A reference call should answer a real question

A reference call can become a ritual in which a happy client says positive things and the buyer thanks everyone. It is more useful when the prospective buyer has a specific uncertainty that a former client is well placed to address.

Choose relevance over prestige. A recognisable brand with a very different engagement may offer less useful evidence than a smaller organisation that faced a similar problem and delivery context.

Ask permission from the reference and explain the purpose. Do not repeatedly use the same client without considering the burden. Their willingness to help is part of a relationship, not an unlimited sales asset.

Encourage honest questions about working style, dependencies and difficulties as well as results. A reference who can describe how a problem was handled may provide more credible insight than one restricted to a favourable script.

Set appropriate boundaries around confidential information. The reference should know what they are comfortable discussing, and the prospective buyer should not expect access to private commercial details.

Afterward, ask the buyer what uncertainty remains. A reference may strengthen confidence without resolving every issue. Do not treat the call as proof that the engagement will produce the same result in a different organisation.

The purpose is to help the buyer judge fit and reliability through another client's experience. That is a narrower, more useful aim than using a relationship to manufacture endorsement.