Testimonials are a high-octane marketing tool that can significantly boost sales. Have you noticed how many retail websites are adding customer reviews these days? That’s because people want to know “the real scoop” before making a purchase—especially for something as intangible as a service. And seeing proof of someone else’s satisfaction makes them much more confident about hiring you.

So it’s time to get over feeling shy about asking for a testimonial. If they’re a fellow business owner, it will actually help them too by spreading awareness about their business. And most happy customers really don’t mind providing one.

Killer testimonials are:

Results-driven. The best ones provide tangible and specific results the client has gotten from your work together.

Numbers count a lot. Show how much their sales or traffic increased, money or time they saved, or whatever way they benefited.

Before-and-after testimonials are also powerful, even if numbers aren’t available. For example, “Before working with Chris I struggled with what to do next in my career. I had no idea what I even wanted to do. But now I’m thrilled to be working in a job I love that….”

Credible. The more the reader knows about the person giving the testimonial, the more credible it becomes. We have all seen ones like “I tripled my income in a week!—A.G., Tulsa” and probably wondered who the heck is A.G.? And how do I know his/her results are relevant to me?

Ideally, you want the person’s full name, business name, title or city and state (depending on what’s more relevant) and a photo. If it’s their business, you want to include their web address, email or business phone as well.

Free and low-cost services are making audio and video testimonials more popular. Both will up the credibility factor and impact.

Tips for Getting Killer Testimonials:

Don’t wait. The best time is when they’re still in the initial state of wow—even if you’re not completely done with the job yet. Have an email draft prepared to send out as soon as you hear back from them with their initial thoughts.

Send questions to answer. Ask what led them to contact you and how that’s changed since hiring you. What the top benefits were from working with you. What they would tell someone else who was in need of your services. And, of course, to be as specific as they can about their results.

Send a sample. Another option is to send them a sample of an ideal testimonial. Feel free to make this sample up since you’ll never actually be using it.

Write it for them. It has always felt awkward to me to create a testimonial for myself, but some people will ask you to do that. An easier route—if someone spontaneously praises you—is to type up what they said (or something very similar) and ask them if you could use it.

Always make sure it’s ok with your client before using a testimonial. Also, it is ok to tweak their wording or just run an excerpt, if it doesn’t change the meaning of what they said. But run any substantial changes by them before using it.