A few years I heard a GREAT tip at a Customer Reference Forum that was really impactful. The person said they write hand written notes to thank their references. At that time I was a new to the role and working quite a bit and wondered how I would ever have the time to do hand written thank you notes. However I have become a big believer of doing these. I try to send out some every Christmas thanking 'key' customer references for their help over the past year and wishing them a happy new year! I will also do this throughout the year if a customer goes above and beyond in helping out. It's funny because they has carried over into my personal life. If someone goes way out of their way to help me I send their company a thank you email or call their manager. I might only do this a few times a month which doesn't take much time at all but imagine if we all started doing this what a different world it would be!
By the way if you haven't signed up yet for the next conference you might want to look into this! It's a great way to network, learn best practices, help with challenges you might be facing, help with your program planning and so much more! Bill Lee of the Customer Reference Forum has these on the east coast too but I usually go to the west coast event. I love that they are only two days long so I am not out of the office too long. Learn more http://customerreferenceforum.com/event2011/index.php.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
A Paradigm Shift - Asking for References
When I first started out working with references I will be honest that it was a little hard hearing no. When I had been a salesperson years ago I was very good and was able to close almost any deal. But here I was as a reference manager getting no and quite a bit. What I started to realize was that no matter how nice I asked sometimes customers just say no. And honestly there's no way to know why they say no. There are many reasons they say why no including they are too busy, company policies, too shy, they aren't satisfied with the product etc. Whatever you do don't take it personal!
Here's the paradigm shift. There are customers who WANT to do these reference requests. Here is an example. I am working on a press request and I got someone who said thank you for asking because they are non-profit and don't have budget to do PR and this helps them with their company PR.
The bottom line is don't assume every customer will say no. Approach every request as if it's going to be a yes! Years ago I learned in sales that having the right positive attitude can really affect your sales and being a reference manager is very much like being a sales person. IF your customer says no, thank them and move on. There is someone out there who is waiting for you to ask them!
Good referencing!
Here's the paradigm shift. There are customers who WANT to do these reference requests. Here is an example. I am working on a press request and I got someone who said thank you for asking because they are non-profit and don't have budget to do PR and this helps them with their company PR.
The bottom line is don't assume every customer will say no. Approach every request as if it's going to be a yes! Years ago I learned in sales that having the right positive attitude can really affect your sales and being a reference manager is very much like being a sales person. IF your customer says no, thank them and move on. There is someone out there who is waiting for you to ask them!
Good referencing!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Detective Work & Customer Referencing
Sorry for neglecting my blog so much but I have been so busy at my new job at ShoreTel! ShoreTel is doing incredibly well and along with that comes a ton of customer reference requests! In fact last Monday before even getting into work I had received seven reference requests! The good news is I work at a company I love, with coworkers who are awesome and customers who are incredibly happy. The challenging part is that I have to manage my time well or it can be very overwhelming and I will work 24 x 7.
One part of my job I enjoy quite a bit is when I get to put on my detective hat. This can be with reference requests, PR requests etc. For example, if we want to do a press release around a certain industry I will need to go out and research who the top customers are in this industry, which ones have the best brand and then find out which ones are willing to be references. Another one of my favorites when I get a specific request for a customer in a certain industry who are running a certain scenario. One of the biggest tips around this is to learn all the various resources that are available to you including people, systems, data etc. One of my first tasks at ShoreTel was finding customers to mention on our earnings call. To do I gathered data from various sources including sales reps, sales managers, closed win reports and e-mails. And by next quarter when I need to get this information again, I will have more ways I have found to help me get this information or maybe someone else I have gotten to know who might be able to help me. It's so much fun being a reference manager, I love it and out of all the hats I wear as a reference manager, my detective hat is one of my favorites!
Happy referencing!!!
One part of my job I enjoy quite a bit is when I get to put on my detective hat. This can be with reference requests, PR requests etc. For example, if we want to do a press release around a certain industry I will need to go out and research who the top customers are in this industry, which ones have the best brand and then find out which ones are willing to be references. Another one of my favorites when I get a specific request for a customer in a certain industry who are running a certain scenario. One of the biggest tips around this is to learn all the various resources that are available to you including people, systems, data etc. One of my first tasks at ShoreTel was finding customers to mention on our earnings call. To do I gathered data from various sources including sales reps, sales managers, closed win reports and e-mails. And by next quarter when I need to get this information again, I will have more ways I have found to help me get this information or maybe someone else I have gotten to know who might be able to help me. It's so much fun being a reference manager, I love it and out of all the hats I wear as a reference manager, my detective hat is one of my favorites!
Happy referencing!!!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The Happiest Customers on Earth!
As many of you know I have been doing references for five plus years and have recently joined ShoreTel. In the five weeks I have been at ShoreTel I have been blown away at the raving ShoreTel fans we have! ShoreTel has a simple but powerful message. We offer brilliantly simple Unified Communication (UC) solutions based on our award-winning IP business phone system. We offer integrated, voice, video, data, and mobile communications on an open, distributed IP architecture that helps significantly reduce the total cost of ownership. Learn more about ShoreTel at http://www.shoretel.com
I love this product myself! I love getting voice mail messages right in my Outlook in box, the presence feature which lets me know who's available real-time, to so much more! The bottom line is that is great to be a customer reference manager at at company that is doing amazing! From strong sales to increased market share, ShoreTel is a great place to work!
I love this product myself! I love getting voice mail messages right in my Outlook in box, the presence feature which lets me know who's available real-time, to so much more! The bottom line is that is great to be a customer reference manager at at company that is doing amazing! From strong sales to increased market share, ShoreTel is a great place to work!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)