Reviews are Table Stakes. Relationships are Foundational.

Last week I had a big client project to examine how to generate higher quality leads for a growing tree and landscaping company. We really got in the weeds and discovered a lot of room to grow by tightening up a few things. One of the frustrations we shared was the modern review game and just how necessary it is, despite each of us having zero faith in said game.

Website testimonials? Business experts all over still push those hard, and my understanding is SEO is the reason. But does anyone still trust those or even read them? We knew most were made up, even before AI. Right?

You can’t opt out of the modern review game. Mega players—Google, Amazon, Uber, and we're going to discuss AirBnB for a sec—have become silly. Reviews have become too transactional, forced, and expectations have shifted beyond reasonable.

Let’s take a look at the Airbnb review ecosystem, a case study in everything that’s broken about modern testimonials:

• You’re not forced to leave a review, but you’re aggressively nudged. Both guests and hosts get reminders, prompts, and countdowns.

• Anything less than five stars is treated like a failure. A 4-star review might as well be a public shaming. Hosts get penalized, guests get blacklisted—it’s absurd.

• Review horror stories abound. People walking on eggshells, dishonest reviews to pursue refund ripoff schemes, and garden variety boneheads existing in the world.

• No room for nuance. You can’t say, “The place was clean, but the neighbor’s rooster was a menace.” It’s pass/fail. You either loved it or you're a hater.

The result? A totally artificial rating system where everyone is terrified to tell the truth. It’s not about feedback anymore—it’s about managing optics.

In the case of google reviews for small business owners, it's their world, and we're just living in it. Hounding customers for a google review is just a fact of life for growing businesses, you just have to do it in a tactful and efficient manner.

Reviews aren't useless—they’re just overvalued. In today’s world, you still need Google reviews. You still need social proof. That’s the price of entry. But let’s not confuse that with real trust. Testimonials are marketing assets. Your reputation is a strategic asset.

If you want growth that sticks—referrals, opportunities, partnerships—you’ve gotta go deeper. Real operators aren’t faked out by inflated 5-stars. They’re watching how you show up in the real world.

Networking is organic review culture

The handshake. The unscheduled phone call. The 6 a.m. coffee meeting that actually turns into something.

Organic trust. Word-of-mouth. The reputational capital you accrue when people see how you show up day after day.

If you're a mid-level CEO, owner-operator, or just a hard-nosed builder trying to grow, here’s the question:

How do you level up your network when everyone else is faking it?

Build your inner circle. Three kinds of people:

• Peers who challenge you

• Mentors who’ve already done it

• Allies who click in synergistic ways

Your network isn't your follower count. It's who actually shows up.

 Here's the playbook. Grind it out and good things will come.

1. Be around.

Nobody gets passive referrals. You have to cultivate them intentionally. Show up in your community, your niche, your trades, your kid’s soccer game. Doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be consistent.

2. Give first, don’t pitch.

Offer help. Make introductions. Volunteer your time. We're talking slow rolls here, not coming on strong. Point someone to a better vendor than you if it’s a better fit. Be remembered for being real. Real hustlers let their hard work speak for itself.

3. Go low-tech and high-touch.

Cold DMs and more spam don’t build trust. Texts, phone calls, shared experiences, jobsites —those build real-world business. The real grind.

4. Create signal, not noise.

If you’re gonna go the creator route, don’t regurgitate AI fluff. It's ok to sprinkle it in, but round it out with a heavy personal touch. Aim to be personal, impactful, and always remember who you are talking to (your customer avatar). That's how you connect with your people in a large pool of noise.

Bringing it all home

After a week with my client, we came out feeling that he and the company leadership had a plan not just to up their sometimes painful, but necessary review harvesting. But more, we figured out a strategy to not just hit those transactional milestones, but also to become a bigger player in the industry (landscaping) by leveraging more partnerships not just based on pumping out content.

At the end of the day, reviews and ratings might help get you found—but they won’t keep you in business. What lasts is the network you build, the reputation you earn, and the way you treat people when no one’s watching. That stuff isn't binary, it's building capital. And you build things slowly, one step at a time.

If you’re serious about growing a resilient, high-integrity business, don’t just play the algorithm game. Build the kind of real world presence and partnerships that no algorithm can fake.