Number one on Trustpilot in three finance categories

The challenge

The business brought together around 30 business lenders in one place. A business owner told us what they needed, and our brokers found the lender most likely to approve them, at the best rate for the amount they wanted. Asking a business to share its finances with you takes a lot of trust, and many owners hadn’t heard of us before they enquired.

Reviews were one of the main ways they checked us out. G2’s 2024 Buyer Behavior Report found public review sites were the information source B2B buyers consulted most when planning a purchase. Trustpilot was the platform our buyers used, and other finance providers were investing heavily in it. We wanted to be in the top three of our categories, and ideally first. When we started, we were well outside the top three.

Getting there depended on the sales team. The brokers had the client relationships, so the reviews had to come from them. But they were busy getting finance approved, and asking a client for a favour was never going to be their top priority without a reason to.

Source: G2, “2024 Buyer Behavior Report”.

My approach

One review platform. I chose to focus on one platform, so reviews built up in one place instead of being spread thin. It also needed to:

• Verify reviews, so readers could trust that every review came from a real client.
• Fit the sales workflow, with review links that were easy to create and send, and notifications and moderation we could keep on top of.
• Be measurable, so we could see which broker each review came from and rank the team on it.

Trustpilot met all three.

Use what already motivated the sales team. The sales team was driven by numbers. They had weekly meetings to go through results and celebrate wins, leaderboards on screens around the office, and a gong for every deal. Instead of adding reviews to their to-do list, I asked our head of sales and co-founder to make reviews part of that system.

What I built

A ready-to-send review request. I set up the Trustpilot account in full and gave the brokers a templated email with a verified review link. Sending it took a minute after a client’s finance came through.

A reason for brokers to ask. Our head of sales and co-founder agreed to back review collection with a bonus. A review counted towards a broker’s total when the client mentioned the broker by name, which made every review measurable.

A review leaderboard. Reviews went up on the office screens as their own leaderboard, next to the sales numbers, so the team could see who was collecting the most.

Reviews in the weekly meeting. Exceptional client reviews were read out in the end-of-week sharing session, alongside the week’s deals.

Replies to every review. I made sure every reviewer got a timely response, which showed future readers that the business listened.

Reviews reused in marketing. The reviews became content for social media posts, email marketing, website widgets, and printed material. They also made it easier to find happy clients for case studies and blog posts.

Results

• Almost 14 times as many reviews. Our Trustpilot reviews grew almost 14 times over in just over three years.
• #1 on Trustpilot in three finance categories. Within about six months, the business was trading the top spot with competitors about twice its size, with double its presence on Trustpilot. It then held #1.
• A process that outlasted me. Years later, the business’s Trustpilot reviews still name individual brokers, and every review still gets a reply.
• Content for marketing. A regular supply of five-star reviews for social, email, the website, and print, and a shortlist of clients for case studies.
• A clearer view of our impact. The reviews showed the business and the broker team what their work meant for the small businesses they helped.

Reviews carry more weight as the stakes rise. Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center found displaying reviews lifted conversion by 380% for higher-priced products, compared with 190% for lower-priced ones.

Source: Spiegel Research Center, “How Online Reviews Influence Sales” (2017).

What I’d do next

I’d send the review request automatically from the CRM when a client’s finance settled, so every client was asked at the same point and no one was missed. The bonus could then reward each broker’s response rate, which keeps the focus on how many clients they asked and how they looked after them.

I’d also tag reviews by theme, such as speed, the broker, or the outcome, and use the most common ones in ad copy and on landing pages.