Customer Reference Programs thrive on a steady diet of new customer reference candidates. Most programs are on small rations when it comes to getting new candidates via the sales force. Salespeople should know best who to recommend as candidates for the program, but they’re typically too busy and too quota focused to act as a sole source if ideas. Here are six tips to breaking the customer reference nomination code:

1. Cast a Wide Net Don’t stop with the sales team for new reference nominations. Other customer-facing teams like consulting or professional services, product management and support have good insight into those customers that have expressed high satisfaction. Net Promoter survey results offer a ready list of self-reported “promoters”:  they’re already recommending your company to friends and colleagues! Check to see if the “one question” is being asked on ongoing customer satisfaction surveys.
2. Use Campaigns to Generate Buzz Promotional campaigns can produce results, but whether or not they’ll work for you depends on culture. The campaigns aimed at salespeople often fails because money is used as the motivator and it’s rarely enough to compare to a good salesperson’s commission earning potential. In fact, sales tends to respond better to opportunities for competition and recognition than pure dollars. Customers may respond to a campaign if it offers meaningful benefits and, again, not just financial incentive. Membership to an exclusive community with more influence on future product development, the ear of executives, etc., tends to move the needle more consistently.
3. Keep Forms Simple If you develop a nomination form to be completed by either sales or customers (i.e., self-nomination), keep it simple. The reality is that you just need basic information so that someone on the reference team can follow up and initiate the relationship. Make these forms as available as possible:  via the sales portal, partner portal, corporate website, etc. You have little to lose by putting it everywhere possible.
4. You Can’t Automate a Relationship It’s tempting, related to customer self-nomination, to list all the possible reference activities (blog contributor, media interviews, video, etc.) and ask the customer to sign up for one or more. But most people want more explanation regarding time commitment, potential uses of things like video, and of course, “What’s in it for me?” You’ll most likely get a higher participate level if the majority of the asking is done on a live call, or in person.
5. How Much is Too Much? Related to the previous point, there are two schools of thought on whether to ask a customer what they’re willing to do, in terms of reference activity, all at once or as opportunities arise. Some believe asking for less initially leads to more “yes” responses. In either case, if the asking is done on a call or in-person the results will vary a great deal based on who is asking. Some people have the charm and a “no fear” attitude when asking and the sky is the limit. These are the people you want doing your recruiting and profiling of customer reference candidates. They are “rain makers.”
6. Use Technology Finally, leverage technology to make this entire process streamlined: easy and quick. Bypass the use of Microsoft Word or Excel files as nomination forms. Use web forms and have the data save directly to a database (your customer reference system if possible). If you’re successful in your approach then the volume of nominations will be too much to manage without the help of technology. Reference program candidates should expect a follow up from the reference team within a week at most. This SLA will grow harder to meet if the process is managed manually, and even worse, on paper.

The recruiting aspect of the customer reference program is essential to your success. Every company wrestles with how to start and maintain a steady flow of candidates, which add variety to your choice of candidates for reference activities, and spreads out usage across more references, which reduces the risk of overuse of any one customer. Forming your plan based on these six tips will get you a long way towards your recruiting goals. Happy hunting!