The Honest Recommendation

Precision, truth, and honesty might make it hard for you to recommend a product, or a person, to someone else.

Some people hesitate to recommend because there’s a risk that it will tarnish their own reputation, as if a recommendation is a promise you make, personally, for the performance of someone else.

What if it doesn’t work? What if I give that recommendation and the other person doesn’t deliver? What if the product doesn’t do the job?

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In the Jobs-to-be-done theory of buyer motivation, there’s this idea of when.

It’s the idea that people don’t buy because they are a certain type of person, that they fit an ideal buyer persona. No. It’s the idea that people get into movement when a when happens.

When I’m going through a tough spot in my career…
When my team just lost a key talent…
When I’ve decided that enough is enough…

This when starts a process. The person becomes in movement, and they open up like a door in their mind that was previously closed. They become open-minded to a change, and they start being honest (here’s the word again) about their true motivations, desires, and hopes. They now, in a very true way, want progress.

And so, what if a recommendation were stated with this idea of a when, as a way to signal to the person that’s struggling with something that there’s this one option that will do the job?

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“Hey, my friend Tim here is selling a product called X. If you’re in the process of (effortful and unpleasant change), be sure to check it out. I’ve used it myself when I was in the same pickle, and it made all the difference.”

See, that’s an honest recommendation.

“This new platform might not be for you, but if you’re at point X in your journey, and Y is the problem you’re facing, then you’ll find this platform a no-brainer. I recommend it.”

That’s an honest recommendation too.

“I’ve worked with Mary when we were building X. We had got to a point where the whole project got stalled, and she came in and just made a bigger difference that we had hoped. I can’t recommend her enough. Reach out to me or her if you’re in a similar situation. She’ll deliver.”

See how precise, truthful, and honest these recommendations are?

Wouldn’t you wish others would recommend you this way? Be sure you help make progress, that you’re there for that struggling when, and make that difference. You’ll get honest recommendations like these too.