It's "All About You" touts the headline at MyBizCard.co. The site  offers the chance to "Get the world's first online business card with ratings and reviews from your peers that show how awesome you are."  The concept is interesting, as it provides a digital business card tied to personal ratings, which can then be included in email signatures, on websites, blogs, social media profiles, or anywhere else online. The site will connect to your LinkedIn account with a single click, enabling you to solicit ratings from people in your network.

I've gotten a lot of these request messages (on LinkedIn) from connections seeking ratings with this service. Here is what I have received (I've removed the sender's name):

Inevitably, I am one of several who have been "solicited"; the message was mass-sent. Moreover, I often barely know the sender. But even if I did know the sender, this impersonal bulk message would not induce me to leave a rating. If anything, it makes me want to remove the individual from my connections. In effect, I've just received spam on LinkedIn. And yes, the message communicated exactly what the site suggests: It's All About You (the sender)! Definitely not what you want to convey if you are a businessperson, and certainly not the way to garner rave reviews and top ratings.

I should point out that the message I received is the default (boilerplate) message the service provides. MyBizCard.co provides members the opportunity to write a personalized message instead of sending the default, much like LinkedIn does with their recommendation requests. The senders of the messages I received simply did not avail themselves of that opportunity - and that is the issue.

Doing It Right

It's important to remember that asking someone to make the effort to leave a review - regardless of how easy you make it - is still asking for a favor. The reviewer must interrupt what they are doing, (usually) leave the site they are on, and go to the review or ratings site to either rank you or leave comments. As such, the very least you can do is have the courtesy to send them a personal message. Not bulk mail. Not a generic "hello." A message.  (Do I even need to mention that you should actually KNOW the person you are asking?)

Have you ever received a request for a rating, recommendation, or testimonial from someone whose services you've never used? I get them all the time. Inevitably, they come from online sites - these people would never walk up to you in person, knowing you haven't used their services, and ask for a reference, right? So why do people do it online? Because the technology makes it easy to just press the button and hope someone will respond.

Simple Steps for Soliciting Reviews

Common professional courtesy is the bare minimum you should shoot for in requesting reviews. To get action - and better yet, great reviews -  follow these simple steps:

• Begin with a genuine, personalized greeting.
• Explain why you are asking this person for the review/recommendation. ("Sue, you've been a client for 6 years and have used 3 of our 5 key services.")
• Remind the person of any specifics you'd like them to comment on. ("Would you be willing to share your comments about the results you received from your new website" or "You've mentioned that our technical support is second to none - would you be willing to comment on that"?
• If the person has not used your services, acknowledge it up front and point out what you ARE asking them to comment on. ("We've worked together on the XYZ board, and I thought you might be willing to speak to my leadership skills and professionalism.")
• Encourage the reviewer by pointing out why there is value in his or her comments. ("As a long-term repeat client, I know that your insights would be of value to prospective clients who might be considering our services.")
• Give them an out - after all, they may not feel comfortable writing the review, or may not have the time to do so. ("I recognize how busy you are; if you can't do this right now, I understand. Thank you for considering it.")