Do you sell a product or service (like large software systems or technical consulting services) with a long sales cycle? Does it seem to make getting testimonials more challenging?

If you said yes, you’re not imagining it.

The long sales cycle presents a challenge because you and your client are in it for the long haul – the ups and downs of daily business, staff changes, and both anticipated and unanticipated challenges.

So how do you get the testimonials it’s so important to have?

Magic windows of time.

There are 3:

• Right after purchase – review the sales, discovery, and quoting process.
• Right before the product or service goes into general use – review the processes of implementation and training.
• After the client has seen benefit from the new system or service – review the value they’re receiving from the software and new processes.

Now that you’ve used the magic windows of time to create positive customer testimonials, you can put them together to create an overall success story with a beginning, middle, and end.