"After you've presented all your benefits the [prospect] will again begin to doubt you, even though they secretly want all your claimed benefits to be true. To build your credibility and believability present your [prospect] with testimonials from satisfied customers."
Excerpted and adapted from 12-Step Foolproof Sales Letter Template by David Frey

Have you ever stood at a crosswalk with a group of people waiting for the sign to turn from "DO NOT WALK" to "WALK" as you wonder, There are no cars. Should I just go? Then someone else goes for it and you immediately do also? I have, many times, and in many other circumstances just like this.

That, essentially, is social proof. Taking a cue from others. As much as I don't want to admit to being a lemming, I am. People are lemmings. We are social creatures. We learn from others and sometimes change our behavior based on the thoughts or actions of others.

According to Changing Minds, there are three principles behind social proof:

1. If I am uncertain I will take a cue from others.
   
2. If other people are doing something, it must be ok for me to do it too.
   
3. If other people are refraining from doing something, then it is probably not a good idea for me to do it.
   

A speaker at a conference I attended awhile back say, "In business, all things being equal, people will buy from who they know." If people do not know somebody and uncertain of what to do, social proof can bridge that gap between uncertainty and familiarity. Eileen Lee, in an article on why social proof is the new marketing, says social proof is "the positive influence created when someone finds out that others are doing something" and that there are five types that you can leverage.

5 Types Of Social Proof

1. Expert social proof: Approval from a credible expert in your field
   
2. Celebrity social proof: An endorsement from a celebrity
3. User social proof: Reviews and user-generated content, such as videos
4. Wisdom-of-the-crowds social proof: Power in numbers (i.e. McDonald's' "Over 1 Million Served" sign)
5. Wisdom-of-your-friends social proof: Knowing what your friends like

You can use one or all of these types. What do you have right now that you can use? What can you easily acquire? Let's take a look at  seven social proof strategies to be more effective with your implementation by Gregory Ciotti of Help Scout in an article on KISSmetrics blog.

7 Strategies For Effective Implementation

1. Negative social proof is horrible for persuasion: Saying that something is wrong, and that a lot of people are doing it, might actually have a reverse effect (i.e. persuading your prospect to do something you do not want them to do)
   
2. Positive social proof is more influential than saving money: Positive social proof, in one particular study at least, was shown to be more powerful than saving money, protecting the environment, and making responsible choices
   
3. Social proof works better with pictures: More information, especially pictures, with your testimonials provides more credibility and trust
   
4. People are influenced by similar people: Try to get testimonials from your ideal customer and get specifics from them, if possible, about how you helped so that your ideal prospect can resonate with them
   
5. Stories deeply connect with customers: We are wired to learn from stories and probably give them much more credit than we should
   
6. Authority rules!: Endorsements from an influential person in your industry or notable clients can create a positive halo effect around your solution
7. Better to have no proof than low proof: Saying "0 people have purchase this product" turns people off

A couple key takeaways. Your prospects are emotional, so leveraging what others say, in a positive way, influences them to feel positive about your solution. Also, do not introduce your prospect to doubt or a negative association.

How To Gather Feedback

To use social proof, you need to gather it first. Once you have it, says Peep Laja of ConversionXL in an article on how and why you should invest in getting good testimonials, you need to use it in the right way at the right place, and at the right time. Peep also links to a ton of tools for customer service/feedback, testimonial gathering software and techniques, and rating and review platforms. I am not going to re-link them all here. You can click through to the article and view the links at the bottom.

< Show The Benefits
Step 5

Give Social Proof
Step 6

Make Your Offer >
Step 7

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