So you need more credible testimonials—without hounding every customer yourself or chasing people who swear they’ll “do it next week.” This guide is for founders, marketers, or sales folks who want a steady stream of fresh, real testimonials without spending hours on manual follow-up.
We’ll walk through setting up automated testimonial requests in Senja, cover what’s worth doing (and what isn’t), and share some honest tips for getting responses that actually help your sales team.
Why Automated Testimonial Requests Matter for Sales
Let’s be blunt: most sales decks and landing pages are full of fluff. What buyers actually want is proof—real people, talking about real results. That’s where testimonials shine. But getting them? That’s a headache if you rely on memory or endless email chains.
Automated requests solve two headaches: - No more forgetting to ask: Every customer gets a nudge, every time. - Consistent pipeline: You’re not scrambling for quotes right before a launch.
If you’re in sales enablement, this means you’ll always have up-to-date, credible proof to share.
Step 1: Get Clear on Your “Why” (and Who)
Before you start wiring up automations, take five minutes to get specific: - Who should you be asking for testimonials? (All customers? Only those with high NPS? Just the ones who renewed?) - What kind of testimonials actually move deals for your sales team? (Short, punchy quotes? Detailed stories?) - How will these testimonials be used? (On the site, in proposals, email campaigns?)
Pro tip: Don’t overcomplicate it. Start with your happiest customers, or those who just hit a key milestone. You can automate for everyone later, but focus on quality first.
Step 2: Set Up Your Senja Account and Basics
If you haven’t already, sign up for Senja and poke around. The learning curve is gentle, but don’t skip these basics:
- Connect your brand: Upload your logo and set your colors. This helps requests feel legit, not spammy.
- Set up your testimonial collection page: Senja gives you a hosted form. It’s customizable, mobile-friendly, and doesn’t look like a 2009 survey.
- Decide what information you’ll collect: Keep it simple. Name, company, photo, and the testimonial itself. Avoid long forms—people bail.
What doesn’t work: Asking people to “just reply to this email” with a testimonial. It sounds easy, but most people freeze up without prompts or a structured form.
Step 3: Create Your Testimonial Request Template
Senja lets you send testimonial requests directly, but the real power is in templates and automation.
What to include in your request: - A quick thank you (“Thanks for being a customer!”) - Why you’re asking (“We’d love a short testimonial to help others understand what it’s like to work with us.”) - How long it’ll take (be honest: “2 minutes, tops.”) - A direct link to your Senja form
Example:
Hi [First Name],
Thanks for being part of our community! We’re collecting a few short testimonials, and your feedback would really help others considering [Your Product].
It takes 2 minutes, and you can do it right here: [Link to your Senja form]
Thanks again!
[Your Name]
Pro tip: Avoid sounding desperate or salesy. People can smell canned requests a mile away. If you can, personalize the intro.
Step 4: Automate the Request—Your Options
Here’s where you save time. Senja doesn’t (yet) have built-in integrations with every CRM, but you have solid options:
1. Use Senja’s Email Automation
If your customer list is small or you only need to send a few requests a week, you can do this directly in Senja. Import a .CSV or add people manually, and Senja will send your request email.
- Upside: Fast, no setup.
- Downside: Gets clunky as you scale. Not great for fancy workflows.
2. Use Zapier or Make for Full Automation
For most teams, connecting Senja to your CRM or email tool is the way to go. Here’s how:
What you’ll need:
- A Senja account (with your form set up)
- Zapier or Make account
- Access to your CRM, email tool, or wherever you track customer milestones
Typical triggers:
- Deal marked as “Won” in your CRM
- NPS response above a certain score
- Renewal processed
A simple workflow:
- Trigger: Customer hits a milestone in your CRM (e.g., moved to “Customer” stage).
- Action: Zapier pulls their email and name.
- Action: Zapier sends a personalized email (using your template) with a link to your Senja form.
Senja offers a Zapier integration, but if you need something custom, you can always use webhooks.
What to ignore: Overengineering. Don’t spend hours building a 10-step workflow when a simple trigger + email does the job.
3. Add a Testimonial Request to Your Existing Email Flows
If you already have post-purchase or onboarding emails, just drop your Senja form link into those. You don’t need a new system if the old one works.
- Upside: Less setup, hits every customer.
- Downside: Less personalized, might get ignored if buried in a long email.
Step 5: Test Your Setup (Don’t Skip This)
Run through the flow yourself (or with a teammate). Check: - Does the email look the way you want? - Does the Senja form prefill info (if you set it up that way)? - Is it mobile-friendly? - Is the process smooth, or are there confusing steps?
What often goes wrong: - Emails landing in spam (check your sender reputation) - Typos in the form link (double-check it) - Overly long forms that scare people off
Step 6: Track Results and Follow Up
Automation gets you 70% of the way. For the rest: - Watch your Senja dashboard for new testimonials. - If someone starts but doesn’t finish, Senja can nudge them (set this up in your settings). - If you get a great testimonial, thank the person! They’re more likely to help again.
What not to do: Don’t endlessly hammer people who don’t respond. One gentle reminder is enough. If they don’t reply, move on.
Step 7: Put Testimonials to Work for Sales
Getting testimonials is pointless if they just sit in a dashboard. Make sure you: - Share with Sales: Drop the best ones into your CRM notes, proposal templates, or sales decks. - Refresh your site: Swap out stale testimonials for new, relevant ones. - Use social proof everywhere: Add snippets to onboarding flows, email signatures, or even support replies.
Pro tip: Short, specific testimonials (“I closed my first deal in 2 weeks with this tool!”) beat generic fluff every time.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
- Works: Asking quickly after a positive moment (like a successful onboarding or good support experience).
- Works: Making it dead simple—no logins, no hoops, just a quick form.
- Doesn’t work: Waiting six months to ask, or sending generic, mass emails with no context.
- Ignore: Fancy design tricks. People care about the ask, not your color scheme.
Keep It Simple—Then Iterate
Don’t get bogged down chasing the “perfect” testimonial system. Start small: pick your best customers, set up a basic automation, and see what comes in. Refine your approach as you go. The goal isn’t a flashy workflow—it’s getting real, usable proof that helps your sales team win more deals.
Automate the boring parts, focus on the human side, and don’t be afraid to tweak things as you learn what works. That’s how you build a testimonial engine that actually helps sales—without making it your full-time job.