We don't always choose what's best. We choose what looks like others already chose it.
Remember standing in the schoolyard, when ten classmates suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky? You stopped too, without knowing why.
If they stopped, it probably meant something.
Nothing changed.
Your client does the same. He isn't just looking for proof that you're good. He's looking for a reason to believe his choice is a safe one.
Sometimes that reason is a recommendation. Sometimes it's the way you communicate.
The question isn't who has already recommended you. It's whether your presence inspires enough trust for someone to say: “Yes, this is worth looking into.”
Social Proof