I had a few interesting experiences recently that just go to show how important it is to step into a reference customer’s shoes once in a while. Since referencing is my business, I volunteered to act as a reference customer for two vendors that do business with The Phelon Group; and yet another vendor recruited our firm into their program. I learned a few very interesting lessons. One of the companies in particular, that shall remain nameless, started the process off by sending me on a hunt for the right people to speak with. That’s right. I had to e-mail people all over the company until I found someone interested in my testimonial. We set a tentative time to speak, but after three weeks and several trips coast-to-coast, he never e-mailed me back to confirm the day and time. So imagine my surprise when the phone rang a few weeks later; I had forgotten all about the appointment. Since it was never confirmed, it fell off my calendar. After a few apologies, he launched right in to ask which products we used, and why did we choose their company? Whoa!, I thought, Slow down! I didn’t have a list of questions before the call so I didn’t do any research. Besides that, I was in shock because he kicked off the first five minutes asking about things I felt he should have known. He never tried to make me comfortable about the process up front, either. He never told me what to expect next. He never asked me about *me* and about my company. In essence, he neglected to take time to get me warmed up, so he missed an opportunity to capture the little tidbits that make success stories interesting. Another experience I had was great! A senior writer with one of our vendors invited our firm to act as a reference. I obliged; not only do I believe in the power of references, but I’m also always open to interesting experiments. This one turned out well. The writer perused our Web site and read a few of my articles before the call, and, get this, e-mailed me a reminder a few days before. The e-mail included seven questions and a short overview of the company’s customer marketing program. The interview process pretty much went smoothly as well. First Step: The Warm-Up. When she started the call by asking me questions about how our firm started, I beamed! Think about it. The average senior executive works 65 hours a week. Get them talking about what they do in their jobs, their industries, their companies. This writer did it right; the first 10 minutes were all about The Phelon Group and our clients. After that, I was ready to talk. Create the free flow! Second Step: The Map. After she talked about us for a while, she laid out the rest of the call. She shared how these calls typically go and how long I could expect to spend. She also told me that if I had constructive comments or feedback about their company, communications or products, she would block out the last 10 minutes to discuss them. Third Step: The Questions. She walked me through about 15 smart, open-ended questions. Fourth Step: The Close. Her close wasn’t great, but since so much else went well, I forgave her. Here’s what she could have done better: 1. Define the next steps i.e. In two weeks, you’ll receive a draft. 2. Close with something exciting such as, Did you know our Web site just received a Webby award? or I see you haven’t signed up for our next Webcast; please do! It will be very informative! 3. Create a reason to follow-up. Because there is often much heavy lifting required to get content developed and internally approved, create a reason to come back to stay top of mind and to remind me the story’s in progress. Content managers, share this simple rule with your writers: the first 10 minutes of any interview cannot be about your company. You can’t be on every call with your writer, but pop in once in a while to find out how smoothly it goes. If it’s not smooth, come up with a new plan and/or get your writer interview training so that he feels more confident in such unpredictable situations. Remember, the best writer is not always the best interviewer. Try it yourself. Be a secret shopper in your own company or with one of your vendors. Offer to be a reference for a company you do business with. You’ll gain a much better perspective of what it’s like to walk in your reference customers’ shoes. Promise Phelon, Partner promise.phelon@phelongroup.com