Can Someone Give Me
a Testimonial?
Testimonials That Resonate
With Potential Students
Lee Colony, Gateway Technical College
NCMPR, Chicago, March 2013
Simply powerful
Longest running drama … what’s the
key?
Testimonial, pure and simple
Some overriding thoughts
Set your goals ahead of time
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Boost enrollment?
Boost specific program?
New program?
Specific college effort?
Show diversity?
Excellence?
Employer buy-in to the college?
A call to action
 At
its core, a testimonial is a call
to action.
People want to see people
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Quotes and faces – words and photos
These move along stories in mass media, and
testimonials are no different
Graduates motivate potential students to enter
college, earn their degree – change their lives
They are more interesting, and are a mirror to
potential students
Seeing the light
 Really,
that’s the goal of the
testimonial
 This is the most important part:
The light
What’s the light?
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It’s their success
A better way of life
 Better salary
 Health care
 More hours
 Career advancement
 Stable career or workplace
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What’s the light, 2?
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Showing them what you college has to offer ...
Flexible scheduling
 Added courses
 Several campuses
 Blended courses
 New programs
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Story vs message
Make sure of your testimonial’s
message before you release it
Story? Someone else’s …
Message? Yours
What you seek …
You seek a graduate – or student -- with
a compelling story who will illustrate
your message and draw people who are in
similar circumstances.
Solid pay. Working in an industry that’s strong and
growing. After searching for years, a career that’s a
perfect fit. Work that challenges and presents different
and interesting options every day.
That’s the career Chris Nauta found, and more, through
Gateway Technical College’s Industrial Mechanical
Technician degree program.
“My degree has definitely changed my life,” says Chris.
“Every day, I use something that I learned at Gateway.
The pay is solid – earning my degree meant I received a
healthy raise. I like my job because on most days, I am
doing something a little different. It’s never boring.”
Let’s Brainstorm
Who will this resonate with?
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Let’s name some components of a
testimonial tht will resonate with potential
students …
Who will this resonate with?
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Include these components
Age
 Culture
 Geography
 Family status
 Work status
 Industry
 Military
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Stephanie Hupp says she is finally doing what she
was meant to do – and it took a second chance
at college and enrolling at Gateway to give her
the skills to get there.
Hupp, a technical writer for Briggs & Stratton
Corporation, has settled into a career she says
she feels comfortable in and will enjoy for many
years to come. Helped by Gateway Technical
College’s industry-savvy instructors and flexible
class scheduling, Hupp entered a field where she
says she’s found her comfort level and her
future.
“There is no second-guessing – this was what I
was meant to be,” says Hupp, who is
responsible for producing installation, operator
and repair manuals for stand-by generators. “I
look forward to going to work. It’s a perfect fit
for me.” …
… Hupp enrolled at Gateway while a manager at
an area Burger King. While she says Burger King
was “bringing in good money,” the last few
years drained her emotionally and professionally
– but she felt she wasn’t qualified for another
position or one that would pay a similar wage.
She had attended college briefly after high
school, and always had it in her mind to return.
Then her mom put voice to those thoughts.
“My mother said quit and go back to college – so I
did,” says Hupp. “I was 36, a single mother of a
12-year-old child, and I quit and went back to
school. To this day, I am thankful and fortunate
that I took that step.”
Hupp had some misgivings about returning to the
classroom after 16 years away, but says Gateway
helped her in several ways to transition back into
it. The diversity of the student body also made
her feel at home, she says, noting that many
were her age or older.
Aim for balance
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In sum, aim for balance among your testimonials
Consider this: Put your testimonials end-to-end.
Does it represent the demographics of your college?
 What would those reading it say of your college?
 Is it what you WANT them to think of your college?
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Pitfall of urban college: end-to-end means: “Go
here when you are failure at school, lost job,
gone to jail, live with grandma … but can still
graduate and get a job.”
Well rounded: “We offer opportunities to meet
you where you are at, take you where you need
to be, offer careers for those good with hands
… and good with their brain.”
Instructors are your friends
 Instructors
know students best
 Ask them to help
 Thoughts
from instructor on
testimonials
 Show personal side
 Thought enough to share story
 Students listen to other students
 They have a direct effective on
enrollment
Ajay Gomez says connections he made with
industry professionals through Gateway opened
doors for him to land a job five months before
his December graduation.
Gateway instructors provide opportunities for
students to attend business conferences and
meetings where they network with industry
professionals, potential colleagues and
employers -- which is where Ajay met the
person who would later become his boss.
“One of the professionals I met was looking to
hire for some job openings,” says Ajay. “After
talking to me for a while, I was able to land an
interview with him – which later led to a job.”
… “Gateway prepared me well for my job – I
haven’t been faced with anything yet that I am
unable to do,” says Ajay. “I really do think this
job is recession proof. Business must have
computers to work, and they depend on
programmers to work every day.
Student or graduate?
 If
we are working on the
assumption that testimonials show
students the light at the end of the
tunnel, that light is graduation
and entering a career.
The interview
Set the interview …
Tell them what you’re going to do …
Don’t rely on e-mails only … call and email
 Ask them if they’ve had a positive
experience at the college
 If they say no – dance!
 Why? You don’t want them representing
the college
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Prepare for the interview
Prepare your questions …
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Write them down
Review background from instructors
Consider your message even before the
interview
Why did they turn to your college?
 What piece will resonate with others?
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Conduct the interview
 Slide
 Open
 Move
into the meat of the interview
 Second-to-last question. What do you
think it is?
The life-changer
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This is the most important thing you will do in
this process.
How did the college change their life?
That, then, is the light at the end of the
tunnel
DO NOT LEAVE interview without
gathering that question
Delilah Souter is making a difference in
the lives of others – because the
instructors at Gateway Technical
College made a difference in hers.
Souter has used her career training and
Gateway experience to become a
successful hospital nurse and then
founding and running the Racinebased Graceful Aging Inc. – all within
four short years.
Souter says her position in life and within
her career are due in large part to
Gateway. Instructors who encouraged
her, a student group that challenged her
to become a leader and a nursing program
framework which guided her, created the
foundation for her current success.
“How I care for people was truly embedded
in me at Gateway,” says Souter. “I am the
nurse I am today because of Gateway.”
Last question …
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Always ask: Is there anything I haven’t asked
that you feel is important to mention?
Guarantee: Gold
Water Resources, Good News
The written word
Get to the point …
 Show
them the light quickly, or you
will lose them
 Opposite of a feature story
 Feature story is background first,
setting up current punchline
 You don’t have time for that – show
them the light NOW
Think like a reader …
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Write to the reader – not each other
Make it plain, not eduspeak
Simple word and active verbs aren’t a sign of
weakness – they have power and resonate with
potential students.
Readability
 Keep
publication testimonials fewer than
500 words
 Web copy 300 words or less
 Lead paragraph fewer than 30 words
 Sentence average 20 words
 Flesch-Kincaid, ninth grade
Work as a team
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City on a hill strength
Find someone else to check your work, give you
perspective
Provides good framework for you
Framework for a team
Jayne Herring:
Story mechanics,
messaging,
grammar,
foundation
Kristin Gunia:
Messaging,
editing, accuracy,
readability
Greg Lebrick:
Messaging
behind the lens
Debbie Schwandt was presented with the
opportunity to climb the management ladder.
She looked to Gateway to make sure that climb
was successful.
Debbie earned her Supervisory Management
degree in spring 2012 and oversees a staff as an
economic support supervisor for Kenosha
County. She points to Gateway as providing the
resources and training to help her flourish as a
manager – as well as providing confidence that
those skills will transfer to any possible future
position.
“Gateway gave me everything I needed to succeed
at my job,” says Debbie. “I knew Gateway
would provide me with a quality education. I
feel like I am much better prepared to be a
manager in fall 2012 than I was when I was first
started as a supervisor in May 2009.
“It’s been a great and fulfilling experience. I have a
sense of security now that I’ve earned my degree.”
Debbie says her direct supervisor encouraged her
to enroll at Gateway, telling her the college has
much to offer its students. “She had always liked
Gateway and said I would benefit,” says Debbie.
“I did benefit. In addition, Gateway also seemed
the most feasible with my schedule, and
affordable.”
Let’s write a few testimonials
Spend your testimonials
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Web site
Brochures
Media pitches
Printed materials
Program Web pages
Brochures
Amplification (social media)
Questions?
Simple power