As a tax resolution practitioner, you may know your services are excellent, but how can you let a prospective client know without sounding boring and overly boastful? Even if your prospective client will patiently listen to you tooting your own horn, how much will they actually believe? This is where the value of testimonials comes into play.

The best referral is from a happy client.

As a marketer in the digital age, I know testimonials can make or break a business (would you go to a restaurant that has gotten a majority of bad Yelp reviews?) and they are an excellent way to vouch for your services. I cannot stress how important it is to collect and use testimonials from the beginning of your practice until you resolve your final tax case. Secure testimonials (without asking for them) and position them to your best advantage. Keep reading to learn how.

How to Get Testimonials Without Asking
Asking someone to write a testimonial about your business on a blank sheet of paper will lead to a bunch of generic remarks: “He did a great job!” This does not help you! Instead, as you need to direct them in solving their tax problem, you also need to (subtly) direct them in writing their testimonial.

As I shared in a recent podcast, I asked every one of my tax resolution clients to fill out a “client survey”. In the survey, I include questions or statements that will prompt them to give me specific answers. Examples include:

• When did they become a client and what tax issue(s) brought them in?
• How do they feel about our firm?
• Describe a particular experience from our firm that made them very happy.
• Is there any office procedure or matter that we could improve upon?
• Of the benefits they received from our firm, what did they value the most?

Note that timing is key when giving them the survey. The best time to send a survey to a client: when their bank garnishment gets lifted, when their levy gets released or when their case is settled. Ask every single client to fill out the survey, even if you are not sure what type of review you will get back. A bad review may not help you boost business but it will give you feedback on how you can improve your business practice.

How to Use Your Testimonials Effectively
Now that you’ve collected your testimonials, put them to work for you. Use them to position yourself as an expert in the tax resolution industry. Use your testimonials everywhere. Talk about them to your prospects and include them in your newsletters, website (on every page!), brochures, and even in emails when responding to inquiries. Testimonials are especially effective when they describe an experience that is similar to your prospective client’s situation. Always be sure to include a before statement (a back story that includes what the tax liability was) and an after statement (the outcome of the case).

Finally, testimonials are unique because they provide one-of-a-kind marketing materials that no other tax practitioner will have. Use them to your advantage and watch your profits soar!

Interested in learning more PROVEN tax resolution marketing and sales strategies? Check out my Tax Resolution Domination System & Toolkit.

Hear what others have said about my system and toolkit:
"I must say, it's been the difference between getting $2,500 at most for offers in compromise and getting 3X that! I'd estimate, in 2015 alone, your materials are going to generate over $200,000 in tax resolution fees for our firm! That means, tax resolution will become the main revenue source for us."
- Mike Ornelas, CPA

"I’ve been in the tax resolution business for a long time. I had deluded myself into thinking that I really couldn’t learn anything more. Within 5 hours I learned something that will really transform my business – on the technical side of things that I honestly didn’t know. That was surprising to me. I had a lot of take-a-ways on the process side – how to run my business a lot better. I’m really excited. I know this is going to blow my business away!"
- Darrin T. Mish, Esq

Listen to my tax resolution podcast and read my Linkedin article about building a highly successful tax resolution practice.