For some, asking for LinkedIn recommendations is as easy as saying hello. For others, it crosses over into the discomfort zone. But as we often hear, if you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing. And what better way to grow your business than to let others who have experienced your greatness share that sentiment with the world! Here are a few ways to make that request process a bit easier.
1. Be a “Go Giver”. There’s a great little book by Bob Burg and John David Mann on this concept. Notice I did not say “give to get”. Big difference. So, if you have a great working relationship with someone and you’d love to get a rave review from that person, give them one first. A truly genuine one! Quite often this gesture comes with reciprocation. And LinkedIn is there to help you. When someone accepts your recommendation on their profile, it also suggests that they do the same for you.
2. Start with what you’ve already been given: Clients often ask how to get recommendations they’ve been given elsewhere onto LinkedIn. Many Realtors & lenders have great reviews on Trulia or Zillow. Restaurants, retails shops and fitness studios may have top notch sentiment on Yelp that they’d like to show on LinkedIn. Make it simple for them: Copy and paste the original review into an email, send that person the email showing great appreciation for the review, and let them know you’re upping your LinkedIn game. Ask them to simply copy and paste what they wrote before into your LinkedIn profile. You can do this via the LinkedIn recommendation request process itself, or via a custom email using your unique URL. (more on that in a minute… )
3. Make it your closing process: Sometimes, people simply don’t like dealing with LinkedIn’s recommendation process, but don’t realize there’s a way around it. What do most of us do when we finish a project or close a transaction with someone? Send them an email to follow up, thank them, let them know we’re still here for them, and send them any wrap up materials. At the end of that email, simply add one more line, asking them for a review of your work together. You may want to highlight any roadblocks you helped them through, or particular successes you achieved together to plant a seed.
Since I’m often asked to help with language, here’s what I mean…
NOT: Remember how I kicked ass for you by doing that awesome thing?
RATHER: I’m so glad we were able to weather the storm together and overcome that daunting issue!
Then, include your recommendation URL** for them to click directly to.
**That URL…
- Grab a friend and have them log into their LinkedIn profile.
- Go to YOUR profile while logged in as them.
- Click on the “More” button and then “Recommend”.
- Grab the URL from the address bar and save this to use in step 2 & 3.
