5 No-Pain Strategies for Getting Testimonials and Online Reviews

Years ago if you'd wanted to find a new service provider, say a dentist or dog groomer, you'd probably have asked a friend for a referral. Times have changed. These days, nearly everyone is going online to not only find nearby businesses but to research and evaluate them.

Online reviews and testimonials are the best way for any business to demonstrate a track record of happy, successful clients. But asking past clients for testimonials can seem awkward. After all, it's our job to help them, and now suddenly we're asking them to help us! I liken it to exercise. We know it's good for us, but for some reason rarely make it a priority.

It's not enough to just be in business anymore. In the past you'd hear, "Hey my uncle's in real estate, you should give him a call." Now you need to be proactively managing your reputation—online and off. They are going online to find an agent, but they also want to know why they should hire you. Given that 92 percent of consumers use the Internet at some point during their home searches, agents must take control of their online reviews and reputations or risk losing many of their prospects' business.

There's nothing like testimonials and online reviews to help you enhance your professional credibility with the online reader. In fact, a recent article published at Search Engine Land revealed 88 percent of consumers have read online reviews in order to determine the quality of a local business.

Quick aside: To boost consumer trust in agents found on Trulia, we recently added a new, improved, and far more robust agent ratings and review section to our free agent profiles. These new ratings and reviews are your chance to get free endorsements from your past clients and offer the social proof needed to generate even more business from your Trulia Agent Profile.