Testimonials make me testy
But only sometimes.
Personally, I like testimonials. Whether I’m buying something sight unseen from Amazon, or hiring a plumber – honest testimonials from prior users or customers can help sway my purchasing decision.
That’s one of the reasons I use testimonials from past clients. So people that don’t know me from Adam can get a better idea of what other people think of me.
The thing is – I use real testimonials. From real clients. With their real opinions. You can read some of my testimonials here.
So what makes me testy? The amount of client testimonials on agent web sites that are absolutely identical. Yeah, I know that chestnut about 1,000 monkeys sitting in a room with 1,000 typewriters for 1,000 years would eventually produce Macbeth.
Take this example -- "Thank you for going above and beyond our expectations." Google that and you come up with 83,400 identical results. Okay – it’s a pretty generic bit of praise.
So let’s move on to "Thank you so much for all your work and expertise in marketing and selling our home. It was a real pleasure to deal with someone in whom we had so much confidence." Google that exact phrase and you come up with 29,300 identical results. C’mon – who uses “whom” in written language anymore?
So my acid test is Googling both of those phrases together. 27,200 pages share those same two platitudes. Something’s rotten in Denmark!
I think a popular vendor that makes real estate agent web sites must use those phrases as place holders. And agents who are either too lazy, clueless or sly leave them in place to look like they have great feedback from past clients.
And that is dishonest and deceptive. I’d be mortified if someone found out I was using fake testimonials – not that I’d ever dream of doing it! If you’re good, it’s just too easy to get real ones.
Richard Strahm is an award winning Realtor specializing in the North Penn areas of Montgomery County -- Lansdale, Upper Gwynedd, North Wales, Towamencin, Hatfield -- and beyond! Visit him at www.NorthPennAndBeyond.com or call today at 215-853-2624 for a free and private consultation about all of your real estate needs.
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