Distrust Recommendations from Social Networkers

June 22, 2009 / Duane / 19 Comments

If you’re looking for a new supplier, whether it’s an accountant, a designer or anything else then by far the best route is to ask others you know in business who they’d recommend.

This works fine if you’re asking the person privately. But where it falls down is if you ask them on a public forum, Twitter or any other public network.

I’ve been a member (and moderator) of UK Business Forums for 4 years now and I see the same thing happening again and again. In this example I’ve changed names to protect the guilty parties.

A Typical Scenario

Steve posts asking for someone to recommend a lawyer. Bill is a lawyer who has has been a member of the forum for ages. So lots of other people that know Bill from the forums chip in with their comments about how great he is and that they highly recommend him.

The problem is, these people don’t actually know if Bill is a great lawyer – they’ve never used his services. They just know that Bill seems like a nice guy and he’s been around for a while. They’re also hoping that if they recommend Bill then he’ll recommend them to others to return the favour.

As nice a bloke as Bill is, he’s a useless lawyer. He overcharges and under-delivers and turns out shoddy work. A few people on the forum know this already as they’ve been burnt by Bill in the past. But they don’t post to the thread to say as much – that would be bad netiquette. The same reason why after Steve gets burnt, he doesn’t say anything when he sees Bill being recommended to others in the future.

So if you’re taking recommendations via a forum or social networking site – ask the people doing the recommending if they’ve actually *used* the services of the person being recommended. Better still, phone some of them up and have a private chat.

Forced Referrals

This is the same reason I’m cautious when it comes to organisations that make referrals a requirement of membership. If you’re in a group you have to bring in referrals for your fellow members. It doesn’t matter that you may not have used their services or know if they’re any good. You still have to bring in referrals each week or month.

When I recommend someone’s service I want it to be because I know they can do a good job, not because they’re a nice guy or belong to a networking group I go to.

There is a big difference between recommending someone and making referrals to someone. There’s nothing wrong with referring people to a company you can’t vouch for, but make it clear it’s a referral and not a recommendation. It’s your reputation on the line.

About Duane Jackson

From childrens' homes to prison to business. Founded one of the first B2B SaaS companies, which he sold at the end of 2013. Read more here.

On Amazon: Four Thousand Days - My Journey from Prison to Business Success

Categories: Rants, Social Media

Tags: BNI, small business, Twitter, UKBF

http://www.wecando.biz Ian Hendry

You raise an interesting point Duane, but it’s dangerous to generalise about social networks.

When we built WeCanDo.BIZ we were very aware of how the value of recommendations can be reduced to nothing if they are given by people who, arguably, aren’t “qualified” to do so. We’ve seen this happen on forums and it also happens on Ecademy, where there is an active market in trading recommendations in order to creep up their ranks.

On our site, ONLY customers can endorse other members. Both sides need to confirm that one is the customer; and both sides also need to confirm they are happy for the endorsement to be published before it’s shown on a profile. Bad endorsements aren’t encouraged and the fact that they can be blocked from publication means they are pointless anyway. If you think a service has been bad, just don’t endorse the provider.

It’s a system that works well — and so it should, as endorsements are critical to the success of our site, affecting where members come in our search and business directory.

I can’t speak for BNI, but reputation is everything in such organisations and I can’t believe any member would risk theirs passing on endorsements to bad businesses, even if they are under some obligation to bring referrals to meetings.

Ian Hendry
CEO, WeCanDo.BIZ
http://www.wecando.biz
Paul Skinner

Duane, Ian, You both raise some interesting and quite valid points, not least of which is that you should never recommend someone unless you trust them to deliver.

It may be true that some unscrupulous people use Twitter and other social networking sites to seek untrue recommendations or testimonials, but equally there are many people on these sites that know each other, and have done work with one another, that legitimately refer clients to one another.

Also, I cannot comment on BNI, however, at BRX we urge all our members to actively work with one another, to try one another services, to hold one-2-one meetings to discuss each others services, and get to know each other on a social level as well as business. In this way we get to know each others businesses to a degree that we can refer clients to one another.

I have been a member of BRX for 5 years now, and it is true that some members do not offer the level of service that my clients deserve, and where that is the case, I do not refer to that member.

I believe the difference between BNI and BRX is that referrals are required at BNI, whereas at BRX they are not. Of course it is nice to provide a referral, but if none are forthcoming, then that is fine too.

Paul Skinner
BRX Basingstoke
http://www.bespokecomputing.com Chris P

Until last October I was a member of the local BNI chapter, and was the 2nd longest serving member after a term of nearly 6 years.

Of course I do not know what local rules were applied to any BNI chapter you visited or were a member of, but in our chapter there was no hard and fast rule that you had to pass slips of paper each month. If anything, there was a focus on quality rather than quantity.

Otherwise, your post is right on the money :).
http://www.taxassist.co.uk James Mattam

A really insightful article on which I totally agree. Networking is a great way of doing business but only if you like the person/business and have also heard great things about them. Forced referrals don’t cut it in the UK like they do in the States and it should be a UK Business Forums rule that you only recommend a service you have used before.

How you police that is another matter but I am sure it’s possible.

I cringe when I see forum members offering accountancy advice when they aren’t accountants! Also the reader does not consider that there will be no come back if the advice is incorrect (even if an accountant is advising)!
http://www.frontline-results.com/ LouiseBJ

I agree with you Duane, and wouldn’t dream of recommending a fellow business owner if I hadn’t bought from them AND found them worth recommending! As you rightly say, it’s actually MY reputation as a credible source that’s at stake.

In my monthly Ezine I have a ‘Louise Recommends’ section and only those products or services that have impressed me make it in there. I expect high quality and high value and want the same for my subscribers.

Thanks for raising the subject in your post.
http://www.lopata.co.uk Andy Lopata

Congratulations on a very interesting and thought provoking blog.

Unfortunately there is a lot of truth in what you have said. People will ask to be recommended on social networks. Read the list of testimonials on some Ecademy profiles and you can recognise the lack of foundation on which these recommendations are offered.

For that reason, there is perhaps a danger in basing a decision just on social network recommendations. They are, however, a good starting point. It is surely good practice to do the proper homework before accepting a recommendation from a virtual contact.

While your comment on BNI is based on reason, it is perhaps a tad too general and, as a result, unfair. No one should refer someone else just because they are in the same group but they do need to be open to look out for opportunities for them.

I think there is a big difference between what I call a ‘qualified’ and ‘unqualified’ referral. A qualified one may be along the lines of:

“This person is in my networking group and I think they help in this area”.

Whereas, an unqualified referral is for someone you know, like and trust well:

“You really need to use xxx, they are excellent.”

Your last point is the key. It’s the recommender/referrer’s reputation on the line. If you are making the recommendation, be very clear in your language about how strongly you are recommending.

And if you act on such a recommendation from someone else, do your homework.
http://www.TaxAdviceNetwork.co.uk Mark Lee

With you completely on this Duane.

When I’m asked for a recommendation or a referral I will always make clear whether or not I have used the service in question and that my circumstances may well be different to those of the person seeking my input.

It works the other way round too. I’m often asked how I can be sure as to whether the tax adviser members of the Tax Advice Network are any good. I explain that I’ve personally interviewed them and that I have made a judgment. Their performance reflects on the Tax Advice Network and we do provide a feedback facility on their profile pages.

But much as I would like to do so, I will not be underwriting their advice. They remain independent tax advisers and responsible for their own work. This is one of the attractions of using our website rather than going out to a large tax consultancy that imposes layers of reviewers (and costs) on all work or where you just find a random tax adviser with no recognised or current endorsement. Each to their own.
http://bnigivers.blogspot.com/ David Wimblett

Hi Duane,

Your post is interesting but I think it does you more harm than good. You can’t blanket every one in general terms and it says something about your own judgement.

I have been a member of BNI for 6 years and would never recommend someone I didn’t trust just to pass a referral. My credibility is too important to me and I just wouldn’t risk it.

That’s not to say that sometimes members don’t, or that there are on occasion not so good businesses as part of BNI, but both don’t tend to stay members very long.

As to online groups, well I would certainly need more than one person saying another person is great. Let’s face it you can say anything online. I would need a recommendation from someone I trusted first – online or in fact in BNI.

Cheers,

David Wimblett
http://www.reliableroofer.co.uk Dinah Liversidge

Hi Duane,

Interesting post. Grouping online networking with organisations like BNI is a strange stance to start with. BNI is built on the strength of the relationships its members develop by getting to know each other and meeting on a regular basis. Online networking cannot develop the same kind of relationships – although it can be an excellent way to start a dialogue which could develop if you choose to take it off-line.

I would never recommend a BNI member just because they are a member. They have to build credibility before I will risk mine by recommending them.

As membership of BNI is subject to a vigilant process of selection (inlcuding references), and renewal is based on your credibility and reputation – built on your performance – I am confident that these are people I should build relationships with, and over time I will be happy to recommend them and hope they do the same.

It is a shame you have written-off such an excellent source of reliable, like-minded, committed business people. They have helped me develop a successful, thriving business – and done my credibility the world of good.

Regards

Dinah Liversidge
http://www.dohr.co.uk Donna Obstfeld

Hi

I am a BNI newby and the one thing we are constantly told is “have 1 to 1’s”, “get to know the other people in your chapter”, “make referrals to those you like and trust”. These all support the basic concept of your post.

When you make a recommendation, you are putting your reputation on the line. If you have used the services of the individual, then great, but you can’t personally ‘test out’ each member of the chapter, so you are reliant on getting to know them and speaking to others in the group who have used them. Get testimonials.

I have been given several recommendations where people have said, “know this person, like them, but never used their services” – that’s the honest way to do it. Likewise, “the work is amazing, but you have to wait for him as he is so good” – it is then up to the individual if they want to use your referral or not.

I can also relate to Andy’s comment above. I have had people recommend me on ecademy and I don’t even know them – I don’t actually want them to recommend me!

Network, refer, but keep it legitimate.

Donna
http://www.proactiveinsurance.co.uk Peter Lurie

Hi Duane,

Having been a BNI member for almost 3 years, I too was skeptical in the beginning with referrals, but after having built up so many valuable relationships with fellow members in my BNI chapter and beyond it seems to have paid off. Both my clients and friends & family relish the fact that they can call me up and ask me to put them in touch with someone. It’s also a great feeling knowing you can help others with trustful contacts!

Its better than passing a referral to someone for a job tht was done as a once off and that job was great, but then the next job was a botched job they did for your friend. IN a networking environment people would feel rather embarrassed if they had done a bad job, and it certainly shows.

If I felt that the person is going to do a great job then I refer them in total confidence. There are the few you worry about, but that would be the same for any form of networking. Perhaps you should come and see how our chapter works and get a good idea of how strong relationships within a networking group actually do work. Or just visit our chapter blog http://www.bnifortune.blogspot.com – we all work for each other, to help each other.

Take care!
http://www.mattchedit.com/ Matt Chatterley

Well said. I always try to be cautious when making recommendations – as I feel that a bad recommendation is going to reflect badly on me and damage my reputation too!
Andrew Fairley

Good post. I am also always very wary of recommendations on LinkedIn. The other day I noticed someone working at a particular company had 5 recommendations, all posted on the same day, all from people within her current company. When I checked out their profiles, she had recommended each of them, and each of those 6 people had recommended each of the others. Such recommendations are meaningless. When I see recommendations on LinkedIn, I always check to see if it was a tit-for-tat recommendation. If it was, I discount it.
*
(FYI, my two recommendations are both genuine comments from candidates I have placed!)
http://directaccess-barrister.com Bill Ryan

I do agree with the sentiment in this article and fortunately or unfortunately my name is Bill and I am a lawyer but I think/hope that the rest is not applicable to me. Following chats or presentations I have made I have had a number of people recommendations me often in terms of really knowing my onions etc.

The thing is how do they actaully know as only another lawyer will really know.

So I say if you have had first hand experience of the service say so, if you want to recommend on the basis of niceness or approachability say so – in other words qualify what the basis of the recommendation.
http://www.switchplane.com Joel Fielder

Hi Duane,

I’d be interested to know if you’ve changed your opinion on BNI at all since originally posting this article?

I’ve been a member for a few years and in our group we specifically tell our members that they don’t have to bring referrals each week. Sometimes you have one, sometimes you don’t, plus there’s plenty of other ways to contribute to a BNI group.

For my part, I only refer to people I trust to do a good job. If I do a crap job for someone’s friend, colleague, etc, I have to face that someone every week and experience shame! I think this is actually an incentive to do a better job than you might otherwise.

In my opinion, it’s buyer beware, whoever you buy from, and wherever you found them.
http://www.kashflow.com Duane Jackson

Hi Joel,

No, no change of opinion on BNI. But then I’ve had nothing to do with them since writing this post so there’s no reason my opinion would have changed.
Peter Quintana

I think your comments on BNI indicate you really have no idea how it works. As a member for three years, I have never felt obliged to bring referrals in for anyone. All members are encouraged to meet outside the weekly meetings to get to know each other. From these, plus testimonials from customers that are also encouraged, you build trust. I often will test other members with small pieces of work for me. Only then will I consider referrals to friends, family or clients.
Anonymous

Great post, I’ve fallen foul of referring members of a certain well established business networking organisation, who I assumed, because they were long standing members, must be ok.

Well, one did appalling work, another didn’t turn up and another just never bothered responding.

So yes, be very careful…
Andrew Fairley

We are about to join one of our local BNI groups so it will be interesting to see how it works; I’m the ‘reserve’ player so shouldn’t be attending too often, but will still probably go at least once a month.

How useful it will be for us as a niche Recruitment Consultancy (we specialise in IT resources) joining a BNI group in a small-ish town without a large IT industry remains to be seen; then again, we only need one referral leading to a sale to justify it!

So it will be very interesting to see how our experience will compare to Duane’s and those of the other commentators here.

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