(1) Customer references are powerful. They help accelerate trust while selling, and they can accelerate deals by providing potential customers with social proof that “we’ll work for you too.” But building a reference program can be hard work.

(2) To build a list of potential references, start with your NPS data. Pulling out a list of your happiest customers is a great place to start. Then organize the list and start narrowing it down.

(3) References need nurturing too. Building a reference program requires you to make sure those customers stay happy and don’t feel over-used. Make sure to build in reviews to guarantee NPS scores stay high and they aren’t being bombarded with requests to talk to new customers.