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Linkedin Recommendations as Social Proof

Linkedin Recommendations

In part seven of my social selling on LinkedIn series, I want to talk about LinkedIn recommendations. According to LinkedIn a recommendation is a statement that is written by a LinkedIn member to recognize or commend a connection, such as a colleague, business partner, or student.

But they are so much more than that! LinkedIn recommendations are testimonials! They are social proof of your expertise and value to potential clients and customers, and are well worth the effort to get! So let’s talk about the best ways to go about getting these gems!

But first! If you haven’t read the six previous posts in this series covering social selling on LinkedInusing LinkedIn as a sales tooloptimizing your LinkedIn profile picturewhy you should customize your LinkedIn URLLinkedIn headline tips and LinkedIn summary best practices you should definitely go back and read those first.

They lay the groundwork for your social selling strategy, how you should be thinking about LinkedIn in general, and some minor (but effective) changes you’ll need to make to your LinkedIn profile that will make you easier to find, and will help optimize your profile for organic search on Google.

Why You Need LinkedIn Recommendations

Why You Need LinkedIn Recommendations

So, when it’s time for your prospect or potential client to do due their diligence on you. Where do you think they go?

They end up going to LinkedIn.

And one of the first places that they will look to to do their due diligence is to the LinkedIn recommendations section. Why?

Well for the same reason that you look to Amazon product recommendations when you’re buying something on line. They, like you want to see what other folks have experienced when working with you. Are you reliable? Are you skilled? In the end… Are you worth it?

Why You Should Request LinkedIn Recommendations

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So give your prospects what they’re looking for. Give your potential customers the social proof they need to feel good about moving forward with you. Start gathering LinkedIn recommendations NOW.

Ask for LinkedIn recommendations for the problems that you solve, the solutions that you offer and the projects that you’ve worked on.

Ask for LinkedIn recommendations directly after you’ve had a great presentation or meeting, or finished a project, or when you’re live with a prospect, partner or colleague.

Ask them directly, can I use you as a recommendation on my LinkedIn profile? Make that recommendation tonight. It’s very difficult to go back in time and ask somebody six months, or a year out from a project or collaboration to ask for a recommendation. So don’t wait, the sooner the better.

How to Request LinkedIn Recommendations

LinkedIn makes asking for recommendations quick and easy! It can be done in six simple steps outlined below:

Requesting LinkedIn recommendations

Pro-Tip: A great way to acquire new recommendations is to use the gives and the gets process. Take a moment to recommend someone, and in your personalized response you can ask them to return the favor. The laws of reciprocity suggest that after they’ve attached your recommendation to their profile they’ll feel compelled to recommend you back.

The Bottom Line on LinkedIn Recommendations

The bottom line is it can often feel weird to ask for LinkedIn recommendations. It can be uncomfortable asking someone to review you, but it is well worth it! Remember, LinkedIn recommendations are testimonials for you! They are social proof of your expertise and value, and they make your LinkedIn profile that much more valuable as a sales tool! 

Watch for upcoming posts where I’ll outline more steps I take, and that you should take to optimize your Linkedin profile and the specific actions you should be taking on a daily basis to implement a solid social selling strategy and really start using LinkedIn effectively!

What do you think? Leave a comment below and discuss via Twitter and Facebook. And If you found this post informative or helpful, I would appreciate it if you would share it using the icons below.