examples of good “real” written testimonials:
2nd Chance Investment Group
âLike many others in this unstable economy, and after looking into other organizations, such as Keep Your Home California, I exercised my options by contacting Second Chance Investment Group in Chino Hills, CA and it was the best phone call I could have made. Now I am doing better than ever â free of debt. And moving forward with a clear mind. Thanks, Ray Foster and Second Chance. Keep up the good work.” – Sheryl Brown-Pearce
Townsend Realty Group
“Townsend Realty Group has been the finest company to work with as we sell our home in Canton. We have sold several homes and have never had such a professional and compassionate company guide us through the process. Their realtors are always a phone call away and are readily available to help in any way. Their team made some great recommendations for selling our home and they also helped us avoid pouring lots of money into getting the home ready for the market!” – Ray and Patricia Massengale
Florida Cash Home Buyers
“Thanks to all the fine people that I have dealt with in the past 2 to 3 weeks. I especially like to thank Annette with the law firm. She was very helpful in processing the closing paperwork. Alejandro kept me aware of my need to show the property to various people. Thanks again to all that helped with the sale and closing.” – Glenda Skaggs
Video Real Estate Testimonial Examples
Here are a few examples of good “real” video testimonials:
Let me end with one final tip…
You Need to Ask Good Questions
Donât forget to set yourself up for success at the gate. To get a high-quality real estate testimonial, you must ask the right questions.
Here are some questions to ask to get POWERFUL testimonials:
What problem did you need to solveand did we solve it as you expected? â You want to pull out the pain they were experiencing before working with you. What were they going through? Could they even sleep at night? What was the emotional pain like? How stressful was the situation?
Why did you choose to do work with us? â You want to now get a better understanding of what made them decide to solve their stressful situation by working with you. What was going through their head? What was the final straw that made them give you a call?
Why did you choose us instead of some other company? â Why not somebody else? Asking this question will help illustrate your USP and what sets you apart from other competitors within your market.
What was your favorite part about working with us? â Being on the other side of that stressful situation, what was the thing that the client most enjoyed during the time they worked with you? It could be how fast you closed or how easy it was.
What surprised you about working with us? â Asking this question can get the client talking about the thing they loved about working with you that was the most unexpected (i.e. how you went above and beyond for them).
Elements of an Effective Real Estate Testimonial
To recap, these are the elements necessary for a killer testimonial. Check these off your list before posting.
Be specific
Be authentic
Be thorough
Emphasize benefits
Include a picture of a face or better yet, record a short video
Short bio
Ask good questions
Ultimately, Work With What You Have
Remember that threatening clutter?
Not so threatening is it?
If youâre not comfortable on video, then email past clients the questions above and ask for their answers. If you canât think of any clients whoâd give you a testimonial, then call a friend and ask them to vouch for your character.
In time, and as your business grows, youâll get better and better real estate testimonials which will improve your conversion rate even further. But itâs a process.
Testimonials can increase conversion rates if you use them correctly and there are very few instances where a testimonial would actually hurt your conversion rate.
So work with what you have.
So embrace it; go get some testimonials and add them to your website. Remember, a slight conversion rate increase could mean thousands of dollars more per month for your business.
Gary! Excellent!!! Man this is soooo huge right now… building credibility in all of our marketing… that’ll help you stand apart credibility wise from your competitors.
Trevor- Great video, I have used a few different sources to post reviews before, and thought I already knew enough. But your video definately ran true, that we can always learn more. Thanks for the great recommendations. I look forward to making some video reviews/testimonials.
This was very helpful, thank you. I’m brand new, and haven’t closed a deal yet. Do you have advice for testimonials (or alternative) in this case? Would it make sense to get a general testimonial about my character, ethics etc. or just leave testimonials alone altogether until I have a happy customer (seller) that I’ve done a deal with?
YES YES YES. Great question… and it’s one that every business in the world has to face… because everyone has to start somewhere.
The whole key is taking your prospects on a journey… from Problem Aware, to Solution Aware (they know their options to buy or sell), and to the Decision… but between being solution aware and making a decision they have to do something to vet and verify their options to choose the one they trust the most, they believe the most, they connect the most, and that’ll help them the most.
As long as you’re connecting w/ them, showing you have the expertise to solve their problem (which is likely more of a mental roadblock for you right now vs. an actual roadblock), and make sure they know who you are and want to work with you… you’ll do fine.
YES I’d go get character based testimonials from…
– Your banker
– Your mortgage broker
– Insurance agent
– Real estate agent
– Co-workers
– Boss / Former Boss
– Local non-profit agency you volunteer at
– … you get the idea.
something like…
“I’ve worked with Candace on several projects at “The ‘Save The Carrots’ Day Parade and Fundraiser” and she’s always amazing. Honest, trustworthy, and she does what she says she does. If you’re looking for someone with integrity, Candace is the person. I’d recommend her to anyone” – Nancy Pancy, Director: Save The Carrots Foundation
Yep, there are other ways to build credibility as well… just going out there and showing you know your stuff. Keep it up and get that first deal done! We can help you through it… just hop on one of our weekly Carrot Coaching Calls if you’re a Carrot client and we’ve got you :-)
Thanks so much Trevor! That was very helpful and makes sense. I’ve been hearing great things about Carrot practically everywhere and have witnessed the a customer (and technically in my case “non” customer service I first-hand lol)…anyway the thorough response is much appreciated and I will definitely be an actual customer quite soon :)
Trevor – How do you go about securing the testimonials? Mainly, do you get it in writing that they gave you permission if you do a level 2 or 3 testimonial?
The best way to secure them is at the moment they are the happiest and seeing value from you… which is the closing table… when they’re getting their check. So you just need to work into your process at the closing table asking for a testimonial.
But don’t just say “can I have a testimonial?”. Then it seems self serving.
Ask them for feedback instead.
“Hey Mrs. Seller, I’m so excited we helped you get this done and this property off your hands. We’re always looking to improve… are there any things we can do to improve the experience for others? (let them answer it verbally). Then ask… “sweet, thanks for the feedback. So, on the other side of it… what was the best part about your experience with us? (let them talk, you take mental note). Then ask more questions. “What do you feel things would be like if you didn’t find us?” “what were you most surprised about after working with us about our service?” “were there any things you were nervous about before working with us that we overcame well for you during the process?” (that question is the one that’ll yield the most gold).
Once htey answer w/o the pressure of “doing a testimonial”… then if they said some good stuff you say…
… “oh, man there’s lots of sellers that have similar things that hold them back from working with professional house buyers like us… the way you said that is awesome… would you mind if I ask you that question again and we record it this time? Then we can show it to other prospective clients so they don’t make the mistake of working with fly by nite operations”.
Trevor, this was a great module. The list of questions to ask is super helpful. Is there a way to link Facebook reviews or Google reviews to the site so that it accomplishes both the review goal AND the multi platform goal?
Real estate testimonials to help establish credibility and authority. Quality testimonials increase conversions because they arenât looked upon as sales pitches. If they come across in an unbiased voice they will build trust. Youâre using real people to show success in your service.
I really liked the end where you discussed what questions to ask sellers. That will for sure improve my videos going forward. GaryBuysHouses.com
Gary! Excellent!!! Man this is soooo huge right now… building credibility in all of our marketing… that’ll help you stand apart credibility wise from your competitors.
Go get ’em!
Trevor- Great video, I have used a few different sources to post reviews before, and thought I already knew enough. But your video definately ran true, that we can always learn more. Thanks for the great recommendations. I look forward to making some video reviews/testimonials.
Eric! Awesome, glad it helped to make your testimonials better!!!
Hit me w/ a link to one of yours here and I’ll take a look at it and pass over some feedback. Thanks Eric!
Hi Trevor,
This was very helpful, thank you. I’m brand new, and haven’t closed a deal yet. Do you have advice for testimonials (or alternative) in this case? Would it make sense to get a general testimonial about my character, ethics etc. or just leave testimonials alone altogether until I have a happy customer (seller) that I’ve done a deal with?
Candace! Awesome! Glad you liked it.
YES YES YES. Great question… and it’s one that every business in the world has to face… because everyone has to start somewhere.
The whole key is taking your prospects on a journey… from Problem Aware, to Solution Aware (they know their options to buy or sell), and to the Decision… but between being solution aware and making a decision they have to do something to vet and verify their options to choose the one they trust the most, they believe the most, they connect the most, and that’ll help them the most.
As long as you’re connecting w/ them, showing you have the expertise to solve their problem (which is likely more of a mental roadblock for you right now vs. an actual roadblock), and make sure they know who you are and want to work with you… you’ll do fine.
YES I’d go get character based testimonials from…
– Your banker
– Your mortgage broker
– Insurance agent
– Real estate agent
– Co-workers
– Boss / Former Boss
– Local non-profit agency you volunteer at
– … you get the idea.
something like…
“I’ve worked with Candace on several projects at “The ‘Save The Carrots’ Day Parade and Fundraiser” and she’s always amazing. Honest, trustworthy, and she does what she says she does. If you’re looking for someone with integrity, Candace is the person. I’d recommend her to anyone” – Nancy Pancy, Director: Save The Carrots Foundation
Yep, there are other ways to build credibility as well… just going out there and showing you know your stuff. Keep it up and get that first deal done! We can help you through it… just hop on one of our weekly Carrot Coaching Calls if you’re a Carrot client and we’ve got you :-)
Thanks so much Trevor! That was very helpful and makes sense. I’ve been hearing great things about Carrot practically everywhere and have witnessed the a customer (and technically in my case “non” customer service I first-hand lol)…anyway the thorough response is much appreciated and I will definitely be an actual customer quite soon :)
Trevor – How do you go about securing the testimonials? Mainly, do you get it in writing that they gave you permission if you do a level 2 or 3 testimonial?
Hey Allan! Great question.
The best way to secure them is at the moment they are the happiest and seeing value from you… which is the closing table… when they’re getting their check. So you just need to work into your process at the closing table asking for a testimonial.
But don’t just say “can I have a testimonial?”. Then it seems self serving.
Ask them for feedback instead.
“Hey Mrs. Seller, I’m so excited we helped you get this done and this property off your hands. We’re always looking to improve… are there any things we can do to improve the experience for others? (let them answer it verbally). Then ask… “sweet, thanks for the feedback. So, on the other side of it… what was the best part about your experience with us? (let them talk, you take mental note). Then ask more questions. “What do you feel things would be like if you didn’t find us?” “what were you most surprised about after working with us about our service?” “were there any things you were nervous about before working with us that we overcame well for you during the process?” (that question is the one that’ll yield the most gold).
Once htey answer w/o the pressure of “doing a testimonial”… then if they said some good stuff you say…
… “oh, man there’s lots of sellers that have similar things that hold them back from working with professional house buyers like us… the way you said that is awesome… would you mind if I ask you that question again and we record it this time? Then we can show it to other prospective clients so they don’t make the mistake of working with fly by nite operations”.
Great break down and ranking of testimonial. How about getting testimonial on other sites like google?
Trevor, this was a great module. The list of questions to ask is super helpful. Is there a way to link Facebook reviews or Google reviews to the site so that it accomplishes both the review goal AND the multi platform goal?
Real estate testimonials to help establish credibility and authority. Quality testimonials increase conversions because they arenât looked upon as sales pitches. If they come across in an unbiased voice they will build trust. Youâre using real people to show success in your service.
This is really useful, thank you for sharing!