All You Have to do is Ask - Think Positive!

In my role as a Customer Reference Manager I have learned so much about customers, but there is one lesson I truly value. This is the lesson of thinking positively when working with customers. At one conference I went to, I was surprised how negative some of the attendees were about the sales organization and customers. It was kind of weird but they expected the worst from the sales people like "the sales people WON'T help me" or "the customers NEVER will do references".

First of all, with that kind of attitude, they are probably right. Working with customers and the sales organization is like being a sales person. Your attitude has a lot to do with your success! If you believe a customer will help you with a reference request, then you will probably get one. This week I got three customer requests for PR and sales and one of the requests was pretty challenging. But I didn't give up and I ended up with not only one but THREE customers willing to help out just for that one! I got the other two requests done too.

Second, doing customer references is like sales, you need to be a hunter. One of my co-workers in sales emailed me this week and said I sounded like a hunter. It is true. I don't just sit here waiting for references to come to me or for sales to send them to me (HA). I am very proactive and extremely creative in getting references. Its funny sometimes how I get them, but hey I do.

Third, there are customers who want to help and if they can, they most likely will! For example, some customers want to get their name out there and so they are LOOKING FOR such opportunities that you have to offer. And sometimes situations change. I had a customer who couldn't do a reference but then her company policy changed and she could do some on a limited basis. What if I would have just told myself that she could 'never' do them and gave up on her? Well then I wouldn't have the awesome customer reference contact that I have now. Another great example of this is last year at our user event in Vegas. I emailed my reference contacts to see if any wanted to give presentations and we got so many responses that we had to add a whole customer track! We had 13 customer presentations and they all turned out great!

The bottom line is to keep your head up and expect the best from your customers!