Did you know that vendors typically spend AT LEAST 40 hours researching, writing and editing a success story that, if they’re lucky, hints at a successful engagement? A typical reference customer spends over 10 hours researching, providing insight, validating and editing, and then has to face legal and PR for more carving, or to see a story killed in flight. I exposed this data during a speech to a group of senior marketing communicators and then again at the AMA/Phelon Group San Francisco training session for Customer Reference Professionals. And while I completely understand how this happens, I’d like to share with you a few techniques we’ve used to help our clients stop the waste and make decisions about which stories to pursue... that is, before you put them on the calendar and schedule interviews: 1. Talk with the reference customer’s manager or boss to make sure they buy in. 2. Talk with legal and marketing communications groups; they often have the strictest guidelines about who can speak on behalf of the company and about what they can say. 3. Search the Web and other vendor sites to check the quality of stories out there about that company. If the stories you find are super-lite realize that while it could be poor writing, it’s more likely due to the customer’s policies. You already know a success story is an investment. It requires management and reinvestment to keep the information fresh and re-branded. Be cautious about where you spend your resources. And above all, don’t be afraid to use other weapons to cut down sales cycles. Promise Phelon, Partner promise.phelon@phelongroup.com