How to Get Customer Reviews for Your Sales Training Business in 2022

Your sales training business is only as good as your customers say it is. But how can you get them to talk? And, more importantly, do you know how to get reviews for your business from happy customers that can serve as recommendations for others?

Let’s start by saying this: it’s not just luck. Once you know how to get reviews for your business, you can create a robust pipeline of customer reviews and mentions across your channels — netting you reputation and social proof, which builds your credibility in the process.

And, since 92% of business-to-business buyers are more likely to purchase a product or service after reading a trusted review, your revenue will thank you for that strategy, too.

Now, just think. That statistic has been validated as an average across B2B industries. It stands to reason that reviews for sales trainers matter even more as their business is built on reputation. Companies will only hire sales training consultants if others have found success with them, and chances are they'll learn about it through social proof: a.k.a. the online customer reviews they read.

So let's dive in. We’ll cover three areas of getting customer reviews:

1. General strategies on how to get reviews for your business, 
2. How smaller businesses —  like sales training businesses  —  may need to adapt those strategies, and 
3. What tactics sales trainers can use to reward customers in exchange for their reviews.

How to Get Reviews For Your Business

We'll start from the top-down with some general strategies on how to get customer reviews that apply across industries. Almost any B2B business can integrate these strategies in their larger onboarding and retention communications, increasing the chances that their satisfied clients share their thoughts and experiences online.

1. Build your profile on external review sites

You may consider this first step “housekeeping” but, if you're asking yourself how to get customer reviews, it's absolutely crucial. Most potential clients will look for reviews on sites like G2,  Capterra, Software Advice, Clutch, and TrustRadius. And when current clients want to leave a review, that's where they'll go as well.

2. Integrate reviews in your new client onboarding process

The next step is encouraging relatively new clients to share their experiences with you. Depending on how you structure your onboarding process, that might mean waiting for their first experience with your product or service. Once they have that first experience, you can ask them to share a review via a form on your website or on one of the popular review sites.

The right phrasing is crucial for this tactic. Acknowledge that they're just starting their journey with you, and help them understand that you're only looking for their thoughts "so far". Even if that initial review is not yet as in-depth as it could be, it's much easier to get an update later when they've already committed to sharing their thoughts early on.

So, why get the review early?

For starters, it helps you get more reviews. People are more likely to leave a review if you’re asking them for one. It’s really that simple. And given that the average consumer reads at least 10 reviews before forming an opinion, more is merrier.

3. Integrate reviews into your client invoicing process

The monthly or annual invoice is a natural client touchpoint for any B2B business. Use it as another opportunity for your customers to share their thoughts by including a link to review sites or including a link to a review template on your website. Bonus: if you prompt them to put their positive experience top of mind during this touchpoint, they might become more likely to pay their invoice quickly or renew their contract.

4. Consider a customer  review remarketing campaign 

If your business can track new customer sign-ups, leverage that with a remarketing campaign. Consider these two retargeting options:

• Upload a list of current client emails to an ad platform like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, or Google
• Place a remarketing pixel (essentially a line of HTML code) on the first page new customers see when signing up for your product or service

Now, you can build ads specifically designed to get reviews. Now, the next step for how to get customer reviews through remarketing is using effective visuals and text that asks your customers to leave a review with you, and link the ad to the right place to get started. 

How to Get Online Reviews For Your Small Business

As we've mentioned above, most of the tactics above are generally applicable across businesses. However, they might require some adjustments to make sure you know how to get online reviews for your small business in sales training as well. 

Chances are that in the client onboarding process, your clients don't yet know enough about your training expertise to feel comfortable leaving you a review. The same strategy might be better used later in the process, building in a regular review opportunity in the same spot where you might send a client satisfaction survey. 

For example, a trainer might debrief with a client who is gushing about how much the sales training has helped their business. That's a perfect opportunity to mention leaving a review, and encourage the client to get specific about just how the training has been beneficial. 

That more personalized outreach can also extend to non-personal interactions between sales trainer and client. Each trainer, for instance, can occasionally send an email to all their current clients, asking them specifically to leave a review and sharing some steps to make the process easy.

Because of the personal connection the trainer has established with their clients, response rates tend to be better than email blasts for businesses with less personal client relationships.

How Do You Reward Customers For Reviews?

Some customers will be more than happy to share their thoughts. Others might need a little extra push. The question, of course, becomes just how you can reward your customers for taking that extra step to leave you a review.

There are TONS of ways to directly incentivize reviews without directly influencing the review itself. These include:

• Offering service discounts for people who leave reviews
• Creating a loyalty program and rewarding people who leave reviews with loyalty points
• Offer free coaching sessions for those who leave reviews
• Try creating a custom sessions or course that you can use as a reward for those who leave reviews

Here’s the main point: you want to incentivize people to leave reviews — not to leave positive reviews. You don’t want to bias the review process. This can damage your credibility.

Putting It All Together

Reviews can make or break a coaching business. Luckily, getting reviews isn’t as hard as it seems. With the right tactics and the right coaching software, you can create a steady stream of reviews for years to come.

Profi's platform is designed for sales trainers looking to get new clients while streamlining the onboarding and ongoing client management process. Book a Demo with one of our Product Coaches today to learn more about our platform, and how we can help you increase your chances of getting consistent positive client reviews you can use for social proof to attract new clients.