VO-BB - 20 YEARS OLD!

[Jon Morss]

After some time of trying to break into this VO thing, I finally landed a few gigs that were actual paid gigs. Now that the sessions are done, I would like to get some sort of Testimonial from the client. Is it bad form to ask the client for a Testimonial or is this something they typically do on their own? Is this something that could be included in a Thank You note to the client? I want to ensure I’m following the proper protocol after a session is done and not freak the client out, so any thoughts on this would be great.


Thanks,

Jon

[Philip Banks]

Because of the way so-called marketing experts work most testimonials have little or no value. Asking for a testimonial merely devalues the already worthless.

By all means write a thank you note and use any response you get but do not even hint that you want a "my gosh you were fabby" reply.

The next point is even more important. In the same way that you should police what goes on to your demo's you should also look at any testimonials you receive with a buyers eye. You and I are grateful for any kind remarks made by customers but who else cares? If I don't know the person or company then the testimonial is nice but has no punching power. You could use a testimonial from Sherry who owns the Portgordon Post Office and Shop but should you? Probably not.

[todd ellis]

first & foremost: know the answer before you ask the question.

i generally ask ... as a matter of quality control ... were you happy with the final product? was the process clear & concise? was the time line what you expected? would you please keep me in mind for upcoming work?

if they answer the questions positively i will surely have a quote to pull. if not - i have more work to do.

oh, and a testimonial from the president, ceo, executive producer or the like is much more powerful than carl from the production room or sherry from the post office ... although i'm sure she does a fine job.
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"i know philip banks": todd ellis
who's/on/1st?

[Lizden]

I will generally ask questions along the same lines as Todd to make sure I delivered what they wanted.

If they send me a glowing email saying their loved the work, I will always ask them whether I can use their quote on my testimonial page.
I have never had anyone say no....well actually I did have someone send me a wonderful email, but they were part of a huge corporation and had very strict legal rules as to what could be used, so they said that they had to check with their legal/marketing deptartment first. I did ask though and am still waiting to hear back.

I generally wait till I've done a few jobs for clients before asking for a testimonial. If they say something nice, I'll laugh & say "can I quote you on that?" most will agree.

I try & make it part of a conversation, NOT a separate request specifically asking for a testimonial.

I only actually started doing this a few months ago and will probably only have a few on the site & rotate them...but it's a nice way for potential clients to know that at least I've provided good service.

L.
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Liz de Nesnera O.A.V. ~ Livin' The VO Dream!
English/French Bilingual VO w/ ISDN
HireLiz.com / liz@hireliz.com

[Bruce]

Putting on my producer hat for a moment, here's what counts for me when trying to find talent:

1. The quality of their audition (if one is requested) and how well they understood what was asked for in the audition request.

2. The quality of their demo(s)

3. How they present themselves in written or spoken communications

4. The general appearance of, and information on, their own website

5. The information on their pay-to-play site if that's all they have (which, foolish or not, can be a small negative with me)

And somewhere around 8th or 9th if I get that far, are testimonials. Some are faked, most are from people I don't know, and I'm not going to call any of them to confirm their opinion.

Back to my voice talent hat.

B
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VO-BB Member #31 Enlisted June, 2005

I'm not a Zoo, but over the years I've played one on radio/TV. .

[Anthony Richardson]

Hi Jon

Testimonials are very important and I can't encourage you enough to politely request them from your customers.

I tend to give my customers a hint by giving them a short list of bullet points such as:

Was the voice over produced to a high standard?
Was the person easy to deal with?
Was it FAST?
Were you delighted with the end result?

Basically - put words into their mouthes!

@nt

[Moe Egan]

I take the lazy way out. If a client sends me a nice note i ask if I can use it..then they sometimes "spruce it up" a bit.
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Moe Egan
i want to be the voice in your head.
~~~~~

[Jon Morss]

Thanks guys. As always, you have been of tremendous help. It is interesting to see the differences in ideas that each person has. They are all very helpful.

I did send a note to a couple of clients, and oddly enough one did send a nice write-up back. So, I guess for that particular client it didn't hurt to ask. I'll take a non response from the others as an indication that they didn't care for the question. I'll have to give the other ideas presented here a try and see what happens.

Thanks again.

[JTVG]

Hi Jon,

I used flashing testimonials along with logos on my website but ditched the testimonials on the redesign earlier this year. I think logos can be great for transmitting first impressions, especially if you have done work for some recognizable clients.

Testimonials can often make a site look cluttered (my opinion) and I'm not sure a prospective producer will really spend any time looking at them while they're enroute to your demo page. A quick recognizable logo, however, can lend credibility in a very short amount of time.
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Joe Szymanski
http://www.joethevoiceguy.com