Testimonials are a very powerful marketing tool that your current and past customers can help with. With testimonials, it's not just you saying good things about yourself and your real estate services. Someone else is saying it for you, preferably many "someone else's" - as many as you can possibly get.

As quickly as possible you should build a book or filing cabinet full of testimonials. You should include many of these testimonials in your marketing materials and listing presentations. As much as possible you should overwhelm your potential customers with evidence.

It's also important to make sure that you have quality testimonials, not just general statements followed by limited personal information such as just the initials of a person. Good testimonials explain how you helped individuals solve specific problems. Testimonials are a much more powerful tool when they show your prospect how you solved people's specific challenges.

Seeing how you solved problems for your other clients will provide your prospects with encouragement that you can help solve their problems. Most of your prospects will have the same handful of problems (i.e. limited funds, a property with obvious flaws, credit, etc.) Over time, you should work to get testimonials that describe how you resolved each one of these different issues for your past customers.

When you are getting each testimonial, get the provider's permission to use their full name and location. This is much more credible than just a first name or initials. It also works better if you can have them write the testimonial on their own letterhead in their own handwriting. Once you have gathered a reasonable number of these 'problem-specific' testimonials sort them into groups and produce a small booklet that you can copy and give to clients. This will give you a formidable weapon against your competition.

You should make the getting of testimonials a regular part of your business. When talking to your clients, explain how it will help others to know how you solved their particular challenge. Be persistent, these testimonials will provide you with a powerful tool that is well worth the effort.

It is a good idea to get into the habit of bringing some stationary to closing and having your client write their testimonial there before or after the closing. Again, tell them how much it will help others to hear how you solved the problem and ask them how it felt to have the problem resolved. You could also bring a video or audio recorder and record their testimonial for use on your website.

If you don't have any past clients to get testimonials from, ask friends or co-workers to give you testimonials about how they have seen you solve problems or deal with difficult situations. This will get you started. Never fake a testimonial. This will do you more harm than good. Focus on providing excellent service to your clients and be consistent in requesting them and before too long you will have a great marketing tool that will serve you for years.