Testimonial Time: Let's face it, a third-party recommendation will always win over an unknown or random referral. For example, for the job-seekers among us: your friends, work associates, and other connectors that you know will be better sources for potential paid employment than if you read the newspaper, Craigslist, or if you respond directly to a job posting.

In fact, paid jobs that are advertised in wide channels typically do not have a well-connected person who is hiring: many jobs are filled in-house by referral before being advertised. So, if you don't know anyone, what will you do?

The best way to get a testimonial or to sign someone up on your recommendation list is to volunteer for them: unpaid interns typically have first access when a paid job becomes available.

Alternatively, if you are in school, work with a professor on one of their projects, or assume a committee or leadership position at an extracurricular activity: these are great ways to spread the word about your competence, people skills, and technical know-how.

If you are seeking clients or referral-based business, ask your best customers to date to keep you in mind for your services. You might consider offering a bonus gift if you receive a referral from one of your customers. For other examples:

+ A handywoman might leave a stack of business cards with a customer and ask for referrals from the neighbors or co-workers.

+ A financial planner may ask trusted clients if they know others who would benefit from their services.

+ A real estate agent or mortgage broker might ask their sellers or buyers to recommend them when it comes time to purchase or refinance.

This phenomenon is clearly at work in "invitation-only" groups, such as Gmail or Google Wave: when they first start, a potential user has to receive an invitation from someone who is already on the network. If you already have a strong base of contacts, constituents, or clients, now is the time to ask for a testimonial from a few of your trusted sources.

This could be posted to your website, or collected into a "recommendations list" that shows their name, the nature of your relationship, and what you have already accomplished. These testimonials speak greater than your own words. In fact, if your people are glowing when they talk about you, you won't even have to say anything yourself!