One of my long time copywriting and marketing clients is Rob Nixon, who is one of the country’s leading advisors and business coaches to the accounting profession. I’ve just spent four days at Rob’s coaching club conference in Queenstown New Zealand interviewing his clients.What I have experienced is one of the best examples of “the proof element” I’ve ever seen.

For those who haven’t heard of the “proof element”, it’s something that gives buyers “proof” that a product or service will deliver the goods. Put simply, the stronger the “proof element” is in your marketing material and in your sales process, the greater your conversion rates will be.

There are a number of elements that can be considered as proof elements in a marketing piece and they include:

Rob features most of these proof elements on his website and in his marketing material, in a very powerful way.

To begin with, Rob knows that many of his clients are analytical which means that they like to see facts and figures and written proof that something works, before they make a buying decision.

With that, Rob has performed an extensive survey of the profession to find out what’s important to the clients of accounting firms, to prove to accountants that things need to change or their clients will go elsewhere.

Rob’s coaching club process is so extraordinary that accountants are producing massive results and to prove that, Rob includes a table featuring the across-the-board improvements in measurable KPIs that are very important to accountants – like revenue per partner, EBIT per partner, average hourly rate and so on. (check it out at www.robnixon.com)

He goes even further than that to feature video testimonial after video testimonial as well as case study after case study with the comments and before-and-after stories of their clients. And I’m not talking one or two testimonials here. I’m talking a book of testimonials.

All of these elements are excellent evidence that Rob’s coaching club delivers results.

But there’s something more. When it comes to wanting proof that something works, people also want to get a taste of how knowledgeable and how generous a service provider is. With that, Rob has featured dozens of articles, teleseminar downloads and other valuable information that give his prospects practical tips they can put to work in their business. These pieces of information also position Rob as an expert in his field.

The Rob Nixon website also features video of Rob so prospective clients can put a face and a voice to the name, which is fantastic for rapport-building.

So go and check out www.robnixon.com and see how many examples of proof and credibility-building elements you can see on his website. While you’re there, make sure you check out “Rob’s World”. The content of that page does a fantastic job of giving people a taste of what the customer service experience at Rob Nixon is all about.

Once you’ve done that, think about your own company.

What proof can you provide that your product or service works?

The first step in answering that question is to first be very aware of what are the key reasons that prospective customers DON’T buy from you.

Once you know that information, then put together a list of proof elements that handle those objections.