Ep 45. Why I’m using client stories in my marketing right now

Last week I shared a client’s story, and if you follow me on socials, you’ll see I’m sharing more than I usually do right now, and I want to be upfront about why because it’s actually a really good example of intentional marketing in action. I’m literally doing it now.

I’m currently in my promo period for Silent Storm (my one-to-one marketing mentorship program) and one of the most powerful things I can do right now to get more people to enroll isn’t to talk more about what’s inside, it’s to let the people who’ve been through it do the talking and let you know what it’s like from a client’s point of view. 

Because when someone who’s been where you are describes what’s shifted for them, that’s going to land in a completely different way than me talking about the features and the outcomes and transformations you might get.

And that’s exactly why I wanted to talk about why client stories work in this episode.

A lot of people aren’t using them anywhere near enough. I’m gonna hold my hands up.I don’t either.

I want to share how you can start weaving them into your own marketing in a way that feels natural rather than like you showing off. Because I hear that a lot.

If you’re new here, hello and are very warm welcome to Quiet Confidence with myself, Anita Popat. This is a podcast for introverts who want to market their thing without changing who you are.

So firstly, why do client stories work so well?

Well, there’s a really simple reason.

When you talk about your own work, people are going to factor in that you’re biased, right? Of course you think whatever you offer is good, you created it. But when someone else says it, it is a completely different conversation.

That sales guard comes down and it feels like a recommendation from a friend rather than a pitch. And that’s what we want.

For introverts especially, this is gold because a lot of us find it genuinely uncomfortable to talk about our own results, because it can feel like you’re showing off or like you’re making a promise that you can’t guarantee.

That’s a big one that stops people, but when you share someone else’s experience of working with you, you’re just telling the truth of what’s happened. There’s nothing icky about that.

Although I say that and I do believe it, I know for a lot of people it still feels uncomfortable.

And for some of my previous clients, even sharing someone else’s kind words can bring up that, “Oh God, I’m showing off” feeling. Or you might worry that it looks like you’re trying too hard or that people will think that you put them up to it. I hear this a lot.

If that’s you, just notice where that discomfort’s coming from. It’s usually about what your peers or people you might have worked with are going to think not what your ideal client’s will think.

Because trust me, your ideal client’s not rolling their eyes at a client’s story. They’re reading it or watching it, wondering if that could be them. 

The second thing is that client stories do something your own word can’t. They help your ideal client see themselves in the outcome. So when I shared that, one of my clients went from feeling like she had to perform a version of herself online to showing up in a way that finally felt like her. The person listening who’s been feeling that same way thinks, yep, that’s me.

That’s exactly what I want. And suddenly that gap between where they are and where they want to be feels a lot more bridgeable. That’s the trust bridge I talk about in action, right?

And you’re kind of selling, but not selling.

You’re just sharing a story from a client saying, I was where you are and here’s what’s changed and you can do it too.

Now, this is where most people go wrong.

They either don’t share client stories at all because they feel like they’re bragging or they share them in a way that’s so polished and formal that it reads like a case study rather than a real human talking about a real experience.

I don’t know about you, but formal case studies just give off a, I don’t know, formal vibe! To me, they just don’t feel real like a screenshot or a like conversation does.

Also the best client stories aren’t the ones with the most impressive numbers. Yeah. Obviously numbers help, but to me, I like reading and also sharing the ones with more specific detail.

So for me, it would be the client who says she used to rewrite the same post 15 times before hitting publish, and now she just writes it once in 10 minutes and gets on with her day and another client who said she’d done more for her business in the three months of working together than she had in three years and she’s finally got the confidence to show up as herself rather than a version of herself that she thought she had to be online.

This kind of specificity is what is gonna make someone stop and think that sounds like me because you really described the situation and those are the kind of moments that you wanna create with your stories.

 So how do you actually start doing this in your own marketing?

Here’s a few things that might help. So the first thing is to go back through your messages and emails or even conversations, and look for moments where a client’s describe their experience in their own words. We’re not looking for that polished testimonial they wrote for your website, we’re looking at the DM they sent you when something clicked or a message after a call where they were buzzing.

That language that they use in the moment is gonna be so full of their emotion and that really like, oh my God, I can’t believe this is happening energy. It’s gonna be way more powerful.

The second thing is to stop waiting for that massive big transformation at the end and to share as you go.

There will be so many small shifts while you’re working together, and they’re still worth sharing and they’re probably more relatable as well.

So for me, people hitting publish without overthinking or getting an inquiry from their perfect dream boat client, or someone who realised that their messaging was speaking to who they used to be rather than who they are now, these moments aren’t big flashy cash numbers. I could share them, but these are inner identity and confidence shifting feelings and words and they matter so much more.

Obviously their monetary results matter as well, but the internal shifts in confidence and mindset and the clarity they get all matters as well.

And remember, your audience is going to buy with emotion first and then logic.

So think of the little moments that your audience can imagine themselves having as well.

To do this or if you don’t have many or any testimonials, just ask – make it part of your offboarding process.

I always ask clients for video testimonial at the end, but I’m constantly screenshotting messages they’ve sent or results they’ve had throughout our whole relationship of working together.

Most clients aren’t going to proactively send you a testimonial, and that’s not because they don’t have anything good to say, it just might not occur to them, or they might not know what to write.

So a simple message to ask them if it’s OK to screenshot something if they sent you something.

or you can have an offboarding interview and just ask them how they felt before, how they felt after, and what stood out in their own words.

You’ll be surprised what comes back, and then you can obviously use all of this information in your content as well, which is exactly what I’m doing to promote Silent Storm right now.

It’s not only limited to social media. You can share them literally everywhere. I shared a client interview on this podcast. I’ve got them all over the sales page. I send them in emails. I send them in my social.

There’s loads of ways you can use them, but you should use them because they are the easiest way to build trust with your audience without you saying, look at me. I’m amazing. You are obviously, but we want other people to say that too. 

I’ve got loads of client stories on my silent storm sales page.

You can watch or read or listen to them to give you an idea of the kind of things that you should collect. 

And obviously if it feels like the right time for you to have someone in your corner to help you close that gap between the work you do and the marketing that represents it. Applications for it are now open and you can find all the information on the page.

I would obviously love to work with you.

Until then, keep showing up with your quiet confidence and I shall See you next time. Speak soon.