The first step to generating real business online is to TAKE ACTION.
But you must take action TODAY, not tomorrow, next week, or (insert excuse here).
Taking action can be easier than you think. You are already taking action by reading this post.
Thank you!
But your work still needs to be done. You need to take action continually.
I mean, you need to take action EVERY DAY!
You must CULTIVATE your professional brand.
Generating business opportunities online will take time, effort, and consistency.
Whether successfully marketing your business online or as a novice, you could be missing something SIMPLE.
Writing your website and social media platforms in a BUYER-CENTRIC WAY is an excellent place to start.
And like any good advert, it should be designed to get the user to take ACTION.
We call this VISIBILITY.
If you get visibility right, you will get more inbound views and have conversations at scale with your target market.
Of course, more than visibility is needed.
You also need CREDIBILITY.
Buyers need to know you, like you and trust you before doing business.
That’s why LinkedIn recommendations on your profile are so powerful.
The BUYER must trust that you can deliver the goods before they do business with you.
We have a deeply rooted psychological bias where we TRUST people’s opinions we deem credible.
RECOMMENDATIONS do precisely that.
Think of it this way…
We all jump straight to the REVIEWS of a product we wish to buy on Amazon, right?
So why wouldn’t we offer the same experience on LinkedIn?
“Nothing beats it when real people talk about real problems you helped them solve.”
The more recommendations you have on your LinkedIn profile, the more chance someone will do business with you!
Everyone can see who has recommended you on LinkedIn, so this is a MUST if you want to attract new clients.
Of course, we don’t just read what the recommendation says…
…We also look at who is giving the recommendation.
Does it look better to have recommendations from many people, or would it be better to have testimonials from the CEO of a well-known company?
Ideally, you want to be aiming for 10+ LinkedIn recommendations.
If you are only getting started, ask 2 – 3 connections who can vouch for your to write you a recommendation.
Reviews on other sites, such as Google My Business page, can also make great recommendations.
Revisit those who wrote the review and ask if they would be okay with copying and pasting it as a recommendation on LinkedIn for you.
Recommendations should also be up-to-date. If it dates back to 2012, it won’t cut it.
If you ask for a recommendation, you must get it within six months of any work delivered because the value quickly expires if you leave it any longer.
However, as long as I’ve been in business, some people still need to write me a testimonial.
Not because they need more time.
That old chestnut… won’t cut it.
More often, it’s because they won’t know what to say.
Sometimes people aren’t comfortable writing, and so the way around this is to:
WRITE THE RECOMMENDATION YOURSELF!
Yes, you read that right.
But not as you think – never make it up, ever! ❌❌❌
Never bullshit people you want to do business with, but unfortunately, not everyone lives by that code.
Simply:
✅ Schedule a follow-up meeting with the client over Zoom.
✅ Ask them a few questions about who they are, their challenges before working with you, and the results.
✅ You type up the answers.
✅ Send it to the client written in the form of a testimonial and ask if it’s in line with what they said.
✅ All the client needs to do is copy and paste it as a recommendation to you.
EASY AS
The great thing about LinkedIn recommendations is that you can grab quotes from each and get creative using Canva.
Below is a quote from a recommendation from Brian Reid, CEO at DELI LITES IRELAND that I have repurposed as content.
If you’re an entrepreneur looking for accountability to achieve your goals, please feel free to get in touch with me.
Are you interested in collaborating?
Begin by addressing these four straightforward questions:
- What are your professional aspirations?
- What motivates you to pursue these goals?
- On a scale of 1-10, how committed are you to realising your objectives?
- In the next 12 months, where do you envision yourself?
Additionally, I am the founder of The Growth Company, a team of experts specialising in growth, strategy, and innovation.
With over two decades of experience in Sales Growth and Business Development, we support B2B clients in areas such as networking, strategic introductions, marketing, recruitment, and digital transformation.
