Sarah McCoy

We do both - we use Deeto which has an automation for this which is super handy. But there are always exceptions or higher touch deals where we'll help in setting up the call, hosting, etc. In my previous role, we sold mostly to enterprise and it was much higher touch so I set up those calls. There are always exceptions of course. But I personally don't mind being a bit more hands on because then you know the call happened, etc. Whenever I allow folks to arrange calls themselves, I always kinda regret it because I lose visibility and then have to pester folks for tracking sake.

Deeto does this - you can share content from the system w/ prospects - it's done automatically. Maybe not a solution for what you're asking for, but figured I'd chime in.

For marketing: Jasper

http://comms-unity.slack.com

The only method I know of is to train someone on the team to cover for me. Or using a reference tool that allows the requester to self-serve. (Deeto.... I think it's a setting in almost every tool I've used - "managed" vs. "unmanaged") Obviously they all take time to set up! OR maybe setting something up for vacation where folks have to do references on their own during your PTO?

(Oh and we settled for some pretty big GOV customers to do anonymous case studies - no one's favorite, but Gov prospects totally get it, of course.)

I have experience with this and I'll just say it's a challenge no matter what! But totally agree that Daniel's ideas are spot on. I've been fortunate to work for companies where Pub Sector is a big priority so they actually have an event similar to the main US event but its a Gov version so it was a lot easier to convince them to speak and be engaged. Def speaking is a great way to build the relationship and eventually get permission for a case study, video, etc. At the end of the day, some just won't be able to get permission, but we had a lot of success w/ SLED because of relationships and having advocates who had enough clout within their org they could get it through. They really saw us as a technology partner, not just a vendor, which made all the difference.

Melissa DiBernardo