The other day I received this un-solicited testimonial from one of my dsRadio podcast listeners:

I am not an affiliate – I am a customer. I have been with Diverse Solutions for the past several years and with the progressive, “out of the box”, forward thinking progression of their IDX and multitude of other resources – they are the “silver bullet” when it comes to what our client’s want.

We receive feedback on an almost weekly basis about how complete their systems are. I can attest to the fact and can provide proof of the tens of thousands of links created by their WordPress Plugin. Now enter Mobile – It is fantastic.

The RSS Feed capability requires 6000 characters of it’s own to explain how I have maintained page 1 rankings with Santa Clarita Real Estate specific keywords.

This podcast is a breath of fresh air and will keep the DS clients in the “know”. If you are not a DS user, this podcast will serve you well also.

Thanks Diverse Solutions – Signed, A Loyal Fan. Connor MacIvor RE/MAX of Santa Clarita’s Paris911 Team.

It was a neat, “out of the blue,” recommendation. And that’s what got me thinking… We don’t do this often enough for the people whose service(s) we appreciate.

So today, I want to challenge you to do something: write a recommendation for someone. 

• Connected on LinkedIn? Write a recommendation for their work.
• Read a book recently that you really enjoyed? Write a review for the author on Amazon.
• See a speaker recently whose presentation you really enjoyed? Send them an email with a glowing testimonial they can use in their marketing kit. (If you really want to make them feel good, send them a video testimonial).
• Have a product you love and use? Email your service provider and tell them what you love about it. (How is it making your life easier/better? What results have you seen? What do you love about it?)
• Have a favorite podcast that you really enjoy? Write a review for the host on iTunes (they’ll love it).

Testimonials are great “social proof.” They’re a great way to demonstrate value to others. It’s one thing for you to say you’re good at what you do and an entirely different thing for somebody else to endorse your product/service (the latter holds more weight).

Just think of your own purchasing habits… Do you readily take a salesman’s word for it? Or are you more influenced to buy based on someone else’s recommendation?

Your challenge for today…

Write a recommendation for someone. Just as a way to say thanks for the work that they do. It’ll be a nice, unexpected surprise.

Who will you recommend? A favorite author? A speaker, maybe? A favorite show on iTunes? Or have you used a service/product lately that just rocks? Tell me about it in the comments…