Testimonials are a category of social proof. They highlight the positive experiences of existing customers and act as evidence of your expertise to your intended audience. In addition, they reinforce the claims you make because they directly relate back to personal experiences.
To put it simply, testimonials are invaluable and absolutely necessary to build audience trust and credibility.
So, are you displaying testimonials on your LinkedIn profile?
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to gather testimonials on LinkedIn from colleagues and clients you are connected with.
- Step 1
Think about what your key strengths are. Examples might be:
- Passionate and energetic, bringing a dynamic fresh approach to the Chief Financial Officer role
- A Board-savvy strategic thinker, working equally well with C-Suite to help organisations navigate the complexities of today’s economic landscape
- Superb insight into technology and AI, and comfortable with critical and highly visible projects
- Far more than a business development expert, also negotiating M&As, protecting brand reputation and leading change
- Choose carefully
Now choose one contact/colleague who is most apt to comment on each of the above points.
- Make contact
Write to each connection on LinkedIn with such wording as:
“Dear X, I’m working on boosting my LinkedIn profile and would very much value a recommendation from you. I was hoping you could focus on what sets me apart from an average [add your role here] and wondered if you might write something along these lines (do feel free to personalise as you wish):
‘[Your name] is passionate and energetic, bringing a dynamic fresh approach to the CFO role. His drive is remarkable and his dynamism makes him hugely effective.’
[optional line]: ‘I worked with [your name] on [project] and it would not have been such a success without him/her/them.’
Thank you so much. I really appreciate your help with this.”
- Repeat this for each of your themes
Leave your colleagues to tweak the wording as they wish. Short, focused recommendations are best.
More often than not, they will use your suggested wording – it saves them time and increases the chances they will post a recommendation for you.
- Going live
Your connections can add the recommendation directly on your LinkedIn profile. From here, you can approve it before it goes live.
