Guide to Client Feedback
This question is complex—at both the strategic and emotional level. But getting to a minimum viable level of clarity (i.e. having some certainty that you're going in the right direction) is simpler than you might think.
Finding the right words
If your work is any good (and I'm sure it is), your offer has multiple benefits (reasons why someone might want to pay you). There are dozens of ways to describe each of those benefits.
So how do you pick which benefits to focus on in the first place? And then which words to use to describe them?
Why it's hard
Because there are thousands of possibilities. How do you sort through them?
Some say, “just go with your gut,” which works for people who are very experienced and already highly attuned to their clients.
Others say, “look at the data,” but what data? Market research? A competitor's language? Google search terms? ChatGPT?
None of those can really help you find the right language for your unique offer. They might put you in the right ballpark, which is better than playing on the wrong field. But they won't help you hit a home run.
The key
After studying and applying dozens of frameworks to address this question over the last 10 years, I've found one principle to be the most useful and important.
Use words in the language of the people who matter most: your clients.
Their exact words, if possible. Paraphrasing if necessary.
Why is using their words to describe your offer important?
Your clients have a worldview, background and vocabulary that doesn't 100% overlap with yours. Being individuals and all, they don't even fully overlap with each other's worldview, background and vocabulary.
These differences are what make interactions rich—and cause confusion when you try to summarize them. (Especially for a service offering like consulting or coaching, where the value is largely in somewhat hard to articulate concepts like how you show up or how your brain works.)
Many solopreneurs try to think or build their way out of this predicament, using their brains and/or their creativity to come up with something in a vacuum. This can work, eventually, as your intuition gets honed over time.
Or you can just… ask!
How to ask
You're looking for feedback in the form of honest stories.
The goal is not to get testimonials (though you will get some great quotes for that purpose too).
Why? When the average client gives a testimonial, they are trying to articulate what someone else (you and/or a future client) wants to hear. They will describe the positive aspects of their experience, often in generic (and therefore unhelpful) ways.
What you're looking for is an honest, holistic description of experience of their work with you. You're trying to understand the journey they're on and how you fit into it.
When you've gotten 5-10 rounds of this kind of feedback, you'll start to see patterns in the way clients describe their experience.
Certain words, themes or struggles will come up. Those are the gold nuggets you're hunting for. Those are the pieces of the puzzle that will help you build trust, because using them shows that you're paying attention.
You're getting into their heads and hearts. And someone who can get into my head and heart is more likely to be able to get me to the next stage of my journey.
There are two routes to asking for this kind of feedback. For both I would recommend sticking to asking current or past clients. (If you're pretty new to the solo game, you can also ask former colleagues and bosses.)
1. Quick & dirty
Send a simple email to as many people as you like asking them for feedback. Emphasize that you're looking for insights into their experience, not a testimonial. (You can follow up later asking to use a specific quote as a testimonial.)
I recommend using a light, celebratory tone ("I'm excited about launching my new business/offer/website, and I'd love your help!") and around 5 prompts.
- What was life like before you started working with me? What problems or needs did you have?
- Why did you choose to work with me instead of finding another solution?
- What was it like working together?
- What is life like now that we’ve worked together? What has changed?
- Why would you recommend me to someone who might be on the fence?
2. High-touch, high-insight
If you'd like to get really high-quality answers and want to use your interviewing muscle, ask for a 30-minute video call to talk about their experience.
Get permission to record and transcribe the meeting. (I recommend Grain for this, it's free for 50 meetings and so powerful.) Ask a lot of questions, helping them remember and put language to each step of the process of getting to know you, trust you and experience the value of your work.
The benefit of this method is that you can pull highlights from those conversations to use as testimonials AND get a wealth of information to use for copywriting and ongoing conversations with potential clients. (If you're lucky, you might well get ideas for improving your service/product!)
- What was life like before you started working with me? What problems or needs did you have?
- Where did you look for solutions? What options did you find?
- Why did you choose to work with me instead of finding another solution?
- What was a concern that would have prevented you from working with me, and what put your fears to rest?
- What was it like working together?
- What surprised you most?
- What did you most enjoy?
- What is life like now that we’ve worked together? What has changed?
- On a scale of one to ten, how likely are you to recommend me to others?
- Why would you recommend me to someone who might be on the fence?
- If there’s one word you could use to describe your experience with me, what would it be and why?
How did it go?
Email me at bianca@leansolopreneur.co to ask questions, give feedback or just let me know how this process went for you.