Check proof against the thirteen comparisons

1. The ends of the scale

Say you get a customer an amazing result. How you capture and advertise it can decide whether it persuades hard or barely registers.

• The strongest end. The prospect gets the best result they can before they buy. That is why live demonstrations work so well, if you can pull them off. It is hard to doubt that something works for you once it already has. For the same reason, free help, as far as you can afford it, can be the strongest way to persuade: people get results before they buy.
• The weakest end. A testimonial ten years old, from a faceless stranger online, that says "This was great, recommend."

Both may well come from the same person. One will sell more than the other.

2. How to use the list

The thirteen come from looking at different versions of proof over the years. Together they make a checklist, and the more boxes a piece of proof checks, the better.

• Checking them all is nearly impossible.
• Even established companies forget what got them to success. It was probably showing people proof that their thing worked.

3. The thirteen comparisons

3.1 In person > virtual

People believe what they see with their own eyes more than a digital version. Say you sell products that clean pavement. Cleaning a stain on a customer's pavement while they watch beats cleaning pavement live over video, which still persuades, but less. Whenever possible, make the proof happen in person.

Make it happen. At a big event, fly some of your best customers in to tell their stories. Selling far more units will make up for the cost of bringing them. Once they are there, spotlight them as close to your pitch as you can.

3.2 Live > recorded

Say you sell business coaching. A customer telling their story live, on stage or on a webinar, beats a video of the exact same testimonial. Wherever possible, use live testimonials over recorded ones.

Make it happen. Line people up to appear live, before or during any pitch you make.

3.3 Raw > processed

Say you sell search-engine optimization. A customer's plain phone video, full of praise, beats a heavily edited video of the same customer. The version with the least tampering looks the most authentic, so it persuades more. Wherever possible, use raw, unedited testimonials over heavily edited ones.

Make it happen. Show customers what a good testimonial looks like, and how to lay theirs out. Offer bonuses or incentives for sending one in unasked. Remind them when they reach key milestones. Build prompts for testimonials into the customer journey.

Example. An ad with a man telling his story raw beat an edited ad of the same man and story.

3.4 Show > tell

Say you sell shampoo. A customer's clips, shot a month apart in the same room and light, show the change in their hair. That beats the customer describing it. It is why unboxing videos persuade so well: they show the buyer exactly what to expect. Whenever possible, show rather than tell.

Make it happen.

• Record as many client experiences as you can, so breakthrough moments are on camera when they come. The final weigh-in of weight-loss challenges was always filmed because it was so emotional, and it caught the most genuine customer moments you could get.
• Ask customers to document things, especially if they are results other prospects hope to get. A college test-prep tutor would want students to film their first reaction to their scores and acceptance letters.
• If people will not do it when you ask, give them an incentive.
• One practice here: show proof where it lives, a video inside a phone, an email inside its inbox, a post on a screen; it is simple and convinces more.

Example. A customer saying the program helped them sign up 171 new members is one thing. A video of their gym, full to the brim, is another.

3.5 Other people saying it is great > you saying it is great

Nobody cares what you think of your own product; you are the most biased person there is. People care more about what other customers think. Whenever possible, get other people to say how much they like what you sell.

Make it happen. Add a step to the customer journey that asks people for reviews on review sites.

3.6 Identical to them > opposite of them

Put people in your ads who literally look like your customers. Ads with female gym owners brought in more female gym owners; ads with older ones brought in more older ones; more of both brought in both. So show people who reflect the ages, genders and ethnicities in your market. Then include as many kinds of customer success story as you can, to appeal to the largest share of your market.

Make it happen. Think on purpose about the ages, genders and ethnicities you attract, and represent each in your advertising and your proof.

Example. With several kinds of customer, show results with each. With only one kind, every testimonial should come from that kind. One coach who gets people of every age into great shape shows testimonials from every age, used with permission.

3.7 Personal > generic

"I was fat, then I got skinny, this is good" is a boring testimonial. A better one names specific pains, such as oversized clothes worn out of shame and a marriage gone cold, and then the change: a swimsuit at the pool again, and new confidence that won a promotion. A reader, viewer or listener might identify with pains that specific. You want them to think, "this is me."

Make it happen. In interviews, keep asking probing questions. Why was this so important to you? What conditions forced you to seek help? What drove you to change? What can you do now that you never could before? When customers record results, ask them to be specific about the pain before and the relief after.

Example. The first lines of one business's top four testimonials, from gym owners: two months from shutting the doors; not making enough money to survive; profit of $0, a few part-time helpers and 60 hours of work a week; paying the rent and the trainers, and paying themselves zero dollars. You can feel how relevant this is for a struggling local business.

3.8 Big results > small results > no results

A bigger result tends to be more compelling. Some companies have built their whole brand on a single result. Small results have their place: they always beat bad results or none. Still, use any big one you have wherever you can, and record it in as many formats as possible.

Make it happen. Reach the customers who have been with you longest and got the biggest results. Pay money, invest time, do whatever it takes to capture their big result. It will pay off for years.

Example. One customer took his gym from a handful of members to full, at 200+ members, with the work fully outsourced, and sold it within 18 months for $250k. His testimonial converted better than any other.

3.9 Newer proof > older proof

Say you sell investment services. Your latest testimonial is from before a market crash, years ago. A competitor's show how they helped customers profit during and after it. The competitor wins. You may have helped your customers then too. But unless your testimonials are up to date, people will assume you have had no good result since.

Make it happen. Set up a process for collecting testimonials once, and have fresh ones reach your inbox every week. The process itself is not covered on this page.

Example. Amazon sorts reviews by top and by most recent, never by oldest, because no one cares.

3.10 More proof > less proof

Some platforms limit the quality of proof. There, make up for quality with quantity. One stranger's words do not persuade much, but how can so many faceless strangers be wrong, for years? A score tallied from all the reviews shows a whole population's view of a product. For better or worse, that is very compelling, and it helps buyers tell one-hit wonders from reliable staples. In person, you want happy reviews floor to ceiling. Online, you want a gallery of hundreds or thousands of them.

Make it happen. Build a proof page, a video of every testimonial you have, or a wall of results; any one of them, or every one. One such page ran for years with over 5,000 testimonials and a button to book a call every three to five. Years later, people said they had stayed up all night reading it.

The lobby tip, for a business people visit. Print every 5-star review from your Google reviews, your Yelp reviews and anywhere else you are listed. Frame each cheaply and line your lobby with them floor to ceiling. It is a great way to raise the odds that new prospects buy when they walk in. It is hard not to believe 100s of reviews right in front of you. If you can show them ones from customers just like them, they will be even more likely to buy. Also keep a notebook, on paper or on a screen, full of proof for people to page through while they wait. Nothing better exists for them to take in before a sales appointment.

Flag: does more keep helping? This section wants hundreds or thousands of reviews. An ads practitioner's own data shows the gain flattening beyond 10 or 15 testimonials, so going to 20, 30 or 40 does not add in step. A third view holds that nobody reads testimonials, even 800: highlight the one line that counts, and make a testimonial video's thumbnail the objection it answers. This page does not settle which reading is right.

3.11 Third-party backing > no backing

Accreditations, industry awards, certifications and public approval from a trusted third party all make your proof more compelling. It works like a brand endorsement: "You do not need to believe me; believe them." As long as they have a credible brand, your proof gets stronger. Whenever possible, bring in a trusted third party to back your proof.

Make it happen. Have a third party back your proof at every point in your process. Link in platforms that hold reviews customers trust. Apply for awards in your industry. As silly or self-important as it may seem, it matters to customers.

Example. Move proof from a trusted site to a less trusted one: Amazon reviews on your own page, an outside body's endorsement, a certification.

3.12 Proof with numbers > proof without numbers

Plain numbers that people can follow are hard to argue with, for good reason. State how you collected the data and when, and hide nothing. Collecting that data and showing it beside the claims it supports is SOP 110, sections 6 and 7.

3.13 Metaphors > technical jargon

Every business has a few complex things: its unique way of working, its process, its technology. They are typically too complex to get across in one sitting, so find two or three metaphors that help customers understand. Teach them to your sales staff and use them in your ads.

A metaphor links what people do not know to what they do. For search-engine optimization, you could say ads are like working on commission: the pay stops when you stop. Search-engine optimization is like an investment account: little comes out at first, but it compounds until it is your main income. That compares something a prospect might not understand with paychecks and investments, which they do. If your proof holds a metaphor your audience understands, it will be more likely to sway them. Match it to what they know: for car people, cars; for people who sew, sewing.

Make it happen. List the most technical parts of your product or service, and find a metaphor for each that compares it to something the customer knows.

Example, from a sales script. The guests make a party, not the person throwing it, who only invites people, gives them a place and sets the rules. That person still gets the credit when it goes well, and the takings at the door. People now pay to join online communities the way they pay to get into nightclubs. If you can invite people to a party, you can make this business work.

4. Flag: the one-page list and the body differ

The list ends with a one-page version (section 5). These rows do not match the body.

• The third result. The body's heading ranks big over small over no results. The one-page row ends with bad results. The body's text names both: small results beat "bad or zero" ones.
• More proof. The body is about quantity: many reviews, a tallied score, a wall of reviews. The one-page row, labeled (Quantity), says to show many forms of proof, not one.
  • Read as quantity, gather as many reviews as you can. The cost: the one-page row, read alone, fails one form of proof however much of it you have.
  • Read as variety, show several kinds of proof. The cost: it loses the body's point that sheer numbers can make up for quality where a platform limits it.

This page does not settle which reading is right.

5. The one-page version

Put this on a wall where you and your team can always see it. People are more likely to buy if:

Comparison	What you do
In person > virtual	Show proof in person, not virtually
Live > recorded	Show live testimonials over recorded ones
Raw > processed	Use raw, unedited testimonials over heavily edited ones
Show > tell	Show rather than tell
Others say it is great > you say it is great	Get other people to praise what you sell instead of praising it yourself
Identical to them > opposite of them	Show someone like them getting the result, not people unlike them
Personal > generic	Show proof that describes their situation now, or the one they want, over proof that does not
Big results > small results > bad results	Show a big result over a small one; SOP 146, section 4, adds that a mix of big and small helps, because people sometimes will not believe the big ones
Newer > older	Show recent results over outdated ones
Lots of proof > only one (quantity)	Show many forms of proof rather than one
Third-party backing > no backing	Get a trusted third party to back your proof
Numbers > no numbers	Show data about people just like them getting the result
Metaphors > none	Relate what you sell to something they already understand

6. What this page does not decide for you

• Which comparison matters most. The thirteen are not ranked against one another. Not established on this page.
• How many boxes are enough. This page gives no figure for how many a piece of proof needs.
• The "more proof" row. Both readings are in section 4; whether more keeps helping is flagged in section 3.10.

7. What this page does not cover

What proof and a claim are, and collecting and presenting your data, are SOP 110 — Claim your proof from the data. Using proof to get leads to turn up is SOP 87 — Lift a show rate with incentives. Proof streams, event proof capture, the testimonial script and testimonial competitions are SOP 123 to SOP 126, in that order. The law on testimonials, reviews and incentives for them is not covered on this page.