Here are few reasons why you need to have them:
- They showcase your expertise and validate what you claim you are good at
- Offer instance reference and credibility
- Elevates you for possible promotion opportunities
- Helps you stand out to potentially interested parties
- Here are the four main things you should do to write powerful recommendation.
- 1. Attention grabbing:
Just like with emails or blog post, it’s important to grab the attention of you readers right away! You want them to read your recommendation and not just pass over it right? Well, have an amazing attention grabbing one-liner at the start of your recommendation.
Say something like….“Talented is an understatement when talking about Jim’s work.”
or “One of the best designers I ever worked with”
2. Identify who you are and establish your credibility:
Think like the reader, they are reading your recommendations to evaluate the person you are recommending. Since they may not know the individual you are writing the recommendation for, it’s important for them to know you are a credible source right off the top. What qualifies you to write this recommendation? Here are a couple examples:
“I had the honor of working for John while he was managing the North American division of Global IT”
“For 7 years, David served as our account executive, while his company was contracted as our IT vendor”
3. State a specific reasons why you are recommending the person. Support that recommendation with a reason (stats) that tells a story (people love stories)
There is nothing more disappointing than to read a recommendation, which is it expected to offer key information or insights, but leaves you empty because it’s bland without the suitable points of recommendations. To avoid this with the recommendations you write for your friends and colleagues, make sure to incorporate the following:
- Offer a brief story that gives meaning to your recommendation
- Be specific and use metrics or statistics if applicable
- Offer a glimpse of the personality for the individual you are recommending
- Keep your recommendation short and concise (under 200 words)
Here is example you can refer to
“David is a genius when it comes to photography! I hired David two years ago to take some pictures for our companies new website, but I had no clue what exactly to do to pull off a professional modern feel. He understood our dilemma, sat with us, listened to what we wanted, shared some ideas and came back with more some awesome concepts. We went with some photo concepts he recommended based on our desires and saw amazing success! Our home page is now more eye-catching, our conversion rate has increased 30% and we receive compliments daily from clients and visitors. David’s creativity and his keen ability to exceed his clients expectation separates him as a photography genius in my book. If you are looking to for a high quality creative, professional photographer for your business, I would highly recommend you use David, hands down the best.”
4. Encourage them to take actions on what you recommended them this person for.
The final part of your recommendation is to encourage the reader to take action on what you are recommending. However, remember this is not a sales pitch just an simple one sentence encouragement would do. Here are a few examples:
“I thoroughly recommend that if you think Barbara might be able to help you or your business, that you pick-up the phone sooner rather than later-you will not be disappointed.”
“I would recommend her to anyone looking to have a professional website created.”
“If you are looking for a quality sales professional for your organization, I encourage you take a look at Richard.”
Now that you have a better understanding of why LinkedIn recommendations are so important and how you can do them, start writing recommendations and increase your social selling factor. The more you do, the better off you’ll be able to gain new opportunities and start doing BIG THINGS.
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