If your goal is to receive quality recommendations; then you must lead the way with a quality recommendation. If you read the majority of recommendations that you find on the Internet they are weak and tell very little about what the individual has to offer.

     Recommendations must do more than say that John is a great person and you would enjoy working with him any time in the future. Granted John may be a great guy and you may really want to work with him again in the future; but that is not what someone looking to hire or do business with John wants to see. They want meat! They want to know how John contributed and the benefit derived from having worked with John.

     If the recommendations that you write or receive are not doing that; then they are wasted effort. So how do you write an effective recommendation that does the recipient justice:

1. Cite examples of what John saw when he came, what he did as a result, and what benefits were received (I call this the Caesar rule, you know Veni, Vidi, Vici - I came, I saw, I conquered);
2. Use facts and figures whenever possible to support your statements;
3. Don't use fluff and say that John is a great guy;
4. Don't say anything that you do not mean - be sincere;
5. If you cannot say something good about John, then do not say anything;
6. You are giving of yourself - don't be disappointed if you do not receive a recommendation in return;
7. Character references are okay, performance references are much better;
8. You can give lots of "honest" recommendations;
9. Don't give recommendations to people you do not know.
10. Give the recipient of the recommendation permission to suggest changes or corrections to the recommendation.

     Referrals and recommendations are an important part of promoting yourself, your business, and your services and products.

     In today's busy world people are looking for ways to speed up their decisions; when they don't have time to do their own research; they depend upon others. One of their resources are referrals and recommendations. The reality is that if you are not getting your fair share of referrals and recommendations; you are not getting your fair share of the business you want either.

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Tom Staskiewicz speaks and coaches on Professional and Business Networking and how Social Media is a tool in that process. He helps businesses, organizations, and individuals understand the power of networking and recognize that networking is a tool for giving. When you give value to your network; your network will give value in return. Using today’s Social Media tools makes Professional and Business Networking more efficient, improves decisions, and enables you to respond more effectively to your audiences.

If you would like more information on writing recommendations leave your name and email address on the form to your right and we will send you a link to an audio download.

For more information about our programs email Tom.