In general, we’re not fans of using dollar amounts to boost your credibility and promote yourself or your services. (For example: “I’ll grow your business by $10,000 a month!”) This is a slippery slope, friends! In almost all cases, there are too many variables for anyone to promise a dollar amount to a prospective client. And in marketing, you shouldn’t be making promises you can’t keep.

Ethical marketing is a huge topic right now, and, honestly, it should ALWAYS be trending, because it’s beyond important. Making false promises—or even misleading promises—to gain a client or make a sale is just not ok. The FTC has a bunch of guidelines on advertising and marketing online, and it’s worth a read through. 

When it comes to sharing $ wins, here are a couple of rules to live by:

1. When in doubt, share the average result. 
2. If you want to share an extraordinary result, you must disclose that it isn’t the typical result.

There are plenty of ways to boost your credibility as a business without promising sales, though. 

Non-$ Credibility Boosters to Shout from the Rooftops:

• Increase in website visitors
• Sales calls booked
• Website/email click-throughs
• Social media engagement
• MoM growth percentage
• Team growth
• Client retention
• Years in business
• Biggest client served
• Client media features
• Client testimonials
• Case studies

Let’s dive into some of these a little bit deeper.

Putting Positive Client Relationships on Display

Some of the credibility boosters listed above speak to positive client relationships, and this is one of our favorite ways to appeal to prospective clients! By sharing client retention rates and client testimonials, for instance, you’re showing that you deliver results. Even better, you’re letting your clients tell this story for you—and this definitely boosts your credibility.

Here are some examples of how to leverage positive client relationships in your PR and marketing efforts:

“We re-signed 85% of our 2022 clients in 2023! Here’s how we did it.”

“Did you know that 50% of our new business leads come from client referrals?”

“Our client’s podcast was the top download in her category this month. Here’s what she has to say about her experience working with us!”

Metrics that Work Wonders

It can be tempting to want to use dollar amounts as a lure to get clients in the door, but other metrics can work similarly to boost your credibility. For instance, you can advertise how you’ve helped client A increase website traffic consistently by 50% over the past six months, how email click-through rates for your clients has gone up by an average of 60% across the board, or how client B’s month-over-month growth percentage has tripled since signing with your company. (Just remember, it’s still important not to choose metrics that are misleading.)

One key reason you want to build credibility with potential buyers from the get-go is because you want to start overcoming their objections even before they jump on a sales call. Some people choose to do this by promising xx amount of money/sales/revenue, but there are lots of other options—better options!

If you’re ready to take action in your next level of business, book a call with us!