How to Get a 5-Star Review Without Ever Making the Sale

I have to tell you a story about a transaction that I DID NOT make yesterday which turned into broadcast praise on Yelp, Google, and Facebook.

If you didn’t know this, I own a wholesale company called Mazer Wholesale, Inc. I started in 1986 when I was 21 years old.

About 99.9% of the new business which comes in for Mazer Wholesale is acquired online, mostly as a result of good search engine optimization (which means we get a very high placement on the search engines, even against companies 1000 times bigger than us).

Yesterday a woman from Wisconsin placed an order on our website for 200 aluminum foil disposable pans for her catering business. We ship the item from Philadelphia and when I calculated the shipping charge, it was very high and, in my opinion, and from experience, I think she can get a better deal buying local, so I wanted to let her know.

I started typing an email and then decided a phone call would be quicker and possibly even save the sale. I left her a voicemail telling her we appreciate the opportunity but considering the high cost of the shipping, I don’t think we’ll be the best choice.

About an hour later, she called excitedly and with lavish praise for that AMAZING phone call. We must have talked for 5 minutes or so. She genuinely appreciated the personal touch. To me, it was simply a smart use of my time and a way to possibly save a sale.

After the business day ended, I decided to send her an email to let her know how her phone call was the highlight of my day. As I typed out the email I said to myself, “Why not ask her for a review?” so I did.

She jumped on it. She posted on Google, Facebook, and Yelp!

Without Even Having Made the Sale, We Got Three 5-Star Reviews

I’m sharing this so YOU can be aware that positive reviews (and negative ones too) can result from the simplest interactions with customers. Be blatantly honest with your customers and you may get a 5-star review for it.

You may even get the sale.

I’ve found that 5-star reviews, positive or negative are mostly the result of the quality communication with the customer.

Guess what…she did end up placing the order a couple of days later!

Want to learn more smart tips about getting more positive reviews? Check my other blog post here 👉 “How To Get More 5- Star Reviews”