Two seasons in, the testimonials page on The Hayloft on Darby's website held 38 quotes. In the winter of 2024 I printed them and went through them with a red pen. Thirty-one said some version of "beautiful venue, Kelsey was amazing, highly recommend." I was grateful for every one, and I could have pasted any of them onto a competitor's website without anyone noticing, including the couples who wrote them.
The quote that books tours now is one paragraph about a grandmother's walker. Couples bring it up on tours more often than any photo on the site. It started out as one of the 31.
What a testimonial that sells contains
A useful testimonial answers the question a stranger is too polite to ask you on the phone. The good ones have four parts:
- The worry before. What almost stopped them from hiring you, or what they were afraid would go wrong.
- A concrete detail. Something that could only have happened with your business.
- The outcome. What that detail led to.
- Who it's for. The kind of reader who should pick up the phone.
"Highly recommend" has none of the four. It tells a reader the client was happy, and it gives them nothing to picture themselves in.
The rewrite
Here's what a June 2022 couple sent me the week after their wedding:
"The Hayloft was amazing!! Kelsey and her team were so great to work with and our guests are still talking about it. Highly recommend!"
In early 2024 I emailed them the questions below. The bride wrote back 240 words. I cut them to this, and she approved it the same afternoon:
"We almost ruled out barns because my grandmother uses a walker, and I pictured gravel paths and a ladder to the loft. Kelsey showed us that a bank barn is built into a hill, so you walk onto the main floor at ground level, and she had a golf cart shuttling guests from the parking field all night. Grandma stayed through the sparkler exit. If you love the barn look but have older relatives coming, go see it in person." (Allison R., married June 2022)
Every fact in the second version is hers: the worry (the walker and the ladder), the detail (the bank entrance and the golf cart), the outcome (Grandma at the sparkler exit) and who it's for. I only trimmed and reordered.
When to ask
Ask at the peak. For our first two seasons I asked in the email that returned the security deposit, and I got exactly the quotes you'd expect from someone reading an email about a security deposit.
For weddings, the peak is the morning after. Most couples text me the next day, usually a blurry photo of the dance floor and a message in all caps. I answer within the hour, thank them, and ask right then, while they're still replaying the night.
For corporate events, it's the day after the retreat. The person who organized it took a chance on a barn instead of the hotel ballroom their company used last year. The next morning their boss is thanking them, and they're glad to put in writing that the chance paid off.
Wait two weeks and couples are deep in thank-you notes, organizers are back in their inboxes, and "sure, I'll write something" turns into nothing.
How to ask
Keep the ask short and give them questions. A blank page gets you "amazing, highly recommend." Questions get you the walker.
The text I send couples:
Thank you for letting us be part of Saturday. It's one of my favorites this year.
Would you write a few sentences for couples who are where you were a year ago? These questions help:
1. What almost stopped you from booking the barn?
2. What's one moment or detail you'll remember?
3. Who would you tell to book it?
Rough answers or a voice memo are fine. I'll shape it into a short paragraph and send it back for your OK before it goes anywhere.
The email I send whoever planned a company event:
Subject: Thank you, and a small favor
Hi [name],
Thanks again for bringing your team out yesterday. [One specific thing: the fire pit ran until 10, or your CFO won the cornhole bracket.]
If you have five minutes this week, would you answer two questions for other people planning an event like yours?
1. What did you do last year, and what worried you about trying a barn?
2. What worked better than you expected, and what kind of team would you tell about us?
Rough answers are fine. I'll draft a short quote from your words and send it to you to approve.
Kelsey
Make it easy to say yes
Most people are happy to help and hate writing, so I offer to draft. My rules:
- Use only their words and facts. I trim and reorder. I don't add adjectives, and if they didn't say it, it doesn't go in.
- Get the approval in writing. "OK to use this on our website and in proposals, with your first name and last initial?" A reply of "yes!" is enough. I screenshot it.
- Ask how they want to be named. Couples usually choose a first name and last initial. Corporate organizers often give their title and company, which matters more to the next HR manager than a name.
- Keep the long version. Those 240 words had two more usable quotes in them.
Where to put them
- On the website, next to the worry it answers. Allison's paragraph lives on our directions and accessibility page, not the testimonials page. A quote from a December couple about staying warm sits next to winter pricing.
- In proposals, matched to the prospect. When an HR director asks about a retreat for 80, the proposal includes a quote from another HR director, not a bride.
- On Google. Google reviews have to come from the client, in their own account, and I don't offer anything in exchange. After they approve their paragraph, I send the review link with the text underneath so they can paste it, change it or skip it.
- Out loud on tours. I read Allison's paragraph standing at the bank entrance. It does more work than the brochure.
Give them, too
The same four parts work when you write about someone else, and Surge rewards it. Logging a testimonial for another member earns you 15 points and them 5. It shows up on their profile, on the chapter's X account and as an alert on the overlay at the next breakfast. Five given earns the Hype Machine badge. I'm at four.
Because the text is public, leave out client names and dollar amounts. Everything else applies. A few I've logged since I joined in April:
Becca Stroud, Wildroot Floral Co.: "My July couple wanted 'wildflowers' on a budget that didn't match the word. Becca drove out at 7 p.m. to see how the light comes through our west doors, then cut zinnias and dahlias from her own field the morning of. The bride's mother asked for her card before the salads were cleared. If you're getting married near Plain City or Marysville and want flowers that look gathered, call Becca first."
Minh Tran, Tran Kitchen Catering: "A company booked us for a 90-person retreat and sent 14 dietary restrictions two days out. Minh set up his banh mi and rice bowl bar with every tray labeled, and not one guest came to me asking what they could eat. If you're feeding a team with vegans, celiacs and one chicken-only guy, book Minh."
Bobby Rausch, Rausch Pest & Wildlife: "Three weeks before our first wedding of the season, we found bats in the loft of an 1893 barn. Bobby put up one-way exits instead of trapping, sealed the gaps along the ridge once they'd left, and came back twice to check. We opened on schedule without a single bat. If you own an old barn or an old house, call him before anyone else."
Tonight, scroll back through your texts from the last month and find the happiest message a client sent you. Reply to it with the questions.
