One of the old adages in sales is, “People buy with emotion and justify their decisions with logic.” Especially when you are selling an as yet undelivered and intangible service, people buy based on their trust in you and your ability to do a great job.

These days, people can learn a lot about you before ever contacting your firm. It used to be that they got their recommendations by word of mouth. Now with the Web, they learn about you through “world of mouth.” Why not hedge your bets with some positive comments and success stories straight from your clients? It’s humbling and also cost effective. Here are a few tips for gathering persuasive testimonials:

Consider using an outside party who is good at drawing people out. Your clients will tell you that you are “great,” but “great” is hardly compelling sales copy. They will be more expressive with someone they do not know. Make sure your interviewer has done this before; it is an art to draw people out and get the language that persuades.

Tell your clients who will be calling them and why. A heads-up from you means they will be much more comfortable with the interviewer.

Always use the telephone or in-person interviews. If you ask folks to write a letter, the letter will almost always be stiff and formal. Again, not compelling copy. When you interview them, you have the chance to craft the words a little into much more compelling copy. (However, compelling copy should never drive you to make anything up that they did not say. It just gives you a little more license to edit.)

Craft a variety of testimonial quotes for use in your promotional campaigns.

Send each quote (any that you might ever consider using) to the clients and have them sign off on it. Make sure they know it may be used on your website, media releases, proposals and for a variety of promotional uses.

Whenever possible, use the person’s full name, title, and company. “Pat Z. in Wisconsin” sounds like a late night diet-aid commercial. “Patrick Zuber, President, HealthCore Company, Madison, Wisconsin” sounds real. Of course, if you are in a more confidential industry such as family law or estate planning, sometimes it is appropriate to use first name and last initial or to carefully craft the client’s business description.

Keep the client release form on file for as long as you use the testimonials in marketing.

Send clients copies of brochures or newsletters where the quote has been used. Most people like seeing their name in print or keeping a copy of the testimonials in their files.

If a real person testifies in detail about how it feels to work with you, it is much more persuasive. It’s also easier and more accurate than trying to talk about yourself. Having a file full of testimonials will make all of your promotional material better and easier to write. It will help you understand just why people buy from you. And it will build your confidence to go out there and tell your story.