Earlier this year I was invited to join a Zoom meeting with estate planning attorneys from all across the United States to talk about how they could use LinkedIn better. We had a great conversation that covered a wide range of topics, but one of the questions generated a significant amount of discussion, and it was a question about recommendations on LinkedIn.
Anyone you are connected to on LinkedIn can leave you a recommendation on your Profile. The lawyers on the call generally said that they tended to pay more attention to recommendations on LinkedIn than endorsements, which they felt were not particularly valuable, and they thought their clients and referral sources might feel the same way. One of the questions that arose around this topic was whether lawyers should ask their clients for recommendations on LinkedIn, and if so, how to do that.
I think recommendations on LinkedIn are useful for a number of reasons.
A LinkedIn recommendation is like a testimonial on your own website – it’s third-party proof that you provide value for clients.
It is an opportunity for potential clients and referral sources to see what other people say about you, not just what you say about yourself and to tell their story about their experience with you.
And the way LinkedIn is set up, only your connection can write the recommendation – you can only post a recommendation on your LinkedIn Profile is if that recommendation was written by someone else. It takes a bit of time and effort for someone to write a recommendation, so it tends to have more value.
So how do you ask clients for a recommendation on LinkedIn?
First, you need to be connected to them on LinkedIn. Then you can request the recommendation in several different ways:
You can navigate to their LinkedIn Profile, scroll down to their recommendations section and click on “Request a Recommendation.”
Or, you can go to your own LinkedIn Profile, scroll down to your recommendations section and click on “Ask for a recommendation.” You’ll get a popup that will walk you through identifying who you want to ask for the recommendation and then sending the request.
You could also send an email or other request outside of LinkedIn with instructions that make it easy for them to recommend you – send them the link to your profile and tell them how to find the recommendations section. Then they can click on the “Recommend” button and write their Recommendation.
You should always carefully review any recommendations you receive on LinkedIn before you post them to your Profile to make sure that they comply with the ethics rules in your jurisdiction. If they don’t, you can always ask the client to revise it so that it does comply.
Now that you know why to request recommendations on Linkedin and how it can be done mechanically, you’re probably asking yourself (as the lawyers on the Zoom call did), “What is the best way to ask a client to recommend me on LinkedIn?” We’ll talk about that in a future video.
But for now, grab a copy of my book, Make LinkedIn Work for You on Amazon.com or check out my other LinkedIn videos:
- No Time for a LinkedIn Company Page?
- LinkedIn Premium Company Pages
- Why Create a LinkedIn Company Page if You’re a Solo?
- Securing Your LinkedIn Account
- Increase the Reach of LinkedIn Company Page Posts
- Have You Forgotten About Your LinkedIn Company Page?
- Is LinkedIn Using Your Data to Train Its AI?
- Leveraging Google Business Offers
- Are You Making These Google Business Profile Mistakes?
- What Should You Post on Your Google Business Profile?
