Reference Programs and a Positive Attitude

Yesterday in a job interview I was asked if this is a career I want to stay in. Yes, yes and yes! Although I must say it can be quite challenging being a customer reference manager, I love it! I think one thing that helps me do so well as a reference manager is my positive attitude. Here are some common myths about reference programs and some suggestions on how a positive attitude can help you overcome them:

• "No one wants to be a customer reference" - Of course they do! There are companies with thousands of references. When I was at LANDesk about 15% of our customers were customer references. All you have to do is ask and remember there are different types of references so if your customer says no to a video or case study ask them if they will be a sales or analyst reference. ALSO try to find out what your customers goals are for the year. Once you know their goals you can position your reference program to help them achieve them!
• "No one wants to do a video testimonial" - Are you kidding me? There are tens of thousands of customer videos on the Internet these days. For kicks and giggles I went to YouTube and there are 178,000 "video testimonials" and that's just on YouTube! All you have to do is find the right customers (happy customers who have a story to share) and ask them! If they say no, then there are plenty of others to ask. Leverage your sales reps relationships with them and have the sales rep ask them to do a video. Of course it helps too if you have great products!
• "Fortune 500 customers never do references" Wanna bet? One of my favorite things to do when a Fortune 500 customer or their rep says no is go search for all the case studies and videos the company has done! They do them, maybe not as much as other customers but they do them! One of the ways to get them to do a reference is if your product has saved them a lot of money and time and your customer advocate is willing to go to bat for you!
• "I can't get any of my customers to do press" - Then you haven't asked the right customers or asked them the right way. Customers do press ALL the time whether it's a press release for your company, interviews with press etc. Find your customer advocates and then work with their PR or communications group to do something together.

The bottom line is you need to believe that your customers are willing to do these things and keep a positive attitude! You will get a no sometimes and you will get so many requests from people that it's overwhelming but never give up. Your role at the company is one of the most important as the customer successes you discover and share can impact revenue like no other marketing material. Good luck and keep smiling!