This pest control sales guy was full of sh*t, but he had the right tactic.
Every summer, a new, wet-behind-the-ears college bro walks up to my door and knocks.
“Hi, I’m Stevo from ACME Pest Control. We service Jan and Larry’s property down the street. Are you noticing any bug issues?”
🚨 Spoiler Alert: The is no “Jan” or “Larry.
He pulled those names right out of his butt.
It was the right tactic. Lazy execution.
By attempting to name-check my neighbors, he was opening his pitch with social proof.
The idea was to get me to think, “Well, if it’s good enough for Larry, it’s good enough for me!”
The place we see social proof most often is on social media.
Meta (Facebook/Instagram) are pros at leveraging social proof.
I loved the Facebook Events feature while running events for my nonprofit.
It does two things when someone marks “interested” or “going” on a Facebook Event.
- It posts their response on their timeline so all their friends can see they’re going.
- Anytime the event scrolls through their friend’s feed, it has a little note that says, “Larry is going.”
You might also notice that Instagram does this on every post.
If someone you follow likes a post that appears in your timeline, it will say, “Liked by Larry,” just below the engagement buttons.
Social proof is a powerful way to help people get over the hump and engage your services.
Here are 3 Ways to Leverage Social Proof to Grow Your Small Business.
1️⃣ Testimonials
Be relentless in gathering testimonials from customers. The more you have, the more likely a prospect is to recognize someone you’ve worked with.
Even if they don’t recognize someone, testimonials from people they don’t know still provide a high level of social proof for new customers.
2️⃣ Logos of partner/client organizations
You can borrow the trust of other respected organizations you’ve worked with by posting their logos on your website or marketing materials.
When a prospect sees the logo of an organization they trust, they transfer that trust to you. It’s like seeing the face of an old friend in your testimonials list.
3️⃣ Start a referral program
There is no better social proof than a happy customer referring a friend directly to your business.
Create an incentive program to encourage happy customers to reach out to their network to recommend your services.
Anytime you can ease a potential customer’s mind by showing them faces or logos they recognize, do it.
It’s by far the easiest way to overcome their hesitation to buy.
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