Subscribe now: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Substack
For most of my coaching career, I avoided asking for testimonials. It felt awkward, extractive, like I was imposing on my clients. And when I did ask? Maybe one or two people would respond and not because they didn’t want to, but because life happens and people get busy.
So I just... didn’t do it. Which meant I had very little proof of my work to share. Which fed my imposter syndrome. Which made me wonder if I was actually helping people.
Until about a year ago, when everything shifted.
I discovered that my love of connection and celebration could BE the way I gathered testimonials. Not as a separate marketing task, but as an extension of the sacred work I was already doing. And in the process? I fell in love with it. I genuinely fell in love with gathering testimonials.
In this episode, I’m sharing how I transformed one of the most dreaded parts of running a coaching business into one of the most soul-nourishing practices. You’ll hear the vulnerable truth about my struggle, what changed everything, and how these conversations healed parts of me I didn’t even know needed healing.
What You’ll Hear
Why I spent years being terrible at gathering testimonials (and the imposter syndrome it fed)
The moment everything shifted: when I started inviting clients into celebration calls
How asking specific questions in real time changed the quality of feedback I received
Why I now write testimonials FOR my clients using their own words (and why they love it)
The unexpected healing: how these conversations settled my nervous system and helped me understand my own medicine better
What it looks like when gathering testimonials becomes an act of sacred witnessing, not extraction
How these love notes—infused with gratitude, lived experience, and transformation—pay it forward to future clients
Here are the 3 key insights from this episode:
1️⃣ Gathering Testimonials Can Be Sacred Witnessing – When you shift from “asking for a favor” to “celebrating someone’s journey,” everything changes. These aren’t marketing transactions. They’re moments of genuine reciprocity that nourish everyone in the circle.
2️⃣ Meeting Your Clients More Than Halfway Removes Barriers – Writing the testimonial FOR them using their own words isn’t doing the work for them but actually it’s honoring how busy they are and making it easy for them to be seen, celebrated, and visible. It’s circular leadership in action.
3️⃣ These Conversations Heal You Too – Hearing in specific, detailed ways HOW you’ve helped someone shifts your own limiting beliefs. These aren’t just testimonials for your website. They’re evidence for your nervous system that your work matters, that transformation is real, that your medicine is needed.
Reflection Questions
Take a moment to pause and explore these questions as you listen:
What’s my current relationship with gathering testimonials? Where does resistance or avoidance live?
What if celebrating my clients’ journeys could nourish MY soul while also building trust with future clients?
How might gathering sacred words—love notes infused with gratitude and lived experience—be an act of reciprocity rather than extraction?
If you’ve been avoiding testimonials because they feel awkward, icky, or like you’re bad at asking for them, this episode will show you there’s another way. A way that feels sacred, nourishing, and aligned with your values.
Work With Me in LUSH Business Mastermind
If this episode resonates and you’re thinking “I want to build a business where everything—from how I gather testimonials to how I structure my offers—feels like an extension of my sacred work,” I’d love to work with you.
Inside LUSH, we integrate your messaging, your medicine, and your business model so nothing feels separate. So visibility feels aligned. So scaling doesn’t deplete you.
LUSH Business Mastermind is for seasoned coaches and healers ready to scale past $100K to multi-six figures by clarifying scattered messaging, codifying your brilliance, and creating systems that grow with you.
Resources
See full client transformation stories on my Testimonials Page
Devoted Collective - free community
Apply now for LUSH Business Mastermind - learn more
Connect with Sora
Website: https://soraschilling.com
Instagram: @soraschilling
Subscribe & Review
If this episode landed for you, please take a moment to subscribe and leave a review on Apple Podcasts! Your support helps us reach more coaches and healers who are ready to build businesses rooted in reciprocity, not extraction. 🎙
Thanks for being here. I’ll see you in the next episode.
