4 Simple Steps to Sourcing Powerful Testimonials on LinkedIn
Steve Bruce
Feb 21, 2017 7 mins read
I ran another one of my successful ‘LinkedIn for Business’ workshops in Hong Kong where I live last week. One of the things that came out during the workshop was that many of my attendees didn’t know how to source powerful testimonials from happy clients, bosses and co-workers.
In my workshop, I teach that two of the most powerful sales tools you can make use of are:
1. Public speaking
2. Testimonials from happy clients.
Here’s why:
Public Speaking presents you as an expert in your field.
If you are up there on stage giving a talk, it is automatically assumed that you know your subject well. There is plenty of research that proves that most people’s number one fear, ahead of even death, is public speaking. In fact, according to www.statisticbrain.com 74% of people suffer from speech anxiety or Glossophobia.
The thing is, being a good public speaker is very good for your career.
Additionally, whenever you deliver a great presentation, you will always have a bunch of potential new clients wanting to speak with you afterwards to talk about how you can help them; never a bad thing.
I will talk more about the many benefits of public speaking in another article.
Testimonials, or ‘recommendations’ as LinkedIn likes to call them are ‘social proof’ that you are an industry expert.
There are few things better than a happy client singing your praises publicly. This one thing alone can help you to create new business opportunities, build your credibility and personal brand and present you as a key person of influence in your industry. The testimonial reassures other potential clients or those who you wish to impress or influence, that you are the go-to person in your industry. When someone publicly recommends you, they are putting their reputation on the line for you, as their own personal brand and credibility will be damaged if you don’t live up to your brand promise, so it not something that serious business people do lightly. This is what makes testimonials so powerful.
You can also use these testimonials in other places as well.
After you have worked so hard to source a glowing testimonial, you can get the maximum mileage out of it by using as part of your marketing efforts. Try reposting them on your LinkedIn profile home page from time to time to remind your target audience about your quality work. You can also create a scrolling banner on your website, or include them in your sales brochures or other social media channels like your company facebook page for example. Why not try including them in your email marketing to demonstrate your professionalism and highlight your skills to your target audience?
Here are my 4 tips for sourcing powerful recommendations using LinkedIn:
Tip Number 1: Get two recommendations for every job you have ever had
1. One from your boss to show what a great employee you are, or were
2. One from a co-worker or subordinate to show what a great colleague or boss you are, or were
Tip Number 2: Source as many testimonials as you can get from happy past or existing clients
Remember, there’s nothing better for your business than a happy client. As a LinkedIn Trainer, Coach and Marketing Consultant, I get most of my business from testimonials and referrals from happy clients. Best to ask them right after you have just done something that has really pleased them, or at the end of the project, or in the last month before you actually leave your job if you are asking a boss or co-worker. This will give you time to follow up and give them a gentle reminder if needed.
Tip Number 3: Write the recommendation yourself
Sounds crazy, right? Let me explain. Your client, boss or colleague is way too busy to write the recommendation themselves. Also, they probably have no clue what to write anyway. You know best what you want them to focus the testimonial on; like that time you helped them out of a tight spot, how awesome you are at going the extra mile as standard, or how impressed they are with your always professional and easy to get along with working attitude.
The thing is, even if they do actually ever get around to writing the testimonial for you (they probably won’t); they may not focus on exactly what you want them to. On LinkedIn, you can ask the sender to re-edit their recommendation before you add it to your profile, but as I said, they are busy, so good luck with that. In fact, you could even end up coming across as needy and grabby; completely the opposite of what you are trying to achieve here.
Tip Number 4: Use text from an existing email that your client, boss or co-worker has already written to you praising you.
I do this a lot as my clients often write to me to thank me for helping them to upgrade their LinkedIn profiles or after attending one of my workshops. Simply recycling and lightly editing what they have already written, works really well as they are much more likely to approve it immediately, as they already wrote it themselves, so it accurately reflects what they feel and they don’t need to do any additional work, which important always people appreciate. Also it is coming straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak and won’t look like you wrote it yourself. Trust me, it’s hard to write unique sounding testimonials every time, so you’ll need to practice.
To help you, I am sharing the script that I use to get powerful testimonials from my own clients.
Hi ,
“I hope you are well. I’m doing some work on my LinkedIn profile and was hoping you would be willing to write a recommendation for me about our (INSERT WHAT PROJECT YOU WANT CLIENT/BOSS/COLLEAGUE TO FOCUS ON HERE) that I can add to my profile.
To help you, I have written something for you to review and edit as needed.
(INSERT YOUR RECOMMENDATION HERE. MAKE SURE YOU FOCUS ON THE SPECIFIC PROBLEM YOU SOLVED FOR YOUR BOSS/CLIENT/COLLEAGUE OR YOU WILL GET LOADS OF RECOMMENDATIONS SAYING ‘HOW NICE YOU ARE’ WHICH DOESN’T REALLY HELP YOU MUCH)
To add the recommendation, please:
1. Highlight & copy it
2. Click on the ‘GIVE RECOMMENDATION’ button that appears on the bottom of the message
3. Paste the recommendation I sent you into the section
4. Send back to me.
It sounds more complicated than it is, but it will actually take you less than a minute to do.
Thanks in advance for your help!”
Your Name
Your Phone Number
Please fee free to adapt this script to make it work for your exact situation. It has worked really well for me and has got me almost 80 recommendations so far.
I hope you find this script useful. Please like, comment and share & leave your feedback in the comments section below.
Also, please feel free to share this article with any of your business contacts that might find it useful.
Good Luck!
Steve Bruce
Hong Kong based LinkedIn Coach, Trainer & Marketing Consultant
SB Consulting
+852 9170 5575
#clienttestimonials #LinkedIncoachhongkong #LinkedInrecommendations
