When you get the review in, you slap it onto a template, post it to social media with a generic congratulations to your buyer/seller, and call it a day. (Been there, done that.)
But…what if replacing the generic caption and blandly positive feedback with a quick few sentences completely changed how the review resonated with future clients?
What if, instead of checking off the “social post for Wednesday” box on your to-do list, your client feedback actually helped you warm up and convert the leads that are vetting you online?
Why are real estate client testimonials important?
Effective testimonials help you get on prospective customers’ radar when they’re looking for a real estate agent using local SEO. They offer social proof to your target audience that you walk the walk and are a reliable agent who can be trusted.
Reviews are the real-life success stories and tangible results that show the actual deliverables behind your marketing.
When a past client refers you, your reviews reinforce what the person referring you said, and offer reassurance to the prospective buyer or seller about to start one of the largest transactions they’ll ever be part of.
Testimonials, whether they’re on review sites, your socials, or on a dedicated testimonial page on your website, are incredibly persuasive.
They stand out as a highly effective way to convert leads into clients. According to Performance Marketing World, they’re more trusted than advertising.
How reviews typically get handled in the real estate industry
Naturally, you want all of the marketing benefits! So when you get those valuable reviews in, you’re putting them on blast everywhere.
As you do this over time, you’ll find that copy-pasting feedback onto a template and sending it out into the world it won’t always resonate with prospective clients.
Instead of bringing you new business, these tales of positive experiences people had working with you, that are supposed to be a key part of your marketing strategy, just kind of float around the internet never accomplishing anything.
Why aren’t my real estate client testimonials getting me more business?
The answer to this is simple: your client testimonials need to center your future clients, not your past ones.
Now, this might sound confusing – after all, the review is about how your past client felt about a transaction that already happened.
You’re probably sitting there wondering, how am I supposed to make that center my future clients?
Think about the spectrum of feedback you’ve experienced over your real estate career:
There’s one end of this spectrum, where you get a review that is comprehensive, and the client tells their story.
They go into detail about their situation, and how you helped them through it.
Potential clients can relate to these types of testimonials. They see how your past client’s story mirrors their situation, and how you could help them in the same way you helped this person.
The problem is that not every review is so detailed.
The other end of the spectrum contains the short review (or maybe even just a star rating). Even though it’s a happy client and generally a good testimonial, it says something like:
“Great service, thank you”.
You can absolutely take steps to get better client reviews, but there’s a hard truth. No matter what best practices you follow, or how hard you worked on a particular deal, you’re going to end up with some very general-sounding testimonials.
That’s okay. You can suggest and ask, but you can’t control how well a client communicates in their review. Different types of testimonials have a place in your sales toolkit, and you can still use the short and sweet ones for conversion.
How can I improve my real estate client testimonials?
There’s a really quick and easy fix for those generic testimonials. Talk about the client’s story yourself.
Simply add the missing context yourself when you’re sharing the review.
This takes very little time on your part and turns the review into a great example of what it’s like working with you when potential leads come across it.
Testimonial storytelling in action
Let’s say I get a (hypothetical) client review, and it says:
“Sam was incredibly helpful in the sale of our home. She helped us sell at a competitive price.”
That’s a great review! I’m definitely posting that everywhere.
But, before I post, I’m going to jot down 1-3 sentences talking about the sale. For instance, I might write something like this:
“After 30 years, Suzy and Jack were looking to downsize for their next chapter. My team and I strategized to prep the house for sale and market this amazing family home. I’m so thrilled to announce the sale closed over asking.”
(You can redact the client names for their privacy.)
I’m now going to use these few sentences in several ways:
- On socials: as the caption accompanying a photo of the testimonial
- Carousel post: share a screenshot of the testimonial, and then add my comments explaining the transaction across a few additional slides, and post it all as a carousel post.
- Reel: use these sentences as my script, and show some b-roll as well as a shot of the client testimonial.
- Newsletter: include a photo of this testimonial and include the text in the section immediately after the image
- Listing/buyers presentation: your client testimonial is now a mini-case study! I’d include a photo of the review and my comments as a standalone page in my listing presentation. I would expand on my comments further.
- On your website: this can live in a few different sections, depending on your site’s design. You can put it right on your homepage, on your testimonials page, or create a case study blog post. Wherever this will live on your site, share this context with a photo of the testimonial.
Why storytelling works
Stories lead to sales
Let’s go back to our example:
The original testimonial is incredibly generic. Even though it talks about me positively, it doesn’t actually give my future clients any sense of why they should work with me.
By adding in a few simple sentences, that blandly positive testimonial is completely transformed.
Instead of a largely meaningless review, my future clients can now look at it and:
- Place themselves in this same scenario. (Think of a prospect that’s in a similar situation. I have now shown them that I have successfully worked with similar folks in the past.)
- See social proof of work. (Here’s evidence that I’m a professional. The additional details repeat and reinforce my messaging about how I add value for my clients.)
- Get a sneak-peak of the sales process (Buying and selling real estate is a large undertaking. This little preview of what it’s like gives my lead a preview of what’s to come.)
Those sentences create an important connection.
It’s a connection between the current lead and your past portfolio of work in a human way, featuring real people. Different client personalities can take different things away from that same blurb – there’s something for everyone.
Instead of trying to show your worth via proof that doesn’t really mean anything to the person looking at it, you are driving trust through story. It’s a story where the lead is the main character, even though it’s set in the past.
The best part here is that this strategy is quick and easy. The review-getting process doesn’t change, and it doesn’t take much time to add in this extra context.
Can I use storytelling on a review website or my Google Business page?
Yes, you can use the storytelling strategy on a review website and your business’s Google profile.
In fact, according to a BrightLocal survey, consumers are highly likely to use a business that responds to every review, whether it’s a positive or negative one.
So not only can you respond to reviews with this strategy, you absolutely should.
Just take your short blurb about the transaction, and include it in your response to the review. You’ll need to tweak the wording slightly so it makes sense as a response.
Example:
The blurb I created to accompany the generic client testimonial I got was:
“After 30 years, Suzy and Jack were looking to downsize for their next chapter. My team and I strategized to prep the house for sale and market this amazing family home. I’m so thrilled to announce the sale closed over asking.”
This would be really weird as a direct response to that past client, because in this case they’re also part of the audience that I’m talking to in my response.
So I can’t just copy-paste it the way it is, but I still want to highlight all these points for my target audience.
To tackle this, just change the sentences slightly:
“Suzy and Jack, it was an absolute pleasure working with both of you. I know it was a big move to downsize after 30 years. Thank you for trusting my team and I as we strategized to prep the house for sale and market your amazing family home. I’m so thrilled the sale closed over asking, and wish you the best of luck in your next chapter.”
This testimonial response says the exact same thing as the storytelling I’m using on other platforms.
It’s simply been tweaked slightly to speak to both my past client and my general customer base at the same time while still feeling very organic.
Implement this strategy
Great testimonials are a really important factor when prospects are deciding on which real estate agent they want to work with.
Even with a strong customer feedback strategy, some of the reviews you get are inevitably going to be generic. With the power of story, you can turn any review into a persuasive sales tool.
Next time you get a review, use this quick and easy story-telling strategy. Take the time to jot down a few notes about the transaction be