Although I haven’t been using them long, since I started requesting them I’ve never been refused a testimonial. That has a lot to do with the outcome of the project obviously, but it also has to do with the process by which I go about getting them and the philosophy behind it.

How to get testimonials

Don’t wait until the end of the project

The process for getting a testimonial doesn’t begin when the project is over. The process starts from the very first email, phone call or meeting you have with the client. If you’re a jerk right off the bat, it’s unlikely you’ll get a good testimonial, even if the project comes out a raving success.

First impressions, while not indelible, are certainly hard to alter. Be nice, be respectful and be professional from the second the project begins until the very end.

Do a good job

Nothing is going to ensure a testimonial like just doing a brilliant job. If you are supposed to design a logo with a swoosh, design a logo with a swoosh and don’t stop until your client is happy.

If you do this it is pretty much guaranteed you’ll get a good testimonial. A couple things can stand in your way and one of them is…

Your attitude

If you treat your client like an ass you’re not going to get a testimonial no matter how successful the project is.

Being a successful freelancer is not just about making a great logo, or a slick website or writing the 150 words your client wanted. It’s about delivering what was asked for, of course, but it’s also about being and acting professional.

Give a little extra

I always give more than I’m asked for and more than I promise. If I say I’m going to do 10 logo variations, I’ll do 15. If I say I’ll have the project done by Tuesday, I’ll finish it Monday. This is a great philosophy for both business and life. This point alone will probably give you more word-of-mouth business than anything.

Your clients will be happy when you do what they want. But they’ll be ecstatic if you give them more than they expected!

Ask for it

As to getting the actual testimonials, just ask for them and don’t be covert about it. A great majority of your clients will have absolutely no problem giving you a good testimonial if you just ask for one.

The way I go about it is to just be honest and say, “I’ve really enjoyed working with you and if you’d enjoyed working with me, I’d love a testimonial. They’re very good for business!” Your client, most likely also a business person, will understand this. You can possibly even swap testimonials, especially if you’re going through a job board like Scriptlance, eLance or even eBay where the feedback system can provide you all you need.

Don’t add extra work for your client

Some clients don’t want to put in the extra work to write you a testimonial. Some clients, no matter how great you did on the project, just won’t want to help you out. Some will just flat out say no, regardless. Let’s face it, some people are jerks and the more angelic you are the more they think you’re a serial killer. It happens, but all is not lost.

In cases like this, when my client has a chip on his shoulder or there’s just bad chemistry, I’ll write the testimonial myself based on what the client has said over the course of the project.

For example, I had a client for whom I did a logo design. My first batch of logos went to him within half an hour and he didn’t expect them until a few hours later. His email in response said, “Wow that was fast!”

Unfortunately that was the only nice thing he ever said to me, even though the project turned out great.

Over the course of the project his emails got more and more terse. He stopped capitalizing, stopped spelling correctly and his grammar got to the point where I was actually having trouble deciphering it. I knew that asking him to write me a testimonial from scratch would be like asking him to slice off his left arm.

At the end of the project I asked him if he’d mind me using his “Wow that was fast!” email on my website as a testimonial. I also made it a point to tell him I’d only use his initials and not his full name. There was no work for him to do and he agreed.

Testimonials are not all created equal

If you have a bunch of testimonials that say “Joe designed a logo for me,” or “Sarah creates great websites,” they’re not going to do much for you. Potential clients can already see by your portfolio that you design logos and they can decide for themselves whether or not they’re great.

The kind of testimonials you should get, as I mentioned in an earlier post, should act as character witnesses for you. They don’t need to say what you do but how you do it. Your testimonials should mention things like your:

• Speed
• Availability
• Work ethic
• Approachability
• Communication
• Turnaround time
• Quick response time

Testimonials should tell your potential clients about your more intangible qualities. How you get testimonials of this kind instead of the more generic ones, again, is to just ask for them. Sometimes I’ll dig through email exchanges for good sound bites, compile them and then ask the client permission to use it all.

If you can show that you not only do great work but that you do it as a constant and consistent professional, you’ll be unstoppable.

Any tips you’d like to add? I’d love to hear some ideas you use to get client testimonials and any problems you’ve run into.

Client testimonials are a similar catch-22. Do you need them? Does anyone really care?

In my experience, they haven’t really mattered so far, at least not so drastically that I’ve struggled financially. In fact, in the three years I’ve been semi- or full-time freelance I’ve only started featuring testimonials within the last few months. That seems like a contradiction and it probably is. I do that sometimes.

But the reason I feature testimonials now is simple: yes, I’ve gotten plenty of work without them, but who knows if I could have had more? I’d bet that over the span of three years there would have been more work. Maybe not a lot more, but more regardless, and sometimes freelancing comes down to “every little bit.”

 And there’s another reason. I noticed a trend among potential clients who’d ask about things like my communication, hours of availability, speed of delivery and even whether I’m an easy guy to work with. Those are all testimonial territory, folks.

If you were in court, testimonials would be your character witnesses. They speak of who you are, how you do what you do and what the client can expect of you. Not your work, but you.

While you may have a slick portfolio, none of the items in it say you’re available 24 hours a day, or that you work fast, or that you’re pleasant to work with. If you find your clients often ask about these things, it could very well be that you need some testimonials.

My opinion on testimonials is that they play second fiddle to a good portfolio. Your client wants to know how good you are, how sexy his logo or website will be, etc. I would venture that the more fantastic your portfolio becomes (which is sort of testimonial in itself), the less important testimonials are.

But that said, I’d still say 100% that you should have them. At the very least, they will save you from wasting time convincing every client that you don’t bite the heads off rabbits in your free time.

What to do? Fake it.

Seriously, just make one up. Your potential clients are going to want to see what you have done. If you can’t show them that, the next best thing is to show them what you can do.

What I did at the beginning was have some friends make up companies for me and I’d design logos, business cards and letterhead for them. I also created logos and such for make-believe companies I’d conjured out of thin air.

If you’re looking at being a graphic designer this should do the trick. If you’re a web designer, do the same thing. Make up a great site for yourself first and then design some home pages for fake companies, family members, whatever. Whatever industry you’re looking at moving into, just get your work out there and make it representative of your skills.

The important thing is to remember not to let your lack of actual paying clients stop you. Also remember that any client you get is going to be more interested in your skills and what you can do than all the big names you’ve worked for in the past.

One thing I’ve never heard as a freelancer is, “Oh, you didn’t design NBC’s logo? Then you’re fired!”